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Torquenale - there are TONS of DOTW --- or DoT DAY threads. This one is meant to be a counterbalance to keep us in perspective.

Believe me - it is far easier to complain and be upset about what went wrong than it is to rejoice in the baby steps of progress.

Take it from a woman who actually cried through the last 15 minutes of her lesson today...... sad, but true. My poor teacher.

casinitaly, you are right. It's better to give more value to the positive side.
And all my sympathy for your bad lesson today

Thanks. It was brutal.

My jazz piece went well, but my German Dances just fell to pieces.....I thought I'd really made progess, but ...ah well.

My jazz piece went well.

Cas sorry to hear your last lesson was so rough! Good that you can see where you're making improvements though!

Congrats to everyone on their achievements (too many to mention!)

I have no idea what I would consider mine to be. Seems like it's been the same old same old for the last few weeks. Least I'm not going backwards! LOL

Cheryl,

I share your pain. Had a real bad lesson last week where I just could not for the life of me play Moonlight for my teacher at even 50% of the way I had been practicing it all week. So frustrated I actually cussed out loud at the lesson, shocking my poor sensitive teacher beyond belief I'm sure.

I looked for a graphic to describe frustration with mistakes and this one rang pretty true for me....



I like this one too....

Ah Casinitaly...that's a bad lesson when it makes you cry. I know you have come so far and enjoy your music so much.

Sounds like already (8 days into the year) there is much to celebrate. One of you said it, "as long as you enjoy the music". We have to remember there are a million different patterns in music and we're not here to make a living (well maybe Jotur) just to play. My achievement is that C# minor did not scare me this morning. I KNEW it was 4 sharps and could play the scales and chords! Baby steps to celebrate.

I just spent the weekend at a dog show in Texas where my girl was very competitive in the top 4 of a very nice group of 9 dogs (out of 25 females showing). She didn't win...not one of the 4 shows (placed but didn't win). Nothing I can practice to make it better. Nothing I can do differently. It just wasn't her day or her judge. Piano, at least, I know there's something I can strive towards to be better. MUCH less frustrating.

But enough of the negative. I had another lesson today and, although I still didn't play Moonlight as well as I think I can, it was a big improvement on last week. We have also been working on some improv on lead sheets and that is going well. Plus I have a new Beethoven minuet assigned... one that is quite famous..and that should be fun to get started on.

I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cuss at lessons......

My AotW is that my teacher remarked I had made great progress since the last lesson!

I did then point out the last lesson was 3.5 weeks ago and if I could do 3.5 weeks every week it would be great ... oh well

But the best news, check out my signature now - I finally wore my teacher down till she agreed we would try Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major. Not sure if I'll be so happy after I've tried playing it but for now it's super great!!

Heh, I like my little disasters in my life. They comfort me, because they aren't so big anyway, they make me feel human and they disappear before even the next one can happen.

Bought the urtext book of Chopin's nocturnes today! I have a lot of printed sheet music from IMSLP or copied sheet from my teacher or library. But this is my first sheet book I ever bought. It feels very special to have it. And not very expensive too.

I like the reaction of saleswoman when I asked for piano sheet music. 'That's the whole store', she said. That made me smile.

Should go there more often. It's just a mile away from my home.

casinitaly - been there, done that. In a group piano class at a community college, several years ago :\ I did, however, survive I'm sure much to some people's chagrin, but *I'm* happy!

And I didn't screw up *everything* at the assisted living place today, either So things are looking up.

Cathy

Cheryl, you do fine next time. I understand it totally. It's kind of hard to switch from everyday mode to playing in front of the teacher mode. I exchange greetings with my teacher and I have hard time sometimes to get back into my inner piano player mode. I recall I never had this problem as a kid. I just went and played. I an trying to get good at it - I mean switching to piano playing quickly. If I can do it, then, I think I can play at least in the same level I play at home. I quote what a professional singer told me lately when I was having hard time to hit high A, "You've done it once, then hyou can do it. It's all mental."

"

To paraphrase Yogi Berra*: It's ninety percent mental, and the other half is physical.

CAS, sometimes it's there, sometimes not. Tomorrow is another day. (Another quote, this time Scarlett O'hara.)


My AOTW: I hauled out Chopin's Waltz in A Minor and went back to work on it. I learned it last spring but never got to any kind of polished state. I've played through it a few times now, and it's still rusty, but here's hoping I'll get the rust out and put some polish on.


*U.S. baseball player who gained a reputation for saying things like "The game isn't over until it's over." "The future ain't what it used to be." "It gets late early out there."
Yogi-isms

Andy, that's so exciting to be starting the Chopin Nocturne! I seem to have a love-hate relationship with the Chopin pieces I've done. I love the music, and I love the initial learning phase for each piece, but I always seem to get to that frustrating point where I feel like I can't make anymore progress, but it's not yet what I would considered "finished". For my current Chopin (C# minor waltz), my teacher told me I should just record it, before I start on a new piece, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet.*

I did, however, play it for my son while he was home for Christmas. (It's one of the few classical pieces that he knows and likes.) It had been giving me some grief for a while before that, so I had set it aside. But when I came back to it after a few days break, it had somehow "clicked". So although the impromptu performance was not quite up to tempo, and there are still spots that need work, it was convincing enough.

