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Overture is behind me now, moving on to Light and Blue. It looks like the lesson from this piece is all about working with the thumb under. Which we both had to laugh a little because the Chorale I'm also working on is all about that (except harder haha), so I figure it's all good.

I'm still working on the Sonatina, omg I played it so terribly for her last night it was embarrassing. I have to get that lesson anxiety thing worked out somehow. But in spite of that, she zeroed in on what I need to work on with this piece, which is getting the left hand as fluid as the right. We also talked about the other two movements for this sonatina, I don't know if I'll end up doing that or not - I sent her the sheet music I found for them.

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to give a short update.

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted at all in several weeks, the reason is because my father died suddenly and I've been helping to take care of my mother and help her through this difficult time. I was so sad I almost was thinking to stop learning piano altogether. But fortunately I decided that piano would be something healthy that could channel some of my emotions and help me to recover from this loss, so I am back. And hopefully I will contribute to this forum more regularly again.

I had my first lesson in a month and it felt great to get back to the piano. It's honestly the only good thing I had to look forward to since my father passed. I'm not practicing as many hours as I previously had because of everything that is going on and helping with my mom.

My teacher passed me on Scherzo and also 2 little technique pieces in my Dozen A Day work book. So it was a good lesson.

I've started working on Introduction and Dance which I'm really enjoying the melody of. It seems that many people know this song but I have not heard it before. I loved it when my teacher played it for me.

I'm also still working on, and making very slow progress on, Chopin's Prelude in E Minor. It will be beautiful once I get it all down. I expect it to be another couple of months before I get close to completion.

I also passed myself on A Little Porcupine by Kabelevsky which was the most difficult piece I encountered in the Alfred's Masterworks book so far. I'm working on Told You So! by Gurlitt and will finish it later tonight or tomorrow. It is a much easier piece.

I've enjoyed reading all of your comments since I was last in the forum and it looks like everyone is making such good progress. I'm happy to be back at the piano and I will hopefully be able to comment on some of your posts in the future as I have more time.

Talk to you all soon.

blackjack, my deepest condolences on the loss of your father, what a difficult time it must be for you.

Welcome back to piano, may it continue to be a solace for you.

MeganR thank you very much for your kind thoughts. This forum is very supportive.

I read some of your updates. I wish you luck on Light and Blue and also on your Sonatina. It looks like you're really making good progress and moving along quickly.

Just thought I'd pop over and see how the Alfred's folks were doing (I did Alfred's 1, but focused on classical instead of moving to book 2).

Blackjack, Really sorry to hear about your dad. I find playing the piano a consolation when things go awry. Glad to hear you are continuing with it.

Very sorry to hear about your father's passing Blackjack1777, glad to hear that the piano is providing you with a distraction at this difficult time.

Quick update on my progress, after a little break of a week from Alfred's book 2 ( I have been learning My Heart Will Go On from greatest hits book 2 and am now happy with it really enjoyed learning this one and also my first 3 page song) I will be starting up again tonight with alexander's Rag Time. Had a little play with it doesn't seem to difficult also still working out of Masterworks Classics book 1.

Blackjack, I am sorry for your loss. Keep on playing. You enjoy it and will find comfort in your music during this difficult time.

Very sorry for your loss, Blackjack. I hope playing your piano helps to lessen the grief somewhat.

I'm still hung up on "Theme from Solace", although "Morning Has Broken" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band" have been moved from practice pieces to repertoire. "La Bamba" coming up. Not ready to start it yet though.

Great to see so many updates from people this week!

grace_note nice to see you popping into the Alfred's thread. How are you enjoying your classical pieces compared to Alfred's method books? Do you have a favorite piece you've learned so far? Thank you for your kind words about my father.

Marko697 Alexander's ragtime band is one of my favorites. Good luck with it. I'm also working through masterworks classics on the side and I really enjoy it, the pieces are challenging but not to the point of being frustrating.

BSW thank you for your kind words. It's nice to see you in here posting. How is your progress going?

mom3gram congrats on passing Morning has Broken and Alexander's Ragtime Band. You're moving along quite quickly. Good luck on finishing up Solace, I really enjoyed that one, and thanks for your kind words.

My update is relatively short this week. I have hands together on "Introduction and Dance" which is really fun to play. I will work on the dynamics this week and maybe possibly pass it by the time my next lesson rolls around.

I have hands together on about half of Chopin's Prelude in E minor and will continue working on the remainder of it this week. It's the most difficult piece I've tackled so far but I will be proud of learning it, I feel like it will be a real accomplishment.

