Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Achievement of the week - what got you excited?

Recitals can be pretty dismal occasions. But we see many reports here of the sense of accomplishment they can bring. Same with exams.

A good teacher (and a good student - never forget that part) constantly extends the student's "comfort zone" with minimum recourse to confrontation or obligation.

But playing an instrument is an activity which becomes pretty pointless unless there's an occasional requirement to "come up with the goods"!

Aww, sad for the recital heartbreaks.

When I took adult group class, our recitals were a blast. There was only one rule: "YOU MAY NOT TALK." We could stop, start, go back, skip, start over again, stop, slow down, speed up, and whatever else, but just no talking.

My accomplishment is that I got a new job. I haven't quite gotten rid of my old job yet, and this week of 2 full times is really more work than I am comfortable with.

I hope the new gig leaves me enough energy for the piano.

*exhausted*

Malkin congrats on the new job - and good luck holding down both jobs for the next 2 weeks! Yikes!

I think that the "no talking" rule is a good one.
My first teacher really worked at drumming that into me - no talking - and no making faces

If somebody messes up a little, chances are the others may not really notice- and if they mess up a lot, well, everyone notices--- in both cases talking about it is just an unnecessary/further distraction.

If we work on playing through the rough spots they become easier and easier to manage (well, that's the theory, I'm still testing it out!)

Edited to add: my real achievement this week is getting a good recordin go my Grieg piece before heading off for 2 weeks!
Yippee!

Just checking in here to say hi to everyone. No real accomplishments except getting back to the bench after a week on the road, plus trying to catch up on the ABF recital. The break was a setback for my early-stage pieces, but actually improved my play on the one that I am polishing. That was a pleasant surprise.

My achievement is that I survived the week. Never knew there were so many fine piano players in town. I went to the local piano club event with our own Carey and several others from my teachers studio. I only took people with 40+ years of playing experience. I had a hunch that the piano club people are high caliber players. Every time I call for detail people tell me something like "oh I'm teaching a student now can I call you back.". I enjoyed the night and would go there every month. It will provide me with good opportunity to prepare for exams and on stage performance with amateur pianists in Japan next year. But it was kinda like piano jury. But I vowed to continue my own piano party too. Hey we need a farm league piano party too. Where pianists perform anything they want, repeat if they screw up and play anything impromptu.

I'm leaving for Maine tomorrow. Now I frankly do not know why I need this. When I signed up for it last year, I wanted to have playing opportunities and meet real life piano friends. Now it's the opposite. All my friends are piano friends. It seems like pianists keep popping up from anywhere. I like it but I think I had to contain it in a manageable level.

Week 76: I work on a new song, Hummingbird. It is a simple child-like tune. Separately, I scratch out some lyrics to a another song. This second song may be too depressing to get it to where it is song (vs. a first draft of some lyrics).

I attend the church cafe night. There are two pianists, two singer-songwriters. After clean up, and the crowd is gone, I play Avenue D on the grand piano on stage. I get it started okay, but falter on the high notes.

I do not envy those that are trying to make a living at music. One of the songwriters joked about his first published song, that the royalties were enough to buy a single guitar string. It is tough out there. Just to get any song published and covered tends to have lottery-like odds for a person without strong industry connections.

Have a good week everyone. Keep those reports coming.

I managed to play REALLY slowly !
It is something I wasn't able to. Reaching a certain level of "slowness" I wasn't able to hear the music anymore and I got lost and suddenly, today, I finally managed to slow down enough to play a couple of bars that were giving me trouble and still hear the music despite the slow pace.
It's funny how hard it can be to slow down a lot

Malkin - The "do not talk" rule is a good one. Unfortunately for me, I haven't learned it yet. My teacher threatened me with duck tape. Now I can keep my mouth shut most of the time. Congratulations on your new job!

JimF - I am glad you finally joined the recital! It is addicting after the first one!

Casinitaly - Congratulations on getting a good Grieg recording. It sounds like you had some challenges with this piece, and mastering it is a great accomplishment.

Sand Tiger - I admire your talent to compose music! Your work is very nice.

FarmGirl - It sounds like you have discovered/created quite a wonderful social circle around the piano. That is my goal as well!

My achievement this week is getting good recordings for the Grieg recital, but it turns out I am not as finished with my Grieg pieces as I thought. I found out today I will be playing them in an adult recital at the end of September. I won't have anything else that will be ready by then, so I will just keep polishing the two Grieg pieces. Fortunately I really enjoy them!

Fall is "back to school time" so my teacher loaded me up with new repertoire that I am excited about. My only continuing piece besides the Grieg is the Bach Invention. We added a Kuhlau Sonatina and a couple of etudes for technique work, and a Villa-Lobos piece for challenge. The Villa-Lobos is not like anything I have ever done before, so it will be interesting. My teacher is from Brazil, and knows his music very well. It should be fun!

My achievement of the week!
I registered with PW and this is my first post!

Hello everybody.

Rik

Hi Rik, and welcome to the AOTW thread. Have you been playing a long time? What kind of music are you working on now? You can celebrate anything here, no matter how small. We love baby-steps at AOTW....

You do not know what you have gotten into

Cathy

In the past I have talked way too much at my lessons. Especially when I feel like I've accomplished something I can't shut up. I took lessons with one person who loved to talk as much as I did. And she was a major clock watcher so we would gab for most of my lesson and then she would tell me to pack up. Starting with a new teacher this fall I am afraid of falling into bad habits. My experience has been that with many teachers if you like to talk they will indulge you. So I have to be really rigorous with myself this time around.

Thanks for the welcome.

I started playing about four years ago. At my first lesson my piano teacher asked me what I wanted to play, and didn't flinch at all when I replied 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. Needless to say, I haven't started that piece yet, but I keep the first page of the score on the piano to remind me where I'm going (I wish!!).
I'm currently working on MacDowells 'To a Wild Rose' and a Bach minuet in B minor ( no 1 from French Suite No 3).

I've never taken any exams, but I'm planning on attempting ABRSM grade 5 next year.
Definately be on this board if I pass!

Rik

Hi Alans
I used to do talk too much.
Now I have a strategy.
I give myself one whole lesson every year where I don't play the piano at all. Instead we talk music, review progress, consider new pieces, I hear my teacher play, and what she is learning. We talk pianos, and argue about my digital.
I figure one lesson a year is worth it to keep me focused for all the rest.

Rik

Gee.... You're not supposed to talk at lessons?.... .... ... Doh!

My achievement this week is nailing a few REALLY tricky sections of my two pieces, and not giving up until I could. I don't have a teacher so am pretty proud
(They are technically more difficult than I've ever done even when I had lessons back in the dark ages hehe)

Congrats JessieBear, and welcome!

Back at home. It's seems like one step forward and two teps back with all this travelling. But I tried my Chopin Nocturne op27 no2 with the metronome at 55 for the semiquavers, not the dottend crochet... very slow...
and i made it throught the first page! Will I ever get through the next page...

oh, those typos! so sorry if that offends. rather like wrong notes! I blame that ipad keyboard not my fingers!

AOTW - I completed Summerkeys performance. I did Mozart 2 piano performance. My husband loved it. I also performed Bach f minor prelude from book II of the WTF and my first ever chamber music. Especially the mozart piece was such an energetic piece that I almost passed out after the performance. I am drinking wine and stuffing my face with snacks today after a full course lobster meal. I know I have to go back to the grind of middle management once I go home. But life is good right now right here (saying so while taking another sip of wine).