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That's amazing. That's never happened to me, and I doubt it ever will. Congrats!

My AOTW for those who asked ...





My daughter kicks off her shoes first thing after school and heads for the piano

Night song from second Alfrred book

I previously started learning piano for four months then had just over a year away , so effectively starting from scratch again.

Week One : Can play 5 times correctly on first sitting;
A major scale 4 octaves hands separately, 2 octaves similar and contrary motion.
A, D, E major broken chords , hands together, standard and compound pattern.(ABRSM)
A, D, E major arpeggios, hands together (and not looking at keys , yay! lol) Root, I and II inversions.

Not a lot and played real slow, but it is a start, and hopefully I can stick to '20 mins practice, get up and walk away from the piano' routine. Currently an hour a day total.
My plan is to do D major scale this week, E major the following and a week to consolidate after that. I chose to practise A, D and E major chords together as finger stretch and pattern is the same.

AOTW. After having a mild bout of tendinitis and having what turned into the cold of the century I took my grade 8 exam and it was the best exam I've ever taken. Probably something to do with it being the most prepared I have ever been for an exam. I was nervous yet somehow confident. Even had a lovely chat with the examiner half way through as I had gone in early! The only thing to throw a spanner in the works was being asked to play B melodic minor 3rds in the left hand with crescendo diminuendo and staccato!!

Wow! It's awesome"

Thanks Jim! It seems perfect for us

Casinitaly, it's so much fun!

Beautiful picture!

Heather, that is a nice picture.

Dulcetta, how interesting that you are so focused on scale work and basic technique so early in your studies (vs. learning pieces).

Week 53: I attend a concert featuring Andrew Moses on clarinet, and Dr. Tania Fleischer on piano. The program includes pieces from Debussy and Gershwin. Mr. Moses is 13 years old. He is already conducting a youth orchestra, as well as being a virtuoso musician.

I spend some time with an ear training app. My first tries at the higher/lower game were disappointing. My scores are in the 60% range, slightly better than chance for higher/lower. Then I attached the mini speaker to the tablet for better sound, and figured out that I could try and find the notes on the tablet keyboard and my score improved to the 80% range. My go at the note identifying game was similar. At first I was near hopeless, then after I figured out I could try and match the note by pressing keys, I got to 90% correct. It took an average of seven pokes on the screen keyboard to isolate the note. If I can get that down, it will be a big help in playing by ear. There is also an interval game and a chord identifying game.

At Songmakers I do three pieces. I hack my way through Ashokan Farewell. I lead a sing along for Misty Mountains Cold. I perform my new original The Passage of Time. I grade myself 3, 5, 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. I got through all of them, but with major flaws. There are wrong notes, wrong chords, hesitations, uneven rhythm, sloppy pedal work, complete halts. Had it been an audition or a formal recital, my level of play would have felt like a disaster. Thank goodness it is a casual group of musicians. Though some of them are life long musicians who likely cringed as I stumbled again and again. No matter, it is what it is. Performing live is one reason I write music. I am far more comfortable with my original work than playing cover pieces, though that too is something for me to work on. I didn't do Canon in D. I'll keep working on it.

Despite the low level of performance, it is my first time leading a sing along on the keyboard. First time that I sing and play in public on a keyboard and I can't really sing. I play on the host's Roland D20. For its time it was a high end unit, but it is old, with 5 octaves, a slot for 3.5 floppy disks, and plastic keys. I set the sound to acoustic piano-1, but some said it sounds like a harpsichord setting. It is a strange feeling, looking at the keys, with my nervous mind telling me that the keyboard layout looks alien, as if someone stuck in some extra keys or moved some of the black keys. Of course it is not, but it feels that way.

Also at Songmakers, is a new person, a young singer songwriter that wows the crowd with original songs, guitar and mandolin music, and vocals. One positive of my playing with so many mistakes, is that it makes everyone else feel quite comfortable, because they are all sure they will do better .

I made myself sit down and spend a few hours' work through a particularly grim page of Granados' Allegro de Concierto that I've been avoiding. It's nowhere near polished, but is beginning to feel more comfortable, and there are some gorgeous themes that are starting to one out. Previously it was just a scary jungle of notes!

