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Hi, I'm new here!
I completed Alfred's Basic when I was a teen. I'm a lot older now and decided to get back into playing piano. So I've been working on Alfred's Basic book 2. I'm working on La Raspa.

Good luck returning to the piano. "La Raspa" is one of the least favorite for most of the folks on this forum, but keep at it. There's more fum stuff to come!

I have just played through "La Raspa" as part of my review. It's been several months since I played this one, and I can now remember why most folks tend to dislike it. Even after months, I found that I stumbled over the timing of first few notes, especially having the quaver rests thrown in, but then, after a couple of attempts, soon got the hang of it again. Though I did find I had to concentrate at the dynamics a little more this time round.

I have now completed Love's greeting (p135) and have committed it to memory (somehow, as I don't memorise that easy, perhaps I am getting better). Without needing to sight read now, leaves my brain a little more free to concetrate on the dynamics and general feel of the piece.

In my experience (I'm without a teacher), take time and get to know "la Raspa" reasonably well now. You will probably miss one or two finer points in it's presentation, without realising (though if you have a teacher, he/she will sure point em out), but don't worry too much, just move on. If you are like me, you will probable forget the tune exists by the time you get into the second half of the book. But you will find you will need to "review" back to this tune at some point as you progress on to the more fun pieces. Keep this process going even when you get close to completing the book (as I have just done). You will then be able to pick up where you were weak, and discover the finer points you missed...

Although I have only 3 tunes to learn now before I move to Level 3, I still feel the need to go "right" back through some of the peices I was weak on, and some which I breased through, before I Progress further. This will probable occupy me for the next 3 months or so. It is a slow process, but I'm getting there (Just).

PS: I'm still rubbish at La Bamba!

Welcome new folks. Sounds like we have a few people who are all around the same place in book 2. I have just finished up La Raspa and actually kinda like it. It was one of the easier Book 2 pieces for me so far. I'm currently working on Mexican Hat Dance and that seems pretty easy too. La Bamba isn't quite as good as I'd like but I'm hoping we can move on from it when I go to my next lesson this Wednesday. I don't mind it but no matter how much work I put into it, it doesn't seem to get much better and I'm kind of getting tired of it. I'll go back to it in the future and when I do that it should be easier. I really think they put this piece in the book much too early.

Glad you found a new teacher GracieCat, I hope it works out well for you. I really enjoy my lessons and look forward to them. Keep us posted on how it goes.

i-Scherzo, you asked earlier if anyone else plays on a Yamaha DGX-630. I have the same model. I really like it but after taking lessons for a year and playing on my teacher's Yamaha Studio Upright, I'm starting to get the itch to upgrade to something a bit better. I'm not sure exactly what yet but just thinking about it. I never had trouble going from my digital to his acoustic before but it's starting to bother me a bit for some reason. His acoustic is much louder and brighter sounding and it has been a bit of a distraction lately. The feel of the keys isn't much of an issue but the sound is. I don't really have any place for an acoustic but a better digital may be a solution.

Hi Doug

You are right. You just can't beat the sound qualities of a well made acoustic, it's as "real as it gets". Like you, I can't fit one in my dwellings, mainly because I live in a small apartment and I have neighbours to concider. The beauty of my DGX is that it has a volume control. The other thing unlike the "real thing" it has a veriety of piano sounds. So when I get board with one sound, I just select another. The Suitcase piano and tremalo piano sounds are great to try out on some of the pieces in the Greatest Hits suppliment book level 2 (ie The way we were).

I am please with the DGX-630, But I do find that most of the tunes in its song library are too advanced for beginners like you and I. After all, this piano is mean't to be aimed at our end of the market. Even the salesman agreed with that. Some of the on-board tunes are easy enough though (I have mastered Old folks at Home). And the backing sounds great too. Keeps me entertained anyway.

When I was shopping around. I did concider some of the Roland portable EPs, I thought at that time the sound quality was far superior to Yamaha..And they had a great touch..

Keep practicing, who knows, when you get to the end of AIO level 2 you will be inspired to upgrade to a higher quality intrument.

Thank you for the welcome!



I don't have a teacher either. I used to have one and I want to get the same one again but I'll have to go on a waiting list. It's hard to know when I'm making mistakes. I'm probably making them and not realising it. Is it possible to learn piano without a teacher?

