Michael - I loved the way you handled your first recital The Christmas recital should be a blast. I haven't gotten my Christmas carols ready yet :\

super-hunky and Carlos - I love that star!

cathy

Mr. S/H - I think we should make it a new ABF tradition to award the star for someone who went above and beyond for the forum and forum members. Yay!

Carlos - the star looks good in your signature.

Michael - Inventions are really good for anyone. Have fun.

My AoTW - I can finally do the Hanon exercise 49 of the 6th now. I thought there was something wrong with my pinkies since I could not do it. I was becoming very tense which was very unusual for me. I was looking at the top of the exercise and realized that it was an exercise of the wrists... So I tried the exercise with flexible wrists then all the sudden I could do it. I am at 80 for 4 notes and I am confident now that I can play faster. Interestingly the sound quality is entirely different between the tense wrists vs. flexible wrists. Now it even sounds good.

@FarmGirl.....Wow! That's encouraging. I'm stuck way back at Exercise #4. Do you master each one before moving onto the next?

Done!

I move on as I accomplish the goal of each exercise.

For #4, it could be building finger strength and learn how to play evenly into the keys. If i were you, I would set the metronome low (40) and try to play as evenly as you can first. Evenly means your left hand and right hands are together, play each note with the same volume (nu sudden bumps and ghost sound) with the metronome. Then slowly increase the speed to 60 or so. Some people even add dynamics (crescendo and decrescendo) to the exercise. I would not get too greedy since you learn any of those things eventually. So I would pick one or two goals and move on to the next as I accomplish them. But this is my way. So ask your teacher if you have one.

I think you should have an award of some kind recognizing those people who comment on all the recital submissions. It's quite a task, but the inspiration participants get from the comments is tremendous, so everyone should be encouraged to do it. The amount of inspiration I've received from the comments is enough to drive me at full throttle for months, maybe even until the next recital!

Michael, I'll start the "Holiday Performances " thread somewhere around the beg of Dec. I should probably just open it up on the 1st so people don't confuse it with the Dec Piano Bar submissions.

Non holiday performances should go in the Dec piano bar. Anything holiday related should go in the Holiday Perfomance thread.

It usually hangs around for the month or until people start getting sick of all the x-mas tunes etc. I expect a pretty good turnout this year. Especially if you know it's coming, you can be one of the early bird submissions.

Looking forward to hearing everyones submission.

Yes I agree 100%. Members like Dennis who have been there from the start. They spend an incredible amount of time providing positive feedback to other performers which in turn is so rewarding for the performers. It really is.

We should have a way to recognize these people as they are SO important in supporting the players.

I hope I didn't start too early! It takes me a while to learn a piece well enough to play it for others. Sorry if I'm on Christmas overkill!!! I am actually pretty excited. Over the course of the last month, I have learned 4 pieces out of my Christmas book and completed a couple of chapters out of my Faber Adult beginners book.....it's actually starting to make sense!

This is the first year (actually only my second Christmas as a beginner) that I felt comfortable enough to learn to play songs that I intend to play during the holidays. My wife asked me to do this last year, but I didn't think anyone would be entertained by listening to me play Yankee Doodle with one hand!

Hi Michael I'm right there with you on the Christmas carols. I'm currently working out of the same book as you. My songs are: Carol of the Bells, What Child Is This, Silent Night, The First Noel, and Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring. The last 2 are just new starts and the best so far is What Child Is This. Silent Night Is coming along nicely but Carol of the Bells is a bit choppy still.

Like you I have to start early to get enough play time in to get these songs to a level I'd be happy to play for others. I am really going to try to beat the red dot and submit the carols to the Christmas thread!

Thank you - it looks great

Love the SuperCarlos thank you badge.

Everyone has been having a great week, I love reading about the successes, be they big or small.
Marybee, I'd look forward to hearing your Pathetique!
Andy, I am sure your Clementi is going to be great - I loved listening to your recital submission. I even followed along with the score because it is a piece I haven't dared approach yet, but am curious about!
Michael - I don't think you started too early on the Christmas stuff. I'm working on Oh Holy Night right now. I love it.

I'm envious of those playing with siblings. No one in my family is close enough (geographically). However, what is really interesting is that a group of friends that I have pulled together a few times to have a meal and share music has taken things into their own hands and one of them has invited all of us over for a musical meal this weekend. I've created a music circle! woohoo!

I don't do Hannon but I have similar challenges with my Duvernoy. I'm still struggling with some of them, but getting there.

I have a lovely new piece called Romanza, by Daniel Steibelt, from my Joy of Classics (pink cover) - it is going to be a great exercise in terms of using the pedal and working on my crescendos and diminuendos.
Hmmm I guess as I live in Italy I should write crescendi and diminuendi to be linguistically correct
Anyway, it is really beautiful and I may even submit it to (gasp!) the Piano bar! I haven't yet participated there but I'd like to start. I think it will help me with the red-dot jitters.

Also I'm going to be working on the Salty Dog Rag (Thanks Cathy for helping me out!)

AND....... after about 10 days of fog, and feeling like I live inside a low-lying cloud.... THE SUN IS SHINING!!!! It is wonderful!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

I just realized that last year at this time I was just starting out looking for a piano. I feel so fortunate and thankful for all the piano related things in my life at this time - my new piano, my teacher, all the great music I am being exposed to, and all of you good folks here at PW. Learning to play the piano can be a lonely endeavor - after all, we have to spend hours practicing and few non-players, including family and friends, truly understand what it takes to become proficient. Having a PW family to share the ins and outs and ups and downs sure makes it less isolating, and for that I am very grateful.

