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Hello everyone! New guy here

I started self-teaching by working through Alfred's not too long ago and just recently found out about this forum. I read through most of this very very long thread and it seems like everyone here is very helpful. I've already gotten some very good advice without even posting yet lol. Today I started learning Greensleeves in the book, and can now play it somewhat decently.

Apart from Alfred's, I'm also working in a book called First Lessons in Bach. The little Minuets and stuff are a bit more challenging than anything I've seen in Alfred's so far, but I also think they're much more beautiful to play and listen to.

By the way, Gahdzila, I love dreams, and that one you had is exceptionally cool. It's amazing how the mind works Did your teacher pass you on Amazing Grace?

Hi Everyone

I'm also a new kid on the block and glad to be here! I got a keyboard for Christmas after asking for one on a whim since I've never played piano before and my husband also bought me the Alfred Self-Teaching Adult Piano book. I've been self-teaching since the start of January.

I've been lurking here for about a month and have read the first 80 or so pages on this thread. What a nice group of people! I'm glad I read about Blow the Man Down before I got to it so I was prepared for how difficult it would be.

Currently I'm working on Got Those Blues!, Can-Can, Marines Hymn, and Why Am I Blue.

LOL!



Welcome, Andy! I played Greensleeves just a couple weeks ago, and my son is actually playing it as we speak (errr...type)! Many of the pieces in the adult Alfred's and the children's Alfred's books are the same. They get pretty pictures with theirs, though

My son and I both played a Bach minuet a couple months ago (the G Major one that everyone knows...#114, I think?). Its a piece that took some time to learn, but is doable at our level with some work. Plus, it made me feel accomplished to play "real" music, you know?

My teacher was impressed with my progress, but she wants me to work on Amazing Grace for another week to polish it up a little more. She wants me to "tighten" the edge of my right hand to stiffen my pinky finger and bring out the top notes in the RH chords a little more (this is something I'm working on with Moonlight Sonata as well, so that's the reason for the extra practice with this particular thing). Now that I've got Amazing Grace sounding better, I like playing it, so I'm totally ok with practicing it a bit more.

Speaking of Moonlight Sonata...it's coming along very well. It's very close to polished, and almost completely memorized. She wants me to play it in the recital on the 15th. I'm still reluctant to play in the recital (I think I'd be the only adult beginner student to play), but I'm seriously considering it. I think it would be good for me to play in front of people, and good for my son to see me playing. BTW...he'll be playing the Spongebob Squarepants theme song at the recital

It is the Alfred All-In-One, I am shure lol! I never looked at the end of the book to read what is there. In the back cover is "Special Bonus! Level 1 now includes great arrangements of Over the Rainbow, At Last, Singin´in the Rain, Laura, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle, Chattanooga Choo Choo". So, it is a new version of AIO book. I will enjoy it


Andy819, Reiki3, welcome to this thread!



Nice dream. It never happened with me



LOL



It is the "red dot trouble". I call my recordings "recording session" not "recording a piece" because I need to play lot of times the same piece (after I learned it) to have a recording that I like.
I hope you can have some recordings very soon to share with us.
See this thread
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1671787/Robin_aka_Piano_Girl_s_views_o.html



Yes, reading previous posts will give you a nice knowledge about Alfred Book 1.

Ah, interesting thanks. Making it worse is that I need almost all my faculties to keep a piece from collapsing at this stage - even with no pressure. Adding just one more element sends everything to h-e-l-l. It's a fun challenge though.

Maybe the ultimate goal is to forget you're recording, or as mentioned in the other thread, to accept a reasonable take for what is and not look for perfection, not that I'm in danger of coming close to that.

Theory question...
My theory is very patchy, but I thought a seventh chord i.e G7 consisted of the 1st + 3rd + 5th + 7th tone of the scale.
In the book the G7 is only B, F and G. It's an in inversion I see, but what else is going on?

I'm in the part of the book with BTMD. I'm at the stage of bringing it up to mod fast tempo.

But this brings up a question having to do with how I count (my instructor wants me to "sing" the counting out loud as I practice).

When I count 1 - 2 -3 etc and just fill in the 1/8 note between 2 -3 for instance, I do fine. When I try to count 1 and 2 and three and.....is when I mess up. I've been diligently practicing with the troublesome count method (although I count 1 uh 2 uh 3 uh instead of and).

Does any one else have this problem? I'm going back to previous songs (before the dotted 1/4 and 1/8 notes songs) to try to get used to the counting but prefer the straight counting.

Appreciate your thoughts and insights.

Jim

Right. A 7th chord is 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th. Except we never play the 5th. So a 7th chord ends up essentially being 1st, 3rd, 7th. I haven't figured out exactly why. It's one of those things I've quit wondering about and just accepted LOL.

Jim,

I have kind of a silly way of counting. I sway back and forth when I'm learning a song. Towards the kb is 1 (or 2 etc) and away from the kb is "and".

