That's the song the dood was playing in "Animal House" when Balushi smashed his guitar to smithereens against the stairs. <snerk>

Good one, Ragdoll!

@malkin, I actually liked Swinging Sevenths - that's what it's called
Same with Polovetsian Dances, it took me a long time to memorize the chord progression but it's one of those songs I'd like to keep in my meager repertoire.

Ouch, I shouldn't even be typing... my wrists ache from too much computer work and I even skipped piano practice in the last two days... I guess that afternoon spent in the rock climbing gym didn't help

sino, when you learn chords in a piece do you learn their names as well as to land your fingers on them?

I struggle to do either one properly, which I'm sure contributes to my overall feeling about pieces with bass clef chords

Hey sinophilia!

Now when I play Swinging Sevenths I can think of you--It really helps!

yes! I need to identify them and write them down on the score, that makes things easier.



I'm glad to be of help

Keep it up and you'll pass me soon enough!

My brain was on the fritz in my last post. "Whole World" is done, but I am still working on "La Donna." I'm hating it a little less now LOL. It's coming together, mainly working on speed now. My teacher chose to skip "Ballin the Jack" and "Nobody Knows," and I started on "Frankie and Johnnie." Frankie and Johnnie is another of those silly bluesy jazzy things. Not too bad, just not really my style.

What is my style, though? I'm still figuring that out, I guess. I seem to really enjoy Romantic stuff. The Chopin Étude is still my favorite piece in either Alfred's book, and the only Alfred's piece that I still play for fun.

In other news, my recital was a bomb. I played Miniture Waltz by Vladimir Rebikov. I made a few mistakes, then got lost about halfway through and had a long pause while I got my bearings. But, the good news, I suppose, is that no one threw tomatoes at me or boo'ed me off the stage *sigh* I wish I could play in front of people as well as I can at home alone!

Started on Khatchaturian's 'Ivan Sings' yesterday. I think I'm going to like this one!

Frankie and Johnnie already?!? Slow down gahdzila or I will never catch up with you

I started the Battle Hymn of the Republic but I've got too much work in these days to make any real progress

You know they put those pieces in for silly people like me!!

Ooh, then you're getting close to book 3 then. Congratulations.

I'm practicing the circus March and Night Song at the moment. Skipped The Hokey-Pokey though. I just hate that piece and I refuse to play it.....

The other night though my downstairs neighbour complained about noise. I play a DP using headphones, so I was convinced I could hammer away without bothering anyone. That put me off the piano a couple of days. But I just NEED to play though, the urge is growing within me. So I have bought a thick carpet with a layer of rubber underneath. I hope that will solve most of the problem. And I'll have to stop playing late at night. Sigh....

You mean your neighbor can hear you pressing the keys? Or were you counting out loud and pounding on the floor?

You know, I actually ended up liking this one. It was fun to play and easy (relatively speaking)...and it's a nice confidence boost to finish one fairly quickly.

Moving right along to 'Johnny Marching Home'....I can't help but sing "the ants go marching one by one, hoorah" while I play it



LOL I was kinda wondering the same thing

I don't think I do a lot of floor pounding, so it must be the keys/pedal action that passes through the floor. It's an old apartment block and the piano is placed directly on a wooden floor. Well now I have put a rubber coated thick carpet under the piano. So it will be interesting to see what happens next....

But, hey good idea! I could of course begin to pound away and count out loud - and perhaps sing a little. That would make the neighbour forget all about the sound of the keys/pedal (especially the singing :D)

I was wondering about the sound penetrating to the downstairs neighbor, too. I thought, gosh, maybe he's got really long fingernails and they're, like, really hard.

So guys, have you been practicing during the holidays? Right now I'm working on La donna è mobile - will probably need a couple of weeks for this one - and Frankie and Johnnie, which I find entertaining.