Jim

I have the same feeling, Jim. If this forum didn't exist, I could hardly talk about the piano.

My AOTW has been to, after long travels and adjustment, get back into a rhythm of daily practice - on the southernmost piano in the world. Okay, it's not a piano, it's a keyboard, but I'm almost 100% sure it's the southernmost one. First person to guess where it is and PM me their address gets a postcard.

Inspiration of the week has been the recital. I still have to finish writing up my comments on the last set of submissions, but I've listened to them all and boy was that great. This has got to be the best use of the internet ever. Okay, maybe second to email.

I'm always motivated but morso when starting new pieces. I've just begun Mozart A- Rondo K511. It will be a challenge but I'm excited to be studying it - It's Andante but full of trills, turns, 16th and 32nd notes. It will, I hope be a real 'growth' piece!! whooohooo!

And Michael, it's never too early to begin Christmas Carols. I have two beautiful Melody Bober intermediate Christmas books and am starting my second carol for this year. Good for you to be performing. I don't ever perform but I'm hoping this year, since my sister started playing, we can have some fun with some very easy duets!

ok, Here's a little achievement... I was playing some Christmas carols with C, F and G cords and thinking...."man it is way to hard to be moving my hand around so much..."

When it dawned on me that I could keep finger 5 on C and switch the others to make the necessary combos.

It is something pretty basic - but it was "revolutionary" for me.

My teacher got a kick out my excitement on that one.

Well done! Next step - move on from the "melody in the RH, block chord in the LH" thing. It's a muddy sound, and rarely happens in "real" music.

The first thing that matters is the melody. Then comes perhaps the rhythm of the accompaniment, perhaps the bass line. That can be discussed. But the "fill-in" notes of the chord definitely come last!

bessel - are you at the US Station at the South Pole!?!

casinitaly - I love it that you discovered that. It was life-saving for me the first time I had to play dance music Well, gig-saving, anyway.

Cathy

amen, JimF.

I am struggling mightily with the next 8 bars of Minuet in G, but my AOTW is that I have played it more-or-less correctly a few times. I have to be satisfied with the small achievements or I wouldn't be able to keep going.

stupid question time: Is a block chord when 3 fingers are pressing down at once? What is it called when the 3 fingers play individually in succession? Is that a broken chord? I struggle with the former--a hand tension and perhaps slight arthritis thing--but I really need to master it because the music I most want to play (some Guaraldi-esque Belle & Sebastian songs) have lots of it.

Re the Minuet in G, do try to play it, or sections of it, absolutely correctly, even if very slowly. Then repeat, lots of times. Otherwise you're in danger of practicing playing it wrong, and just getting it right a couple of times by mistake!

Yup, that's a broken chord. When it happens in the LH of a piano piece it's sometimes called an Alberti Bass.

I gave my family a break from my normal practice routine and just played (largely sight reading but some I'd played once or twice before) pieces from a book of holiday songs. First time through I would play as written, second time I would improvise using the chord tabs.

The achievement was that first time through - no way I could have done that last year. They aren't exactly hard pieces (mostly "easy piano") but I was still happy with my reading. Next year I hope to play them closer to tempo when reading ...

Yes! Send me a pm with your address if you'd like a postcard stamped from here.

There's a music room with a keyboard here, and if I go early in the morning I can get it - in the evenings it's pretty occupied with other folks playing all sorts of things...

MaryAnn -
Is this the minuet in G from Bach's Anna Magdelena notebook? If so, cool, I'm working on that right now. It has been deceptively devilish for me, but I'm finally at the point where I can play it haltingly, not musically, through... fun, though!

bessel - how interesting! I read a book not too long ago by a woman who was the medical officer there and got breast cancer and had to treat herself with help from other people there until they could a get a plane in to fly her out. It was a real adventure story. Is this your first tour there, and do you think you want to do it again? I'm glad you've got a piano to play Maybe you could form a band.

I'll pm you my address - I'd love a postcard. My nephew in New Zealand is on a postcard-sending kick, too, so it's like old times But yours would be really special. Thank you so much!

Cathy

I practiced rotation and relaxation, and wow what a difference. Power and ease. Crushed grace notes that sound just right. Accents that are strong. Runs that are fluid. Fun, fun, fun.

Michael, I had the same goal as you, 'No.1 next year', a few months ago... and then started learning No. 1. It's addictive

It will probably feel sticky when you put hands together, but persevere and you will come out the other side.

Started learning Bach's WTC prelude 12 from book 2. Thought it was Ab major, then I've realised it's actually F minor. So much for playing in a key I've been learning! Well, almost.

My achievements this week were 1) pulling out my easy Christmas Carol book, and sight reading with ease! It is very basic, but it felt good to be able to play everything pretty confidently. My daughter is visiting from the US next week, so I might get put to the test of playing carols for family and friends. My second achievement was getting the waltz rhythm in Chopin Waltz in B minor sorted out. I have never had to think about pedaling on anything. It always just came naturally, but my teacher wanted a clear pedal break on the third beat of the measure for the waltz rhythm. Since the melody line crosses the third beat, that felt completely unnatural to me. After hours of frustration, I have it working!