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

Ragdoll - better luck with the next interview! and congrats on the reading progress. That's going to be so helpful!

ElleC - happy pianoversary!

Carolos....You're an Amazing EPP coordinator! Bravo!
Saranoya put on a great day for us last year and you're certainly maintaining the standard --- don't raise the bar too much please because then it's going to be a real challenge for when the event moves to Italy next year!

I'm working on my first jazz piece and it's all coming together. The rhythms were very challenging to start with but I'm getting into the swing of it now.

I'm also dusting off the Moonlight Sonata 1st movement which I learned as a teenager and it's coming back nicely although there's still a way to go.

I signed up for MOYD and so far so good. Yesterday was a real close call as both work and home were very busy - I squeezed in a few minutes late at night so while it was a practice session of limited quality *or* quantity, at least the habit has been maintained.

Thanks Carlos, It's starting to surprise me how well it's going.

Yes thanks, I have the number of a different teacher, just haven't called yet.

The reading practice is surely making my learning more productive...and not just reading the notes, but all the score, rhythm, dynamics, etc. I am BTW choosing reading below what I'm studying to play but that still helps me read what I'm playing while I'm playing regardless. Thanks for the encouragement.

@WiseBuff She probably knew I'd never show up. There was a time when 1/2 hr. was plenty but not now.

Welcome to the thread, Barbaram.

With MOYD what is important is the commitment. The fact that you MADE time to get to the bench is huge. When I have to limit myself to a fraction of my normal time I find that focusing intensely for a short while on one small thing is very productive. Indeed, I would argue that it is sometimes more productive than my longest sessions!

Sounds like you are going to make a fast comeback to the piano. Lots of us hereabouts play mostly classical for our teachers but love to dabble in Jazz pieces too. Which jazz piece are you working on? Your own arrangement, or one from a book?

Follow-up No. 2: I had my first lesson today with a teacher at the community college. We started off discussing a little bit of background on the piano (didn't take long, for me ). She starts everyone, regardless of level (she is teaching beginner to intermediate) with beginner technical stuff. I will be practicing chromatic scales to start with (contrary and parallel motion); also pentascales (beginning with each note of the chromatic scale and including broken and blocked chords), with attention to articulation.

Then we discussed some of the books I had (Her: "How come you have so many!?" Me: Shrug. "Can't pass them up."). I suggested Essential Keyboard Repertoire Level 1, so she flipped through some pages and played something from a piece and then had me do it. That went okay. Then we moved on to something else and discussed a few things (and she demonstrated some stuff as well). She suggested a couple of pieces to practice, but encouraged me to play as many as I could.

I asked about how she decided to what level to take a piece before moving on and she said it depended. If it was something I really liked, we'd take it to performance level. If not, then we'd take what it had to teach and move along.

We didn't discuss 'how to practice.' I think I know how to do it, but it will be interesting to see if that is something she discusses explicitly.

All in all, I was happy with the way it went. I was calm and collected, which was a relief. She didn't start off by asking me to play something, which was a relief. The piano (a grand) played beautifully (can I have this, pleeeaaase?)

So I'm off and running!

Ragdoll- that's the way to go!

Barbaram...getting into jazz is really fun. I have tried a bit and just loved it. Somehow I find it much more relaxing physically than classical in all its many forms.

Stubbie: sounds like you've got a good find. Keep us posted on how it is working out.

I had my lesson on Tuesday and for the most part was able to demonstrated I'd sorted out last week's problems. My teacher said I clearly know the notes, the fingerings and the piece as a whole and what is supposed to happen - and yet it still doesn't flow smoothly. What seems to be the problem is that I still have fingers that like to fly in the air and I'm still to slow off the mark in getting into position...... sigh. I've been trying to work on keeping my fingers "lower" and moving to new positions a bit earlier and now I feel like I'm just making a mess every time I try to work through the piece. It's really frustrating.

Edited to add: During the lesson I played the whole sonatina from start to finish. After the first movement I feld the adrenaline kick in and I really had trouble with shaking hands for the second movement. It was the first time I'd ever experienced that! How on earth do you keep that under control???

Last Tuesday I had the first lesson of the year. A really nice lesson it was, but it a month after the previous one and I had a lot of time to practice during Christmas holidays.
The best part was that I did not developed bad habits in the new piece assigned in December, it's still in a very preliminary form and it needs lot of work, but no mistake to correct. It's a Beethoven's Bagatelle, actually my first Beethoven piece (I don't count the easiest Sonatina in my previous piano life) so I want to get it right.
Sometimes no bad news is good news...

@Stubbie,

Boy that fired a synapse in my gourd. . I can play about 5% of the music I own. Glad to hear you found a teacher, be sure to let us know how it goes. I'm still looking.

Hi Cheryl,
unless it's a large jump, I find it helps to feel for positions (relative to a key,(physical key that is) with one or more fingers before I have to play them. I hope that makes sense. AFA the flying fingers, I am over that now but couldn't tell you how it came to cease. My guess is I had some tension and couldn't relax. FWIW, it was mostly my left hand that misbehaved all the time.

I was glad that she couldn't see the look I gave her out of the corners of my eyes. Ha! You should see the ones that wouldn't fit in the bag. I justify the number by telling myself some are for sight-reading, some are for playing now, and some are aspirational. It's all good.



