Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Achievement of the week - what got you excited?

Saranoya: I'm happy to hear that you found an agreement with your teacher and you are not stopping taking lessons. Last year I had weekly lessons, but it was too much because I usually did not have much time to practice in a normal week, and when something went wrong I went to the lesson reporting only very minor advancements. This year my lesson is be-weekly, and more flexible (usually on tuesday, but sometime on monday) - it fits better for me (and thanks to MOYD I manage to practice more).

Sam: congratulations for your performance with such an advanced piece!

I don't know if this can be considered a real AOTW, I was asked to play a duet with my elder son at the recital; we have the same teacher, but he takes weekly lessons in a school and he has to perform in the final recital. So it seems we'll play an arrangement of Joplin's Entertainer. The teacher also told me that I could play a solo piece in the same recital... I agreed for the duet, but I'm not sure whether accept to perform a solo piece in a children recital (piano and violin, with both my children involved). As far as I know, I would be the only adult, and to play in front of families who only want to listen to their children is funny. It could be helpful to try and play in public, I don't know yet.

Isn't it a pleasant piece to just learn and relax with? I'm still working with it too and still enjoying it. I think Sand Tiger is also doing this piece although you both are no doubt playing a more serious arrangement than my Alfred's score.

My AOTW is getting more into the sight reading exercises in Hannah Smith's Book using both hands concurrently. I had to do this as my reading was so very weak I ended up memorizing too many things. This caused me to lose my place in the score completely and couldn't recover neatly if I had a lapse in memory. I find I'm enjoying learning to read better.

Oh SwissMS,
how lovely for you. I'm envious even though if I had the money to buy a grand I don't know where I'd fit one in this house. How wonderful for you to have this for your own.

YAY!!!! Very glad to hear your teacher is so understanding and everything's (almost) back to normal also.

Halfstep - congrats, I remember trying one of those small Baldwins and being amazed at how "big" it sounded. It looks wonderful in the pictures.

SwissMS - Oh my, a Bechstein....I got to try out a few Bechsteins when I was piano shopping. They had a sweet sounding treble..very bell-like if I remember. I'll bet the Bach Invention sounds terrific....Heck, I'll bet all your music sounds terrific.

Wow!! You are one lucky duck! I'll trade you my C3 for it!



Can you post a link to the book? I'm looking for hand together sight reading practice, since most of what I have is too hard for me.

Ron, thanks for the details on your lessons. Sounds like a great match for you!
If I can help with your Italian, sure ---but note that Torquenale is a native Italian, so .... she may be an even better resource to draw on!


Half-step! wow, beautiful piano - you must be thrilled to bits!!!
..and SwissMS...it followed you home lol My brother used to say that about stray kittens! What a lovely instrument indeed! I can't wait to hear both your and Half-steps instruments!


Torquenale - I think it is really neat that you'll be playing with your son, but I agree...it could be very weird being the only adult playing with the kids. I'll be in the same situation in June when recital time comes around - and I'm very sure that I will not participate.

Ragdoll, I have no idea what level your Alfred's book is, but the Canon I'm working on isn't very complicated. I have heard good things about the Hannah Smith book, though I don't use it. I was very fortunate when I started playing in that I was given a ton of music for beginners - sometimes I'll just spend a whole morning going through various pieces. I've also started putting the dates on them when I play them so that some time in the future if I go back I can have a reference as to when I last looked at it.

I had my lesson today : I haven't made much progress on the Heller piece as I've been very busy (and also tired) because of work (which is a pleasure! I'm not complaining!) -it was a very hectic week. I had, however, done some analysis of it and had focused on a few tricky spots. My teacher liked the way I was approaching it. I've also selected my next new piece - another Schumann - First Loss! This will help me with some much needed improvement in using the pedal.

No lesson next week as my teacher is conducting a concert in Vienna!

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the most recent page of this thread? For 2 days now, it's too wide for my laptop screen. I can just get and entire post in, but the names disappear off the left side (which means I have to scroll sideways to know who said what) & the ads disappear off the right side. Swiss MS, the grand piano is BEAUTIFUL. I played a Bechstein in a store a while ago - only time I've ever played a grand.

There's a Canon in D in Alfred's 2, but there may be other versions in subsequent books. I only got about half way in Alfred's 2 before I switched teachers & books, so I never got to it.

