Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Alfred's Basic and All in One Adult Piano Course Book #2

Hope y'all don't mind a newcomer jumping in.

I looked through several forums before I found this one, and kept seeing things like "my teacher is amazed at how fast I'm progressing", and "I finished Alfred's book 1 in 6 weeks, skipped book 2, and am half way through book 3". It's nice to find a forum of normal people. I'm not a musical prodigy or piano genius. I'm just a skinny old fart with a little pot belly and a mess of grandkids, and I thought playing the piano looked like fun. It took me over a year to muddle through book 1, and my teacher's reaction to my progress leans more toward tolerance than amazement.

I tend to breeze through the songs I like and struggle with the songs I don't, and I'm ok with that. I just like pounding on the keys and occassionally bumping into something that sounds like music. Heck, once in while I catch my wife singing along with my playing; and a couple of times she was even singing the same song I was playing. Just started book 2 and enjoying it so far...

Welcome, New-at-piano! This may make you feel like a prodigy, but it took me two years to finish Book 1, and I've already been on Book 2 for a year. Started it January 1 of last year. I'm self-taught, and my "teacher" (me) is also amazed at how far I've come. LOL

Today I started "Tarantella" and the first line of "Village Dance". Still a little slow with "Mexican Hat Dance" but it sounds pretty good otherwise. But I need a refresher course on 6/8 time - I understand the concept, sort of, but I don't think I could count it correctly if I were playing a piece I wasn't familiar with.

new-at-the-piano, welome! Glad you're joining us. It's good to see someone enjoying the journey instead of beating themselves up getting to a certain point. That said, I'm skipping the songs I can't stand. I'll beat through them a few times and move on.

anyone having trouble or stuck at the chromatic scale part or is it me? im feeling like i hit a wall there. i dunno whats going on.

I'm finding the chromatic scales okay if I concentrate on my fingering. I'm having more trouble with Hokey Pokey--I just don't have the "swing" of it right yet.

I'm having fun with Hava Nagila--it's maybe my favorite piece in the book so far. It's got a lot of energy and it's a longer piece, which is kinda fun. I'm still no where near adept at playing it well yet, though, lol. The piece following it, Space Shuttle Blues, seems pretty short and easy by comparison.

Last night I went through Olympic Procession for the first time, just a tentative once-through. Quite a switch from Hava Nagila!

Made a trip to the music store last week and purchased Book 3 of the All-in-One series. It's waiting for me....

Had a lesson today. My one year anniversary with my teacher is tomorrow. We spent some time at the last lesson and today talking about my progress and he said I am making good progress and sees much improvement every time he sees me. He also said he can tell I am very committed and put a lot of effort in.

On another note, I am almost done with the Mexican section. La Bamba just needs a little fine tuning, La Raspa is finished, and I got passed on For He's Jolly Good Fellow. We started on Mexican Hat Dance. I'll probably start Tarantella on my own before the next lesson.

You'll be passing me up any time now, Doug. LOL I never did get all the way through La Bamba, and my Mexican Hat Dance is still very slow. I just listened again to PianoNoobAlex play it on youtube, and I can't believe how fast his fingers are, and how steady he keeps the pulse in the left hand. I don't think my fingers will ever be that fast.

I've also worked on the first line of "Festive Dance". That one could be fun!

Hi I am in book 2 not aio. Sup

Hi. I've just been looking at all your experiences with Alfred AIO level 2.

I'm new to this site and I can relate to some of the problems you have been having with La Bamba, Hava Nagila etc. I too, had problems with these and practiced them until my fingers bled, but with limited success. I am also a self taught 47 year old duffer, who has "dabbled" with keyboards in the past.

In my own experience with this problem: If I got too caught up trying to perfect these pieces, I just move on and worked through the book. But. I have made a point of after getting a few of the further pieces perfected, I then go back to the peices I faultered on. I have found that I do eventually crack them (although I still have dificulty with the above songs!). I perfected Deep River (p130). Then before I moved on to EbMaj I spent much time reviewing "right back" to the beginning of the book and really worked on those pieces that stumped me. I have now just got the hang of The Battle Hymn: the transition to the corus and swapping of the rythm from left, to right, then back again gave me a real headache, but Now I have perfected it. What a breakthrough moment that was (yipee!). I have now just perfected Love's greeting on Page 135, the pedal marks on bar 13 (unlucky for some), threw me slightly, but I soon managed to co-ordinate them.

