Speaking of counting, I have a question for folks who count. Do you find yourself "singing the count" or do you count in a monotone? I find it very difficult to count in a monotone while I'm playing a song, so I tend to sing the count. Basically I kind of pretend that the song has an endless set of lyrics that go "one two three one two three one two three" and as I count I sing the numbers to (approximately) the tone that I'm playing on the piano.

This seems to work for me, but I worry that it is perhaps a harmful practice? It's harder to count without singing the count but it might be one of those things I need to force myself to work on in order to master the skill of counting...?

Congrats Rodmichael!

And don't worry about how long it took to go through it. Aside from the fact that there's no deadline, every time I hear about someone taking a good amount of time with something, my first thought isn't, "Wow, that's slow" -- it's "Wow, that's thorough."

Happy Thanksgiving, Book 1-ers. I'm leaving in the morning to stay the week with my son and his family. They do have a very old digital piano (with a key that doesn't work - the B above Middle C). But with 7 kids in the house, and Thanksgiving preparations, and little ones who want to play Candy Land with Grandma 24/7, I don't know how much "piano time" I will get. I am bringing my Alfred book and my Christmas book, but I'm not counting on anything.

I don't find the pieces after BTMD easier. Especially Cafe Vienna is a little tricky with the introduction of finger numbers on different keys. Left-right coordination seems easier though. I have to practice more on my reading...

Moonshinator


Yes, I do this all the time. Its actually pretty funny because I usually play with headphones and thus anyone listening hears nothing but my pathetic warbling of one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-one-and-two-and..... to various melodies. It gets even worse more for complex beats where I sing a mnemonic. Clair de lune is driving my wife nuts with its 9/8 meter which Hugh Sung has given us as bum-ble-bee-bum-ble-bee-bum-ble-bee, mixed in with the occasional duple buzz-zing-buzz-zing.

I don't see the harm in it, except maybe to my ego when somebody actually hears me

New poster here. I am in Alfred's Basic Adult Course book #1 and basically hit the wall at Blow The Man Down. Before that it was fast going. I had some lessons as a kid which I grew to hate. I am at the point where I can play the first two full measures of BTMD over and over so it's just a matter of time.

So far I really liked Standing In The Need Of Prayer - I am playing on a keyboard and put it on organ sound, sounds really nice. When The Saints Go Marching In was a lot of fun. For some reason I thought Jingle Bells was hard.

Welcome bolt. It sounds you are making great progress! I think Jingle bells is the first piece which has to be played with both hands. Standing In The Need Of Prayer is indeed nice. For me it was the first piece where I could actually recognize some patterns instead of reading notes.

Welcome, bolt! Jingle Bells is definitely hard for where it's located in the book, since it's the first piece that requires you to play hands-together. Not counting the Alfred's Greatest Hits book, I think the two pieces I've struggled with the most so far are Jingle Bells and Alpine Melody. Of course, I haven't gotten to BtMD yet.

Well, here's an update on where I am... I took a big step recently and upgraded my crappy keyboard to a digital piano and WOW what a difference it makes. Playing dynamics is SO much easier, and having properly mounted pedals makes pedaling much easier. And finally, my favorite difference is that the right-hand D7 chord is much, much easier to play. I am not sure exactly why, I think perhaps having to put more force into the keys makes it easier to hit all three notes simultaneously? I also think the voicing of the chord is so much better. On my old keyboard, even when I played the chord correctly it sounded like crap and if I played it slightly off it sounded abysmal. On the DP when I play it correctly it sounds nice and if I play it slightly off it sounds slightly off. Obviously, I want to be able to play it correctly but it's nice that the sound of the chord doesn't completely fall to pieces when I make a slight error. Well, whatever the reason I am not going to complain.

So in order to adjust to the new DP I am going to start the book over and ensure that I still have all of the earlier concepts mastered with the new keys. I figure this should take me a day or two and then I think I am approaching BtMD... *shiver*

Don't be too intimidated by BTMD, most people do seem to struggle with it but once it clicks you'll be sooo proud of yourself and it's great fun to play!

Yep... this represented an "over the hump" type challenge for me also.

Don't worry, you'll get it eventually and wonder why you ever sweated it...

Have fun,
AC

Welcome bolt
I agree, once you get pass BtMD, the 2 hands coordination comes easier. Have fun.

Mooshinator,
Congrats on your new DP. Glad you're having fun practicing.

"He's Got the Whole World..." hasn't come together for me yet. It'll be awhile but it's fun.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks everyone for all the welcomes.

I got a little better at BTMD this evening. Then I went back and played all the earlier songs going backwards toward the front of the book.

Then a little more BTMD and then I went past BTMD and started to work on about 6 more.