I've decided to soldier on and finish this book as quickly as I can, and then take a month or so off before starting book 3, to memorize and polish a few pieces and see if I can build a tiny repertoire. It's funny, I feel I've progressed in the last few months but now I have barely 2 or 3 songs that I can play decently from memory. It was easier with the shorter songs from book 1!

hi,
any experience with Duane Shinn's 52 week crash course, Rocket piano course, or Piano for dummies ?

Welcome Vince! We're mostly just the Alfred 2 folks in here; you might get more responses if you start your own thread.

I have had lots of time to practice, as we have no kids at work this week and next. I'm working on the Papa Mozart Burlesque and Arkansas Traveller. My husband said straight away that he hoped I would pass off Arkansas Traveller as quickly as possible (i.e. he doesn't like it) so I focus on that when he isn't home. It's sounding good for my lesson in a couple days--oh wait--tomorrow!

Hi, I've been visiting pianoworld on and off since the summer and this is my first post. Earlier this year, during a rather miserable stay in hospital spent breathing through tubes and gazing up at the ceiling, I decided I'd always wanted to learn to play the piano and, following my discharge, purchased a Yamaha Piaggero along with Alfred's Basic Piano Course For Adults Level 1 - which I have very much enjoyed.

Some nine months later and reasonably satisfied with my progress I have now began Alfred's Level 2 - currently Tumbalalaika - and wanted to say "Hello!"

I'm 39 years old and I wish I took an interest in music (at least playing music) far sooner. Still, better late than never I suppose!

Hi Piano Martin and welcome!

Some of us have begun much later than you--you're quite a kid by comparison!

Hi Martin, welcome to PianoWorld! Stick with us Alfred's students

Thank you for the warm welcome, malkin and sinophilia!

Tumbalalaika turned out very well and today I have started on Light and Blue. Funnily enough, several months ago I recall watching a few youtube videos of this particular song and thinking to myself, "I'll never be able to play that!"

As it is, my progress after only a few hours has been very encouraging. Just goes to show how perseverance does pay off.

It really is a wonderful thing to notice you're progressing, isn't it?
Pieces and techniques that seemed impossible a year ago just start coming together. It's almost easy.

I really liked Light and Blue and I keep playing it - the polishing stage actually took a long time. Further in the book you will find Frankie and Johnnie, another very nice bluesy tune.

I liked Light and Blue also. It was one of the few "Blues" pieces that I liked. If I recall correctly, the hardest part for me was keeping the rhythm in the left hand even.

welcome to the forum Piano Martin! I'm 50 and started on the piano last april, so I'm a late starter too. I have just started out on Light and blue, and I like it too...

And Happy New year everyone!

Wow! What great posts! If you folks need any help or suggestions, please shoot us an email or give us a call. I am a piano teacher and longtime performer and I love helping people have fun at the piano while building great skills. Pianists are healthier and happier people! keyboard@alfred.com or (818) 892-2452. Just ask for David. Keep making that music!

@ Alfred Piano Team: Wow! Welcome and thank you for joining us David!

@gahdzila: Where are you? Perhaps studying the Canon in D?

I struggled quite a lot when I started book 2 - probably because I hadn't spent enough time on book 1 - but now that I'm approaching the end of it I'm feeling I'm learning new things much faster. I'm having more fun, for sure. I'll be starting the part on diminished and augmented chords tomorrow but I think it'll take me another month to finish the book, as the pieces in the Eb major key section look pretty daunting.

I'm doing lots of work on Musetta's Waltz.

correct rhythm, land both hands together on beat one, move left hand under the 16ths and keep hand position and pedal, pretty arpeggios.

Doing most of that some of the time and some of that most of the time, but still working toward doing all of that all of the time.

I found this one really hard, especially the pedaling! I think it took me 3 weeks to get it right - actually there are still a couple of places where I stumble. But I want to try to do a decent recording of this one.

Light And Blue is a fun piece. In fact, today I played it better than ever. Presently, I am working on Morning Has Broken (pages 12-13) and specifically the broken chord "Example 2" at the foot of the page. I initially found it a tad tricky, though it is beginning to take shape. I just have to keep reminding myself to slow down!