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yay congrats mark and cyborg.

You'll find alfred's 2 to be extremely easy. I was just starting to take 2 alfred pieces in addition to my faber when I quit my teacher but once I decide on a teacher I should move quickly through book 2.

Mark, tell me how is it going. tellllllllll me

Hi loly, thanks for asking...

Just really started book 2. Have only done "Down in the Valley" with the teacher and have it down well. Yesterday I snuck ahead and started working on "Tumbalalaika". I'm still using book #1 with some fine tuning of the "Entertainer" and major work still being done to "Amazing Grace"
I'm also working on two Ludovico Einaudi pieces that are major long term projects as well as Moonlight Sonata in Dm.

As for book #2, I still don't have a feel for it yet, but I hope your right about it being easy and going well. Looking ahead,, it looks hard.

And finally, I decided if I make through book #3, I will reward myself with a grand piano. I then hope to be grand piano worthy...

I'm still having major problems trying to record. I have the worst "Red Dot" fever...

So how are you doing loly. Sounds like your really progressing fast.

Mark

Congrats, Mark and Cyborg!

I had taken a bit of a break from Book 2 for a short bit. Picked up a couple short, easy classical pieces and another that I wanted to learn. I just started on the Canon last night at my lesson, so I am just about done with Book 2. Took me just about a year to get here. Of course, after last nite, I feel like some sort of genius or something. My teacher said she has 2 adult students who have been in Alfred's 2 for more than a year and a half- and one of them isn't even halfway thru it! LOL

Canon is such a great piece! I'm looking forward to it. Looking at book two, I'm betting it takes me a minimum of a year. I'll know more after a couple more weeks.

As for you, I'm going to have to start the book #3 thread...

Keep up the good work!

Mark

Well, I wouldn't go starting that too soon! We talked about maybe taking a break from method books completely for a while after I get thru Canon. She is going to go thru some music and set up an idea of what she thinks might be worth going with for a while. I also plan to look over the Alfred's 3 book and see what I think of it. Decisions, decisions....

Sorry you have to do book three...I just started the thread for you...:lol:

Well, after my first lesson I was given "Down in the Valley" and "Tumbalalaika" to work on for my next lesson. Also, I was given the appropriate theory work and some more scale and chord exercises. Since I don't have a lesson this week I wished I would have asked for another couple of pieces to work on. Although, "Tumbalalaika" is giving me a little bit of a fit since I haven't used the pedal much up to this point and it's nothing but pedaling throughout! So I'll use the extra time to work on my lack of pedal experience.

I looked through the book and didn't see anything extremely intimidating. Some of the items are review such as sixteenth notes, 6/8 times, dotted-eight notes, etc. I'm not complaining because I need the work on the items mentioned, it just won't be brand new for me. Of course many items will be new such as actually reading dynamic indications (ff, mf) in the music. I'm really excited about it.

Several of the pieces I have worked on before in my previous books but they were different arrangements or in a different key. My past experience tells me I'll have an easier time with those pieces e.g. "Down in the Valley".

Also, I looked at Canon at the end of the book and I must say that it appears intimidating. For those who have already learned the piece, is it a good arrangement of Canon?

hi,

I haven't had lessons for three weeks but I'm almost halfway through alfred's 2. I start lessons again this weekend so hopefully I'll move at a steady pace.

Odd I don't have Tumbalalaika in my book. I saw it in the regular book but it's not in the All in one adult course. Can someone scan it for me? When I went to the piano store inquiring about a teacher they tried to sell me a Roland and the teacher got the alfreds book and started playing Tumbalalaika, which I thought was quite nice.

I can't wait to start my lessons, I have 2 pieces from alfreds that I was working on and they're more than ready to go. weeeeeeeeee

Check your private mail...

Just wanted to say I'm on Book 2 as well. Right now, I'm on page 19 I think, the one with "La Cucaracha." To tell you the truth, I'm not really liking the songs in this book. I enjoyed Tumbalaika, but that was pretty much it. Hopefully, the songs start getting good from now on.

So you guys have the basic course then? I have the All in one adult course so the pages don't match and the music is pretty much the same except for 1 or 2.

I agree I don't like the songs that much, although scherzo was fun due to the speed and I enjoyed boogie woogie blues. Divertimento is ok, I'm looking forward to book 3.

I also do faber and faber adult course book 2 and the songs in there are much better, the ones in bastiens are much better too. Faber goes a little faster though, they get into inverting triads right off the bat and alfreds doesn't get into it until 3/4 of the way almost.

Thanks Mark!!!!! You rock

Sometimes I don't like the songs too, but I believe its part of paying your dues in the learning process. I think many of the songs that we might not like are the type of song to give us experience in certain musical areas. Thats why having some side work you really like is important. Some songs in book one I just hated playing but I wouldn't let it get to me...

I can't say that I didn't like most of the songs in Book 2. There were a few I didn't care for, a few I really enjoyed, but most were in the middle somewhere. As Mark says, many of the songs are specifically arranged to highlight or teach one aspect of technique or theory. Even my teacher would sometimes say that this is not a particularly good or even interesting arrangement of a song, but she would point out the "why" of how it was done and that (sometimes) made the piece more interesting to me. Not always- there were some I just couldn't warm up to.

I think most people will enjoy Scherzo- it's just fun to play- and the "lyrics" are amusing!

As for the Canon (as someone above asked)- so far, the arrangement is not bad. Of course, the original piece is most often heard with a string ensemble, so the piano reduction is a little tame, and it's certainly NOT George Winston's variations, but I think it will be fun to play once I get it all together. And my teacher says every piano player should learn a version of this one- because the melody is so familiar, it doesn't really matter what kind of music your listeners like, they will all pretty much recognize this one!!

No problem! I'm really liking Tumbalalaika...

heyyyyyyyyyyyy what's up with this. alfreds basic adult piano course book only has 37 pieces to play, alfred's adult all in one course has 61 pieces. hmmphhh

does the basic course have more than 3 books? wondering why it's that way

Three books as far as I know...

I should make a list of all the pieces of each book for each thread...

Maybe the all in one books include some of the supplemntal stuff that is in some of the additional books? I don't know for sure- I used the basic book 2, but have ordered the all in one for book 3.

I know the Alfred's series has an additional Hymn Book, Greatest Hits Book and Theory Book at level 2. Maybe the "All In One" includes some or all of the pieces in these books.

If I remember correctly the Theory Book content is included in the "All in One" book.

canon in d from the alfred book 2 is awesome. i really like this piece. i still play it alot. here is a link after i learned it if anyone wants to hear it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zQyj-yrHTk

i play this on every piano i come across as i memorized it. i took it slower towards the end because the book marks it slower and slower still then faster at the last part. anyhow just wanted to add my 2 cents on the canon in d. i love this version:)