Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Alfred's Basic and ALL in One Adult Piano Course Book #1

I'm not entirely sure if there is a "correct" hand position for any chords. I have watched a ton of videos on youtube and other places, and as long as your technique and fingering are correct, the actual position of your handseems to vary from player to player.

My guess is that the correct position is whatever bis msot comfortable for you, and will vary depending on hand size, relative finger length etc.

For myself I have found it helpful to close my eyes with all 3 fingers on the appropriate keys, then shift them about slightly until i feel comfortable. I then keep my eyes close and concentrate on depressing all three keys.... once i get them to sound evenly, i lock the shape and then move up and down the keyboard with it. Then practice transitioning to it.

I'm just a beginner too though so I could be completely off here.

Here is a picture. Note that I am a beginner too.

Khendon - Thanks for your suggestion to close my eyes, I'll have to try that.

Flipper - that photo is pretty much what I'm doing. You ever have any issues with that C# I pinch it a lot and end up pushing it down.

Plus, is the movement from Gmaj a lift and set type movement, or more of a slide forward? I've tried both ways and have different issues with each.

Yes, I had issues too. As Khendon says, we need some training.

Lift only enough to change the position, from Gmaj

It's been a while since I posted! Nice to see some new posters here.

I'm currently on the Can-Can and it sounds utterly horrible when I'm playing it but great when my teacher does. I guess I just don't have it up to speed yet and I have too many pauses between measures.


However, I've not been passed on everything (but get more to do) so I'm technically working on that blues piece, On Top of Old Smokey, the Can-Can, and Marines Hymn (the latter is easy compared to others). A lot to do at once!

Yes! Yes! I have finally got "Good People" sounding like actual music! Nearly like that guy on YouTube! I still have a few sticky spots, but it's 90% ironed out, and I'm thrilled. Now it won't run through my head in an endless loop while I'm walking.
I've started on "Little Brown Jug," and the right hand is tricky but manageable. I don't think this one will take as long as "Good People," though. God, I HOPE not.

Oh, I had a LOT of trouble with "Good People". I dropped it twice before I got to the end of the book, and came back to it after starting Book 2. I too finally got it to sound good and was very happy to finally conquer it and "put it to bed".

Good job! I only got Can-Can to sound halfway decent, not as good as I knew it should. Basically sounded ok, just not enough speed. But my teacher passed me, so I'm done with that :-)

Glad you're doing well with Marines Hymn. I had to put some work into that one. I had trouble with moving the fingering in the second measure, but once I nailed that, it was gravy.



Good for you! I still have nightmares about "Good People" LOL! I just flat out did not like that tune at all, even when I listened to some nice recordings of it on YouTube that actually sounded good. I practiced the HECK out of that one because I wanted to be sure it sounded at least good enough for my teacher to pass me so I wouldn't have to play it for another week.

I finished up Auld Lang Syne and Oh Sole Mio last week. I had Auld Lang Syne sounding pretty good, and Oh Sole Mio sounded awesome, if I do say so myself ;-). My teacher even asked me to play it in the recital she held Sunday (to which I politely declined...but I promised to put some thought into playing in the next recital in May...which brings up another discussion, but I'll start another thread).

I'm currently working on Jericho and The Stranger (and still working on Moonlight Sonata as well). Jericho came together pretty quickly for me...just need to polish it a little and try to speed up a little more. I'm REALLY struggling with The Stranger, though. I have a feeling I'll have to have another week on it.

I started yesterday "Blow the Man Down". Now I understand what you mean about "hands independence".

This is not new for me, I saw it in "Ach Du Lieber Augustine" from "All Time Favorites" Book. Play the first measures very slow (really very slow) was not so hard as I expect, due to my experience in that piece.

Take a breath, relax, start play very slow!

Yes, I didn't find BTMD that hard, either. I started out by playing it hands-together from the very start but slowly and it came together. For me anyway, working on right hand and then left hand later doesn't work as well.

I'm crazy and still go back to play BTMD since I like it!

So as of Monday I'm finished with Book 1! I skipped a few tunes near the end that didn't really interest me (or my teacher) and I'm moving on to some repertoire books recommended in another thread.

