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Had my first lesson with the new teacher.

Her English is not good but some how we managed to understand each other. Clearly she knows what she is doing. We are starting back at the beginning which is a good thing to root out some "habits" as she calls them. Very professional attitude on her part. Me well my knees knocked together a bit but i think we'll work well together. I have a sense that a solid direction will be worked out for me.

PS also had the first violin lesson with her which consisted of just learning how to hold the bow and relaxation of the hands [entire body as well] is critical to avoid injury. This can only help the piano too.
violin lesson first then immediately to piano. No fooling around here.

Lots of things to remember and work on. Fortunately I can record the lessons which will help my faulty memory through listening to what she says over and over. Helps with the English problems too.

Relax Relax Relax etc
thanks I needed that LOL

pg2- first lessons are always a cause of knee knocking. It sound like you are off to a good start, though. Taking violin and piano at the same time sounds pretty ambitious!

I had a great lesson today as well. The Back prelude is teaching me a lot. It has three voices, so the teacher had me memorize it HS and get all the phrasing and voices correct. Now if I can just get the finger 3/4 trills smooth. It is coming. She will not let me put HT until my playing is completely relaxed with preparation built in HS. As a result, I am learning so much more deeply. We are doing the same thing with the Nocturne. She is teaching the choreography to produce the right tone right from the beginning. I am having a ball!

I also found a place in Zürich that rents rooms with pianos by the hour. So, my lesson Monday will be there on a grand piano instead of her upright or my Avant Grand.

Super excited about the song I'm working on.

I've been working on Words Left Unsaid by David Nevue for about a week now, and can already play a good half of it with little trouble. A few months ago, I wouldn't have been able to do the first 20 seconds of this. Didn't think I'd be playing something like this after only one year, especially with no teacher.

Congratulations! I know exactly what you're feeling!

Week 22: I buy a used Sony ICD-PX312 voice recorder. I am able to record and upload a rendition of Ashokan Farewell. Those that have followed my posts on this thread know that it is 14 weeks climbing the hill on this piece. The ending isn't as written, but I am some what pleased with the recording.

I play my "March to the Sea" on a relative's upright. It sounds harder than it is. I find it to be one of the easiest pieces for me to play, making it my first choice for impromptu live performances, especially on an unfamiliar instrument.

cas, that's so hard to go so long between lessons. I just went through that too this summer, but now that I'm back with my teacher, things are moving very quickly. I had 1.5 hour lessons each of the past two weeks, and we were able to cover a lot. If autumn can bring you a better lesson schedule, either with your current teacher, or another one if necessary, I'm sure you'll get that excitement back.

Sand Tiger, there's nothing wrong with spending months working on a piece, but it might be fun to mix in a couple easier pieces too, to give you some nice accomplishments to point to along the way.

pg2, I love the sound of the violin. You are lucky to be learning both instruments!

MaryAnn, Schumann's Melodie is so pretty. Glad to hear you're making good progress with it.

I had a really good lesson, as I played something that I didn't feel confident on, but it went really well and my teacher said it was excellent It was a really easy waltz, but even these small things are quite hard for me at the moment!

Every lesson is good to be honest even when I make loads of mistakes (all the time) as I just laugh at myself now. I keep finding myself smiling for no reason and people keep telling me I'm glowing - then they're really surprised when I tell them it's all because I am taking piano lessons. Seriously, it's been five lessons, I'm terrible, but it makes me really happy and I practically float home after each lesson... Let's hope it never wears off.

Toastie - Glad to see you found your way over to the AOTW thread. You are in the right place to celebrate every step, even the little ones. I think you also have the right attitude ......enthusiasm for the process, without worrying too much about day to day progress, will take you a long way.

My AOTW, is making some interesting discoveries/observations after three weeks of doing some specialized scales work... in two, three and four note bursts, with complete relaxation between groups. Very revealing when done correctly, but requires major patience. Has anyone else ever worked this way?

Hi,

@ cas, it is hard to go without lessons for a long time. I had to go without for about a year and a half due to hand injuries. Motivation really slips and I'm finding it hard to create a solid routine time for practice now that I have started back in

@ Mary Beth, I am fortunate but broke, very broke but happy. Just think once I get a handle on both piano and violin I''ll be able to play duets for piano and violin with myself. someday I'll be able to do what you talking about maybe. It does sounds interesting

Interestingly the need for true all body relaxation for violin can only help the piano work.

Apparently the potential to hurt/damage yourself playing violin if you are not fully relaxed is enormous.

I may switch to viola I really love the deep rich sound. Trouble is I like the violin for other things. Decisions, decisions.

@ toastie, good for you to celebrate anything and everything you can. That's a good Idea I used to push a "That was easy button every time i managed to do anything half way right. Think I'll go back to that it was so encouraging.

@ Jim F, I'm having to relearn Amin scales and do both closed and open chords up and down the key board. should be simple but I'm getting tangled up. She was talking about contrary scales last weekk. EEK!

I have no idea how a person could do what you are doing at this point

Well, I just had my last lesson for a month. My teacher is heading to her home country for vacation and I am heading to the states in a couple of weeks. I loved playing on a grand though. My teacher also showed me where the practice rooms at the conservatory were and so I will probably sneak into there!

