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Pg2, how exciting you got your teacher's eyes to sparkle with your choice of music!
I think it is quite amazing that you are learning 2 instruments at the same time. Have you previous musical experience - could you read music before you started? It just seems like such a huge challenge to start up on 2 instruments which are so very very different!

Becca, getting used to a new instrument feels very odd at first. I think the fact that you are so aware of what you feel you can improve is a sign that you have indeed made great progress. I think that when we first start up we are so focused on what we are trying to do that it is hard for us to hear what we are actually doing! My suggestion for you would be to work on getting the tension issues under control first, given that they can create some pretty nasty problems if they get out of hand (no pun intended!).


FarmGirl, you won a raffle! What a pity you aren't more excited about your prize. I do understand though..... it is always ard to give up piano time, but it is especially difficult for you now as you are so excited about the new developments in your situation!
I'm really happy that the new teacher is giving you something so much better than what you had before, and that you have the bonus of support from your first teacher/friend!

Andy -- I love the Danny Boy in this book! What is really funny is that I'd spent some time during the week transcribing DB from F to C so that I could try singing with it, (with a very simple version), then when I was flipping through the Coates book, I came across this on, in the right key, and with a much fuller, richer sound to it. I was pretty excited. I also like "As Time Goes By", "Fly me to the Moon" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (mind you this last one has some pretty challenging 4 note combos for me to work through!)
Hope you are enjoying your vacation, will watch for your MOYD update!

SandTiger - you're pretty much at the 6 month mark! Wow, time flies doesn't it? Getting the splitter was a great idea. I've tried playing with the digital option on my piano without listening (just goofing around) and find it is pretty difficult. It is great fun getting into using the pedal! It took me FOREVER to feel comfortable with it, now I love it.
Listening to your recordings I can see (um, hear!) how you are coming along. You are right, recordings don't lie... but remember to be patient with yourself and be as kind with your feedback to yourself as you would be to someone else.

We all go through the discouragement that John In Montreal talked about last week, ... it goes in cycles which seem to be inevitably linked to our perceived lack of progress.

Do be careful with your hands. If you are having pain you may very well be doing something wrong, or doing too much on a regular basis.

MaryAnn, it is rather fun to be hooked on a piece or a composer (in your case both!), isn't it? I've been looking at Schumann over the weekend, exploring the pieces I've got in my books. Still undecided on which one I'll focus on....To be announced

Wow, so much to read ... Thank you for sharing your stories.
My AOTW is that I could finish studying the piece "Julia" (LE, who else?). And I have to tell you that is a wonderful piece.

My wife says it's the most beautiful piece that she heard me play. At the same time she asked me: "How can you memorize 5 pages of condensed points and lines in some hours...? You could use this skill to remember other things...".
Well, I didn't ask what "other things" were these, but it sounded to me a little critical...

@ casinitaly.
Yes I do have a musical background. Actually, a pretty strong one now that I think about it: 10 years, voice, lots of theory, vocal coaching, and performance experience, classical guitar. Native American flute,{this is totally different in that you play from your heart and emotions without structure of nay kind as such. All the flutes are keyed to a specific key unless it is a very very old one. This form of fluting almost died out. It has been revived} also a very little accordion, a lot of hand drumming

The problem is that a lot of this is from forty years ago which makes some things like a theory a distant memory. Some of the theory is drifting back. And getting the mechanics of piano together is often like herding cats or trying too. I had to go right bavk to the very beginning with my new teacher. I had incurred some pretty bad habits.

So yes, tackling two instruments at once is a little, how shall I put this? "A little nuts" but I like it. And I am astounded at how much I love the sounds the viola makes even though I'll be a long time before I can make music on the thing.

And now for the truly nuts. I'm also taking a violin in a group adult class, in part to learn the instrument, in part to spend time with other adult learners and also to learn to relax, make my mistakes in public and remembering to laugh about it instead of dying of mortification.

