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 on Alpine Melody - 69 in Alfred's All in One Book. Got a keyboard for Christmas and started with Piano Sessions Online. Great software, but not really for beginners who never touched a piano. It really jumps ahead to playing complex songs and doesn't teach fundamentals. It may be good to learn the popular stuff once I learn the basics. It has fun tests and stats, but nothing like human lessons. I started lessons in May at a school where she teaches full time. So far I am amazed I can play anything. She has focused less on my timing and rhythm and just letting me learn reading and fingering so I feel like I am progressing but kinda clunking along and the songs don't really sound great. She is one of these old school teachers where I feel like she may pull out the ruler and smack my fingers some times !!

EnGee: Sounds like you're doing well with your multi-method approach. I"ve stopped my forward progress while I continue to work on some of the more basic stuff. I also still need to do the F A C E etc sometimes. And if I haven't played a chord in a while I have to stop to figure out which one it is. I was thinking about buying flashcards, but maybe instead I can find a game or program online to help with memorizing notes and chords.

karmanathan: Hi there! We're at the same place, except as I was just saying above, I'm stopped for now. I started out with Piano Marvel before I found this thread and switched over to Alfreds. I did have a teacher for a few lessons. It didn't work out, but I did like her approach of learning all aspects of each song. Have you tried asking your teacher what you can do to make the songs sound better? If you have any concerns about your teacher's methods you may want to start a post about it in the teacher's forum and see if you can get some feedback about it.

Me: Speaking of teachers... I think I may have found one. I have a lesson scheduled for this Thursday. I tried out the 2 simpler Hanon exercises tonight. Not very exciting stuff, but I feel like I gave my fingers quite a workout walking up and down the keyboard.

That's great, good luck with your lesson. I would like a teacher but I'm not sure I can afford one right now.

I played a bit yesterday with a lot of focus on keeping relaxed and shaking out the tension every minute or so and it felt a lot better.

I tried various programs to speed up learning the notes and they worked, but weren't notably effective. I got much better results from doing one of the drills from the Super Sight Reading Secretes book:



I did the note verbalization, but not the fingering. Not sure it's really necessary. And I didn't restrict myself to 2 minutes, maybe 5-10.

As for chords, surprisingly I haven't found any program that would ask you tell which exactly chord is displayed. Most only ask if it's major or minor, some may require to specify inversion, but not the name like C major or A minor.

Glad for you Linda :-) I wish I could afford to have a teacher me too. I believe it is very important to have a teacher especially the first year (or two). I wish you a good one this time (without a noisy kid or a hungry tummy!)

I think I'm OK with my dual learning. The first source can show me how correct I have played in percentage. Usually I don't move if I don't get a perfect score. So, I repeat and in doubt I click the percentage which shows me where I did a mistake and what kind of mistake (pitch or rhythm). In Alfred's book, I must be the judge, but with the aid of the notation software I can judge myself easier.

The two mini programs (or games) I have in my android phone are "Note Trainer" and "Score Master lite". They are free but with ads I think. Anyway, I bought them both so I play them for 5 mins and exercise the notes (in my case it helps a lot). I just can imagine that for iphone there are even more of such programs. Those are only for notes, like rpw, I couldn't find something for chords.

@Andrew - I really enjoy your videos. It's really helping me see how they should be played (speed, etc). The Alfred's CD I have, play other instruments playing the songs in addition to the piano so it's really hard to hear how the piano notes should sound.

Andrew: Glad you're keeping relaxed and feeling better. What you're doing sounds like a good way to go about it.

rpw: Thanks for those drill instructions! I'm going to give that a try. When you say you didn't do the fingering, do you mean you didn't touch the keys, or that instead of saying, "G-5, F-2, E-1," etc., you just said "G, F, E," etc."

EnGee: Thanks, I downloaded "Note Trainer" and did some note practice and playing. I like it! I couldn't find "Score Master Lite," though. Is it available for the kindle?

karmanathan: I don't have the CD, but I believe I read that it's recorded on 2 tracks, so you can turn the volume off one or the other speaker in order to hear just the track playing piano playing. See if that works for you.

My update: I feel like I got some good practice in today, with the focus on relaxing my wrist. My chords are starting to sound better, except for D7. I cannot figure out how to press fingers 4 & 5 down at the same time. Grrr!

As for my potential new piano teacher, well, it ended before it even began. He sent a text message today asking to reschedule tomorrow's lesson so he could go to a friend's birthday party. I think that pretty much says it all.

It's not like I can afford a teacher anyway without going into debt. But I'm struggling with some of this basic stuff and could really use some one-on-one help. I am not giving up, though! So, I shall carry on with self-teaching the best I can, for now at least. So, here I go... moving on to the C position.

The later. I don't see a point in verbalizing finger numbers, unless that's what you want to learn.



