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My teacher told me she needs to come up with a "No" note. She said one of her children said it should look like a tornado. It's when we start to goof and verbally say: "No". Hesitate, then play it right.

Yesterday was awful trying to work. Owner of my company said this is the worst winter storm he has seen in 31 years of doing this. He said most of the people calling in were doing it to tell us not to worry. They understand. Get them when we can. Gonna be a long day today.

Still getting in practice. Starting to. or hoping I'm overcoming the drudgery of a complete fight with my autonomic mind getting both hands to work.

Hi cas, this is all 6 sonatinas in OPUS 36 played at 3 different tempos you might find interesting. Hope you can find one you want to learn. Takes awhile to listen to them all though. BTW you're right, No 2 is very pretty. I'm not sure why it starts about 23:00 - just pull it back to the beginning. HTH

Ragdoll, thanks for the video -

I was a bit confused about what you meant by each being played at 3 tempos - then I realized you were talking about the fact that each sonatina is divided into 3 movements, all of which have their own tempo!

I had originally (as early as 3 years ago!) thought that my first effort would be on the first sonatina in this collection. When I brought it up with my teacher he wasn't very keen on it because "everyone plays it". He didn't say that I could not do it, but he wasn't thrilled.
I thought about that all week and came very close to saying that I don't care how often it is played, I want to play it. In the end I realized I feel drawn to the second and so I am going with it.
I'll keep all the great suggestions my AOTW friends have offered for future reference when I'm braver and more coordinated

My lesson yesterday went really nicely. On my Grieg piece I'd made some good improvements and I've just got to work on 3 little things and then I think I'll be ready to re-record it (after I get the piano tuned!) - It is interesting to hear how these little changes are making a significant difference to the piece - it is very rewarding.
My Fughetta also went really well - and now he wants me to bring the tempo up.
Evening in the Meadows went really well and he just had a suggestion for smoothing it out.
On all three pieces I got the much coveted "Good! That's better than the last time" feedback.
So next week I'll just play a few bars from the Grieg, Fughetta up to speed and start on the Sonatina.

I think I may be back on track

In my previous piano life I had to study some of Clementi's op. 36 sonatinas. I hated them, especially number 1. I was a teen who did not practice (my mother told me recently: when you had time you did not study, now you want to study but do not have much time...), I imagine I had a very hard time with it.

Now I find the sonatinas really nice, but I refuse to pick one and practice it. I explained that to my teacher, and she understands.

Oh good... if not, I was going to suggest not focusing on new stuff, and try a few rounds of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6h-Wfq7ub4

Ah, what a difference a day makes.....
..........24 little hours.......

My funk must be over because yesterday I had one of my best lessons ever. Everything went well. Hannon scales in legato thirds, check. Eb minor scale evenly at a blazing (for me) 104 bpm with 4 notes per beat (a leap of 20 bpm over my recent work), check. Weekly throwaway played with just a few bobbles, check. Improvised bass line across multiple octaves to go with lead sheet Unchained Melody, check. Puccini in hand and ready to speed up, check. About half of Mozart in hand and ready to turn to better shaping on the phrases, check.

If ever there was an argument for not taking ourselves too seriously and just enjoying the moment, I am it. Two weeks ago I was pulling my hair out, cussing my demented brain and uncontrolled hands for every flub. For what? That's not what made it better. What worked was doing less, doing it slower, doing it deliberately, and just having some fun. Easy-peasey,huh?

You've gotta love learning to play the piano. There always seems something different and interesting around every corner.

sorry, couldn't resist.

This always makes me happy.....

MaryBee -- I didn't try to play it, but all those 9ths sound like they will be interesting.

PaperClip -- Glad to hear that you are doing better. Burns are very scary stuff.


LOL.. this absolutely slayed me. Mind you, this is from the guy who got stuck on "Oranges & Lemons".


When in doubt, just read my sig line!


Argggh!! But good for you also.


I've been wondering about this for quite some time. I'd never heard the phrase before, so I looked it up finally, and the root bit that seems to be relevant is this, from Merriam-Webster's: "governs involuntary actions (as secretion and peristalsis)". More here: Autonomic Nervous System.

