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

Blow the man down has a different chord speed than the melody, like linus and lucy. You need to just work on the first two measures until it "clicks" and then move forward. Don't try to play left hand and then add the right hand. You only have one brain and it doesn't work that way. Think of piano as a typewriter. You have to use both hands and hit the notes in the right sequence with both hands. All of a sudden it "comes together" and you can hear the song. I will check on this thread and see how everyone is doing. One thing I told myself is not to compare my progress(good and bad) to anyone else. The more you practice, the faster it goes and I probably have more time to practice than alot of you. I am one of those "gung ho" people that dives in heavily to new things and I am slowing down and incorporating scales and fingering exercises(hanon) so that I am ready for what's to follow. Scales are real good for fingering technique. I suggest everyone search for some threads here on scales as I have picked up some real good ideas that make learning them fun. I really like playing them hands toward each other and then away from each other. I can only do C and G and D major right now, but hope to be able to do most major scales. This sounds cool and really forces you to know the sharps in each run, as they pop up in different places for each hand. What I find most gratifying about the whole piano trip is how you feel lost when trying something new and somehow through practice and time it "clicks." What's weird is as soon as you get good at something, you are thrown back to the level of incompetence as you move forward. I guess that will be the case for the next ten years or so, so try to focus on how far you have come rather than where you are at the moment. If you are serious about this, go buy yourself a quality piano as it makes even the simplest things sound better and calls you to the room for more practice. Look at slightly used pianos on www.craigslist.com in your area and you will pay half of new. I am playing a 52" Kawai upright that was ten years old and hardly played and paid 5300.00 total delivered from a private party. Comparable models is the K6 or Yamaha U3. Back to practice.

Yeah, I moved fairly quickly through book one. I didn't start from page one. The first lesson we just sight read through the book to figure out where to start. If I could sight read the piece well, we moved on. I think we ended up starting about page 80. He assigned four songs from there the first week, and I remember thinking, "Yeah right." But I practiced enough to get them all done because I thought that was the expectation. He was suprised they were all polished, but then I'd set the expectation and got in the routine of practicing quite a bit. It's slowing down a bit more now in book two. Plus, the songs are even better so it makes sense to polish them more.

I don't do much other than what is in the book at this point, because I haven't brought other things in that I want to do. So, that helps with the pace some too.

I do go back and revist things from the previous. I like the little arrangement of Amazing Grace at the end of book one, so I go back and play that. I also love the piece Light and Blue in the beginning of book two. What did you think of that loly?

oooo OG, kind of funny that you should mention light and blue. When I look at those arrangements I cringe but surprisingly enough I tend to pick up on them rather quickly.

I also tend to play them with a different rythym which at first didn't go well with my teacher because she wanted me to play it the way the composer intended for it to be played.

So I broke myself from the habit of making it my own and then when we got to another similar piece she actually told me to make it my own. She liked my rythym better but unfortunately it was hard for me to pick it up again.


amazing grace actually made me cry as I played it. I was going through some tough times when I came upon it so I was putting my soul into it.

Right now I'm on mexican hat dance and that one is extremely easy to pick up.

Do any of you guys use some of the Alfred's books they have printed inside the Level 1 and Level 2 Adult course? I am trying the Basic Adult Christmas Piano Book, Level One, and the first song, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, is very easy after finishing When the Saints go Marching In from the course book.

I used the alfreds adult christmas book level 2 back in november. I liked the arrangements they were a little different from the traditional ones.

there were about 16songs in all, my teachers intention was that I learned all 16 songs by christmas. hahahahahahahh I still chuckle over that one.

Hi all, thanks for starting this thread.

I'm using "Alfred's Basic Piano Library Chord Approach for the Later Beginner" Level 1 (ISBN 0-7390-1553-2). It doesn't sound like the book you've been discussing. Though I did finish "Saints Go Marching In" a couple weeks back. It's on page 35 & 37 in my book.

I also got into the Hanon challenge in another thread, but couldn't keep up, so will drop out of that and do the Hanon at your own pace thread. I have #1 fine, but realized that I had the fingering wrong for #2, so will try to fix that this week.

My teacher gave me "Easy Piano Classics" last night and it has 3 versions of Bach's Minute in G. I wonder which one y'all are doing?

She thinks I can tackle an easy version of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" after I mentioned watching "Immortal Beloved" movie. I'm just now starting pedaling in Alfred with "Harp Song".

I too enjoy the challenge and accomplishment of starting a new piece and being completely bewildered, and then take it apart, "fix the fractures", and put it back together.

