Pianist Envy, The adult piano learners' thread. Options

[barry-clari]

Okay. had my piano lesson. Debbie is such a great teacher, she's so enthusiastic and bubbly, enjoys everything she does and is very proffessional.

But she has given me two new pieces to learn from the 'Classics to Moderns' book 1, one of which is in the key of Bbmajor, of which I had forgotten the scale of. Plus the G minor scale with the augmented seventh, the name of which has also disappeared into t'haze. Harmonic?? Melodic??

I'm having a lesson weekly so this will involve lots of sitting upstairs in the coldcold practising.; I think I'm going to really enjoy it this time around!!! I think I deserve a lower fat toad in the hole made with oil!

Glad you had a good lesson! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piano.gif)

[schraeubchen]

I do for most words, but many 'common' English words such as 'you', 'the' etc. I can type without looking down (using 2 fingers!)

I one time learned how to use all my ten fingers when typing and have to type a lot every day. I never look down on the keyboard, it would puzzle me if I'd do so. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) But it takes time and a piano keyboard is something totally different. But you will get there one day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[dave brum]

Okay. had my piano lesson. Debbie is such a great teacher, she's so enthusiastic and bubbly, enjoys everything she does and is very proffessional.

But she has given me two new pieces to learn from the 'Classics to Moderns' book 1, one of which is in the key of Bbmajor, of which I had forgotten the scale of. Plus the G minor scale with the augmented seventh, the name of which has also disappeared into t'haze. Harmonic?? Melodic??

I'm having a lesson weekly so this will involve lots of sitting upstairs in the coldcold practising.; I think I'm going to really enjoy it this time around!!! I think I deserve a lower fat toad in the hole made with oil!

Glad you had a good lesson! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piano.gif)

Piano's quite tidy too!!!

[Pixie*Porsche]

A good way to lean you way around the keyboard (you probably already know your way around it but don't trust you do) is to get a chordal accompaniment and play it through with your eyes closed. Start taking pieces with bigger and bigger jumps - close your eyes and play. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It will build your confidence and you'll look at the piano less and more at the music.

I've mainly been learning accompaniments today - these are coming on really well and take so much less effort of late

[dave brum]

sounds like what I need...Glad you had a good (and by the sounds of it enjoyable) lesson, Pix.

[Pixie*Porsche]

sounds like what I need...Glad you had a good (and by the sounds of it enjoyable) lesson, Pix.

I don't have a lesson until next week (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) just a practise session, I do a lot of self directed study (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[dave brum]

The Laendler piece by Schubert is coming along nicely. I would never have dreamed about using the sus pedal in pieces but I can now play both hands slowly. rather than risk playing wrong notes, I am trying not to be afraid to pause (unofficially) as I play, which will help my sight reading skills.

[Juan Carlos]

The Laendler piece by Schubert is coming along nicely . . .I can now play both hands slowly. rather than risk playing wrong notes, I am trying not to be afraid to pause (unofficially) ...

Well done! One of the main problems with learning a piece is not being patient enough to play it slowly, especially in the early stages. As thay've said on various occasions on this Forum, the brain registers all you do and have done; incl. mistakes, and these interfere with accuracy all the time.
As MadTom (one of the very active Forumites) once put it, it is accuracy first, then fluency and eventually speed.
I began my piano journey when I was (much ?) older than you. Indeed, I was 48 and now at 54 - almost 55 - I'm enjoying it a lot and hoping to take my Grade 7 exam in June.
We can never stress too much how important slow practice is and to prove this, just think that you may learn something fluently by repeating it very very slowly a number of times correctly but the memorizing does not take place if you try to learn it by repeating the same thing fast an equal number of times.

[dave brum]

The Laendler piece by Schubert is coming along nicely . . .I can now play both hands slowly. rather than risk playing wrong notes, I am trying not to be afraid to pause (unofficially) ...

