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Done! I'm almost done the 1st draft of the arrangement.


I'd stick with the "c" and refer anyone who gives you a hard time about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque

I'm not sure fun is the word- finding it hard work but a challenge! I like the c major descending scale in it though- good work out for the brain and left hand! I'm determined to be able to play it well one day- would like to that to happen by Friday's piano lesson but that would be wishing on the moon LOL.





Well done with the baroque piece- and hope you have a good lesson tomorrow!

Think of it as an optional bit of ornementation.


AOTW: Couldn't reach and now I can!

When it came down to the deadline I just couldn't find a piece that felt finished enough to record. Not a failure so much as too many things on my practice list.

My AOTW is getting the Mendelssohn under my fingers...working to make it smoother and more expressive for whenever we do that recital. 2nd AOTW is that I just committed ($$) for the Level 5 RCM exam in May. Wish me luck.

Teaching myself to play Bach prelude in c Major

Aha! Now I see the problem. It is your jazz piece with all those sevenths and ninths that should swing. Baroque is the fiddly-fingery one with no pedal.



Oh, my, I don't think my teacher would approve....

Titles include: Chopin's Sixty Second Swing (from Chopin's Minute Waltz, Op. 64, No. 1)
* Wolfgang's Late Night Music (from Mozart's A Little Night Music, K. 525)
* Ludwig's Lunar Light Lindy (from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2)
* Peter Can Share, Too (from Tschaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B-Flat minor)
* Brahm's Bedtime Bounce (from Brahms' Lullaby, Op. 49, No. 4).

Casinitaly, what about you lesson today?
I had mine this afternoon, and it's been one of those lessons where I don't know what I do.
I had a week of holiday, then last week I could only practice the bare minimum for MOYD, crazy at the work and very busy with the family - I survived my elder son birthday party last sunday but that does not count as AOTW. I was really tired, headache did not helped... a disaster!

My teacher is supportive and optimistic, she even managed to find something good in my pieces, but together we decided I'm working on too many pieces at the moment, so we put aside something (until work pressure decreases and I have a bit more time and energies to practice). My AOTW? No Czerny for a while!!

TallGuy - great you've got another piece on the go for your sweetheart! and thanks for the support on the BaroCque point!lol

EdwardianPiano - ok, maybe you won't have it by Friday but it WILL come, and you'll be so pleased. And then, when you pull it out in November to get ready for Christmas, it will be even easier!!

Malkin: ornamentation indeed Interesting you can now reach...Reach what? (I could make jokes about the cookie jar on the top shelf in the kitchen, but I suspect we're talking octaves or ninths or some such thing )

Wisebuff, I'm sorry we didn't get to hear you in the recital, but I'm looking forward to your Mendelssohn! When is the big day? Congrats on taking the plunge for the exam - -- I wish you "in boca al lupo" (you have to say "crepi" ...(In the mouth of the wolf .... He will die!) Traditional Italian expression of good will for exam results. Never say "good luck". I just tell my students "I want to see a dead wolf" which they find pretty funny.

JimF - thanks so much for setting me straight on the fiddly finger versus swing points on the genres. Maybe now I'll really be able to pull it off!

Torquendal - which Czerny were you working on? one of my first books was Czernyana which I really liked- lots of really nice studies for beginners. Very musical exercises. It sounds like it was a good idea to cut back on the number of pieces and just focus on a few.

My lesson today went well (thanks for asking!) I did much better on both my pieces - now my homework is to work on the baroque piece with micro focus and REALLY understand the left hand stacatto versus the right hand legato and vice versus - I'm to play it extremely slowly and focus on hearing exactly what I'm doing. One could argue that I should have been doing this all along, but I'm not consistent in getting it right, so this should help. With my scales, my teacher wants me to slow down again ....sometimes I think I don't understand the definition of the word slow.... and I have to REALLY focus on keeping my fingers from flying up. He wants me to lick this habit once and for all.
I'm going to do a bit more work on the phrasing of Melody too. However I am also FINALLY starting on the Heller piece ---woohoo! It is quite different from anything I've played yet - I'm thrilled to have the go ahead to get started now!
Right now my lessons are only 45 minutes. At the moment I can't change them, but in September I am going to sign up for 1 hour right from the start.