Just wanted to drop in and thank everyone once again for the help and encouragement. This thread is what made me decide to finally take on the challenge of learning to play the piano...and it has been a very rewarding experience so far!

Cheers,
Hyde

Congratulations Hyde!

Now you can add ask to add your name in Alfred Graduates thread
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1265918.html

and add a Alfred sig picture (it is in Alfred Graduates too) to your signature

Will you start Alfred 2 book?

Hi there, I am a complete newbie that has always wanted to learn the piano, I have a very basic keyboard and due to finances I cannot afford a teacher so will attempt to teach myself. I know this is going to sound a really dumb question but what exactly is the difference between Alfreds Basic Adult Piano Course and the All in one Piano course. I bought the Basic Adult Piano course but within a few pages it was confused because it kept referring me at the bottom of the pages to other supplimentary books that I needed to buy. Does the All in one book have these missing books within one book?

Thanks in advance for your help.

No, the All in One book does not contain these missing books. The All in One is a little more "filled out" than the Basic Adult Piano course, but basically they are the same.
I have all 3 volumes of All in One, and I also have the 3 volumes of Alfred's Greatest Hits. At the top of every one of the greatest hits pieces, it tells you which page of Alfred's course it synchs with.
For instance, at the top of "A Whole New World" it says "Use after page 84 (131)." This indicates that, after you've finished 84 in Basic or 131 in All in One, you're ready to play this piece.
Like Bastien, Alfred's is a whole big system of method and repertoire books that one can use anywhere from very elementary level to concert level.
What you have bought is more than enough to start, but just know that there are repertoire books out there that are keyed to what you're studying.

Thanks a lot for the reply Michael, I got confused because within about 4 pages it had already referred me to about 3 different books, theory book 1, flashcards and sight reading book 1! Do I actually need these books or can I suffice with plodding through this book on its own?

No, you don't need these books now. You can do very well for a while playing just out of the Alfred books.
However, I do recommend getting some other books down the road as supplements. First, they reinforce what you're learning in the method book. Second, they stave off boredom. After all, you can only play "The Camptown Races" or "Can Can" so many times until you're ready for the nut farm.
I wouldn't ignore very very elementary books, either. (You know, the ones with butterflies and kittens over the pieces). They're great for sight-reading, especially for beginners. And there's no shame in learning from children's books. After all, if you were learning Russian, you wouldn't start with "War and Peace." You'd start with "Ivan and Svetlana went up the hill . . ."

I'm a beginner myself, FWIW, so take my comments in that context (ie - I'm no expert ). I'm using the AIO book, and I went into this with a pretty decent grasp of theory....and I still wish the AIO book had more theory. You can probably plod through without it, but I think I would supplement with the theory book at least, particularly if you are a true beginner to music. The other stuff is probably not absolutely necessary unless you're having problems with a specific area or have specific goals in mind.

I agree with gahdzilla. I do not have teacher too.


I can play now "Blow the Man Down" at slow tempo! For me, it is not only the LH and RH independence needed to play it. The fingering changes is also an additional skill to learn here IMO.

I will start "Moving up and down the keyboard in 6th" and "Lone Star Waltz" while practice BTMD.

Brilliant thanks for the info, I'll definately keep an eye out for the theory book in particular. Just need to start saving up for a digital piano rather than the keyboard I am using which sounds dreadful. Preferably one with a stand. My set up at the moment is embaressingly un-ideal..lol

Well, imagine my chagrin when, thinking that I finally had "Why Am I Blue?" under my belt, I watched a couple of good YouTube videos of it and realized I wasn't even close!
Instead of playing the groups of eighth notes smoothly, I was taking a short pause between so as to fit the syncopated notes in between the chords. That way I didn't NEED hand independence.
When I tried to do it the way it was SUPPOSED to be, I suddenly developed a mental paralysis.
Over and over and over I played it, and then gave up.
And then last night--EUREKA!
I suppose the advice we all give each other all the time is correct: Break it down, slow it down, have patience.
Now it's on to "Little Brown Jug" and "Chiapenecas."