It takes plenty of patience (and frustration) but I have now made some of those much longed for breakthroughs. Again, I promise you will find some pieces easier than others.

I would be glad to hear more of your experiences with this book, before I move on to level 3.

PS: does anyone keep stumbling over Bar 13 (Must be my unlucky number) of Musetta's waltz? Arghh! frustrating, but I think It is comming to me...

I bought myself a Yamaha DGX-630 last year, complete with Pedal board (a must, as I hated chasing loose pedals around the floor with my foot) and so far I am pleased with it . Does anyone else own one of these?

Frustrated right now with much of book 2. I have played it all the way through, however, and realize how slow I am. ARggghhhhhh. I would say I have the first half of the book about 50-75% and the second half about 10-40% good. I can play any of them if I go reeaaaallll slow bit that's just annoying. I guess u hot to do what u got to do.

I played pomp and circumstance for like 3 hours the other night and today I went back and I can almost play it smoothly. I think it represented the first song I was just like WTF at. I remember thinking what in the world comes after this!? I was in luck too bc they all get harder

Once u get the fingering that helps tremendously

Very Well done on Pomp & Circumstance Wakingpiano. I had fun with this piece too. Have you discovered the little bit of "improvisation" you can do in bars 1,5, 13 to give this tune added effect(or the desired effect, whichever way you look at it)? I simply converted each pair of minims in the treble clef into pairs of crotchets (ie. matching time with the crotchets in the base clef), fingering stays the same...it's a little bit of fun medling, but schh! don't tell teach! Us students are allowed a little bit of artistic licence sometimes.

Do have fun with Dark Eyes next..you get to play two notes simultaneously with your left thumb (again). Wow!

keep on practicing!

Thx I Will try

Hello to all. I've just finished Night Song, now working on Space Shuttle. The song is fine but I'm like who comes up with this stuff. Some of the names are weird.

I think I might be taking a different approach to this whole piano thing and wanted share. I'm very structured in that I need to work through the book to feel like I didn't cheat by skipping so I make sure to put effort into songs I don't like (Hokey Pokey).

It seems like my teacher is not concerned with perfection. It's not that she's letting me skate through the book. What she does is make sure I've got the counting and fingering right. She'll then point out the areas where I might not have focused so much on the dynamics.

Now that I am rambling I'll sum it up like this. I look at playing the piano like learning to speak a foreign language. I'm getting the basics down by constantly speaking (learning new songs) and with that the finesse will come as I become more comfortable speaking (playing). The more comfortable I become with proper movement along the keys the more control I seem to have for the dynamics.

Keep practicing!

I'm just starting Solace, and just finishing Scherzo. I skipped La Bamba and La Raspa...I'll eventually work through them though.

Still need to call that guy for lessons...maybe I'll call later. LOL I really hate the thought of taking lessons again.

I played violin for many years growing up so I do have a musical background, but putting that left hand together and reading the Bass clef is my huge obstacle. I have read thru book 2 now and made it thru 30 of 60 of the Hanon (had worked on these about a year ago) I also read through czerny art of finger dexterity exercise 1. I want to get hanon down like the back of my hand. I don't have the all in one alfreds. I also have book 3 on the way as well as bachs well tempered clavier. I have certainly set myself up with some things to practice! It could take me months if not a year to get through these books. I will post back with progress next week or so. Gl and hf practicing evry1.

Ok, I'll be starting back with lessons this week. She sounds like a good match for me. We'll see. After talking with her I'm actually looking forward to the lesson.

Well I picked up book two again. Ive kind of stalled on "La Bamba" these last three or four months. My teacher doesn't like the series so I've been working on them on my own as a supplement. I need to rededicate myself tp try and work through the book this year. I moved back to "Alexanders Rag Time Band" as a refresher and "Solace". If I can get a good recording then I'll move on to "La Bamba" again. My teacher has me working mostly on Czerny exercises and my recital piece John Denvers "Country Roads".

Yea I watched the utube of the czerny. I am.001% there!