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Hey Toastie- well done! I did similar actually- played two peices from Alfred's this afternoon ( frist time) and then played them for my teacher- didn't do too bad - timing not quite right and missed tied notes but he got me working on that and then went to a much harder page of left hand stuff! I was pleased as these peices were the first time I played straight off without having to look up some of the notes to find out what they were (I have a diagram of the keyboard with note placings and letters to refer to if I get stuck). I even added some more notes to one of the pieces as I heard it before and got them right (playing by ear).
I know what you mean about finger placings. I am doing a lot of work on that- single notes and chords.
What book are you working from? How many piano lessons have you had?

It took me three weeks to play 'Memory' well enough for my teacher to start me on the next one 'She Loves You'

The book is 'Play Piano Book 2' by Alan Haughton and Chris Tambling. I think I have had 9 lessons now, so it's all still very basic. It does seem to be working though, so I'm just trying to trust the process and be patient with it all (naturally i'm quite impatient so this is hard!)

I am basic too Toastie but improving by the week- keep going..

"Achievement of the week—what got you excited." The achievement wasn’t mine, but the excitement was.

Last night my DH was playing piano (he’s an adult restarter). Ragtime is what he plays 99% of the time. So he’s playing along, stops, plays something totally different. My ears perk up. Then he starts up a rag again. Then switches back to the totally different piece. Plays a bit. I sink back into my chair, let out a sigh. The music is lyrical, beautiful. I want him to play THAT the rest of the evening. I want to learn it myself. After a bit, he goes back to his ragtime.

Later, I ask him what the piece was that he was playing. He looks at me. “What piece?”
“The one with the descending line.” I try to hum a bit.
“Oh, that. I made that up. I was just fooling around.”
“Can you write it down?”
“Probably not. I was just messing around.”

I told him it was beautiful. I think he blushed (but maybe not). He was pleased that I liked it.

Anyway, his achievement, my excitement.

Week 30: practiced all seven days of the week. I think this is the first time I managed that since the end of August, so that is a big positive. I am enjoying working on a new original piece with a right hand arpeggio. Playing it takes me away to a sublime place, it is a transcendant feeling.

I remain time constrained, so practice might only 15 minutes per day, though I did do near an hour today (Saturday). I am still watching the hand problems very closely, so even if I can find more time, I don't want to cross over from discomfort to pain and take entire days (and sometimes weeks) off. The downside is that I am losing many of the old pieces. Some of them I let go without much dismay, but others were so hard fought to obtain, I am loathe to surrender them.

Hope everyone has an “up” week.

As for Stubbie's husband messing around, I suggest recording it. Use a phone if that is the only recording device you have handy. If you record it, your husband can almost certainly duplicate it at a later time, or at least its essence. That is often how I work at composition. I play until I get something that I like, and then hit record. When I am near done with a piece, I might write out the sketch of a score, just so I have a paper record as well as an audio recording.

Wow, I haven't been on line for very much this week - it is hard to keep up with all the fun achievements, big and small!

Jim- thanks for another great image!
I think your thoughts on being kinder and more patient with ourselves are very important.Every time we get to a new level, there are challenges to face, and we have to accept that our feelings of not making progress (or not the progress we'd like) are going to resurface.

MaryBee - welcome back! I can imagine the emotional turmoil of having your daughter move away. I was only supposed to be over in Italy for 2 years and my folks weren't thrilled....(they were happy for us, and the opportunity we had, but they really didn't want us to move away...) and here we are 18 years later, still in Italy! It isn't easy to be far away, but Texax-Ohio is easier than Italy-Canada for managing trips home or out to visit!

Sounds like musically you're doing well- and that's always fun to hear about.

Congrats to everyone else for the steps forward!

I'm really pleased with what I've been doing since my second lesson - I've got a very good feeling about this teacher indeed!

Cheryl, where are you in Italy, if I may ask?

I keep thinking about leaving my country for Canada or Scotland. And yet my English and American friends who live here like it so much.

Cheryl, have i ever told you that this is the best thread ever!! I think it has a lot to do with how kindly you comment on other people's post. It sets the right tone. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and patience. I also observe similar tendencies in many participants too. Perhaps like attracts like? I would like you to know that this is the thread I open nearly everyday even when I am extremely busy.