When I got to the D7 chord, I thought there was a mistake in the book. Why would one use 4th and 5th fingers if 3 and 4 feel so much easier? I don't know. Anyway, I don't have any useful advice, I think I just got used to it after some practice. Maybe someone from the teachers forum can help.

www.musictheory.net is a nice free website with some good music theory stuff on it. I use it a bit to practice reading the bass cleff.

Glad my videos can help karmanathan. If you type the song name and "Alfred's" into youtube it'll usually come back with 10+ similar videos that you can watch. It's fun watching some and seeing how people can play the same piece so differently. I think there's one or two good players or teachers that have done examples as well that are good to look at.

Bluebonnet - Good luck with your 4 + 5 fingers! From what I can recall they share some physiological structures (like tendons or something) that are independent in the other fingers, so it can be very difficult to get them to do stuff that's easy for your first 2 fingers. I might have a slight advantage here because guitarists go through a similar thing, so perhaps mine a little more well trained than the average beginner's.

I think the fingering in the book is a pretty rough guideline, however it definitely wants you to use your 4/5 fingers for precisely the reason that they are weak! The songs we play are simple enough you could usually play them with 2-3 fingers on each hand, and beginners have a tendency to play this way, but this will leave you in a bad spot when you move onto tougher stuff and your 4/5 fingers are still very untrained.

I recorded another song today after a bit of a break, and it feels good to (semi) officially be progressing again. I've spent a fair bit of time on the next 5 songs or so but if I can get them on video I really feel like I'm ready to move on.

[video:youtube]77bpK1s3jCA[/video]

rpw,
Fingering indications in sheet music are just suggestions. Not everyone has the same hands, and if you find a different fingering that is more comfortable for you, take a pencil and change it on the score. Also, the suggested fingering for the same notes might be completely different in two different pieces of music, or even the same piece of music, depending on the context. That is because it's not only about playing those specific notes, but also being able to smoothly transition to the next notes as well. Sometimes a different fingering will make it easier to move to the next chord, for example.

One caveat. When you start playing in keys other than C-major, be very careful when you decide to change the fingering. If a note is supposed to be sharped or flatted because of the key signature, but you forget to do so, the suggested fingering might seem crazy but only because you're playing the wrong notes.

Warm Regards

I would laugh but just today I realised I have a whole song recorded with me hitting b flat instead of b in one of my videos. I tried to play it the right way but it sounds really wrong to me now. In the end you've gotta go with your own ears!

Just put my new Amazon order in as well.

Beginning Blues Keyboard
Big Book of Beginner's Piano Classics
Complete Jazz Keyboard Method
Adult All-in-one Course: Alfred's Basic Level 2
The Real Book: Sixth Edition

Should be fun!

Are those your lucky piano shorts?

I really don't know! I have kindle "reader?" for PC but I don't have kindle device. Score Master Lite is very similar to Note Trainer, so you are not missing that much really.



Sorry to hear about your lessons. I don't have something to say except that I really like eMedia Piano as my teacher! Unfortunately, there is no demo for the program, but you can watch the video below to have an idea about the flow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE5M3Wi9StQ

IMO, if you can afford a teacher, that would be the best option because Alfred's book is not enough as the only source for learning.

rpw: Thanks for clarifying, and I'm in agreement with you on that. Seems like saying the finger number would just slow things down and make it more complicated than it needs to be. But other than that, I think this method will be a great way to help improve my sight reading, so I'm going to start using it.

Andrew: My thinking is the same, to stick with the suggested fingerings. I am very slowly getting used to the D7. At least now I can occasionally make it sound as one, so there's hope for me yet.

Nice job with "Little Brown Jug." What are you listening to through the headphones?

Oh, and I'll take a look later at that musictheory website, thanks.

EnGee: Sounds like I'm set with Note Trainer then. I spent some time on it today with the treble staff, and already seeing a big improvement. Next time I use the program I'm going to muster all my will power and select the bass staff instead.

I took a look at eMedia and watched the video. I'm tempted to buy it. But I'm wondering if it'd be confusing because it's not like the two methods would be in sync with each other. Do you find it at all difficult to work on both at the same time? It doesn't sound like you do, but just want to double check.

Me: Practice today included working on chords and memorizing notes on the treble staff. I've started on the C position in the Alfred's book. Just up to "Good Morning to You!" on page 74. And for some fun I also started back in on "You Are my Sunshine" from Alfred's pop song book.

I am sort of thinking about looking for a simple piece to learn for the upcoming recital. Andrew, are you still going to be submitting something? What about the rest of you guys?

