wow malkin, you even do transposition on the go!
I'm eager to hear what you think of Pomp and Circumstance, it's giving me such a hard time, I just can't read four notes at a time. I find that two notes in the left hand are much more difficult to memorize than an actual chord/triad.

welcome cfrederi, I love Denmark and the Danish language is just amazing!

Well, the first section is easy--C major chord goes to A minor chord. Then chord and inversions again, and then, I was counting notes on my fingers--F is CDEF so in A it would be ABCD, until I realized that the notes kept coming out to be a third below. Hardly Mozart--but then again, when he was my age...

Reading more than one note at a time will push the boundaries of my little brain, but that is kind of the point anyway.

Malkin
I sure can relate - Arizona isn't much better.

I'm up to Space Shuttle Blues which is fun - but still working on Hava Nagila.

I did finally pass off Hava Nagila, but I may take Horrible Pie with me to the grave. My teacher seems to believe that it is within the realm of possibility for me to learn to play it, which is encouraging, as I believe him to be a good teacher and a rational human being.

I like Pomp&C. The right hand is a nice challenge, but so far the left hand is a mess. At least the tempo is slow.

Do you think Alfred will revise "Space Shuttle" out of the next edition, now that the shuttle is a museum piece?

Am I the only one who pictures Batman's Alfred with every mention of the title of our book?

Finished up Battle Hymn this week. That was quite a nice piece! The time signature change halfway through really threw me for a loop, but throw in a hefty dose of ritardando, and it's manageable! The rhythm was a bit of a learning curve, but once you "get it," you "get it" and it comes together pretty easy. And sounds really good, too!

My teacher sight read "The Riddle" and asked me "do you know this piece?" I said, "ummm...no, don't think I've ever heard it." She said, "me either. I think we'll skip it." Who am I to argue? It looks to be pretty simple, just an introduction to the Bb major scale. On to "Magic Piper." We were running short on time...she played it for me so I could hear how it sounded, but we didn't have time for me to play it any during the lesson. I'm gonna start working on it tomorrow.



No sir, you are not

I must confess that yesterday I studied the first half of the Etude even if I haven't got Pomp & Circumstance or Dark Eyes up to tempo. Well I can play them at snail pace with hesitations... not good enough eh? But the Etude seems easier than those too, I guess because I find the left hand part easier. And there's very few two-part writing.

Anyway, the thing that made me feel better is that I can put the hands together much earlier than I used to - I read the notes in the right hand, then the left hand, and boom! I can play very slowly HT. Well of course these are easy rhythms, but you should have seen me in book 1, I could hold a finger high for a minute before realizing when exactly I should play the key. It's good to know that something is actually changing.

I found a beanie baby snail in my office--I'm going to bring him home and keep him on the piano as a reminder to go slow.

Did you guys see this thread:
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthrea...tml#Post1974728

The guy is finishing Alfred Book 1 and doesn't want to go into Book 2. Maybe we should go and grab him and bring him in here!

'zila, you don't know The Riddle Song?

I gave my love a cherry that has no stone;
I gave my love a chicken that has no bone;
I gave my love a story that has no end;
I gave my love a baby with no cryin'.

Next verse:
How can there be a...(with each of those things)

Last verse:
A cherry when it's bloomin', it has no stone;
A chicken when it's pippin', it has no bone;
The story of 'I love you' it has no end;
A baby when it's sleepin' has no cryin.

There was a folk revival of this when I was a kid, and I kind of didn't get several of the parts. The way they sang "cryin'" sounded to me like "crayon" and I didn't really get why it would be a big deal for there to be a baby with no crayon.

I didn't know what pippin meant, and I guess some adult 'splained it to me, but then I wasn't convinced that an egg would be a very good present. Of course we could buy pitted cherries in a can, so I wasn't too impressed with that either. Besides, much of the fun of eating cherries was taking them outside to eat and to spit the pits without adult supervision or intervention. "The story of I love you" was already too sappy for me even as a little kid.

The song is kind of pretty though, isn't it?

I've seen a lot of complaints about Book 2, but if you are self-teaching I think it's your best bet. That poster has a teacher who can, I assume, direct his progress while using the classical material he is more interested in. As a self-learner I personally like using Book 2 with an occasional supplemental piece from other series.

Yeah I guess Alfred's not that good for somebody whose goal is to play classical music. As for myself, I want to build a good theory & technique basis and then I want to move on to folk music, accompaniment, maybe improvisation... stuff like that. I wouldn't mind being able to play some easy classical pieces, but I'm afraid a teacher is mandatory if you want to be serious about that.

I'm not too keen on some of the pieces, but as a method book for a self learner I think it's pretty good.

For me it is best when I do not like the pieces!
To hear music I love to be played as poorly as I play makes me feel bad! When it is some bit I don't really care about, then I can mash it to bits until it is halfway ok and in this way I can improve my playing.

You have got a point there malkin! I never thought of it this way...

*bump from page 2* It must be because the Book 2 pieces take longer to learn.