I'm assuming that you mean this literally, i.e. that you feel that playing hands together, or failing to do so as you intend, is a matter of your conscious mind being defeated by your subconscious/nervous system.

Quoting from the "Practice Time" thread:

I wonder if maybe you are spending too much time playing hands separate and/or playing too quickly? If you play slowly enough, there's not a thing autonomic about playing the piano. Every movement is completely controlled by your conscious mind. Of course we all have varying degrees of skill in terms of dexterity for expression/dynamics, but that's another story.

And, if you are playing hands together... think of it this way, your hands are not doing two different things. If you slow waaay down, and stop thinking of your hands as two different entities, you have a situation where for each note that is played you have some fingers that are striking a note, others that are holding a note, moving to the next note, and so on. If you start thinking of yourself as having 10 fingers, and focusing on what each should be doing at a given moment, your nervous system will actually be your friend, since it will take care of knowing which hand is which.

I've had a great deal of difficulty when I learn the two hands separately and then try to meld them together -- I feel like they are opposing one another. I think what is happening is that each hand is being learned to the point that it is getting into the autonomic mind (or I'd call it the subconscious, not truly autonomic, but no point in quibbling re: terminology). Once there, the autonomic mind is completely ill-equipped to merge the two together. Likewise, the conscious mind can't harness it either at that point... it would be like dueling auto-pilots on a plane.

It may be worth starting together, or getting them together more quickly than you might otherwise, before they get lodged into the realm of the autonomic mind as separate entities. Just a theory, hope it helps.

Instead of quoting. I'll just respond just behind your post. To make sure I got the spot. Now I'll "edit".

I appreciate your thoughts, TallGuy. I get much of this from wanting to know, a Coach of mine who wanted to know, and from God. (the God of the Bible) I could write a ton on my thinking behind how the mind is made up. I won't.

I can say that I refuse to give the autonomic mind as much credit as to call it my subconscious.

My problem is that I have never had this sophistication of the nervous system. It's very simple. I'm having to create it. It is real drudgery when I want it. Yet it isn't there yet. Yes it is coming.
That kinda leads to an AOTW for me. I've started practicing in the morning before work. Just get in 15 minutes. It's leading to playing 15 minutes here and there also. I'm getting to where that is the first thing I do before anything else. I'm getting home and sit at the keyboard for 15 minutes first. This is very much helping. Enjoying playing more. I'm seeing that I'm developing this sophistication I need.

Torquenale - I hear you on "refusing" to play certain pieces - and I agree. There is so much music available that we shouldn't have to play stuff that (for whatever reason) we don't really want to. If it is technique we have to learn, it can be learned elsewhere.

TallGuy, you made me laugh! I was wondering what you wanted me to try! I actually do play that regularly because it is such a peppy little piece, and that cascade of triplets took me forever to learn - I don't want to lose it!

Caro Giacomo! So glad your lesson went well - doesn't that just leave you with a "high" that is hard to explain to non-piano folks?


I think that every one of us has been there more than once.... why is it that we don't learn to hold on to this thought?

You spoke of Hanon - my teacher has suggested I do some Czerny. I did some with my first teacher and really enjoyed the exercises. I'm curious to see which Czerny he'll bring for me to work on.

Jessiebear - sounds like you are doing extremely well - I bet that shortly you'll make it all the way through ! But even if you don't, remember that what is a glaring error to you is often not noticed by the audience!

Ron, it strikes me as so very weird that you're experiencing winter storms and we aren't even at mid-October! wow.... I hope this is NOT a sign of what the real winter is going be when it hits!!! As for your progress - I see that you're getting into the swing of more sessions. That's what I did at the beginning: tons and tons of short sessions. My brain and hands couldn't handle more than 10-15 minutes at a time, I would be exhausted.

So much of the frustration we have as adult learners comes from the expectation that we "should" be able to do this. We are competent in many areas, we can multitask in many environments, we can do a long list of thing while we are on "auto-pilot" - and we don't remember learning to do them. We can't remember a time when we didn't know how to tie our shoes or break an egg neatly, or pour liquids from a really big container into a small one, or type. We don't remember the knots, the broken shells and yolks (well, I still get those sometimes ) , the spills, and the horrendous typos.