But, I will confess the musical background is both a blessing and a curse because of the expectations I place on myself and my performance. I really have to learn how to just have fun with it.

Oh my, what a long post!

P.S. for anyone having problems with rhythm and pulse etc Itunes has an app called Read Rhythm which is very effective for beginners and has lots of challenging levels for experts.
It's shown me where I need to work to get better control of rhythm and pulse instrument wise. It's alot of fun too.

I have no affiliation with the app. I just find it an amazing tool, and wanted to pass it on.

I will report on the viola thingy as asked by I forget who sorry. Just reporting about any breakthrough in is encouraging
me big time. The accountability factor is an amazing thing.
Ok now I'll really stop. Thanks for listening.

Thanks Pg2, that was interesting!!! Adding the violin? Yup that sounds a bit nutty, but I love the reason for which you are doing it!

Keep us posted on your progress!

Evidence that I'm over last Thursday's meltdown:

First, I played Soft Shoe Blues for a friend the other night & she liked it! I'd only just learned the last little bit with the ascending triplets (casinitaly, you'll know what I'm talking about), but my friend hadn't heard me play before & I know she likes music a lot, mostly soft rock & blues, so I decided to show off. It wasn't perfect, a couple of stumbles, but she liked it anyway.

Also, I got out a book of really simple versions of Christmas carols that I hadn't looked at for at least a year, & I played through The First Noel, essentially sight reading. I stumbled through once, played each hand separately once, & after that I could play it. This is a simple arrangement but still, I couldn't do it last time I tried a year ago!

Carol, that is great! I DO know what you're talking about.. it took me a while to get that finale down pat too! Isn't it a great piece to share with friends?

I have been thinking about pulling out my Christmas books...In particular I want to get "Oh Holy Night" down smoothly this year!

Yes, SSB is a great piece to share with friends. I think it's because its musical "vocabulary" - can't think of another way to say it - is recognizable to pretty much everyone.

Yay! I think I finally "got" the Bach 3-part invention I've been working on. Progress was slow until I decided to spend a concentrated week just working on the rough parts. When I sat down to play it yesterday, all of a sudden it was easy, and I had to think hard to remember where the trouble spots had been! My husband noticed, yelling from the other room that it sounded good. But I didn't need him to tell me; I could feel it. Now, I need to add the trills -- only three in this version, but two of them are nasty.

cas, a while ago I downloaded this version of Danny Boy: http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/shw/DannyBoy.htm . My brother played the voice part on the violin, but I think it would be pretty with the vocals.

My week has been all about practicing the song I just finished learning last Monday night.

For River - Page 1
For River - Page 2

I've improved some finger memory (measures 17&21 are the bane of my existence in this song), improved technique for playing certain sections (measures 26&27 specifically), figured out some pedal strategies for the last half of the song, and found that I absolutely love measures 29-43 with 38-43 being what I consider the most beautiful part of the song. I still have to work on glancing at my RH when I make big changes (measures 32-33 & 44-45) so I hit the right notes as I seem to stare at my LH all the time! Oh... and timing is still a little all over the place!

All in all, I'm pretty giddy with glee at how it's going.

And yes, I know it's a very 'simple' song, one that most of you could probably learn in about 20 minutes, if that , but I'm a total newbie here. I learned this from scratch, which also included learning to read the sheet music and all the good stuff that goes with that as well!

My question is... how long do you generally practice a song until you move on to a new one? I know it's different for everyone, but is there a certain 'comfort level' or something that you reach before you risk adding a new song into your circulation? I'm just a little leery about learning a new song too soon in case I wreck what I just learned!

Joyoussoung(Carol), I agree with what you say about the musical vocabulary -- there are enough familiar elements in the piece that it is easy to connect to it. One of the things I love about the book it comes from (Dennis Alexander Especially in a Jazzy Style Book 1)is that all the pieces introduce different elements of this vocabulary.Likewise with the Martha Miers "Jazz, Blues and Rags" series. All great fun.