My embarrassing AOTW- how to use the pedal without any noise.

Teacher "Only amateurs raise their foot enough to make noise. You would never hear a pro do that in concert."

Me "Huh?"

So now I have learned how to release the pedal without releasing the pedal. I feel like the only person who learn this from the start.

@ SwissMs

what a perfectly wonderful tip... I did not know that
thanks

SwissMs - LOL, I'm often a pedal clunker too. My teacher has had me work on it and it is better, but now and again there it is " KLUNK". Once you work on it, you will find the sound really annoys you when it happens occasionally.

My teacher was happy enough with my progress on Melodie that she thinks I can rise to the challenge of Erster Verlust. I am SO excited!

Guys.. I have been MIA. I am in the middle of changing teachers. Never thought I do such a thing like this to my dear teacher who has been nothing but kind. I feel so bad, horrible but my mind is made up.

What happened was... I went CA to see my girlfriend. We haven't seen each other for 17 years. She was also my first piano teacher in this country. Ok, there was one briefly before her who got married and moved away in a month. Anyway, when I saw my first teacher, I have not played the piano probably 15 years. Some of you may relate. I felt like my fingers were someone else's fingers. It was numb and stiff at the same time. I also had bad habit acquired when I was a kid. She helped me to get rid of those bad habit. But I really did not know how good she was. I was in college and she was in getting her DMA. Her resume says her recording was played in NPR and was a finalist in a number of competitions. Perhaps her talent was wasted on me since I was still engaging in finger independence and all kinds of rudimentary stuff. Our ages were close, we became incredibly good friends. In fact, we became too close to concentrate on piano lessons at times (LOL). Move the clock forward.. When I was at her place 2 weeks ago, I played the Rach 23-5. It was like a master class. On the spot, in 5 seconds, she completely changed the music. She helped me to fix some area that was very challenging too. I play it, in her way, it's incredibly simple, easy, effective and I can play the passage at speed without pain in my hands. Seeing the surprise in my face, she smiled like a mischievous little girl. She and I played (she played and I faked) Brahms Intermezzo Op 118. Was fun. She played so well. It's not only beautiful but ecstatic. I felt and heard the beauty this time. I don't think I heard the music before in the same way I do now where I appreciate melodies, counter melodies, cannons, how she played the repeat differently bring up the inner voices second time.. She had two pianos, one Baldwin and the other Mason Hamlin that she is babysitting. Everything was like a dream. I felt completely enchanted with the music. One thing hasn't changed was our talking. We talked every night until 3 AM!

With doctorate, she only charges a little more than my teacher. She has a piano performance degree but I cannot even compare the two. I feel bad saying this but it was night and day. While I thank her for helping me to get the basics, I can't help thinking that it might be good time to change teachers. Lately I have a feeling that she does not seem to know what to teach the pieces I study any more. She seems to encourage me to study certain pieces she studied when she was in college, which is years ago.

I decided to go to a professor at a community college. I know her since 17 years ago as well. She was in the same doctorate program with my friend. Now she is a DMA also. I took a few lessons from her after my friend moved away... and the rest is a history. Life happened and I did not think I have time to be serious with piano.. So I started lessons with a neighborhood piano teacher not with a DMA. It was a right decision at that time since I need to be taught basics.

Hope everyone is doing great. I will report back to you after my first lesson.

FarmGirl, that's great news! It's good to know what's possible, and now you know what to look for. Hope your new teacher is all you could wish for.

Oh, Farm Girl, what a treasure! To be so excited again, with all the possibilities opening up! It's wonderful to hear that you've found this. Have a great time!

Cathy

MaryAnn - You are a brave one. I remember when I finally got a pass on Melodie....wanted to give Mr.Schumann a bit of a rest (although his music is beautiful). Can't wait to hear you playing "first loss". aka Erster Verlust.

Farmgirl - Really exciting to think that you might be on the verge of a new leap forward in technique when reunited with your old teacher. And how great is it that you would have instant rapport with a "new" teacher?

My teacher has recently recommended that I take one day off from practice each week. I still play the piano that day, just not my normal practice routine. She thinks my brain will do better with a day of rest from constantly pushing on with practice. I don't know, to tell the truth, but I'm trying to give it a shot. Funny thing, I still have an overwhelming urge to warm up with scales and hannon. But then trying to just read a few things, noodle around, play some old jazz tunes....whatever. Does anyone else have a teacher that has told them to not practice?

I have to share this:
My company is organising the regular Anual Meeting (next November). It's a meeting, usualy in a large auditorium, where there is a couple of hours dedicated to the activities of employees on free time (voluntary work presentations, paintings, readings, and son on).
Yesterday, I received a call from the HR department. Someone told them that I can play piano (?) and they want me to play during this meeting. The scenary is: a stage with a piano and +500 people assisting.
Sincerely, I don't know what to do...

What an amazing opportunity! Terrifying though...

But at least you can feel confident in the knowledge that most will know nothing about piano and will think you're amazing whatever you do

Yeah, I know that; I've to think about it. I never thought that I could play for so many people. I don't know if I'm prepared for that. Thanks anyway for your support (I'll need TONS of it).