Working on Pomp and Circumstance--so many chances to play wrong notes and the left hand hopping all over the place. I seem to still have "E blindness" that is, whenever E in bass clef shows up, I have no idea what note it is and play any random key. I have my beanie baby snail peering down on the keyboard to slow me down. If I play any slower, I might end up leaving a slime trail!

Working out Dark Eyes HS and slime trail slow with HT. I've been getting this one stuck in my head. As an ear worm, it has a sweet haunting quality which disappears when I play it.

I've had a lot going on and haven't had much time to practice; and thus, haven't made much progress. Still on Magic Piper, and she assigned for me to start on the next one (Whole World in His Hands? I think? I'm away from home right now), haven't started yet but I'm gonna get on it after work tonight.

Hi all,
I'm currently working through book 1 and thought I'd look for book 2 in advance so I have it ready when needed.
Which is the best version available for those who are self teaching and what other Alfred books would you recommend to go along with it?

Many thanks, Mark

Unfortunately, there is not yet a Self-Teaching Book 2, so you would probably want the Alfred Adult All-in-One Book 2. You might also want to try the "Greatest Hits" Book 1, "Alltime Favorites" Book 1, or "Pop Songbook" Book 1. These are more difficult than the lesson book, so I wouldn't recommend getting the Book 2 versions until you are well into the Book 2 lesson book. By the time you are in Book 2 you might also want to get an easy classical book or an easy jazz book. I like "Masterwork Classics".

Welcome Mark!

I have Alfred's All-in-One...not self teaching, so YMMV.

Which ever Alfred you end up with, you might consider Martha Mier Jazz, Rags, and Blues Book 1, if you like jazz, ragtime, and blues that is. The pieces are fun and they sound good, not like they were designed just to teach you something.

I also have Pop Goes the Piano (2) by Lynn Freeman Olsen.

Thanks for that.

I've added the Pop, Greatest Hits and All time Favorites to my "Wish list" for Christmas. (Well actually i'll buy them for my wife, then i get to use them too )
They are actually much cheaper than i expected them to be. Bonus!



I've also added this to my wish list.

Its funny. I started learning with no idea of what type of music I wanted to play, and i'm still pretty open minded with this. But I have always likes Blues, but the more I hear ragtime, the more I like it.



One more question if I may.
I presume that the all-in-one is the better version to have as opposed to the Basic book yes?

Well, the All-in-one contains some theory and exercises, it has a few more pieces, and it is spiral bound so it lays flat at the piano. All good reasons to choose it instead of the basic.

Argh, I haven't practiced for 3 days, just as I was getting the hang of the Etude and having some fun with Alfred's Jazz/Rock course. Don't think I will be able to touch the piano for a few more days - it's olive picking time plus I have too much work. Don't leave me behind guys!

@Mark, the All-in-One course includes 3 books instead of 6, so if you finished book 1 of the Basic course you need to go through book 2 before moving to AIO book 2. But I might be wrong...

Olive picking sounds nice! I wish the climate here in Denmark allowed for that

Ah right.
So I wonder if the self teaching 1 covers all that the all-in-one covers?
May be worth me getting that too as it seems it may cover more theory.

So confusing!

I checked on Amazon and I saw that the self-teaching book covers the same topics as AIO book 1 (and it has a few more songs too), so you should definitely be ready for AIO book 2.

looking through the last couple of postings inspired me to order Alfred's Jazz/Rock course as well as Martha Mier Jazz, Rags, and Blues Book 1,2 and 3 So I'll have plenty to keep me going for a good while now.....

Certainly no olive picking here in Salt Lake City. Plenty of work outside, though, putting the garden to bed for the winter, and it is a beautiful fall day for it. Not sure I will get in any piano practice today, as my gardening is fueled by beer drinking, which does little to enhance my piano study.

Good thing my teacher does not know about this forum!

gardening and beer drinking doesn't sound too bad either!!! I got plenty of practice today. It's around 0 degrees celsius outside, so I felt like staying indoors.... and next week will be gray and rainy and cold, so plenty of opportunities for practicing - hmm I could try practicing and beer drinking....

Is there a list available that shows all the relevant Alfred's books?
I have looked on the main Alfred's site and find its pretty hard to narrow your search and get relevant results.


Edit: Think I've found one. I'll check tomorrow, ran out of time today.

Some of the Alfred books have a rather confusing graphic on the back that shows all the books relation to each other. If it isn't on the back of your book one, check the "look inside" feature on Amazon.

Gardening, beer, and a bit of piano playing... a nice combination!
Well it's a miserable chilly day here in Northern Italy, should have picked my olives a week ago when it was still summerish.

@cfrederi I love the Jazz/Rock book, even if it's a bit childish here and there... did you get the CD too? I didn't and it was a mistake, I couldn't find the tunes on Youtube except for the last ones from page 80 or something like that. It's a good exercise to try and figure out the rhythm by oneself but it's not always easy...