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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...
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Olive picking sounds nice! I wish the climate here in Denmark allowed for that
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@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...
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!
Last edited by MonkeyMark; 10/28/12 03:04 PM.
Ferry & Foster upright
Alfred's self teaching - Book 1 Started Mid September 2012 End Sept - Page 39 End Oct - Page ??
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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.
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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.....
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Olive picking sounds nice! I wish the climate here in Denmark allowed for that 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!
Learner
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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....
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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.
Last edited by MonkeyMark; 10/28/12 06:05 PM.
Ferry & Foster upright
Alfred's self teaching - Book 1 Started Mid September 2012 End Sept - Page 39 End Oct - Page ??
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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.
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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...
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Considering the weather around New York, perhaps I shouldn't complain too much about the conditions here....
@sinophilia Good to know that You like the Jazz/Rock book. I didn't order the one with the CD as I thought I would be able to find the tunes on Youtube, but after seeing your message I cancelled the order and got the one with CD. Thanks for notifying me.
Last edited by cfrederi; 10/29/12 02:25 PM.
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It sounds like you guys should make some recordings and put them up on youtube when you get the pieces mastered!
The last ragtime piece I played, the youtube version I chose had an error in rhythm, and of course, after that, so did I.
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Our thread has slipped down to the bottom of page 2! *bump* I'm in the thick of the Chopin Etude (arrangement). Very slow progress. Very very slow. I can tell that it would be pretty when played well. sino--I read in another thread that you were working on it too. How is it coming for you? My new Martha Mier piece Jelly Bean Rag is coming along; I'm at the ragged stage of putting hands together. There are some cute kids playing it on youtube. I would love my back to be as straight as this little girl! I have finally achieved fingering satisfaction for the first page of my Sleigh Ride duet for the holidays. In a few places, the paper is getting thin because I wrote and erased so many finger numbers. Now that I'm happy all I have to do is speed things up. I'm not too worried about it though, because my husband and duet partner doesn't really have time to work out his part, so maybe I'll just be getting an early start for Christmas 2013 or '14 or whenever.
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I'm working on "Whole World in His Hands". It's been a while since I've wanted to punch a hole in my piano and set fire to the Alfred's book, but this one is doing it! All those fast big chords in the right hand are killing me!
I'm also working on "La Donna e Mobile", which seems much easier except for those darned triplets at the end.
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They're not big fast chords. They're chords. Practise changing chord at a speed that you can manage for two or three minutes a day. Then go on to your other piece(s). When you can change chord comfortably and fast enough go back to the piece.
If memory serves Alfred's does chords in threes, I, IV and V. Practise a twelve bar pattern, one chord per beat, in each hand so that you practise changing from each one to the other two at about the speed of a gentle quarter note. When you're changing chord in brisk triplets at 12/8 time you'll have solved the problem.
For 'La Donna' play just those triplets. Play them slowly and mechanically, no time pulse, just move from one note to the next. When it's mechanically sound and the motion familar get it rhythmic to a slow metronome or count. When the tempo matches that of the piece go back to the piece. Again, two or three minutes a day at that little exercise before going back to that piece.
Keep a journal of what parts you're doing of what piece. When all the parts are done, start working on that piece in larger units. When they're all good, do the whole piece.
If you can't solve a problem with three minutes a day then make the problem smaller.
You'll make faster progress working on half a dozen pieces, just a few bars of each, at three minutes a day than twenty minutes on one piece getting frustrated, bored and constantly repeating your mistakes.
Richard
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Richard zrtf90, Thanks for all that!
I would do well to remember and practice all the things you have listed!
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I'm only up to "Divertimento", but last night I was thumbing through the book and saw "Fascination". This was very popular way back when I was in 8th grade, and it was a favorite of mine. In fact, it inspired me to ask my parents for violin lessons back then, but they couldn't afford them. The arrangement looked much easier than many of the pieces before it, so I gave it a try, and it wasn't very hard at all. I'm going to work this one up and then go back to where I left off. Maybe I'll even try the "strings" setting on it.
mom3gram
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I'm in the thick of the Chopin Etude (arrangement). Very slow progress. Very very slow. I can tell that it would be pretty when played well. sino--I read in another thread that you were working on it too. How is it coming for you?
Ops sorry for the late reply, I spent the week in Dublin and away from both computer and piano. I sort of learned the first page of the Etude but at the usual super-slow snail pace. In the last 3 weeks I've been really bad with piano practice, what with work and other things. Will have to get back to solid daily practicing and try to learn that properly before moving on or I'll never ever finish book 2 by January as I intended to.
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Oh-- well, if I had had even the remotest chance of spending the week in Dublin I would have certainly done that!!
I don't care when I finish book 2. I don't even care if I finish it!
The Chopin seems like one of those one or two measures per day pieces. The second page is quite a bit more difficult, isn't it?
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Actually I struggle the most with combining the two hands in line 3 (same LH pattern repeated on the second page with different notes), while the last half of the second page seems the easiest part. I guess now it's the time to start studying a measure or two at the time and concentrate on that, while until now I thought I could manage learning a whole song or half of it at a time by playing very slowly. I'll have to try not to spend too much time on the jazz/rock book, as that's much simpler and entertaining and therefore very tempting when I start to struggle too much with the other book
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Learning
by Stephen_James - 04/17/24 10:36 AM
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