I have a low attention span. This is more or less how I've done the whole book so far, working on many tunes on the same day. This is helping me a lot with my sight reading since I don't remember all the songs in my head.

I am practicing about 30 minutes to 2 hours a day. Usually I do several short sessions in one evening. We don't have TV and I'm surfing the web a lot less. I guess this is how it was in the old days when piano was a main passtime for many people.

I'm making a point of not looking at my hands at all when playing, just looking at the music. This is what my teacher told me to do. It is giving pretty good results as I expected to have a lot of trouble with sightreading.

Is everyone practising?

My Chiapanecas is coming along, but still needs polishing (a lot!!!). O Sole mio - I don't really like it, but hey, it is in the book, I have to do it. It is getting there, it is not sounding too bad, but I think I need to improve timing.

Jericho on the other hand is reasonable good. I am not going to put it aside yet, as I like it, and I am going to polish it a bit more, and try and increase the speed. Well, will have to try the The Stranger next!

I have picked up my Greatest Hits book again, and decided that I am not going to try and play all the songs in there. I don't know most of them, so I am just picking the ones I like. So, It is Love me Tender, Edelweiss, What a Wonderful World, It is a Small World, and Beauty and the Beast so far. Only the first one sounds fine, others need some work, but I am loving the Beauty and the beast - never heard it before, but it is a very nice song... Oh, and I know that I will try Sound of Music and Absolutely no way I am going to skip Memory - I love that song!!!!

Well, after deciding that my Jericho is quite reasonable now, I moved to The Stranger and Greensleeves. Ok, I don't expect them to be perfect on the first try, but it was not too bad! I was expecting it to be more difficult. I tried putting hands together in Greensleeves, and it was not bad at all!!!! So, added the pedalling and while it is very slow, it sounds like a song! I am happy!

gintarec,
Not me. I have been enjoying Thanksgiving too much I forget about my Piano, and this forum At this pace, you'll leave me in your dust soon. I guess Thanksgiving is officially over today. Gotta put some practices in to keep pace with you.

Well, we don't 'have' Thanksgiving over here, so I had time to play! (well, we have Christmas shopping and Christmas markets though...)

I have managed to play Chiapanecas with no mistakes today, as well as Jericho!!!!! Still have to keep practising, as my fingers decide to do things on their own once in a while... O Sole Mio is coming along quite well, as well. Lesson tomorrow!!!! Only 3 left before Christmas...

I relate to your digital piano upgrade mooshinator. I did same sort of thing, started with a very low end Yamaha keyboard and then upgraded to Roland F-110. Night and day. Real keys!

I found a good resource to supplement Alfred AIO. I cannot always be right at the piano. I found a great book for those non-instrument times. "Harmony and Theory A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians" - Hal Leonard. This is a music theory workbook, it provides many practice examples or test s to fill out right in the book (or write in the book). I have worked through three chapters, remarkably similar to subject matter presentation in the same order as AIO. It has helped me with note recognition and reading skills. It looks to be a great supplement for more advanced subject materials too. I will keep it on hand as I progress with Alfred’s. I find it is nice to have something to keep in touch with musical learning even without the keyboard directly in front of me.

I have hit my own personal wall now. I am stuck on Beautiful Brown Eyes. I cannot seem to coordinate the melody over the broken chord F. I make soOOo many mistakes, it is hilarious. One note and one chord... too much fun. I have spent more time on those two measures than most other entire songs to date.

So I went to my lesson feeling prepared but then had some trouble. For one thing my electronic keyboard at home is not weighted. I guess I have developed a very light touch. So when I went to the lesson I had a hard time playing on a real piano. Plus I felt like I wasn't warmed up. And in a way it might have been a bit of performance anxiety.

By the way, forgot to mention, I got Blow The Man Down.

Well, I'm back to piano after an 8 day absence. I brought along my Christmas music, and played a little. It's hard to play on a DP with a dead key. Not to mention 7 grandkids hanging around wanting to talk to me or play with me, or for the little ones, wanting to bang on the piano. I taught my 5 year old grandson to play from memory a few measures of "Jingle Bells", "Jolly Old St. Nicholas", and "We Three Kings". He was so proud. And my 16 year old grandson, and 12 year old granddaughter played some of my Christmas music. They had to give up their piano lessons this year because their Dad's hours at work were cut. I wish I could afford to get them a decent digital, but I could barely afford mine.

So back to practicing today. "He's Got the Whole World..." was a lost cause. I forgot what little progress I had made on that one. I worked on it and "Greensleeves", which is also a little shaky again, but I think a day or two and "Greensleeves" will be fine. I didn't touch "Scarborough" or "Rainsins and Almonds". And I spent way too much time catching up here on ABF.

