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 am now on "Got Those Blues". I liked the eighth notes played a bit unevenly.

I'm working on Can Can but I haven't really put in too much time with it. I can play the right hand separately but I haven't done a lot with trying to play hands together. Old Smokey wasn't all that tough. Took a little bit of time to get it mistake free, but there wasn't any frustrating parts.

Stay loose.

fliper, I like swinging the eighths in all the blues pieces. Hope my teacher agrees.

I've got my lesson tomorrow, and hoping to pass Little Brown Jug and Chiapenecas. I've started practicing ahead in the book, all the way through Amazing Grace, and playing (but not really practicing yet) the remaining pieces after that.

Starting from Amazing Grace, the pieces seem to be an order of magnitude harder than what has come before. We've been playing I-IV-V ad nauseam, and now they throw in jazz voicings and a zillion accidentals? Wierd. I'm glad of the challenge, I guess, but I hope it doesn't slow me down too much in getting finished with the book. I'm estimating 3-6 weeks remaining.

Having played Amazing Grace several times now, I have got to say, that is the most florid arrangement of it I have ever heard. Bah. A good challenge technically, but musically, ugh. In my imagination it is a much sparser song. It makes me want to try my hand at making my own arrangement. One verse with four voices, and one verse with a counterpoint in the bass, or maybe (wouldn't this be fun) a fugue.

yes,at this level, it seems the pieces are much more for technical training rather than music appreciation.......lol

someday, I'll be able to play nice sounding music that my wife my enjoy hearing (headphones these days!).

The first songs, at the end of the book, I've been assigned are Scarborough Fair, He's got the Whole World...., and Amazing Grace.

The three note tremelo at the first note of the triplet is taking some time to play evenly but getting there.

Jim

I too have been working on "Amazing Grace." It's lovely, but I'm still having trouble making the transition between phrases. There's always just a little hesitation, and I can tell, and it's driving me batty. Sometimes I get rid of it entirely for two or three phrases, but then it creeps back in. I think it's because there are a lot of shifts in hand position.

OTOH, "At Last" came along much quicker than I thought it would, and I'm making good progress (after only two sessions) on "Singin' in the Rain." The end is in sight for Alfred's #1--I've been working at it since February--and then it's on to #2.

However, I'm not SO stupid as to think that once I'm through with #1 I need never go back to it. I fully intend to keep stepping back as I move forward, polishing the pieces every time.

Michael Steen, you may know this already but two ways to practice getting the transitions without a break are: 1. Look ahead during the last measure of a phrase to see in advance where you have to get to, and 2. practice the transitions alone, slowly: just the last measure of a phrase, and the first measure of the following phrase.

I passed LBJ and Chiapenecas today, and now I'm assigned everything through The Entertainer. This is good because it will give me an extra week to work on Amazing Grace. I've got to really buckle down on Whole World: it's deceptively simple, and finds umpteen ways to trip me up. Grrrrrrrr.

PianoStudent88, yes, I know to do those things, and I do them. But, sadly, knowing what to do and doing it does not always (or at least quickly) turn into having done it. It's a slow slog, but it will come.

As to "Whole World," welcome to the club. It's tricky in lots of ways that aren't apparent when you start. Good luck.

Today I played Whole World a bit slower than usual -- not slow, but not trying to start out racing through it, just relaxed -- and I got all the way through the first time through without a mistake! Hooray!

I've started practicing the remaining pieces in the book (as opposed to just playing them through). It's hard because I'd really rather just play them through, instead of picking them apart to focus on the harder parts. But today I seem to have gotten most of them to the point where *most* parts are pretty smooth, so the un-smooth parts stand out like a sore thumb. So I've been bracketing those bits and making myself give them individual attention.

I discovered another technique (I may have mentioned this before), which is *memorizing* the problematic bar. I don't memorize easily, no matter how many times I've played a piece, but if I focus on just one measure I can remember how it goes. Then I can practice it mentally away from the keyboard, and at the keyboard I can practice it with a little more attention because I don't have to look at the music, plus it helps me practice the measure as a unified physical gesture, instead of having the small gap of noticing which notes come next. I'm not entirely sure why it works (despite that list) but it has worked in a couple of places for me (including that dread D-major measure 11 of The Entertainer) so I guess it's time for me to try it on other pieces too.

Some pieces though, it's hard to know what to break down. For example in Amazing Grace it seems as if almost every measure it is a chore to transition from one LH position to the next for the following measure. So do I keep playing AG all the way through over and over? (Including some LH-only practice...). Or do I stop and play one transition over and over, and then go on and play the next transition over and over, etc.? Hmmmm, having asked the question I think I've found the answer: practice each transition several times over, to really cement in my fingers how *that particular* transition goes, before going on and doing the same for the *next particular* transition.

I had to go out of town unexpectedly so missed my lesson this week. On the plus side, that means I have my material down for next lesson *really* well, what with the extra practice. On the minus side, that's one more week that I'm going to be loafing around in Alfred 1. I'm eager to start some lovely Baroque repertoire after Alfred! On the plus side again, that's one more week of practice on the final pieces in the book I can use to pass them more quickly with when they *do* get assigned.