Today we had a very interesting conversation about John Cage and 4:33 I got the background scoop on why he "composed" it. Very interesting. I'll give some info later if anyone is interested, but it is late now and too much to type!

oh....AND...... My new Jazz, Rags and Blues book arrived today! Level 2 (Martha Mier) Alfred publishing - 8 pieces for the early intermediate to intermediate pianist. wooooohooooo!

g'night all!

Cheryl, I was all wrong. See edit of original post.

I just checked it --- too funny!!!
Thanks for my last chuckle of the day!

The upright in my music school has been tuned and adjusted, at last!!
No more sticky keys. It was worth the risk of insisting on it to my teacher, who apparently wasn't awared of the weird sound and action.

It's not officially Wednesday yet (Tuesday, 11:11 PM here). But by the time I finish combing through all of the AOTW's since my last post, I'm pretty sure it will be. Because, wow. This thread is hard to keep up with! Which is great, insofar as it means that the 'mutual appreciation society' is in full swing. Which can only be good for our collective self-esteem, right?

Ganddalf — As was said to me not too long ago: welcome to this community (AOTW) within a community (ABF) within a community (PW). So far, I've had only positive experiences with anyone I've talked to here at PW, but the gang that hangs around this particular thread seems to be especially nice and supportive. I'm sure you'll fit right in. Congrats on the 4 against 3. It's hard! And thanks for the modified Pareto Principle! You've given me the perfect way to explain to myself and my teacher what's going on with the vast majority of the pieces I've been trying to learn lately.

SwissMS — Congratulations on braving two incarnations of the Red Dot (audio and video) for this recital. I think you look very graceful in that video, especially given what you wrote about your recent recovery thanks, in part, to Herr Bach. Nice! Also, seems like you are making very good progress on the Bach Invention, which is great. You must have been practicing a lot!

JimF — A blessing from your teacher on the Moonlight movement 1. Good for you, and truly an achievement! I wasn't there yet, last week, and given how this week went, I doubt that I will be tomorrow. Although, even if by some miracle, I manage a perfect rendition for once, I suspect my teacher will have me play this thing for at least another month (until after the class recital). I'm lucky I like listening to it!

MaryBee — I have to admire you for finding a way to be fascinated by Bach. Though Recital #29 gave me a few solid reasons to change my mind, I've always tended to think of Bach's music as 'pure math' — more science than art. Thanks for reminding me that it can, in fact, be both in equal measures.

Ragdoll — Ah, making progress on the Canon in D. Does that mean that whoever posted that YouTube video (honestly, I forgot who it was!) is responsible for saving your introduction to classical music from crashing head first into a solid wall?

WiseBuff — That Mendelssohn recital is going to be great! Glad to see you're participating in it. And I'll wish you much good luck in advance for your RCM Grade 5 exam!

Sinophilia — Congratulations on finishing Alfred's level 2. As I wrote last week for someone else's benefit, there will soon come a point in your piano journey beyond which progress can no longer be defined and measured nearly that clearly or easily. So while you can, enjoy!

Andy Platt — So great that you're making good progress on the Chopin Nocturne! It's on my list of pieces to learn (just like all the other Chopin Nocturnes), but I figure it's a ways off for me, still.

PaperClip — I can imagine your excitement after realizing that you get 'the big picture' of the music, now! I always have particular fun when discussing these kinds of details with my teacher (for instance: can I play Händel with dynamics, despite his music having been written in the era before the pianoforte, and if so, where and how and why should I apply them). That's where our own contribution to the artistry of musicianship starts to come into play!

FarmGirl — Major kudos for what seems to have been a very enjoyable piano party for all involved! And your dog is very cute indeed!

PattyP — Congratulations on your minor victory! I always get a thrill too, when what was previously just a series of notes and chords suddenly starts to sound like music. Don't let what happened later in the week allow you to forget what a great feeling that is!

Toastie — Crushed at work, but you still managed to practice consistently every day. That is an achievement, indeed. Congratulations.