The term "fracture" came from Charles Cooke's book, "Playing the Piano for Pleasure" - wonderful old book, but if interested, new copies are $60. I bought mine used via Amazon.com and it was $20 and the good parts are already underlined. Much of the book is over my head now, but many of the suggestions are great.

I also purchase Humphries "The Piano Handbook" and Larry Fine's "Piano Book", but I held back from buying an acoustic piano for now. I want to be sure that I'm going to stick with this. However, I upgraded from my soft key Yamaha P-510 to a Yamaha P-140 with weighted keys.

Sorry to ramble, but I too was imitated but so many adult beginners that were so far ahead. Good to be amongst peers closer to my level.

Thanks, Mark

Welcome!

It nice to know that others are in the same boat as yourself. I liked your description of breaking down a song. Sometimes when I start a new song and it looks like Greek, I do the same thing.

Your book does sound a bit different, but no matter were all just trying to keep each other motivated.

Keep us posted on your progress...

mark

Here is my update:

After much research I bought a used Kawai ES4. What a difference from playing with soft keys.

As for Alfread, I'm almost at a stand still. I have been practicing like a dog, but some of the songs in the 65-75 page area are really giving me a tough time. Can I fire my left hand?
I hope I can break through this tough stretch and move on...

I've been working hard on my major scales and was just given Moonlight Sonata. What a great sound. Just playing the first few measures is a thrill...its going to be a long term project. Hope I'm not over my head...

After 6 weeks of playing teacher tag, I hope to have my first lesson on Monday...

Have a great weekend everyone...keep practicing...

Mark

what songs are they Mark? I'm at work and my alfreds 1 is at home.

The little Brown Jug is a real pain...lol
Why am I blue is also going very slow

Thanks
Mark

why am i blue i remember well. i don't particularly like the blues, ragtime or jazz but for some reason i pick up on them quickly. same thing for legatto and stacatto. i can do legatto with one hand and stacatto with the other without thinking so my teacher sticks me with stuff like that.

anywayyyy if i remember correctly it's the rythym that's a little tricky for why am i blue? i couldn't get the rythym right away so i did it the old fashioned way played the right hand and got a nice syncopated rythym there. the left hand was fairly easy but i practiced it anyway by itself. then of course i put both hands together and i didn't get the rythym right at the start but i did after a few tries. once you get it one time and it sounds right you'll be able to get it for the rest of the measures.

it'll get better though. i'm finding book 2 easier than book one so those struggles you're going through are going to pay off. also book 2 has those type of pieces so it won't be the last time you see them. alfreds seems to be repetitive imo. so once you get it down the ones to come will be a piece of cake.

do you have the disc for that book? mine came with a disc if you don't have it, i'll post the pieces you're having trouble with so you can have a listen.

I dont have the disc. And I think my left hand is my problem. It just wont work on its own...lol The way things are going I might be in book one for a loooog time...

Thanks for the reply

Mark

Mark, start any new song so slow that you think you are going to fall asleep doing it. Take maybe three or four bars and make sure you get every note right. Go as slow as you have to in order to play every note correctly. After playing it correctly(four bars)four times in a row, increase the speed very slightly, and then more and then more until you get it up to speed. Make sure you have NO tension in your body, anywere. Tension causes lack of speed and misnotes. Do not go on to the next four bars until you have the first four completely correct. The speed will come with confidence and familiarity and before you know it your fingers will just react from memory and you will come up to speed. This is something I have to do as I am always in a hurry to get through a song and get to speed. I was training myself to be under stress and misnote. Some songs I never got right. If you do the above, you will find your progress actually much faster. Try it.

Sounds like a plan Bob, thanks for the advise.

Mark

Mark,

ill post the song up and link it by tomorrow so you can listen to the rythym that might help you a bit.

i brought my book 1 out and played it it brought back good memories. wish we lived in the same city it would be neat to get together and help.

Thanks, but if one us has to travel. I'm going to Florida!!

Looking forward to the links...

he he he it's a bit nippy down here right now.

here's the link hope this helps you, if you need anymore from book 1 let me know

http://www.box.net/shared/5vprn2k8l3

Well its single digits here tonight.

That was great, thanks! It would be nice if we could get all of book one songs here for everyone. Anyone willing to upload, go for it.

yewwwwwwww that's alot of pieces not sure box.net would let me upload them all.

give me a list by name since my book is the all in one and the pages don't match. that one piece was on page 116 of my book and i'll try to get them uploaded.

I didn't mean for you to do all the work...maybe others here too...lol

Thanks!

Mark