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When I am struggling (as I have been with The Entertainer for three days now) I don't use a metronome. I just isolate a phrase, or measure, and literally hit one slice at a time. First slice is just right hand, maybe. Second is both hands. Third is just the left and then another with both.

I literally hit the one key. Freeze. Look at the music. Enjoy my success at hitting one key. Then consciously move my eyes to the next "slice". Think about it. Perhaps look at my hands. Move my hands. Hit the next note(s). Freeze. Look at the music. Enjoy my success at hitting two keys at once.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

After doing this a few (or many) times, my hands just learn where they are supposed to go and the rhythm get burned in. Then I might be able to play one whole measure. Do that 20 times. And move on.

MUCH SLOWER than simply playing at a slow pace. Almost as if each slice of the music is just a flash card, meant to be solved one at a time.

Ok, that is much slower than I was thinking. Last night I isolated the measure that was causing me grief and started slow, but pushed on until I played it over and over without pause. I then went back to the beginning and tried to play through to the end of this measure. I would stumble again. But the repetitive practice would pay off and a few times I would play it accurate. I did this a few times. I then moved to the next row of measures. Same thing, last ones were trouble. So I played this measure over and over. I'm now about 60-70% accurate on a 'slow' pace. I didn't use a metronome here...as it was more about hand coordination.

Cheers!

P.S. I wish I was at the Entertainer...good for you!

Noonie

I was told by my teacher, when I have trouble with a part, not to start at the beginning again. I start at the measure before my issues and start from there and play with measure that is giving me trouble. When I have that down I then move on. I do not use metronome when I first start, get the notes down first. Some times it is a note at a time. Like Dru said.

My goal for the week, is to just be able to play thru Little Brown Jug. I don't expect to pass on it at my lesson Monday. It will take me at least another week to get the dynamics.

Hi,
I very much agree with Drew and Bsw. This is the way I do it as well. It seems boring to go over a few notes again and again, but it really pays off. I was told to
practice only the measures of a piece I can't play well. At the beginning of a new piece there is sometimes this overwhelming impression it's much to challenging. And looking back after a time I notice the improvement and how much I've learned already. I understand more and more learning to play this instrument is a very humbling experience and an exciting journey.
Hope you're all well and busy with your piano practice.
I'm still on 'Why am I blue' and it's getting better. See my teacher next week. I'm out and about for a few days as we celebrate British Columbia Civic Holiday, no piano practicing right now.

I played this morning and improved a lot.

A separate question...any beginners find they were/are too stiff at the piano? I had some shoulder issues before I took up piano, so I'm very conscious about posture. Though I think I'm too stiff and upright. My teacher also says that I'm very rigid. So lately I've tried to play very relaxed...very loose. Feels better. And this is when I started playing better with the song that had been troubling me.

Oh yes. I was very tense at first. I had to learn to relax from my shoulders through to my hands. I shook my hands out a lot and flopped my shoulders around to remind myself to loosen up. I had no idea how much tension I stored in my shoulders until I started to play piano. Not just AT the piano, but over the course of the day I often realized one or both shoulders were hunched up due to tension. Now, I'm much more relaxed, both at and away from the keys, and playing is much easier.

I have to be careful not to slump - if I do my lower back starts talking. Also I apparently put my feet in weird positions sometimes which doesn't help. And, apparently I hold my breath through the difficult parts, because I find myself taking a big gulp of air when I get through it. If I remember to keep breathing, it goes a lot better.

I had the house to myself today and spent a couple of hours at the piano - in 30 minute bites. Started on He's Got the Whole World in His Hands - it's not super interesting I think, but good practice for moving between keys.

"I have to be careful not to slump - if I do my lower back starts talking" - that's me, and due to slumping at the computer for so many years I developed a mis-alignment of my upper spine (it's not bad, thankfully). And this is why I was so tense. And now I'm practicing what grace_note says, relax from shoulders to my hands...but I would add my back as well. "Trying" to relax sounds easy, but isn't always the case. I'm really trying to relax more, in general. Lots of issues from not being relaxed, but I think getting into piano and discovering this will be a turning point!

I always get a pain in my back after a while at the piano, not sure why. Haven't been able to avoid it with posture or setup.

Unfortunately been pretty busy past week or so (which is quite strange for me) so haven't been able to play that much. Hopefully get some more time the next few weeks. Not quite sure what I'm doing to do for the recital but hopefully get something worked out. Looking forward to seeing all your submissions too! (hint hint).