MaryBee, thanks for the link,I've had a look and I think this could be very interesting to try out!
I can relate to your husband calling out from the other room, it is so rewarding when you know he can hear the difference, isn't it? Even better when you know yourself before he has time to chime in!
Congrats! Looking forward to hearing it when you're happy with all the "abbellimenti" (ornamentations)

Stryder, congrats on your progress. While there is a wide range of skills levels among the participants here, I think it is pretty safe to say we all had (and still have to ) get through what looks simple to others! It is also safe to say that we're all pretty happy to cheer each other along and share in everyone's progress.

I think if I had had to start from scratch, not even having read music before, I would have been extremely frustrated. I found it hard enough just having to learn the bass clef! I think what you will find exciting in the next few months is how much faster note recognition becomes!
I look forward to hearing about your next ATOW!

Wow, you guys have been busy! Life has gotten in the way of my practice, but I'm still squeezing in time when I can.

I'm in Denver, Colorado for a friend's wedding. Today I met hawgdriver at a local piano dealer, and we hung out for a couple hours just chatting and playing music. It was such a joy, and I can say that "stage fright" when there is no stage, such as a meeting like this, is now completely gone. My heart doesn't race, and I don't forget what I'm playing. All of my efforts at playing in public whenever possible are finally paying dividends

A performance situation would still be different, but I'll figure that out later...

Wow lots of updates! You guys inspire me to keep going through the rough patches!

Thanks Cas. It's encouraging to know that suddenly feeling like I'm playing horrid means I'm actually improving! LOL

I didn't accomplish much this week other than to keep the keys moving. I did discover that a pillow under my butt helps my tension and enables me to lean forward a wee bit so the pillow now stays on the bench. I've also figured out that the chord changes in my right hand were giving me grief and thanks to another member here, I'm going to try different fingering this upcoming week.

That was it for me. Just practicing each day was a challenge so I'm just happy with that. Looking forward to hearing what everyone achieved this week!

Stryder87, regarding how long, the answer varies. I started in March, so after you, and spent a couple of weeks on Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 14 weeks on Ashokan Farewell. I've also been writing a lot, and my originals I spend two or three weeks, though I spent more like six weeks working on Ribbon of Leaves.

Pg2, three instruments now? Wow.

My week 26 was a wash out. I woke up on Monday and my right hand was swollen and throbbing. I must have over did the piano practice on Sunday, that and maybe some other activities. I wore a brace most of the week and today it feels much better after some ice, rest, and some aspirin. I haven't touched the piano keyboard all week, and probably will stay off for a couple of more days.

For those that don't know, I've had chronic hand and wrist problems for many years due to computer use, and whistle and flute playing. This isn't all that new. I just have to be careful, stick to the time limits and listen to the signals my body is sending me.

My schedule is getting busier, so it remains to be seen how much time I will have for piano.

I did some reading on the two books. The songwriter interview book, Written in My Soul, Bill Flanagan, and This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitan. I got some really interesting bits of information and theories.

For instance, in many African tribes everyone sings. When an American came to visit and was asked to sing, he said, "I can't sing." The concept is so ridiculous to them. The separation between listener and performer is a relatively modern concept. Music predates written language. Kids in homes where music is heard, learn the tones and chord progressions popular in that culture by age five or six.

The songwriter interviews were conducted in 1985/1986. Some of the greats included I had never heard of. I'd say 80% of the songs mentioned, I have never heard. I did not listen to much music as a young person. To an avid listener of pop music, the book would mean so much more. It does serve to fill some rather large holes in my knowledge.

I gained more respect for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as songwriters. I learned about the avante-garde techniques of Joni Mitchell (she didn't use standard chords), and the majestic simplicity of Bob Dylan (considered by many to be the greatest songwriter of the modern age, and possibly of all time). Take a poll of published songwriters, and Dylan would likely win in a runaway.

