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

Just as well, if it was too sharp you might get a nasty paper cut!

As far as I know that's it. Please don't tell me you're using it as a throwaway...sigh,,, it too me so long to get those last bars!
(I still flub if I don't pay strict attention!!)

Today I did have an "ah HA" moment. I was playing, Gypsy Legend as a maatter of fact, and realized that my arms were totally relaxed.
Of course as soon as I realized it I tensed up again, but I was able to do it a few more times. I realized THIS is what it should feel like.
It was a real breakthrough moment and I am trusting that from this point I'll take firmer steps in the right direction.

I'm glad so many people chimed in today - it is much cheerier "hanging out" with the gang

casinitaly - thats great! I love the feeling of playing relaxed ( the way it SHOULD feel ) !

if you find yourself tensing up, don't be afraid to revert to HS practice even if you can already play HT.

play the part you are tensing up at with each hand separately, it is during this time that you can really let your arms melt into liquid and shake off all the tension!

then when you go back to HT the tension might temporarily return, but just alternate which of your hands gets your brains' attention and then you can quickly work the kinks out.

Don't worry Cheryl. I doubt I'll do much damage to Gypsy Legend in a week's time. I picked it partly so that when I get to lesson time my teacher can say "oh, that deserves more attention than a week", which is something she will do when I pick a throwaway that's a little harder and has good musical or technical challenges. Anyway, I'm having fun with it.

Part of that work on scales at speed I described a while back was to deal with tension issues, so I know what you mean about having those breakthroughs where you finally FEEL what it is SUPPOSED to feel like. I have a long way to go, but it is nice to think you are on the right track.

My achievement is getting to play more after two months of letting some tendinitis heal and realizing the Burgmuller op. 100 pieces are within my reach. For today I don't feel like such a beginner.

Kurt

I felt like I could play something well! Not really well, mind you, but my ambitions are modest:) BTW it was Fandango. Only on a forum like this could you get excited about playing a song in a kid's book and not get laughed at!!

Shannonia, are you talking about the Fandango from the Joy of First Classics book?

I don't consider that a kid's book! Sure there are some really easy pieces in it - but there are also some tricky ones.
I did a sight reading of Fandago over the weekend in fact and might be working on it after I finish what I'm working on now....

(ps at this point all our ambitions are modest ...at least the ones we talk about publicly -I think we all have at least one big secret piano dream of great ambition!

Casini, the bright colours and dancing children on the front page of my book just led me to assume it was for kids:) It is different from the book you mentioned.
PS I am very underwhelming when it comes to sight reading. My teacher only makes me play a few bars.
As for modest ambitions, I have big plans my friend, big plans....;)

Ah, no kids dancing on the cover of my book

As far as sight reading goes, - I can "read" just fine...it is reading and playing that trips me up

Kidding aside, I think that I can read fairly smoothly - I understand what I'm seeing at any rate - because I learned to read music in high school and have never quite given it up totally. I'm new to piano, but not to music.

I'm really really pleased with my Joy of First Classics book (book 2 btw). Book 1 and 2 are the same level, just different pieces. I find that there is a really great range in the level of difficulty and every couple of months I let my fingers nooodle over something that "used to seem" way too difficult. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised!

Good luck with realizing your abmitions Shannonia!

Shannonia,

Doesn't matter what it is as long as you play it musically. I do exercises from a book with kiddie stick-figures on every page (doz.-a-day ser. #3). I get totally juiced when I can do an exercise smoothly and make it sound like music. Who cares if it was called "kitty-cat jumps the fence", or "sliding down the bannister" (that was a toughie . )

Enjoy every minor success. Its all good.

I made "Why Am I Blue?" "Good People," and "The Little Brown Jug" (Alfred's #1) sound musical. I played them with virtually no errors, and I'm pumped.
On to "Chiapenecas"!!

After 2 weeks of *almost* no activity, I just finished a 1.5 hour session and not even done yet for the evening!! (it's Monday). So my accomplishment for the week is re-committing to practice, practise!

I read the word "recital" in one of the other threads, so I panicked.

Why am I so streaky, people??!! I would get so much more repertoire in if I just spent more time at the bench. I must say, I had fun and feel re-energized again. Maybe I need those little breaks - but I think I take way too many...lol.

CebuKid, are you sure you took a break from piano? I thought we caught you posting here and there . Seriously, I think maybe the streakiness could be related to being results oriented. Not that that's a bad thing. Its pretty typical for high achievers. But improvement in piano is often so imperceptily slow that it isn't always possible to tie effort expended with results achieved. I know I struggle to find a way to just enjoy the process of daily practice, without thinking about results or progress. Anyway, enough psycho-babble, welcome back to the bench.

I'm on a serious piano high right now. Cunninghams just put my piano on a truck this afternoon. I've spoken to the driver and he expects to deliver it to me next Monday morning - 6 days to go!!

And at my lesson today my teacher assigned Chopin's B-minor Prelude. Those B-minor arpeggios in the bass are going to sound awesome on the Estonia. I am so juiced.

Cheryl, as expected I get to work on Gypsy Legend another week. She had never heard it before and really liked it. I think that gets assigned alot more in Europe than in the US. Amazon search for it turns up a blank - a pretty good indicator of use here.

Woo hoo!

My achievement is that I finally played Amazing Grace right in public - a month and a little bit after the ABF recital Whatever works -

Cathy

I am playing Canon in C......it's 4 pages. I can play 3 of 4 pages so far!!! Sounds terrible, but I feel like I am making progress! Hopefully, I will be able to play the entire piece fluently in a few more days.

On another note, I should be receiving my new piano tomorrow!

Michael: Little Brown Jug , Makes me think of Glenn Miller, who certainly made it musical! What fun!

Cebukid - you are on a roll!
Jim, you must be going out of your mind with excitment! I can't wait to hear a sample of your new piano playing your latest pieces! As for Gypsy Legend, I haven't found much on the net for it either, nor can I find anything much on the composer. I love this piece... I wish it were longer. Someday maybe I'll compose a following section! Wouldn't that be fun?

Cathy, that's great - where did you play?

Michael T - I know Canon in D, Pachelbel, but (forgive my ignorance) where does Canon in C come from? Sounds like you're making progress - maybe you'll play it in the next recital?

I've been working on Sonatina in G. It's my first real 2 page piece, or so I thought. I've really enjoyed it. About 2 weeks ago my teacher mentioned that page 3 & 4 would be fun working through. WHAT?! She's right! I turned the page and much to my shagrin, there's 2 more pages. I've got the first two pages put together and hope that I can more forward to the next page, next week.

Started Minuet (bwv 116) last week. Was only suppose to work on it hands separate this week, but can already play it all hands together. It's only at half the speed it should be, but I can play it almost note perfect. I always manage to fumble somewhere.

casinitaly: The piece that I am working on is Canon in D (in C)!!! I guess it's an easier version of the song for newbies. I don't think I'm quite ready for a public performance......I've watched a few people get ripped to shreds! Some day I will bravely step out onto the public platform!!!

GracieCat, Your playing really seems to have blossomed after you kind of moved away from the Alfred's as your primary source of pieces. I'm really impressed that you put the Bach together after one week, even more so if it is your first Bach piece. Which Sonatina in G are you playing, Beethoven? I remember you saying a while back that you found it more interesting when you could get your left hand more involved (or words to that effect), and I think I remember you used to play another instrument. Anyway there's nothing like Bach to get your left hand fully involved. Congrats on the good work you are doing.

Jim

Been out busking on the streets for the first time today got me really excited, very nervous but excited.