Great to be home. I love my grandkids, but a week with the 7 of them is way too much.

Well done all!

I had my lesson yesterday. I played 'Little Brown Jug', 'Chiapanecas' and 'Jericho' to my teacher. She was laughing!!!! Not because I played it that bad, but because of the speed!!!! (I have to say, it was not the best - her digital piano keys seemed very light, compared to mine, it is the low end Clavinova she was given by a friend, so maybe it had it's best days in that respect..) She was commenting that the steam is coming of the keys!!!!

I was just trying to play it fast, as it says to play 'moderately fast' in the book. but maybe I did took it a bit too fast....

Anyway, I am putting these aside. I will keep playing them from time to time, as I like them and it is a good exercise for my fingers!!!

So, now I have to polish off 'O Sole Mio', 'The Stranger', 'Greensleeves', 'Go Down Moses', which all are 'nearly there'. And I am starting on 'Scarborough Fair'.

For next time I also got some Christmas tunes to prepare (Twelve Days - in duet again!!!), and I also got sheet music for 'White Christmas' (I am dreaming of a white Christmas...) Lovely song, but really tough with all the cords in the right hand and not just 3 note ones, but also 4-note ones, spanning over all octave and more, including flats and sharps!!!! If I manage one page, or even a few lines to sound anything like the song, I'll be happy...

mom3gram,
Glad you had a good Thanksgiving/time with your grandkids. I won't have any grandkids for another 30 years I think (my son is 16 months old) but I think I can relate because my parents seem to be very happy when we see them or they see us. Welcome Back.

gintarec,
You always make good progresses. Soon you will leave us all behind. I can't wait to hear another success story. It motivates and pushes me harder

I think my "He's Got the Whole World..." sounds pretty good. I can't make it as fast as the CD yet but it's flowing smoothly now. I've also been poking around "The Entertainer" the last few nights. Playing right or left hand separately is ok but combining the two together is a mess LOL. IMO though, I don't think it's that intimidating as when I first saw "Little Brown Jug" or "O Sole Mio". Maybe I don't know what I am into yet?

Thanks, Nguynen - I am just happy to be able to play piano and I have surprised myself at how much I managed to achieve. Honestly, on the days when I am working from home, I just 'have' to make a break in my work time from time and go to play piano for a few minutes. I am loving it. Everyone here is just proving to me tht we can all learn to play! And, most importantly, have fun!!!!!

Wow quite a bit of new faces has dawned here! I've only skimmed through these last couple pages and it seems the community is once again growing. Will take a read on everyone's progress when I have time as it is always refreshing and gives myself motivation to continue.

I will say one thing though. A beginners pursuit to learn and vacations without access to a piano do not go hand in hand! Beware!! hahaha

You have the opposite problem to me! On my teacher's piano the action is so heavy compared to mine that sometimes I press a key and no sound happens!

fanatik,
There you are. I wonder where you've been. Good to see you back. Don't you think, collectively, we all have brought such positive vibe into this place. It's an unmatched motivational tool. I enjoy it.


I'm having fun, so much fun sometime I have to log in during lunch and take a peak or write a post. I'm impressed with your progress too. Keep it up. I'll try my best to keep pace with you, but I can't promise I'll be successful. 9 months in now, and I'm still struggling with the last few songs of the book. It's fun though. I just hope I don't quit someday... LOL

Thanks! And don't you think to quit!!!!! Ever. Not even in sleep. We all here for the long run!

Hi guys, well I am back from Thanksgiving and back at it! I'm up to a handful of songs that all involve eighth notes (Happy Birthday to You, Skip to My Lou, Standing in the Need of Prayer, and a song from Alfred's Greatest Hits). I can play them all just fine when I'm not counting, but if I try counting while I play I fall apart. It seems that I can either (a) count and play at slow tempo, or (b) play at the proper tempo without counting. So that leads me to a question.

Do you guys count eighths (or actually, do you count *at all*) when you get up to proper tempo? Or do you just count at slow tempo until you're comfortable with the song and then rely on your own sense of timing to play at proper tempo without counting?

Or another way of phrasing the question... am I being unrealistic trying to play at proper tempo and keep a steady, accurate count that includes the eighths? Or is this something I need to master and should keep pushing until I get it?

And Nguyen, I agree with gintarec... no quitting for you!!

I just don't count. At all... And my teacher is fine with it. I might put a metronome up to see what speed I need to go, but if I try and count, I fall apart. I am fine when my teacher counts for me though!

I count to figure out the rhythm of a piece, and sometimes I write it in above the notes, but I can't count and play at the same time, and a metronome on anything but the simplest of pieces is a disaster.