Yet now we do all of these things without even thinking about them.

There are some things I can do on the piano without thinking too much, but frankly, not many.

We really have to learn how to be patient with ourselves and accept that yes, it takes much longer than we thought/had hoped to make significant progress. That's one of the reasons we have this thread - to help us focus on the baby steps and then realize how far we have come.
It is rare to have a huge leap in abilities, so the majority of us toddle along together in excellent company

What a time I'm having catching up on the thread ... Chris, I'm so glad you're healed up from your accident! To Cheryl, Cas, Farmgirl, and all of you suffering from the piano blahs and slumps and irritation with various composers, I offer my heartfelt sympathy. Sometimes it really helps to switch things up or take a little time out.

I did so rather by accident this summer, and it seems to have had an unexpected salutary effect. My teacher doesn't teach during the summer but I had plans to practice hard and really dig in. Only everything sort of blew apart. My back went out for most of a month, my cat was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and needs a lot of daily meds/care, my job was driving me crazy ... End result, three months of no practice, oh no!

Kinda figured I'd be in for a bumpy return to lessons in September, but something has seemingly shifted for the better. No, I'm still not getting in enough practice time, but I'm so much more relaxed about playing for my teacher. My counting has greatly improved plus I'm apparently doing much better at looking at the music not my hands ...

Funny, I thought I was already good at that.

At my lesson this week, the only thing I had in the slightest bit prepared was the RH part of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." I thought my teacher would be disappointed, but she was very pleased with my one-handed playing. Then we dug into the LH chord pyramids for the same song, plus scales and the circle of 5ths ("Father Called George Down ..."), and me trying to get my head and hands around arpeggios. A very solid and enjoyable lesson.

And, big news, I finally get to learn some Chopin! Waltz in A Minor. Seeing as my piano studies have progressed at roughly the speed at which coal turns into diamonds in the depths of the earth, getting to Chopin makes me very, very happy.

Congratulations, piano_deb. When I learned my first Chopin prelude, it felt like a big step, playing REAL music. :-)

I use Kabalevsky for sight reading, his children's pieces. It sounds nice and it's at a level I can handle. My achievement this week was finding the score of his Variations Op. 40. It's above my sight reading level, but it looks, and sounds, like it will be fun to play. And it's grown up music.

So happy! I just nailed the uber-fiddly part at the end of Einaudi's Ora second afternoon playing it (the rest is fine). And now it's my favourite part, it sounds so darn cool in action! Triplets to semiquavers like a boss haha.

Nobody can expect anything from what happens now with the weather here. I've talked to old timers. They say anything can happen. Nothing now will predict anything for this winter. Besides...
In this part of this country. We expect late spring and early winter storms. It happens here. There was an Indian Chief, along with a bunch of others who froze to death in a late spring blizzard. They were traveling, by foot. I'm sure it was in the 1800's.




I appreciate the support. All the thoughts.

I look forward to the day I pick up the sophistication of my nervous system. This to the point that I have a clear map in my mind of exactly where all ten of my fingers are at. I get this map in my mind idea from driving a forklift inside a building with people working. One does that with a constant map in their mind of everything around them. Constantly aware. Constantly watching 360 degrees. Constantly updating that map.

Week 83: As I promised myself, I do some much neglected metronome work. I set the built in ticker on the Casio PX150 to 60, turn off the carriage return bell, lower the volume by half. It is a different experience. Slowing down is a much touted idea on the forum. Metronome has never been my favorite, but I can see it might help me. I continue to practice in chunks.

I do more work on a new piece. The working title is Tracks in the Snow. I'm not sure if I like it. It feels disturbing and yet there is something that draws me to the dissonance.

Not really an achievement. But I'm about to see the 1st performance of Arizona opera H.M.S. Pinafore shortly. I have. Season ticket but often miss it due to Business trip. Very excited.

JimF - Congratulations for having a lesson where everything went right! That is a special feeling!