Hello VioletD

My answer to your question "Quote: is it possible to learn without a teacher" is:

Well yes, anything is possible if you put your heart to it. But, as most on this forum will advise, is to avoid many pitfalls along your journey, do get a teacher if you possibly can.

Due to personal circumstances, I have never had a teacher. I have tasked myself with playing piano for the last 18 months starting on Alfreds AIO 2. But before that, I dabbled with a keyboard for many years. Without instruction, I did struggle greatly and often found that I would lose my way a little, in a very unstructured manner. I often "fumbled" my way through tunes. I am sure I have taken about 4 times longer to get to the point I am now by not seeking tuition.

I play for pleasure, with no real intention of playing to a very high standard (Well tell a lie, I wish I could, but, I don't think I have the natural ability for that), but, If I can confidently play in front of family and friends and get praise, then that would be a very nice feeling.

If a tune you play sounds ok, then it "probably" is ok. If not, only you can analyse and improve upon it. A "normal" audience will probably appreciate a nice tune. But I'm sure the expert ear could pick your performance to pieces. Remember, if played reasonably well, only you will hear your subtle mistakes, your audience won't even notice them.

But. I often get upstaged by someones 5 year old daughter playing away to a higher standard than I have managed. But I think I am getting there.

My current method of playing a written score is. I try to play it the way it "wants to be played"! Sometimes with surprising, and satisfying results. In other words. I can convince an audience I can play piano, I think some term it as "faking it".

Being on this forum has helped, as I am already picking up a few useful hints and tips. And it helps to hear how "I am not alone" in the problems I have encountered. And that I may be slightly better than I think I am.

A teacher will almost certainly keep you in a more structured routine, and prevent you from trying to "run before you can walk".

I'm sure if I got instruction years ago, I would be a pro by now...Who knows. I still have a long journey ahead of me.

I hope I didn't Ramble on too much. Bye for now.

I had my first lesson with the new teacher. She's going to push me to go further, and that's what I want.

Lesson breakdown...We talked 75% of the time. She heard me play one song, "Light and Blue". I played it ok for being in a new setting. I made plenty of mistakes and it felt like my fingers were slogging through mud. I had all the songs polished up through page 23.

She's going to have me start doing my scales, and said that by this point in Alfreds she has her students playing songs with 2 sharps and 2 flats as she has thrown in other material. I can only play 1 sharp or flat.

She pulled out some pieces for me and played some to find something I liked and that looked like something I could play with some practice. I like Canon in D until I noticed it had two sharps. I made a comment about that, then she immediately assigned the piece. First page for the next lesson.

No problem, I'll practice and have it under my belt. I practiced 2 hours last night and only managed the first 4 measures. LOL I'm going to have to really brush up on reading the bass notes quicker to make it any further. I actually have to stop and look at my note chart.

I think the piece is a good ways beyond what I can play. I'll do my best. Here is a sample of the first page. The hard part is the moving with the left hand. Not used to that. http://assets.sheetmusicplus.com/product/Look-Inside/large/1279480_00.jpg

I don't think she'll have me work near as much out of Alfred. We'll see. I'm really tired of banging those chords in the left hand anyway. It's so repetitive and not very musical. I don't know if I have enough basics down to move beyond that though. I guess we'll see.

Next week we'll start with some theory and scales.

All in all, I think the teacher will be a good fit. We'll see over the coming months. It'll probably take her a little while to see where I'm really at in my journey.

Sounds very interesting GracieCat. I'm big fan of Canon in D. It's the last piece in Alfred's Book 2 and the carrot in front of me to get through it. I have actually started working on it little by little. I have been playing the left hand part for almost a year now. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it. For me the hard part is the right hand. It does sound like your new teacher is going to push you. Sometimes I wish mine would a little more than he does but I would definitely struggle if he did so I don't bring it up. We go at my pace (slooowww).
We don't talk much about theory or scales unless I bring it up. I do that work on my own and if I have questions we go into it in detail.

Doug, I didn't realize Canon in D was in Alfreds. The copy she gave me was a different version. Mine is a little easier I think. I don't want to let my teacher down.