I"m also happy with how Mozart's Fantasia in D Minor is going. I am considering playing it as a companion piece with the Fantasia in C Minor, my favourite piano work, at a recital at some point.

Played the Hungarian Dance pretty good! Now working on Beethoven's Shepard's Song. I just played it twice, hitting all correct notes. Now I have to play it peacefully and with the pedal. I have to get it by Thursday's lesson.

You can do it warlock214 keep working hard at it dnt give up. :)

We would love to see a video of your progress

Beautiful!!!

Mark - Thanks, I will. Hopefully I can get a video or audio setup going very soon.

Thanks! It's very exciting. I barely played this weekend though, sadly

Pianostudent88 – getting started on a Chopin Prelude? Well, that’s exciting! Even better with regards to long-term progress is your newly discovered ability to play with the right delicacy! Isn’t it wonderful when something finally “clicks”?!

Rmaple: There are a lot of North/South marriages – tons of folks – particularly young men, came north after WWII for work, married and settled down here. You can call me Paesan if you like (my grandmother was born in Abruzzo actually) – but to be honest I’ve never heard anyone over here use that term! I think it is mostly “transplanted” Italians who use it! Your comments on the accents of the 3 singers is quite possibly bang on. Sometimes foreigners study a language so well that they are more precise than native speakers. So – you are studying voice and piano? Very cool.

Ragdoll – I have not yet listened to the Lanz version – I’ll have to check it out! I can see having to put the Canon aside for assigned work – but since you’ve got the basics of it sorted out, next time you pick it up you’ll find you make progress more quickly. Good luck telling your teacher you’re not going to participate in the recital!...and with the red dot!

TY beginner : Welcome! Claire de lune is lovely – good luck with your slow practice!

Maestro57 --- now that was a fun thing to do! And I bet you’re right : who would turn down listening to Mozart’s first composition . I googled Consolation –wow. You DO deserve a pat on the back! Pat pat pat

SwissMS –Prosecco and piano….delightful combination. You really are working on some lovely pieces right now. I especially like the Debussy Arabesque – will we hear your performance of it sometime? On your lovely new piano?

KBS 1607 – Welcome! And keep in mind that ATOWs are very personal – it is all about what YOU have managed, and what you’re feeling pleased about. One thing I like about hearing from everyone is that we’re at different stages in our journey – some folks are playing from Alfred’s 1st book, others are working on pieces by Rachmaninov – it is a real mixed bag. Congrats on finding a better way to practice – let’s see how you start to fly now!

Saranoya: congrats on making it to your piano lesson. We know that was something that you were struggling with! And your Impertinence was charming! I have to say I was a bit cross to see that my score doesn’t show any indication of trills and I wonder why? I started trying to add them in this week but they sound pretty lame – and I find it awkward getting the D/Eflat combo…but hey, it was my first try. Thanks for the inspiration!

UKPaulUK: I’ve got the Burgmuller collection, so I looked up N5. I’d say playing smoothly through that is certainly an accomplishment!

Heathermphotog – congrats on your new piano! It’s a beauty. And don’t you just love those “aha!” moments when something all of a sudden makes sense?—and your daughter is very sweet!

Malkin – now that is VERY nifty. I think that’s only happened to me once in three years.

Allard – I’ll have to check Night Song – not familiar with it.

Dulcetta – that sounds like you’re really on the right track !

Fordsnack – Wow, that’s wonderful. Congratulations indeed!

SandTiger – I admire the way you deal with a less than satisfying performance – you take it on as a challenge, an opportunity to grow and learn. I fear I’d sink in a mire of embarrassment and self-chastising.

Fifi M – Granados! wow ! I really like Granados, though he’s a “new-to-me” composer – I can’t imagine when I’ll be ready to tackle any of his work.

Warlock – good luck getting that pedal work under control for Thursday!

My AOTW is to have finally managed to get my current scales and arpeggios up to the playing speed and smoothness of my older ones. My focus work on the Heller piece seems to be working well. It is the first time I’ve really broken a piece up and only worked on the trickiest bits first rather than going through in logical blocks of bars. I’m very curious to see how it works out.

Apologies, I made my post a little -too- brief. Night Song was the piece of sheet music on Heather's piano. I just recognized it

That made me chuckle.