Paperclip - Wow! That sounds like a painful accident! I am glad you are feeling better.

Piano deb - Have fun with the Chopin Waltz! That is really a beautiful piece.

Jessiebear - Doesn't it feel good when a narly section comes together?

Plowboy - You made me go look up Kabelevsky's # 40 variations so I could see what grown up music sounds like. Nice!

Sand Tiger - I have become a firm believer in Metronome practice. It keeps you honest!

My AOTW was playing Na Corda da Viola pretty well in my lesson today. Most of the problem areas flowed well, and we are reaching the point of fine tuning instead of learning how to play it. I am no where near final tempo, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I have passed from "can I do this?" to "yeah, I got this!" this week. There is still work to be done, but I have a lot more confidence now. My teacher seems confident that I can do this for the Nov. 10 live recital, and that makes me confident!

it is heartening to hear how others struggle with learning a piece or gaining control of the playing and getting to that wonderful goal, a performance, an interpretation of your own. There are so many suggestions as to what works for one or another along this path. I think it is rather like gathering flowers in my garden and bringing them in to create a lovely bouquet. you pick out the ones you like , the best ones you can find ,and then use them the way that you want.
It's also seasonal. and it depends on your mood.
Practise is like that. Right now I find 15-20 mins is my max at a particular challenge before as my teacher describes it ' my brain starts dribbling out of my ears'. I laughed so hard when he first said that!
I think you must all know that feeling, and its time to do something else. Somedays it's a cup of tea, a change of scenery, or a different challenge! I've found my tolerance level to be about 1 hr 40 mins before exhaustion. Rarely do I get another session in so that's all i can do for now. Consistency does matter, so MYOD really helps me!
As for the slow v faster and hands separate / together, i think you have to do both. You learn your own best way to tackle a challenge. Personally, i go for the tough sections, h/s and slow. quite independently of the whole. and fasten up each hand independently before together when i'ts back to slow for a bit. Not too long though or that makes me stumble when i try to connect the bits.
Well, that's what works for me at the moment.
And reading the PW threads . It's good to know you are all out there.

it is heartening to hear how others struggle with learning a piece or gaining control of the playing and getting to that wonderful goal, a performance, an interpretation of your own. There are so many suggestions as to what works for one or another along this path. I think it is rather like gathering flowers in my garden and bringing them in to create a lovely bouquet. you pick out the ones you like , the best ones you can find ,and then use them the way that you want.
It's also seasonal. and it depends on your mood.
Practise is like that. Right now I find 15-20 mins is my max at a particular challenge before as my teacher describes it ' my brain starts dribbling out of my ears'. I laughed so hard when he first said that!
I think you must all know that feeling, and its time to do something else. Somedays it's a cup of tea, a change of scenery, or a different challenge! I've found my tolerance level to be about 1 hr 40 mins before exhaustion. Rarely do I get another session in so that's all i can do for now. Consistency does matter, so MYOD really helps me!
As for the slow v faster and hands separate / together, i think you have to do both. You learn your own best way to tackle a challenge. Personally, i go for the tough sections, h/s and slow. quite independently of the whole. and fasten up each hand independently before together when i'ts back to slow for a bit. Not too long though or that makes me stumble when i try to connect the bits.
Well, that's what works for me at the moment.
And reading the PW threads . It's good to know you are all out there.

I too love reading all the news.
I've been particularly busy these past few weeks with work really picking up ! (love it!) and with some family matters which have been time consuming, resulting in a lot less participation in the forums for me

I have FINALLY gone through all I can with my teacher on my Grieg piece (which I think is really sounding different - perhaps someone unfamiliar with it wouldn't notice all the changes, but I would hope that there would be some "je ne sais quoi" that might make a little impression

The Fughetta is being notched up in tempo- which has caused some weak points to become more obvious...sigh. But it is fun to be speeding it up.

I've just begun with the Sonatina (Op36 N2 Clementi) and I am very pleased.

I am starting to hear "that's an improvement" more from my teacher, which is rewarding, but more importantly, I'm starting to feel, very clearly, where improvements are happening.....which is extremely rewarding.