Finished "Got Those Blues". I need to practice the dynamics. I will start today "Chasing the Blues Away"


I made a few recordings:

018 - Dueling Harmonics
http://www.box.net/shared/1k58q806j3dz9oyd346m

019 - Brother John
http://www.box.net/shared/bfjr581g6ndediinan9h

019 - Brother John Broken Chords (not in the book)
http://www.box.net/shared/bjk2mhcleg8proseaolz

020 - Here s a Happy Song
http://www.box.net/shared/o38qghl0xkuicfcb4ida

021 - Merrily We Roll Along
http://www.box.net/shared/5aj5qf6ck14hpdnyzteo

022 - Largo
http://www.box.net/shared/i2auidr16n5vhm59jkd6

023 - Mary Ann
http://www.box.net/shared/4g567huxozr2st03q9yh

024 - Rockets
http://www.box.net/shared/ygr33xlpoxjfuue2zgcs

025 - What Can I Share
http://www.box.net/shared/t0tmfexh2uj3mvtivvt5

026 - Day is Done
http://www.box.net/shared/e11ns813d6cbvp7aooj8

027 - When the Saints Go Marching In v1
http://www.box.net/shared/b1hkvta3ql3zrnokia3t

028 - When the Saints Go Marching In v2
http://www.box.net/shared/oe0td8vjsc9ccmqr5t7a

061 - Joy to the World
http://www.box.net/shared/zh73vsc9x03j6n1hhid6

062 - Cockles and Mussels
http://www.box.net/shared/9gsgmaovxrb1sr1a8mk4

You've been working hard, fliper! How do you like the blues pieces?

I've discovered a new trick for Amazing Grace, which is saying the names of the chords to myself just before I play them: C, C7, F, C, C, D7, G, etc. I'm not sure why this works, except maybe it's a way of making myself read ahead. Maybe eventually I'll be able to read ahead without the reminder of the sotto voce chord names.

I'm also working on amazing grace/over the rainbow. I found amazing grace harder because of all the changes to remember.

I noticed most of the videos on youtube stop at amazing grace. Are there any recordings floating around of the last few pieces in the book?

Still waiting on the new DP and start lessons again. I think the biggest thing I need to work on at the moment is playing evenly. Does anyone have any advice on how to practice playing smoothly and evenly? My recordings sound fairly choppy and unpleasant. I know smoothness and musicality comes with time, but any tips to help me along the way?

Peace-Piece, when you mention "all the changes to remember," does that mean you primarily memorize the pieces in Alfred?

My challenge is definitely looking a measure ahead so I know if I should be moving my hand during the rest or keeping it mostly in place.

I found a new thing that seemed to help today, which was tapping my foot. I was playing on the fast side of the range of tempos I use for this piece so far, but tapping my foot seemed to discipline myself to stay really attentive to the music.

Yeah, I decided when I started I wanted to be able to memorize everything. In the process I neglected sight reading somewhat. Ideally I'd like to be able to do both equally well.

I like the blues pieces. Swinging the eights is fun.



Here are some links taken from this thread of "Amazing Grace" recordings

Angelojf
http://www.box.net/shared/ysqmzrul60

Mark
http://www.box.net/shared/kayh4h3kss

Strings & Wood
http://www.box.net/shared/1evyg15ako

GracieCat - Recital #19
http://abf.make247.co.uk/recital_files/Recital_19/30.%20GracieCat%20-%20Amazing%20Grace.mp3

you also have the videos of PianoNoobAlex
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=PianoNoobAlexMan&p=r




I read that practicing scales can help, because you memorized the scale and then you can concentrate in other things like play ebenly, speed, dynamics. I pratice those things with the Hanon and other exercises from Alfred AIO 1 book (4 or 5 minutes as warm up).

Peace-piece (one of my fav's, by the way)



It sounds like you just need to start practicing on smaller "chunks." Find a phrase in the music that you think sounds choppy and unmusical. Back up and start a couple notes before that phrase and end with a couple notes after the phrase. Decide how you would like it to sound and try to play it that way. Do not move on until you are satisfied that you can play that phrase musically and evenly. If you are still struggling, then break it up into smaller pieces and work on those one at a time.

Another tip is to practice a phrase very slow and very loud for 4 or 5 repetitions. Then go on to something else. Do it slow and loud again on day two. On day three try to play it musically as you wish it to sound.

Good luck, learning how to practice is half the battle IMO.

Jim

Guys, how is the DVD? I've given in, and I'm going to order book one from amazon....for another 20 dollars I can get a DVD so I want to know if it's any good or if there's any point. Obviously it is easier to learn from a book, but I would still use it if it's good.

Also, I realized that there is a theory book and there's another book, which is the learning one or something. Am I supposed to buy both book one and theory book one?

Please help out if you have any answers....I resisted from making a new thread!

edit: I also realized there is a finger aerobics book...what about that?

You might try taking some of the pieces that you have learned (pieces that you like) and improvising them and playing them in a different style. Like I remember in Piano I, I took Mary Had a Little Lamb and inserted into my final recital playing it swing style, it worked!

Pie, the most convenient book to use is Alfred's "Adult All-In-One Course, Level 1: Lesson, Theory, Technic." Here is a link to it at amazon. The idea is you only need to buy one book. It includes some theory and some finger exercises along with the pieces to play. It also comes with a spiral binding so it lays flat easily on the music desk.

The series you're looking at is probably the Adult Basic. It is not spiral bound so you have to clip the pages together to get it to lie open. It covers almost exactly the same pieces as the All-In-One. The Theory and Finger Aerobics books probably cover more material than the All-In-One, which you may or may not want. The idea is that for this series, you would buy all three books: the Lesson, the Theory, and optionally the Finger Aerobics.

Lots of people on this thread have used the All-In-One and found it sufficient.