Hello I'm a newbie :-) I'm glad I found this thread as I have read through some of the others in the adult beginner forum and most were well over my head! I am working on 2 Alfred L1 books - the basic adult piano course and the one for the later beginner. It's through chance not intention though, I was learning the latter with my piano teacher when I found an old copy on the other book. I'm actually finding it helpful going through both books to re-enforce things and play the same song a bit differently. I am loving all the suggestions (such as the apps which I downloaded to my android phone - thanks very much :-) ) and I have learnt so much already (even if some of it is still over my head!). It is daunting at times trying to learn as it seems like every little step I take shows me just how much further I have to go. It's nice to know there are others in the same boat. :-)

Welcome MandyD! I know what you mean, sometimes it seems a little bit like this is the only actual Adult Beginners thread in this forum.

Reinforcing is good, sometimes all you really need is a rest and a break for a day to really make progress.

Bluebonnet - My piano is only playing through the headphones, I live in a house with 4 other people so more often than not I'm using headphones. I'm getting the sound by recording straight with my computer, no microphone.

I've been doing about 20 mins or so a day on my recital piece and it's coming along slowly. I doubt it'll be ready in time but you never know, and it's not like the time spent on it is wasted if I don't make this recital. Maybe if it's obvious it's not going to happen with a week to go or so I will pick a relatively easy one from Alfred's or something to submit.

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to try to enter a piece, I feel like even if it's the first song in the Alfred's book the contribution will be appreciated, and recording yourself is great fun and a great learning experience.

No, not really. Well, in the very beginning I was confused about the left hand position because in eMedia tutorial they say to put the two thumps over the middle C which is not the same as Alfred's book, so I asked here and I got the answer from the good guys in the forum which was "It depends on the musical piece you are playing".

The two sources are great (and correct of course) but with different plans to reach the same goals. I don't feel a conflict or a contradiction between them.

Look for discounts if you decide to buy it. I bought the download version with 15% discount (with code "group" at checkout) from JRR Shop. You might find it cheaper in another shop (and with physical box sent by mail to you). Oh, and there are two versions: Level 1 only and Level 1+ Level 2 together (which can save you little bit more) :-)

Mandy: Hello and welcome!! In here we're beginners helping/supporting each other, which is awesome of course, but the adult beginner forum is invaluable for the information (questions/comments/answers) you find there from more experienced piano players.

You're right about it being a lot to take in, especially for those of us who are starting out with no prior musical experience. And I know it can be daunting, but try to keep in mind that you are constantly gaining new knowledge and learning new skills, and that it's a years-long process, not something you're expected to master in mere months.

Andrew: Ahh, now the headphones make sense. Didn't even think about that. That's a really nice song you're working on, and I'm looking forward to when you do have it ready to show us.

Engee: Great, sounds good. I hadn't thought about looking for a discount code, so thanks for that. I'll do that now and get the program tonight, will probably just go for the download instead of the CDs. I have to say, Piano Marvel started in the C position (both thumbs on middle C) and it confused the heck out of me when I started in the Alfred's book.

Me: Nothing new to report. I haven't advanced any further in the book, just still working on the same stuff as last time, but I'm at least getting my practice time in.

Quick update, got 2 songs done today.

Chapanecas - Probably played this (badly) every day for 5 or so days now, then probably another 40 mins or so today to get it recorded. I sat down and drilled the tricky bits playing them non stop for 5 mins at a time (just looping over and over the same 8 bars or so), but even doing that still managed to screw it up quite a few times trying to record it. I remember plying in F major (with a b flat) being very strange at first but now it's seems perfectly normal. There's a weird thing with key signatures where your ears clue your fingers into notes that you should avoid and every time you see a b you automatically go to b flat. I know at first it seems very strange and for a while I was hitting b natural but now my brain seems to have gotten used to the idea.

There's a lot of accents and staccato notes in this song which I didn't pay too much attention to. Definitely something to work on in revision.

Auld Lang Syne - This was a pretty straight forward song, I think it's purpose teaching wise is really just to give you more time in F major. I got so used to F major from the last song though that this one was relatively easy.

O Sole Mio - Oh boy. This is what I'm up to now, it sounds weird, but I have definitely heard it before somewhere and it has a strange charm about it. Again in F major but a few accidentals that really through you off! Also an arpeggiated chord thingy which is pretty cool. Feel like I might be on this one a few days...

The song after that is Jericho which I can play pretty well already, a groovy little tune that I think I've sung in choir before.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend!

Yes, the first time I ever played in a key other than C major, I kept forgetting to apply the key signature (not every time, but enough to frustrate the heck out of me). The thought of learning to play in other keys in addition to that was daunting to say the least. But as you say, it quickly becomes very normal. It's really self correcting because the wrong notes usually sound, well wrong.

I do think that playing scales helps a lot with that. I used to think that practicing scales was just about training your fingers. And yes, that's part of it, but more I think it's about training your ear. In fact, I think it's a good idea to try to work out the scales for any new key you're learning to play in by ear rather than counting half and whole steps (though that's a good way to check).

Anyway, it seems like you are making really great progress! You should be very proud of what you're accomplishing