My achievement - well, I went the lesson yesterday (she had something going on on Friday). She praised my Bach saying that she is very pleased and it would sound like something people would say, "Ahh, it's good Bach, it's good playing". Of course, it made me very happy. The problem is my Brahms piece. I know why it's not progressing as well as Bach. 2 reasons. 1) It's very beautiful but it's kinda slow, so it puts me sleep when I am practicing at 9:00 Pm and 2) my childhood training concentrated around baroque and classical pieces and scant attention paid to romantic / modern. I don't know if you have the same problem with me. Basically, I am always sleepy, tired. I get up at 6:00 and walk and feed the dogs. Rush to pick up phone calls around 7:00 AM, get ready, drive work while having conference calls in a car and work until 4:00 PM there (usually). Come home, walk the dogs again and feed everyone and then it's already 8:00 PM or 8:30 PM. I start practicing then. I start from technique using the Phillip Exercises for the Independence of the Fingers (caution: do not use this without a teacher), scales, arpeggio. It takes about 30 min. then I go to pieces. When I am working on delicate area of the Brahms piece, I notice I start repeating the same thing incoherently and about to drop my head on the key. When I start Bach, I wake up because it's more vigorous and easier to sight read (for me). I probably need to start Brahms right after I come home before I feed everyone (including myself). Apologies going through this here.

Hello Diana,
I live near Milan. We lived in Milan for 5 years, then we moved to a smaller nearby town and we have been here ever since. Where do you live?

As for moving to another country..... at first it is both fascinating and yes, difficult (especially if you don't speak the language when you arrive, as was our case!)....Then once you are comfortable it is exciting and even more enjoyable. Then in some ways it gets to be a little bit more "normal"..... but still, there is something of the "different and special that remains". There are some days I wonder why I'm still here, and other days when I wonder if I could ever leave

Thank you FarmGirl, that's a lovely compliment to me-(you made my day!) and to the others who spend a lot of time in this thread and are committed to sharing the positive energy! I too open this thread, even when I don't look at other things. I love how it has taken on such a strong life of its own!

How wondeful that your teacher praised your Bach! I'll be playing some Handel for my new teacher next week, and he is a Barocque specialist... I wonder what he will have to say to me !

It is interesting to read about your routine and the challenges you are having with your Brahms. I know that if I'm tired, I can't play for beans!

What if - sometimes - you don't start with the Phillip Exercises but go straight to the Brahms. Maybe 2-3 nights a week? Or do the Phillip exercises for less time?

I think when we talk to the others here in this thread about what is not going well with our pieces or our practice time it helps us get a clearer idea of what is happening. Sometimes just talking about it helps us to see the way we should go.

I hope you find a solution that works for you soon!

Well as we're discussing what's not going well, I am feeling quite annoyed at something I'm working on, as it involves moving my hands around a bit, which I'm not used to, so it means I have to stop - look down at my hands - move my hands - look back at the notes - play them. After all this, about three seconds has passed and I've lost the tempo. It's most frustrating and I would quite like to throw away my book in protest and sulk right now, as it's making me really grumpy.

There's not really any solution to this except to continue practising, but I feel better having shared my grouchiness.

Toastie - don't get grumpy! Working on pieces where you have to move your hands around more is difficult - but also the start of a new exciting phase in your playing!

Probably what you have to do is play r.e.a.l.l.y. slowly. More slowly than you think reasonable.
Sure it is frustrating, because it seems like a small step forward and you feel you should "get it" --- but you know, we all have things that hit us as being harder than we expect.
If you really feel grumpy - then put the piece aside and talk to your teacher about it next time you meet. Don't spend time at the piano feeling cross and irritated.

If you do feel like tackling it again there is yet another trick to getting into the swing of it. Not only do you play really slowly --- but only play 2 bars at a time. Play 2 bars over and over til you feel comfortable with what you are supposed to do, then the next 2, until you've got a phrase under your finger tips.

Remember we're on an endless journey and every step is an experience in and of itself.

Believe me --- in 3 months you'll come back and read this post, smile and say "Ha! I can do THAT now, no trouble at all"

Cheer up!

I am only annoyed at myself really. It's a bit of a personality flaw that I get very cross with myself when I can't do something easily. I need to remind myself that it's not the end of the world if I don't grasp everything in life with effortless grace and flair haha.

If I just keep doing it slowly it will be fine after a while.

Of course it will be fine!

p.s. You're not alone on the desire for effortless grace and flair front!

Ha ha. I've done that a couple times!

I've been doing that quite a bit over the last few days on a new piece I've started.

Good suggestions, cas!

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

I never got to a point of having the Mozart duet finished. But I think I'll bring it up with my teacher again. Someday we'll get to play this together! We have a lovely park that encircles the Cleveland area called the "Emerald Necklace" with lots of nice bike paths. Autumn is a beautiful time to enjoy it. Maybe this time next year we'll arrange for a northeast Ohio piano party, and you can come out for it, bringing your bikes.

I think I feel comfortable with and enjoy Classical period pieces the most. But I notice my teacher tries to make sure I don't limit myself only to those.

---

The instructor for a quilting class that I'm taking said something interesting:
This idea stuck with me, because I think it can apply to piano too, especially as I try to learn to play more expressively. I need to realize that this is a process of exploring, and there's no need to worry about whether my interpretation is "right" at this point.

OOH sounds nice- see if he can play it again and you write it down!

You are all doing so well and FarmGirl I admire your dedication to practising piano after a day starting at 6 am. That's dedication and surely you will get far with piano playing.

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