I had a fun few weeks off from lessons and didn't have a lot to do in the way of assignments, so I decided to pick up the next Bach 3-part Invention on my list and try to learn it. (Ignoring my teacher's advice to not start a new piece until I finished the Chopin; I couldn't resist!) This is #11 in G minor, and I think it's my favorite of them, so I was very motivated. I hope I have time to play it at my lesson tomorrow to get some feedback.

*Recording should be a lot easier for me now, since my husband got me a new SD card for my recorder. It can now hold two hours worth of music, rather than just 15 minutes. If I make a mistake, I can just start over, rather than having to keep erasing all the bad takes.

My husband also gave me a very cool music-related Christmas gift. I'll try to post pictures later this week.

I agree re: the tone of voice... and I'm hoping my voice wasn't one whose tone might be viewed as objectionable.

FWIW, this whole thing did start off with Sand Tiger expressing a frustration, so I think it was natural for people to suggest ways to help:


Kudos to you though Sand Tiger for being patient with all of us, particularly in writing out this last lengthy post. I'm guessing you never would have imagined that one offhand remark re: ABC notation would turn into all this!

To take this in another direction, what are your thoughts on ear training? I've tried the apps, and I feel like it's totally hopeless. Every time I think I'm making progress it doesn't seem to really stick. I can't even tell the difference (reliably) between a fifth and an octave. Is having ear talent something that you are just born with (well, you were it seems, but I mean for the rest of us losers), or can it be trained in? So far I'm not having any luck, but maybe I'm being impatient or using the wrong tools.


My AOTW is getting started on my new 40/20/20/20 plan (thanks to aforementioned Sand Tiger). In my 40% of time working on Just The Way You Are, I've noticed that it is really muddy. I think I have this diagnosed correctly as a combination of too much pedal and not having a lighter touch with the left hand to just keep the overall volume down so that the melody stands out as it should. So, as always I consider diagnosis of a problem to be an achievement (of sorts).

Also, not my achievement per se, but both of my girls are suddenly showing interest in the piano. My older daughter has not played previously, aside from one finger type stuff that she has learned by rote. She asked me to show her how to read music the other day, so she's starting down that road.

My younger daughter played before (as I've mentioned previously in much more detail) and she too is starting to spend a little more time on the bench. She asked me to help her learn a hymn, which is exciting.

We're only 38 days away from ABFR# 29... yikes! Not sure I'm going to be ready. Just too much going on in life and not enough bench time.

You are not alone. I think I'm better than I once was, because I think I now sing "some-where" over the rainbow as an octave. But I had a heck of a time trying to tell which register on the keyboard an Eb played on a bass guitar was, and then couldn't figure out whether the next note was up or down from there It was pretty frustrating.

But I do think it's getting better (she says). I can sight-sing pretty well, so you'd think playing by ear would be easy, but no-o-o-o.

Cathy

BeccaBb: sometimes just holding steady IS the accomplishment!

JimF -- sorry to hear you shared my frustration, but glad this week was better for you. I am so looking forward to getting a "pass" on these pieces. I don't even like them, which makes it all the harder to work at them. bah. --btw - loved your graphics! They make me laugh!
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......
I will give myself a break............ I will not cry at lessons......

Andy - congrats on getting on to the Eb! That will be something to really sink your teeth into!

Wisebuff - good reminders!!! I wonder if your dog "enjoyed the journey"

PaperClip - well, I'm glad you manage to enjoy your little disasters, that's a much healthier approach indeed! What fun shopping for music. I've put myself on hold for the moment as I've got more than is probably reasonable at this point in time... but oh, it is irresistable!

Jotur/Cathy.... oh, if I'd screwed up in front of a group, heaven knows what my reaction would be! Good for you for just getting on with it. I need to develop thicker skin.

Farmgirl- thanks for the encouragement, as always!

MaryBee, what fun to play something special for your son - and to sneak in a new piece you are so keen on too Your hubby was very tuned in to your music needs this year, wasn't he? I'm very curious about the music-related object you'll be posting pics of.....

TallGuy - I think ear training comes with exposure. I think.
I know I've got a pretty good ear - but I've also had a lot of exposure to written music and a good understanding of what things should sound like (now, I may not be able to PLAY what I know it should sound like, but that's a different story). The reason I think you can improve your ear is that I 've noticed my husband, who could never carry a tune, has developed the little habit of humming the music I'm playing and over the past couple of years he's gone from not sounding anything like what I play to echoing the melody almost bang-on. It is a very small example, but it makes me think it can happen with time and exposure.
How lovely that your daughters are becoming more interested in piano! You'll have to start looking for music for six hands

Andy, we expect to begin an analysis of the Chopin Nocturne soon in the analysis thread. You might keep an eye out or you could stick it in out of sequence; Jeff is keen to start it soon so no-one's going to mind and I even plan on throwing out a performance of it when I'm familiar with my new DP, due to arrive soon.

And congrats for the getting the go ahead!

Aww, Cas sorry to hear that. I had a rough one too, not bad enough to make me cry but certainly disappointing considering I had 2 weeks off to practice. . And just because you flubbed one doesn't mean you weren't well prepared. Happens alla time.

The fact that you are so advanced to me and still have bad days/lessons inspires me that I'm not alone in these things.

Well, that put a smile on my face.

I know what you mean - we all like (dare I say NEED) to know we're not alone, and it happens.

Today my practice is going well. I even videod my hands so I could double check on myself!!! lol.....obsessive ? hmm, maybe.

I was havin` a crack at Mendelssohn`s op38 4. Was pleasantly surprised at how pleasant it is . . .and playable!