Jagger and Richards became songwriters because their manager told them to do it. For the most part, Jagger wrote the lyrics, and Richards did the music, though that was more like 80/20 with each occasionally contributing to the other side. The Rolling Stones hit, Satisfaction came to Richard's in a dream state. Half asleep, he turned on his tape recorder, and put down a rough draft, and then dozed off. There were two minutes of song, 40 minutes of snoring. Start Me Up was a remainder, they had done a dozen versions of it and the one that got released was the last one on the tape, and sat for several years.

Mitchell wasn't trained in music and tuned her guitar in non-conventional ways. This meant her chords didn't correspond to traditional chords and she had a difficult time playing with other instruments on her albums. She got lucky in that David Crosby heard her and became her publisher. A traditional music publisher would likely have ruined the unique sound.

Dylan likes to keep his songs simple. He writes down a lot of ideas. He doesn't see himself as a great songwriter or having any great gift.

3 cancelled lessons later, my teacher has changed my fingering. :-( I can see now how wrong I was, which I guess means I've learned something. I just hope I don't have a hard time unlearning the wrong fingering I've been using for a month. More bad news: my left wrist is giving me trouble again. Though, again, I've learned something. Evidently I have too much tension in my elbow. And I'm so busy and stressed out at work (maybe this is why my elbow is tense?) I haven't sorted those Alexander Technique lessons. One of the upsides of piano was that it took it mind off work, but it's not so successful at that lately :-(

Anyway, this is the AOTW thread, so I will try to end on a positive not, even though it's not a personal achievement. My teacher and I went to an all Beethoven concert yesterday, which included Piano Concerto No. 3. It was really exciting and inspiring.

My AoTW was zero. I just came back from vacation and looking at my assignment... I somehow have to be very efficient to play the first page of Intermezzo and prelude part of the Bach WTC book II F minor. I hope to update you on my progress in the mid week. Nice to be back though.

Sam Rose... I love hearing about members having a chance to meet up in person! How exciting. It has to be really thrilling for you to find you are over the performance jitters! That's a major accomplishment!

Becca...a pillow on the bench? hmmm. Interesting. I think that would throw me off balance, but hey, whatever works! It is good to have found a solution that addresses your problem!

Sand Tiger - sounds like you really have a long-standing pain problem. Do take care! Interesting that you discuss African societies where everyone sings. When we came to Italy we had (and still have) the feeling that everyone sings well. I have often heard people working in the street singing bits of operas... Very entertaining. I've also noticed that my husband, who I always considered to be tone-deaf, has really improved a lot since I started playing piano..coincidence? I think not.
It doesn't surprise me to learn that Joni Mitchell had a non-standard way of tuning. I've always felt an odd (and not necessarily wonderful) sensation listening to her music...now I know why!

MaryAnn - great that you got to go to a concert with your teacher, I bet that was just wonderful. Too bad about missing so many lessons and having to undo the fingering you've been learning. I hope you can un-learn it quickly!

FarmGirl- welcome back.... have fun catching up on your practice!

As for me... I ordered some new books. One on jazz techniques one on blues. I can't wait for them to get here so I can get started. Still haven't spoken to my teacher about what we're going to do this year....if anything... I have some serious doubts about continuing.....time will tell...

My achievement was that on Friday I discovered that my sight reading has really improved and I was able to try new (very easy) pieces much more competently. Normally it takes me ages as it takes me like a minute to play the first note then another three minutes looking at the next one and panicking. But on Friday I went through things quite quickly. Well still slow, but much better.

Now THAT is satisfying!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!

Thank you! I now have lots of homework though, as the six things I did I now have to work on. They're only short though and oh my god I LOVE having loads of homework :))

This weeks achievements: I seem to have gotten over my confidence issues when playing in lessons, I am finding it much easier to do the pieces in my current book, so I may be ready for another one soon, and my teacher said that I have made good progress. This was really nice, because I actually feel like I'm a bit slow at this and as an intelligent adult it's hard when you are rubbish at something.

This was my eighth week of piano and I don't know how I ever managed without it before.