I can tell you've moved faster than I have without a teacher. Looks like you're doing very well.

Yep. Canon in D is one piece I have always inspired to play. Once I get through the piece I have just started on "Danny boy", which may take me a few weeks, I will endevour to start on this one.

This variation of Canon looks good, but I do love the phrase that is missing from this variation, perhaps it is too difficult for us at this stage. You know the phrase, in which the right hand plays a mix of semi-quavers and quavers to give a fast flowing melody which carries the slow moving left hand base notes. There is an awkward jump in the middle of this phrase that jumps down 1 octave from high F# to low F#. It is difficult to maintain the legato of the phrase during this jump. I sure would love to get this right.

Anyway. I have a very anoying problem at the moment. I believe some have termed it as "Red Button Fever". I am trying to record some of my practice pieces on a camera for future use, so as I can tell if I am improving, or not. I have perfected (as Far as I can tell) Love's Greeting and have been playing it well over the last two weeks, at the correct speed, consistency, with good dynamics, and, mistake free.

But! as soon as I point a camera at myself and press the record...It all goes peeetong! I just cannot play it right and mess up right in the middle of it. I turn off the camera and have a few practice goes, and play perfectly as before. Hit the record button again and Peeeetooong! mess up big time. How anoying is that. Several "takes" later, I am on the verge of giving up trying as I am getting more and more frustrated with myself..

Have you guys and girls had experience with this, and do you know if there is a way of getting round it. I normally play at home with no audience, perhaps this has something to do with it. Will I be able to confidently play faultlessly in front of anybody?

I do notice that I tend to speed up slightly in front of the camera. Love's Greeting can be played well as it is marked at "Andante", but I tend to speed it up slightly every time I record (perhaps trying to rush it). This isn't too much of a problem, because it sounds ok at this slightly faster pace.

Oh I'm not anywhere near the Canon in the book. I just visit there occasionally to slowly work on it when I get the urge. I only just started Tarantella. That one seems pretty easy. I have to continue to polish up La Bamba (if that's possible) and we will leave it behind at my next lesson. Mexican Hat Dance is about halfway there. I think that's about the same place you are GracieCat, right?

I have mixed feelings about Alfred's. I like most of the pieces and can see where the way they are taught are leading me to what my goal has been all along, to be able to play popular pop, rock, country and a few clasical pieces for my own satisfaction and without chasing others from the room. On the other hand I do get tired of repeating the same patterns over and over. It seems to be working for me though so I'll stick with it.

i-Scherzo, I think what you mean is Red Dot Fever, and I experience it all the time. No matter how good I know something, as soon as I hit that darn record button everything goes haywire.

Thanks Doug

The dreaded Red dot fever!

I eventually managed to get a recording (after many, many takes). It sounds ok, despite missing a bass note early in the piece. I still find I tend to be slightly less fluent in my playing even when I sucessfully record myself. I also find doing the video is useful as it enables me to examine my fingering technique. Something I will not be aware of when I am concetrating hard on playing. My fingering appeared little ragged in places, but it was getting the job done.

I started work on Danny Boy yesterday. I got the hang of the 1st 9 Bars ok, but I did have a few fingering issues during the corus part. This will take me a while to get right, I think.

I have tried many books in the past with limited success. But I have found that Alfreds appears to be giving me more results. So I will be sticking with it too.

I look forward to starting Book three sometime in the near future. Once I have cracked Danny Boy and Canon, along with polishing up a few of the early pieces.

Oh, and getting rid of the Red Dot Fever, er, is there a vaccine for it?

Hello everyone,

I hope your practices are going well. It's funny the discussion about Cannon in D. When I started lessons with my teacher I brought her the Alfred's books that I have (1 and 2). She thumbed through them and honed in on Cannon saying, Oh you'll really enjoy this. She played it for me at the time and I've been looking forward to it since.

I'm currently working on "Pomp & Circumstance" which I need to have ready by tomorrow. I've also been polishing up the song before this one "Aloha Oe Farewell to Thee". I played it backwards at first emphasizing the chords and not the melody. This is one reason I'm glad I finally got a teacher. I sometimes make mistakes like this that she will pick up on.

So far I think my two favorite Alfred's songs are "Amazing Grace" and "Night Song".