I started this method for 2 reasons. 1.It doesn't distract me from the notes. 2. I can sway VERY slowly at first. Metronomes typically only go to mm40 and I frequently start learning a song at mm20 or so. Of course you can divide the metronome by 2 by counting 2 metronome beats per beat. This works well with eighth notes but it's kinda tiresome to count 2 beats per quarter notes.

Of course I cease swaying after I get the timing well in hand.

Also on particularly tricky measures I will mark the downbeats above the staff.

I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that they drop the 5th and invert the V7 chords because beginners generally have a hard time playing them otherwise.

Edtek, your method of keeping time sounds fun! I'm going to give it a try the next time I sit down at my keyboard. I sometimes find the click click click of the metronome distracting, so maybe this will be easier.

Jim, I remember I had that problem when I was first learning to play(not on the piano, though). For me it got easier over time until it just wasn't a problem anymore. Maybe it'll be the same for you?

See this
https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...%20such%20an%20issue%20.html#Post1660175

I count 1 and 3 and 3... but it is not automatic yet, I think that I do not feel the rythm yet. I think, as other things, we need practice a lot. Before start 8th I practice a lot only clapping. My wife said "You do not play piano anymore, just clapping"
Before start a new piece I clap counting loud.

See also this tutorial (has some pices to practice 8th notes)
http://www.piano-play-it.com/eighth-note.html



I will try this too

OK.. so I'm up to BTMD and I feel like the most uncoordinated person on the planet. I can play the right and left hands separate great, but it sounds like I'm mashing the keyboard with my forehead when I try to play them together. It's like not being able to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time.

For right now I'm just tapping out the left hand as full chords instead of broken chords and I'm at least getting a little better at it.

I felt the same with BTMD...the most frustrating song to date. Don't have any helpful advice to offer other than you're NOT alone, and keep at it!

I'm one of those rare ones that had no real trouble with BTMD. But I did have problems with other pieces with funky rhythms. I suggest playing it VERY SLOWLY, so slow that you feel ridiculous....really! If you're still bombing it, slow down even more.

Good luck!!!

Gahdzila's right about playing BTMD very, very slowly. That worked for me along with playing just the measures that gave me the most trouble over and over again until I could play them correctly. I had read about "chunking" in other threads (which is what isolating and repeatedly playing the difficult parts is called) and it really does work. Of course, where BTMD is concerned, the whole thing is difficult to begin with!

Keep practicing, be patient with yourself, and you'll get there!

The problem is playing one hand on the beat and the other on the half beat while also having different rhythms. I can do the different rhythm if I just play a c chord and I can play broken chords but my left hand and right han end up playing at the same time. I've just got to get them to be more independent.

Here is a suggestion made by mom3gram in this thread:
"Re: Alfred's Basic and ALL in One Adult Piano Course Book #1 - 09/06/09 02:48 PM
Posted by: mom3gram
Blow the Man Down is a rite of passage here on this forum. Everyone has trouble with it, even those who sailed through the preceeding pieces easily. It's the first piece where you really have to coordinate your two hands.
I made a photocopy of the page, and divided each measure into individual beats so I could see exactly which RH and LH notes had to be played together on each beat. That was the only way I could get it to make sense. It worked for me. If you are really stumped, try it.
Good luck! Everyone does get it eventually. I still play it from time to time just so I don't forget how to do it."


I finished "Cafe Vienna" (need more training now) and started "Lullaby"

I personally started out just tapping with the left hand, not even on the keys. The coordinating the rhythm seems to be such a challenge. From tapping, I went to single notes, then to the chords, then to the broken chords. And of course ridiculously slow!

Thanks for the advice guys. I have been tapping out the rhythm with my left hand and can play it that way. It's trying to think about the broken chord pattern along with the timing for the dotted quarter note followed by the eighth and then quarter. If I play the right hand in time, I'll either be off time with the left or loose where I am in the pattern. If I play the left and in time and with the correct pattern, I play the right hand as all quarter notes.

I didn't have much time to practice yesterday and I'm not sure what I'll be able to do today, but I know I'll eventually get it.

Well I'm playing it somewhat sloppily now. I think I'm either rushing or skipping the 3rd beat for the left hand in the measure that has the "Blow the man" melody in it, but it's close. The other parts really aren't that difficult in comparison. It's just where you have to keep your left hand going and play the dotted quarter, eighth and then quarter note. It's hard to play slow too because I want to play that eighth note as fast as you do full speed

Well, I have a suggestion for BTMD, having successfully navigated it a month or so ago. Don't try to make it music right away. (BTW, this works for other complicated and syncopated pieces). That is, just hit the notes where they're supposed to be. You have to go very very slowly, and the piece won't sound anything like the tune that you're prepare to hear in your head, but you'll be hitting the notes in the right place at the right time, and that's your first (big) step.
After you can do that, it's a relatively simple matter (trust me) to speed it up a little bit and get the rhythm and tempo to where you want.
But very very slow at first, ignoring musicality, is what worked (and still works) for me.