I'm almost done with Singing in the Rain, it's a relatively simple song but it's a new bass line pattern so it's a worthwhile technique to learn.

I have had issues with my back and shoulders at times, related to slumping when on computer for long periods. I have found that when I get a twinge, I stand up and stretch my arms over my head. Helps put everything back into alignment. Opens lungs.

I found this guideline, but you still need to use your own judgment on what tempo sounds good to you: A Rough Guide to Tempo Ranges For The Confused Musician.


My slow and yours are quite different. I was having trouble with the rhythm on Jericho, so I started at 60 beats on the eighth note to get it sorted out.

How's the Ententainer coming along? I'm looking forward to learning that one myself. And I also love that hands together moment when it finally clicks. Do you stumble upon many pianos?

Congrats on passing Over The Rainbow! I'm not familiar with Laura so I just looked it up on YouTube, and nearly fell asleep listening to it. I just got up a little while ago, maybe I didn't get enough sleep.

Good to see your making progress. I see you got lots of practice advice, just keep at it!


I've had arthritis in my back since my 30's, so sitting with good posture in one position for long periods is uncomfortable and after a while I'll start slumping without realizing it. So when practicing at the piano I try to take frequent breaks to get up and move around. But I can't do that at my hour long lesson. My teacher doesn't say anything about it. I kind of wish she would.

I like that song, Singing in the Rain. I can't remember, is it the last one in the book?

I was hoping to participate in this coming up recital, but I haven't been working on anything that's recital-worthy. I think I'll wait for the next one in December.

I am feeling it today. The ending part is finally feeling like I am "playing" it rather than just hitting the notes.

And, yes, I see pianos all the time. Restaurants, people's homes (I am a window cleaner, by trade) and even the kids' school and the church where we meet for Cub Scouts. They are everywhere if you are looking for them.

I have been a bit slow in contributing to the thread lately so I just wanted to give my updates. This will be somewhat brief as I have come down with a particularly virulent strain of the flu and am currently in recovery mode.

I passed "At Last" on Saturday at my lesson and I have to say that it is in my opinion the most challenging piece thus far, it is also far more interesting musically than I expected and I'm very pleased to have spent so much time polishing it up.

I also passed the ragtime piece my teacher assigned to me outside of the Alfred's book (Linda I saw your question in the thread earlier- the name of the piece is Alexander's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin it was his first major hit back in 1911. It was an arrangement similar to the other pieces in the end of the Alfred's section. Also, ragtime is a variety of jazz it's called ragtime because of it's "ragged" rhythm; we refer to this type of rhythm as syncopated today.)

I am now working on Singin' in the Rain. It is a lovely piece that is already putting a smile on my face. I can picture Gene Kelly in my mind as I play the melody. It's wonderful.

My teacher also asked me to work on Laura. I've seen some of the comments about Laura. And while it is a bit slow, I am absolutely in love with this piece. After my teacher played it for me I have come to believe this could be the most musical and also most challenging piece in the Alfred's book. I would describe it as a very haunting love song written in a jazz style. I imagine that you could play a song like this in a hotel bar and it would set the mood perfectly. I'm going to spend a significant amount of time trying to make this particular piece the best that I've ever played any piece before.

I hope everyone is well, and I will contribute more as I recover from the flu. I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and seeing the progress of everyone over the last few days.

Blackjack, I also think At Last is hard. I've noticed these last few songs have you covering a lot more real estate with the LH. I'd developed a bad habit of memorizing the music, and then staring at my hands while I played, and my teacher finally called me out on it. Wouldn't you know, I'm trying learn to not look at my hands at the same time they are bouncing around a lot, so it's slow going. It's taken days to get that LH pattern in the first part of the song smooth.

Sorry you're not feeling well. Hope you are back on the bench and in good form soon.

Hi Blackjack, sorry to hear you have the flu. Hope you feel better soon.

I looked up that ragtime piece on YouTube and found one played from the Alfred's book 2. I really like the sound of it. I'll have to look more into ragtime stuff.

Also, I checked out Laura again and watched 2 videos, both done by piano teachers. One was 1:33 in length and the other was 2:14. I think it's a nice song, but personally I'd prefer a tempo somewhere in the middle. But that's just me.

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