I started working on 'Pomp and Circumstance' last Friday. At first it seemed difficult due to the fingering, but after going through it a number of times I'm feeling much more comfortable with it. I warned my DH that he'd probably get sick of it because I had a bunch more times to go. P & C is such a familiar tune that in the end it is going to be fairly straightforward to memorize it.

I have 'Hava Nagila' pretty well memorized (good, since it's 4 pages and having to turn the page (and there's a repeat, so you have to do it twice more) so now I can buckle down on a couple of places where my timing needs work.

'Aloha Oe' is okay for practicing the inversions, but other than that, eh. Which is okay, the pieces are for instruction.

I do find one I play often just for fun and/or warm-up is the 'Theme from Raymond.' That one is, for me, a lot of fun to play.

With the snow and sleet and ice outside, it's great to have to piano to play with inside.

I just want to play something that is musical. Classical music has never been my "thing", but think I'm going to head in that direction because I like the feeling that's put behind it. (I don't know if that makes sense...)

Doug, I can comfortably play through page 23 (Alexander's Ragtime Band) then I skipped and did "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" then I skipped and did "Festive Dance" then "Scherzo"...well actually, I skipped and played most of the book, but the pieces aren't practiced thoroughly.

I never thought I'd skip songs, but I'm planning on skipping Solace, La Raspa, and Mexican Hat Dance completely. I would rather have my fingernails ripped from my fingers instead of playing La Raspa or the Hat Dance. LOL

Offically I'm starting La Bamba.

I've found that I'm having a huge problem reading the notes in the left hand. I'm use to playing bland broken chords in the Alfred songs and I can't read and jump around with my left hand on other music outside of Alfred's stuff. I should have done more work with supplemental music, but I slacked off.

You've been doing more supplemental stuff than I have. I'm betting you're further along in your skill than I am even though we are close to the same point in the book.

I'm tired of the repetition of the left hand...but like you, I think it's teaching me. At this point I think we're ready to expand with the left hand and the book hold us back.

Red dot fever...I can relate to that. I haven't recorded myself in a long while. I'll never be able to "perform".

I'm working on Festive Dance right now. It's sort of a fun piece, although the staccato in only one hand still gives me fits. LOL Also working on 3 or 4 easier pieces in Faber Adult 1, and two pieces in Masterwork Classics. I've already been in Book 2 for a year - obviously I'm a little slow. Part of that is self teaching, part is that I'm not particularly talented musically, and part is that I like to play pieces outside of Alfred. Not to worry - I'm enjoying the journey and not in any hurry.

As for "red dot fever" the only time I attempted to record myself was a disaster, even though I was playing something I never make mistakes with otherwise. I think playing to record is a whole other skill.

@ mom3gram... nice to hear you are back on track with book 2!

mom3gram- Don't worry about not being talented. I thought the same as you, and still do, but thanks to Alfreds, I am getting to grips with it now. Just keep at it and before long, with determination, you will be getting towards the last few songs in the book. And you'll think "how did I do that?".

I have now memorised and am working on polishing up Danny Boy. It's a nice one and sounds great when played right. I always struggled with Eb maj in other books. But I am finding it quite easy in Alfreds Book 2. I have also gone back and memorised and polished Nocturne (night song), one of my favourte past lessons. And I am beginning to think that I can actually play something...Wow!

But. I don't think I will try and record myself yet, as I know it will all go to pieces as soon as I hit the record button.

I stopped into the evil book store (Barnes & Noble) today and it made me buy a couple books. The reason I stopped in was to see if they still had the Mastering Piano book that was talked about in the forum a week or two ago. They did have several copies of it in the bargain book section for $12.98 so I grabbed a copy. Then I went to the music instruction book section and browsed through to see what they had. I ended up buying one called "Big Book of Beginner's Piano Classics" Amazon Link.

It's 83 familiar classical pieces by all the well known composers in very easy arrangements. It is really very easy but I plan on using it for note reading practice. I played through a few pieces and was getting a kick out of recognizing some of them as modern pop tunes. I am not a big fan of classical music but there are several of these familiar ones I have had on my "to do" list. This book should be fun. I recommend it if you're looking for some easy classical stuff.