Sand Tiger — I quite enjoyed your 'meditative music', despite the fact that the non-piano samples on these digital pianos usually turn me off of a piece pretty quickly. Thank you for sharing!

aTallGuyNH — I commented on your recital piece elsewhere, but yeah, I get that 'participation in the recital' is an AOTW for you. It was for me, too! Well, last week anyway, when I submitted my contribution .

adultpianist — I suppose you're talking about BWV 846. It's a great little piece, and, should it interest you, many people have proven that it's a great basis to start improvising on!

torquenale — After a while of playing Czerny day in and day out, I can imagine not having to do that for a while does feel like a major achievement! I also think it's great that you've managed to recognize your limitations (or rather, the limitations being put on how much time you can spend on the piano bench) and acted on that.

casinitaly — Great that you got started on the Heller piece! You've been announcing that was coming soon for a while now .

mambraman — I'm sure all those other people who have to play the piano at your music school will silently thank you for your perseverance in getting your teacher to have it tuned!

My AOTW:

- Gathered some pretty nice comments on my recital piece, despite it not nearly being long enough for some of them to have been written entirely during the first listen to it. Part of me thinks people were just being nice to the n00b on the block, though. But I enjoyed reading everyone's take!

- Played the piano in a public jam session tonight (hey, it was the only way to keep my MOYD commitment I could think of!). It probably didn't sound like much, and I didn't *really* practice the pieces I should have been practicing, either, but oh well.

Well ... It's 01:09 AM now, so officially Wednesday. I didn't spend the whole time writing this (during most of that time, I was in the subway, on my way home from the aforementioned jam session). High time to post this and go to sleep!

Hi Saranoya - I'm going to get in quick before the posts pile up

In a way you are right about the response to recital submitals - folks are very kind to newbies. That's true (and don't we love those who take the time to be kind!!!!)
On the other hand - and it took me a while to get this --- the simple kindness of taking note of even one aspect of our early submissions gives us a different take and perspective on what we're able to do.

Someone compliments my triplets and I say ..oh? Because I (or you, or the other player) was too focused on the dotted eighth notes that I slipped on.(I'm inventing examples here)
Folks compliment me on the cascade of notes I worked so hard on and (miracle of miracles lol) no one seems to notice the hesitation in the transition that seems to leap out at me every time I listen. Obviously it isn't that obvious!

Other folks will hear our progress when sometimes we get hung up on what we still can't do.

So, yes it is kind - but it isn't false, not a bit.

Good for you for playing in public - I haven't even played in my living room for anyone other than my hubby for over six months!

Indeed, everybody is super supportive of newbies (and everybody else) here, and encouragement is great, but I think if there was a major problem with one's playing they would provide constructive criticism too. At least I hope so. I for one could use a good scolding now and then!

Sometimes this thread forgets that when EVERYTHING is praised, praise becomes meaningless.

No, I don't think anyone forgets that. Nor do I think anyone is doing that.

What seems to have been forgotten or misinterpreted is that the purpose of this thread is to focus on baby steps of progress.

It is a counterbalance to the adult learner's tendency to focus on the negative, to have unrealistic expectations, to get frustrated and to NOT realize that progress - albeit small- IS happening.

There are tons of other threads for critiques and constructive criticism - this one is about encouragment when we feel low and keeping on track, reporting on progress however small, and remembering that it is important to enjoy the journey.

I don't think that is meaningless.

Perhaps it's just that one particular contributor, with the best possible intentions, dominates the thread with a positive reaction to absolutely EVERYTHING! Even an infant school class quickly learns that praise spread that thinly is worthless!

Well, we pretty well ALL have positive reactions to everyone else's updates, and I think we're all mature enough to appreciate that what is offered is sincerely meant, and sometimes you know...good intentions really do count for a lot.

+1

A great defense of the the thread (not that it should need one).

It's a tricky business in the recitals though to balance encouragement and appreciation with honest constructive criticism. I agree that universally positive comments there without differentiating the truly exceptional entries - which can and should be based on a sliding scale of experience and prior submissions - would make it meaningless. I think there's a good balance there though.

If it makes you feel any better, I think you are a wet blanket. How is that for lack of encouragement.