Cas, this reminds me a little bit of the "praise sandwich" someone mentioned in the teachers forum (but in a different context :)) :

--Some praise/accomplishment--you'd sorted out last week's problems;
--some things to work on: flying fingers;
--praise/accomplishment--you played through the entire sonatina (that's cool). The adrenaline rush toward the end--sounds like a form of Red Dot Disorder, or maybe Almost-Done-I'd-Better-Not-Make-a-Mistake Syndrome.


Torquenale: congrats on a successful return to lessons. Glad you could get plenty of practice in over the holidays.

Sometimes when I am learning something and gaining a sort of proficiency the music can move me to such an extent I lose all concentration and control and have to stop. It's a good/bad feeling. For me it happens early in the development of the piece and indicates I don't have control over the piece yet.

AOTW... My recital piece/song, or at least the little bits that I'm starting to learn, are starting to sound a little bit like music. It's difficult, but singing along makes it much easier to identify the rhythmic deficiencies.

Also, I've "decided" (subject to change, naturally) to skip Feb 15th and try for May 15th instead. This has taken a lot of the pressure off and might, paradoxically, actually make me more likely be ready in time.


Cheryl -- re: shaking hands, exposure to public performance is the best antidote I can think of. For me, just three instances of playing for total strangers in Boston (Street Pianos) did me a lot of good. You might find your teacher's kid recitals worthwhile after all?

Comment on JimF's sage advice, copied from my sig line...


I'm pretty sure I've never done this. Not once.

I thought about it today. Two or three times "right" is about all my little brain can tolerate before I flit off to the next couple measures. Grrrr...

Cheryl, congratulations for playing the whole piece in front of the teacher. Next time you won't shake. It's a really good practice for playing other people. I think we all need little bit of shaking fingers to be blessed with adrenaline surge which works like a miracle in moderation.

I just came back from my lesson. She made me play through Chopin Nocturn and Bach prelude too. Nocturne is still horrible. I can play the notes, that's all. It ain't Chopin yet. Prelude is going okay. I tend to learn Bach really quick due to very strange training I got in Japan. In Japan, first 7 or 8 years, piano teachers do not give you romantic or impressionist pieces. It's Czerny exercise, collection of sonatine and lots of Bach. This approach facilitates playing pieces up to 18 centuries but does not help me playing 19 century ones. Of course if I continued several more years, I would've progressed into 19 and 20 centuries but I did not. That's why I suck every time I play romantic period pieces. There's a huge gap my piano study and I still have a long way to go.

One achievement - I bought Suzuki viola accompaniment book. It was great. I can practice accompaniment and its helping my husband keeping beats.

Torquenale - I agree with you - sometimes just maintaining your "balance" is the good news indeed!

Ragdoll, I think I understand what you mean. Before playing a difficult part I will practice just moving my hand - stretching out to find the right position - in effect I am trying to memorize how much I have to move. I do it several times and then play. At some point it does kick in, but sometimes when I try to go very quickly I still find I miss my position or slide off the keys. A work in progress!

Stubbie - I wish my teacher would use the praise sandwich. He tends to work in reverse...(unless I've done an outstanding job from one week to the next , which to be honest, rarely happens). Generally he starts with what was wrong - and he's very specific. He'll go over everything and when I've just about give up hope that he noticed ANY improvement at all, he'll say "It was good. Better than last week". It has taken me a long time to get used to his style but I'm learning to just hang in, listen to what went wrong, and know he'll get to any praise I've earned. I would prefer a sandwich, but this is Italy I guess I get a pizza

Earlofmar - Sometimes I lose concentration too - it can be because I'm so impressed with getting something I think "oh wow, "...crash! Or it can be because I remember I have to pick up milk for the next day - crash! Concentration is definitely an issue - but in the instance above it was a purely physical reaction that threw me off. Totally new experience. Very disconcerting!

TallGuy - how great that your pieces are coming together and sounding musical! That's a lovely feeling.
As for performance being the only cure for the adrenaline rush... well you are probably right. I have in fact been considering taking part in this year's recital because I need to prepare for the piano party in Lisbon. Maybe I'll organize my own little recital too. A wee piano party in my home...

As for missing the Feb recital and taking the stress out of your life...I'm all for stress reduction!

FarmGirl, thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep at it. I wonder how you get "adrenaline in moderation" though? You too, hang in there! --- you'll get your Chopin. I find it very interesting to hear how you studied in Japan.
It seems logical in one way - to follow musical development in chronological order - but also strange to not let students play a range of different music and learn different techniques.
I think it must be great fun for you to be accompanying your husband! Making music together, what joy!

I saw the following in a thread about how long it takes to make progress, :



I think that although I have adjusted my thinking about my expectations over time, I still feel I "should be" moving ahead more quickly. This feeling is nibbling away at the pleasure I've had in playing in the past and I need to remind myself of how far I've come - without comparing myself to others, without worrying about who might think it isn't enough, without beating myself up about it... If it isn't fun and enjoyable there really isn't any point, is there?

Hmmm... Like Brahms Intermezzo 118/2 last year??

If that was sucking, my reaction is "more please!"

I was going to embed the YouTube video to prove the point (for those not familiar with your capabilities), but then noticed a warning notice there saying: "This video is unlisted. Be considerate and think twice before sharing."

So, I'll provide the recital index link instead, I hope you don't mind, to what you referred to as: a "Lame attempt"