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Cas, it sounds like he is a good teacher. I am really happy for you.

I had a really tough week. Very busy with work and basically sleep played.. meaning i was so sleepy that i almost hit the keys. Maybe it's not ideal for practice but it sure helps my mind clear. Will write more when normalcy returns..

Hi Luna. A friend of mine has a digital- I have a play on it when I go over. I should go over and see her- not seen her since I started my piano lessons- be nice to show her what I'm learning! She has made a right nice feature of it- with a mirror and fairy lights round the mirror. Mine is quite oldy worldy with candlesticks and pictures of Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin and my Grandad's late c.19th and early 1900s family photos on him! Piano is a "he" cos he has character! And too loud for after 10pm! I'd need to move if I got a digital as my living room is small and Piano already dominates it!





MOYD? Can't work out the acronym...
I used to just do 15 mins but it's getting longer by the day. I want to play for hours. I would too if I didn't have other (mostly boring) things to do- you know how it is.

MOYD = Master of Your Domain. (I believe it's a Seinfeld reference.) It's one of the threads here on the Adult Beginners' section where you pledge to get to the piano on a daily basis. Even five minutes counts. It's meant to help get you in the habit of daily practice.

I know what you mean though about being busy. I do find that I usually always end up practicing longer than originally intended--which is a good thing.

I'm convinced that your brain really and truly does work stuff out. For example, I started a piece a couple of days ago and was struggling with some of the rhythms. There were two measures that just didn't make sense. I only worked on it for about 10 minutes for two days. On day number 3, it suddenly clicked, made sense, and actually sounds like music now.

Even a little bit of practice can go a long way. I'm so curious to see where I am one year from now if I can stick to my MOYD pledge.

And speaking of falling asleep, I'm about to.

Ah I see. I am so addicted now that five minutes wouldn't be enough. If I won the lottery I'd probably do nothing else but piano piano piano.






Yes- I was letting my dinner get cold!





I know what you mean. When you get something it feels so good doesn't it?






Same here!!






I ought to be but I'm not!

My ATOW is that i had a really good lesson today. I played the f minor prelude from Bach WTC Book iI today and my teacher was very pleased. We will move on to the fugue next week. Brahms intermezzo op 118 no 2 is moving at a slower piece than Bach but okay. It's a really pretty piece and I cannot wait to memorize. It's very nice to have a teacher in my age too. Friday lessons are awesome as well. It was really hard to go to a lesson at 3:00 PM in the middle of the week - even though I work into the wee hours to make up for it. My old teacher is an excellent piano teacher but she had a hard time understanding the nature of my job. I could not get Friday or Saturday lessons because she reserved those lessons for "busy" college kids. I don't think there were so many ladies when she was younger, pulled 60 hours work week. When I walked in, she was playing Scriabin's etude..I like that. On the way back, I also found an excellent USED BOOK STORE WITH SHEET MUSIC! Nice day:)

My achievement this week is that I now have the new book and am starting it. It still has pictures of dogs and ducks in it though, so I look forward to the day when every piece I play is no longer decorated with piano-playing mice etc.

Edwardpiano - it is great to see your enthusiam! I loved reading the descriptions of your piano set up - it sounds charming indeed, what a lovely setting in which to play!

Luna, isn't it great when things fall into place? I love that feeling.

Toastie - a new book! There are few things more exciting for us that new material. I would like to mention that there are beginner materials for adults that don't have wee animals on them.

FarmGirl - I'm glad to hear you are so happy with your new teacher, and that the lessons are more convenient for you. Ironically my lessons are now in the middle of the week, in the middle of the afternoon! However, I believe I'm going to be able to set up lessons of my own (I mean with me as the teacher) right after my piano lesson, in the same facility (lessons are at the middle school in which I teach). Even if I can't , the lesson is only 10 minutes from home and close to pretty well anywhere else I need to go too, so I'm not worried about it.

I've been working on my pieces but I'm not sure I hear anything different in them. I suppose what is different is that I'm reading and working at looking at the notes and glancing at the keys rather than only looking at the keys. I have to improve this ability to do a bit of both, it tends to be only one or the other for me......

Ah it's ok, I don't mind the animals so much, as long as the book is helpful (which it is). Plus there was a cute little certificate in the back which I made my teacher sign to say I finished and this made me as happy as any seven year old would be.

You know, I think I'd be delighted with a certificate too.....perhaps even more if it had a mouse on it

It does have a mouse on it. He's making a "thumbs up" sign!!!

Oh, I would be absolutely giddy with delight!

What fun!

Haha! I think you need to buy some certificates and award them to yourself.

I work with children and there is nothing I like more than giving myself stickers. It's so motivating!!!!

OK, that does it. You all get a good-AOTW sticker for the week..........
[i][/i]

Thank you Jim --- see, I'm "wearing" my sticker!

Thanks, it is when the buses and ice cream vans are not making a racket outside! I live on a main road.

My AOTW is that I recorded a piece for a friend and mentor as a thank you. The piece still needs lots of work, but I recorded it for her anyway and explained that I would play it for her again when my playing improved. The piece was Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 32 No. 12. The other part of the AOTW is that I *almost* have this piece memorized. I did play it through from memory yesterday but there are some spots that are still shaky.

They are so cute! I want them LOL. Animals in books is fine by me but got none in any of my piano books.
I wouldn't mine one with those cute funny little Hoots in it from The Clangers.

Tiny Clanger plants a musical tree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3rWghGSm4Y

This had me laughing in delight at it's innocent magical cuteness.


Here are the Hoots:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MMqKgshQCk

Ha ha I love his little choirmaster outfit. I need to get a mouse and a tiny piano and teach it to play.

EdwardianPIano, I love The Clangers! Do you remember the marvellous mechanical mouse organ from Bagpuss?

I used to have two pet mice a few years back- they were very sweet!

I have two little piano musical boxes- they are very cute. I also have a cute mandolin music box I got from a charity shop for £3.

I do re Bagpuss! Have a Bagpuss DVD I got from Home Bargains last year.

Here is something charming- possibly cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCXZaLZe7m4

How I want one of those Victorian music boxes!

FarmGirl, it sounds like you are working on some great music that you love and that is so motivating. Congratulations on a great lesson. I know what you mean about having a teacher who understands the nature of life for someone who is working full time. I am not taking piano lessons at the moment, but my voice teacher is like that. Extremely down to earth. It makes a huge difference.

Toastie, nothing wrong with ducks and dogs! It's always a good feeling to start a new book. You will continue to make progress and before you know it, you'll be playing the stuff that you really yearn to be playing.

casinitaly, I find the same thing about looking at the keys and looking at the page; it tends to be one or the other for me, too. I find that for me, I don't look at my hands much when I am learning a piece. But as I begin to memorize, I look at the page less and my hands more. And then eventually muscle memory kicks in. I've found that I am memorizing more intelligently though. I try to remember certain notes so that I'm not relying completely on my muscles. Memorization is an interesting process.

Valencia, what a great gift to record a piece for a friend! I think that's a marvelous idea.

Cute videos!!

My singing teacher gave me a Bach cantata, "Jauchzett Gott in llen landen." She's starting to think that I just might be a coloratura soprano, which is exciting as I really do love florid music. But honestly--I'm not sure how I am going to manage a balance between my vocal practice and my piano. But I am definitely going to try to keep up with both. Singing tends to take priority but I don't want to lose my piano practicing foothold.