My teacher also passed me on a little Dozen a Day exercise and I passed myself on Told You So! by Gurlitt from my Alfred's Masterworks book. I've started on Melodic Tune by Kohler and have it about half way completed.

Overall I had a great piano week with lots of progress. I really enjoyed working through some tricky places in my Chopin piece with my teacher today. Lesson day is my favorite day of the week.

Blackjack. glad to see your update and that you are progressing. I am now working in the Faber series as my new teacher's focus is totally classical. After having to take at least 2 steps backwards I am now progressing. Learning to play music and not just hit the right keys. Lots of focus on how to play. It has been frustrating at times as I wished I was taught this from the beginning. But it is what it is. I'm almost thru the second Faber book and loving it.
I now know how important a good teacher is. My playing is a lot smoother now and learning how to play dynamics.

BSW, that's really great and I think that regardless of having to take a couple steps back that it sounds like you've made tremendous progress and the best part is that from here on out you will be learning correctly with a teacher that you really love. So congrats on that!

I was back to lessons with my teacher today, after being out of town for two weeks and missing the last two lessons. I thought I would come back and forget everything, but surprisingly nothing was really lost, and I think I'm playing Wild Rider better now than before I had left town. Crazy. Perhaps every now and then a break is good thing.

We recorded Sonatina in C Major (Duncombe) today and I was pleasantly surprised with my performance. I think I even surprised my teacher ;0 The lesson actually started with sight reading as we had discussed that before I left town. We went through a different set of pieces from Eugene Kuo's Keyboard Sight Reading Exercises published by MTAC and she suggested I get the following book(s) and start working from that.

http://www.amazon.com/4S02-Royal-Conservatory-Sight-Reading/dp/1554407435 or
http://www.mtac.org/store/

We ended with practicing Wild Rider, which also went very well. I struggle with the left hand part in the key change so I'll be working on that more this week. She mentioned that she was going to look for some other pieces to start working on, but not from Alfred's. So I'm not sure if I should keep posting in this thread, hehe ;0 Alfred's seems to be dormant for the moment.

Blackjack, yes, taking a step back with new teacher has made all the difference. Lesson learned, I knew I was not improving to where I wanted to be. Always listen to your inner self.

I have a question for folks who completed Light and Blue - did you finish with the tremolo suggested as an alternate possible ending? I've been playing with that, and although I am far from having perfected the technique (very far), I kind of like the sound of it. It's such a fun piece to play anyway.

bSharp Welcome back to the forums! I'm glad to see that your break didn't affect your playing. I was surprised that my absence from the piano for a couple weeks in April didn't seem to affect me too much either. I'd say keep posting, I doubt anyone would mind. Half of my updates are usually on stuff I'm working on outside of Alfred's anyway and so are a lot of other folks in here.

And actually to be honest one reason I found out about Masterworks and some of the other beginning pieces that people play is because people posted what they were working on outside of Alfred's in the Alfred's forums. And I'm thankful for that.

MeganR Yes, my teacher also had me play the piece both ways (with and without the Tremolo) and I liked how the Tremolo sounded but it took me a long time of practicing it to get it to sound good. It's a very odd feeling at first, at least it was for me. Good luck with it!

I didn't. I had to ask my teacher about it though when I first started it - I didn't know what it meant ;0

I tried to do the tremolo, but wasn't successful.

Today I was able to play through all of "Theme From Solace" with a couple of wrong notes and a few hesitations. Not ready to call it done (I still have to drill the last few lines on page 2), but I'm getting close. Not ready to move on to "La Bamba" yet.

Just an update on my new practice schedule. Since I have added the Masterwork Classics series and the Greatest Hits to my schedule I definitely think that my playing has progressed currently just finishing up alexander's Ragtime and moving on to Solace. I have decided to skip La Bamba as I think it is just a review of F and I don't feel like having weeks of frustration trying to learn it. My progress has slowed in Alfred's now that I have added the other books and I am quite happy with that. I always felt I was trying to rush to the end but adding the other books have made me feel like I can just play songs and see where it takes me rather than trying to finish a certain book. Happy playing.

I've decided to skip "La Bamba" too. I think it is too confusing, and not a piece worth getting frustrated over. I too use several other books, which slows my progress in Alfred 2, but it keeps me interested and adds a lot to my enjoyment. I started "La Raspa" yesterday, and it doesn't look too bad. You will, of course, be passing me by shortly, because I'm a really slow learner.

blackjack1777 Sorry to hear about your bad news, but I am glad you are back.

I didn't do the tremolo. I really want to learn how, though. Any tips?

I am currently working on "Night Song". It's actually quite fun, although I am having difficulty getting it smooth.