Melody is starting to sound pretty good - I think my teacher will be pleased. I've also been working on a piece called Impertinence, by Handel. I chose it myself - it's beautiful, but not easy. (& both these pieces are out of an old Level 2 RCM book) & I'm still playing the 12 bar blues, working on getting it smoother.

Oh my.... I have teacher envy! Vienna? My little mind thought only the very best do anything in Vienna?

On the Italian. I'm in no hurry at all. Concentrating on this Pianoforte right now. Be years before I actually look for criticism. I do wonder though. I know there are tons of dialects in Italian. How does anybody say that something is pronounced right?


After the teacher envy comes the Piano envy. Nice pictures.

Joyous--the thread is gigantic for me too. I don't know why. Maybe because we've had such gigantic accomplishments this week!

Chopin Nocturne in Eb is memorized - yeah! I still need quite a bit more work on the last section to make it smoother but it's coming together quite nicely.

I bought it from Amazon Sam. Just search in books on "Progressive Sight Reading Exercises for Piano" by Hannah Smith. It's pretty basic stuff, you may find it too boring given your skills.

You might find my sight reading skills (or lack thereof) quite surprising

Wow, new pianos, delivered pianos finally being played, new teachers, pieces memorized, and more. Lots of excitement and possibly envy too on the thread. (I haven't had any trouble reading the thread, perhaps try reloading, or loading on another browser).

Ragdoll, yes, I am working on Canon in D, but mine is a level 1 arrangement, simpler and shorter than the version in Alfred's book two. Stubbie pointed me to a Monica K. rendition (piano monica on youtube), which feels like level 4-5, and that one is too hard for me to attempt. As is, I am at week nine working on my simple shortened version that has single whole note harmonies on the left hand. I looked at or listened to 10 different arrangements, so there are a lot of versions out there.

HalfStep and SwissMS -- congratulations on the beautiful new pianos. How exciting for you both!

It's Halfstep's link that breaks the page, by the way. It'll be fixed once we post enough to go to the next page of the thread.

My piano is getting tuned today! Will try to get some recordings in.

Yes generally large photos throw thread-viewing off kilter

Ron - there is Italian and there are dialects. Most people speak Italian, some (increasingly fewer) speak both, and some very old folks only speak dialect.
As far as pronouncing Italian correctly goes, it is very much like English in the US or the UK --- it does vary somewhat from region to region. Those from Tuscany will tell you that their Italian is THE Italian because of Dante Alighieri's 12th century writings in the vernacular "setting the stage" for modern Italian.
Where Torquenale comes from the "r" is generally very very soft instead of a harder "rrrrrrrr" growly R you find in other parts of Italy. Where I live the vowel "e" (pronounced "eh") is stretched out into more of an "ay". It is quite fascinating to figure out where folks are from without asking, just listening.

As for my teacher...well, I think he's brilliant and I feel very fortunate - through strange twists of fate - to have hooked up with him.

Joyoussong - I looked up Impertinence. It is the piece I've been working on !!!! It has a different name in my book (Aylesford piece). It IS tricky - but I love it too. So we're working on the very same pieces - how cool is that?

Andy - what satisfaction! Will we hear this at the May recital?

SandTiger&Ragdoll, there are so many versions of the Canon out there. I love the one Monica plays (Lee Galloway's version) but it is too hard for me right now too. I think there must be something in between what I have and that version, but for the moment what I've got is a very nice start.

Yes there are! I only had to hear Monica's rendition and decide to learn this piece though not that arrangement. Too much-too soon, the version I am working is the last piece in Basic Adult Lesson Book two as well as the first piece In Book six. They are identical so go figure? At any rate, this particular version is really not terribly difficult until you (rather me) get to the sixteenth notes at page 4 but my sight reading is getting better so that is getting easier for me too. It'll be awhile before I master this piece, even this simple arrangement but then I tell myself, "what's the rush?" Luck to both of you with it.

Well then you might find it very useful after all Sam. Nevertheless, you play so beautifully I'm impressed each time I hear you play here.

I think I had previously promised (to you, because you do keep asking!) August. But, you know what, there is a chance for May ... perhaps an outside one, but a chance ...