YES!

40 minutes in under the wire for a total of 1,010!

My required festival piece is really coming along thanks to all this practice!

I'm back in the saddle after my surgery. In fact, got the piano tuned today! Rarin' to go for Feb.!

I, for one, can't believe how fast my pieces are coming along with all this practice...although I can't put in as much time as some of you! *bows, chants "i am not worthy"...*

This challenge has become a real motivator. I feel compelled to practice at least an hour a day in order to make the 1680 minutes that I committed to. Great idea! How mny others are maybe practicing a little more than they otherwise would have were it not for the challenge?

Me!

Do you think an IV and a catheter installed by the piano would be too much??

Perhaps if it were enclosed in a tasteful French polish ebony case...

LOL!

While doing my 2 hour session this morning I asked one of my daughters to refill my coffee cup. I then jokingly asked if she could bring me the porta-potty!

I heard Beethoven's wife (must be a tale since he didn't have one) drew the line at a porta potty!

Compulsive? Who me? Just ask any member of my family and they will tell you that couldn't possible be so. Competitive? Yes! Haven't checked this morning to see what the standings are. Too many chores!

Here is my "self talk" every time I pull up the standings:

Not looking at the top 2.

Not counting the top 2.

Don't look up to the top of the list.

The top 2 don't count.

You're not like them.

You are exceeding your goal by 2 minutes.

Twelfth place is not bad.

Cindy is way ahead of me.

Twelfth place is not bad.

I changed the calculation for the Daily Average.

It will not advance the number of days until after 1:00 pm. This way you will see a more accurate average. It used to turn over at midnight.

I need to make some additional changes to the interface and hope to get to them sometime this week.

Jerry:

Ooooh, there's a ranking now! Great idea, Mark. I gotta tell ya, I'm getting obsessed with watching the horse race between Mark and Teachum. He has her by something like 3 minutes at the moment. Too close to call!

The rankings have given me an idea for something we could do in March, if you guys think it would be fun. Here's how it would work . . .

Let's say Mark and Teachum finish first and second in February. They will be the captains of their respective teams. Mark will be captain of the team consisting of everyone with an odd number ranking at the end of February, and Teachum will take the even numbered players.

New players and people who did not participate in February will be assigned to a team randomly by our Master of Ceremonies Markb, unless he can be coaxed onto a team himself.

The team that finishes March with the most practice time will be the March champion and will win . . . well, nothing really. Unless someone thinks of something, anyway.

Sound like fun?

BTW, I'm awfully impressed the Unsung Heroes, too. There are several of you who are handling 90 minutes a day without missing a beat: Cathy, Susie, Andi, Frank, and NewPianoPlayer. Dang!

As for me, I have new motivation. I'd like to play in the Adult Music Students' recital in April, which will require me to be ready with a new piece. I'd better take it up a notch to get there . . .

MC Markb would accept such an assignment. Would this entail having to wear a tux?

Cindy,

Are you implying that I am odd[/b] or not even[/b] keeled?

Sounds like it could be fun, Cindy! And don't forget folks, for all of us playing regularly, that's the real prize. I am the first to admit I am a bit obsessive. FOrtunately I don't have any where near the problem poor Howard did. Referring to Aviator!

Teachum - I think I share some of your obsessive qualities. At first I thought it was new pianoitis but its been nearly 2 years since we got it and my obsession hasn't waned a bit. Today I'm sicker than a dog in bed but managed to stumble downstairs and play for a bit more than an hour. Was totally exhausted and just stumbled back into bed.

Cathy

I'm not using Mark's database (sorry, I already type in my log on a non-internet connected computer as I practice) - but I'm at 1167 minutes so far this month. looks like mark is kicking my a**

Log your time!

You are in 3rd place!

I didn't know this was a race

I think I did (but may have been in a delirious state and just thought I did).

I know; it looks like apple is slacking (jk - apple) but man Mark you sure have turned it on.

Cathy

where do you compare people's times.. Is there a chart?

Apple - When you first log in there are two links toward the top in red. One is to view other logs, the other is to view total time for the month for everyone.

Cathy

PS Was just kidding in earlier post

Apple, as soon as you log in, you click on "Time Total."
Here's the URL:
February Time Chart

Eh, it's a race only for those for whom racing helps with motivation. For most of us, it's not a race.

Cindy -- not telling whether she's racing, but way irked that Doug just bumped her out of 8th place

I just wasn't thinking race..

MARK!!! is that
Mighty Avalanche Opus 25 #12?

that is fun to practic!. Right now I'm Baching. I have a piece - Fugue for Organ transcribed by Lizst that I work on off and on.. It's like a difficult fugue only it's 10 pages long and it ends in thundering Liszt fashion with crashing octaves..... that I work on occasionally.. I alternate it with 25/12 which is why I mentioned it. I have this circle of 4ths thing I'm learning that would make a great etude... If I create a piece, I record it on the tape recorder and will 'write' it down when I get an electric and a software program. I'm off on that tangent while concentrating on the left hand, with it's two voices, of the fugue #14 from WTC 2.

Just in case anyone is interested.

I feel myself flagging - Mark is pulling away.

No worries teachum!

I am off to hear Katie play in the jazz band. They are having a spaghetti dinner so I will be away for a couple of hours.

Yes, Mark. What is this monster beast of a piece you're doing? I want to listen to it on ClassicalArchives.

Unless, uh, you're ready to upload a recording of it . . .

should be Chopin Etude Opus 25 #12.

It's nothing really. It's a required piece. I will record it soon. It is pretty fast but not too terribly difficult.

The one I am most worried about is the Prelude in E minor. I know it's a relatively easy piece but it is full of nuance and I am obsessed with getting that aspect of it right.

My goal is to make the judge shed a tear.