Well done! One of the main problems with learning a piece is not being patient enough to play it slowly, especially in the early stages. As thay've said on various occasions on this Forum, the brain registers all you do and have done; incl. mistakes, and these interfere with accuracy all the time.
As MadTom (one of the very active Forumites) once put it, it is accuracy first, then fluency and eventually speed.
I began my piano journey when I was (much ?) older than you. Indeed, I was 48 and now at 54 - almost 55 - I'm enjoying it a lot and hoping to take my Grade 7 exam in June.
We can never stress too much how important slow practice is and to prove this, just think that you may learn something fluently by repeating it very very slowly a number of times correctly but the memorizing does not take place if you try to learn it by repeating the same thing fast an equal number of times.

Salute, JC!

I have just done a brief bit of playing and yes, I still have to do the Schubert slowly but it's beginning to sound more like a tune and less like a collection of notes. Little and often is what a lot of teachers say with regard to practice (instead of three hours before each piano lesson) but yesterday, due to suffering a very bad 'downer' and trying to fight a food craving I only wanted to practise in the morning.

However, Im a bit stuck on one particular aspect of the music involving the pedalling in one section, and I'm gonna have to ask teach about it on Tuesday.

Gosh, Grade 7!!!! I wish you all the luck in the world with it Juan (rather you than me at this present time!!!)

[Juan Carlos]

Thank you Dave Brum!
To be honest, although I have had my pieces off and on for about one year (and over) I'm beginning to quake in my shoes ... insecurity is a serious issue when it comes to exams or to playing for somebody else other than my other self (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I put in a lot of practice every day; being a home worker, I do between 2 and a half and four hours but much of this is wasted because I'm a lover of scales/arpeggios/etc and I often lean back on those rather than facing my hopeless inefficiency at sight-reading or polishing up pieces (an arduous task once the piece has been learnt, so to speak). The sight-reading section of the exam is really very stress-inducing although I dutifully sight-read every day - with little success, other than that of keeping disciplined routine practice of that sort of skill - but progress is slower than a snail's pace (... I wouldn't know which animal to use for comparison purposes ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ) but I keep going because I just love playing the piano and am trying to catch up on what I did not do when I was younger ...
However, it is never too late ... to end on an optimistic note!

[dave brum]

I've just been reading in a book about 'bad habits' when you make a mistake whilst you're playing don't keep on going over them to play the note(s) correctly but carry on in the rhythm of the tune. This is one of my worst habits and something that I'll try hard to break.

[Pixie*Porsche]

I can play all the grade 6 pieces I'm learning from memory (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I've never been able to memorise even a line of music before, just goes to show I have been practising properly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[dave brum]

I can play all the grade 6 pieces I'm learning from memory (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I've never been able to memorise even a line of music before, just goes to show I have been practising properly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

When I was studying for my grade 2, I found I could do likewise, however now I couldn't even remember WHAT I played.

I used to pop on the bus down to Cranes (big acoustic piano store in Worcester) and play the same grade 2 piece on each piano!!!

ps how are you ???

[Yorkie]

I've dug out my Grade 2 pass certificate from 2009. Of course I know how I did overall but as this bit of paper has been sitting in an unused pile of sheet music in the cupboard for over a year...18 out of a possible 18 for aural, my best mark. Worst marks were for the three pieces, 24, 26, 27 out of 30, meaning I have a confidence issue when playing.

Sight reading was 19/21 - okay you might think for my Achilles' heel subject but it was not done confidently. And he picked me up on my expression markings!

The pieces I'll be playing Debbie today will certainly have emphasis on the dynamics, indeed right from my first practice of the piece it did!

well done-i actualy passed the theory exam in the 70s and recently started recapping it,strange im finding certain sections hard!

[dave brum]

I've just been reading in a book about 'bad habits' when you make a mistake whilst you're playing don't keep on going over them to play the note(s) correctly but carry on in the rhythm of the tune. This is one of my worst habits and something that I'll try hard to break.

Just had another lightbulb moment. I play from memory not the printed music, and it's a bad habit - no wonder I'm c*ap at sight reading. Must fix this immediately.