Well, after working on Hava Nagila for 2 weeks, I've now moved on to Space Shuttle Blues (page 75), which feels like a blast of fresh air after HN. Blues music is not really my thing, but I like this piece and it hasn't taken long to learn, which is a nice confidence boost. 🙂 I'm now past the halfway point in book 2, and hopeful that by new year I might be near the end of the book, playing some really nice pieces.
I have found it very useful to watch performances of the pieces on the 92pianokeys YT channel - the pianist has a lovely deft touch which makes the pieces more musical.

"Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

Yes, I watch her for inspiration on how to sound better... and Gale when I need some extra explanations such as (recently) finger pedaling. The book had a very vague explanation and I almost panicked... but he made it all sound so simple once again, until of course you try to do it yourself and realize you still need to put the work in to make it happen 😉

My next piece is in the "ambitious" section of the book, the Bach prelude. We all know it, because it's basically THE piece all those "falling block" learners start with. I nearly did that too... but I'm glad I decided to go with method books, because at least now I can practise my finger pedaling and dynamics a little more 😃

Sophia Well played. But your cats really do steal the show. Very entertaining; made me laugh, again and again. More cats, please.

    LOL I know, they are the real talents around this house! As well as natural born clowns! I'm not far from wrapping up my next blues lesson and I have a feeling it might include a cat... perhaps!

    I'm currently working on the Black Forest Polka (p82). It's a fun piece, with lots of nice runs of notes up and down the keys, but I think it will be tricky to play them quickly. Next is the famous Elgar piece, which has two part writing included for the RH - scary stuff. I have tinkered with it and understand in theory what I have to do, but it feels like having 3 hands would be handy at this point! 🙃
    I regularly watch 92pianokeys playing pieces from book 2, and of course she makes everything look so easy. Well, she's got decades of playing experience behind her so that's hardly surprising, but those videos are great for people who don't have a teacher, especially as you can play them at slower speed to study the fingering techniques. We are fortunate to have so many online resources to help us on our journey.

    "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

      Nightowl

      Speed comes from practicing speed. Play those runs as fast as you can and don't care if you miss keys. Keep practicing playing the runs as fast as you can while trying to do it correctly and eventually you will train your mind to operate that fast.

          Player1 Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not sure that would work for me, my brain just doesn't seem to work quickly, but maybe it is a technique which could work for some people.

          @Pallas Thanks for the suggestion it makes sense. I don't have a metronome yet but maybe it's time for me to get one. I imagine that the sound would take a bit of getting used to - maybe it would be an unwanted distraction during the early stage of learning a new piece? Some people use silent metronomes which just have flashing lights, so that's another option to consider. I'll probably dither on it a bit longer, while relying on my inbuilt biological metronome meanwhile (my heart beat - which might explain why I'm unable to play anything faster than around 60 bpm - just a theory I have).

          "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

              Funny you guys mention that! I am still working on a rather challenging piece (Classy Rag). I have been doing exactly what Pallas said: when I felt I had all the notes pat, I set the metronome to 50 and still made some errors, so I set it back to 40 played it even more ridiculously slowly. After a few times it felt like I was a slug going backwards, it became too easy, so I set it to 50 which suddenly wasn't such a challenge any longer.

              I'm still working on it, I'm at 70 now it's going okay (most of the time), but 80 is still a struggle. I want to get it up to 100 eventually - I know it's going to be a challenge but sometimes we just gotta push a little harder 🙂

              It's probably possible to do all that without a metronome, but personally I notice that when I try to play too slow deliberately, I unconsciously speed up gradually which is quite horrible when I listen back to a recording! So although I agree it wouldn't suit everyone (and you do have impeccable timing, Nightowl), I wholeheartedly recommend trying it!

              All that said, I LOVE the Black Forest Polka... one of my favourite pieces to practise 🙂

              Nightowl I don't have a metronome yet but maybe it's time for me to get one.

              If your digital piano doesn't have a built-in one, get a smartphone app. Even the free ones are good enough to do the job.

              A tip for speeding up is to stay at slow tempo. It will get boring from alone, and you will speed up from alone - even without metronome usage. But with the metronome you will have more control about the tempo, it prevents you to rush through certain bars or to pause for a tricky note.

                  Pallas Sophia but personally I notice that when I try to play too slow deliberately, I unconsciously speed up gradually which is quite horrible when I listen back to a recording!

                  Same! I've had to try a few different things to solve a few problems. I like that there are options.

                  Same! How do you solve this?
                  Metronome helps me to retain speed while practicing, but as soon I play without one: Bam! The problem is back and I speed up.

                      WieWaldi Metronome helps me to retain speed while practicing, but as soon I play without one: Bam! The problem is back and I speed up.

                      Have you tried any metronome app that fades out over time? In the beginning it gets you started by giving all or most beats but depending on your settings it can gradually leave more and more of them out and only click occasionally, forcing you to train your internal sense of pulse while still giving some feedback.
                      TimeGuru does this. There might be other alternatives as well.

                          Thanks, candela and Pallas I have time-guru on my phone. But I must admit I never used it, because the internal metronome is easier to use, and I get the clicks via headphones. I will involve this app into my next lesson.
                          I was thinking, if there is a mental trick to retain the tempo. I tried with constantly slowing down at every new phrase. Actually it feels like I am slowing down, but it seems it is more of a constant speed in reality. Works sometimes well, sometimes so la-la, and sometimes not.

                                I think it's just one of those things you need to notice yourself... because eventually we have to be able to pace ourselves without metronome. Though I would imagine that tools such as that fading metronome would be a good aid. And recording ourselves, to notice all the things we're blind to when playing.

                                When I find out I did it, I give myself a very stern warning to pay more attention next time. One example was blues lesson 7. Remember how I went back to it to work on staccato left - legato right hand?

                                I recorded it again, slower so I could concentrate on that. To my horror I heard it speed up throughout. The two recordings are still there for all to notice 🤕

                                My solution is to try and be more aware of it. When a piece should be played slower than I can (rare, but happens), I try to remind myself not to rush, keep it steady... and it seems to keep me in line for at least a little while 😁

                                WieWaldi If your digital piano doesn't have a built-in one, get a smartphone app. Even the free ones are good enough to do the job.

                                Ha ha, you clearly don't understand what a dinosaur you're dealing with - I don't have a smartphone and have no desire to get one! 😆 I'm old fashioned, I have a basic phone which has just two functions; calls and texts. I deliberately chose a basic piano with no extras, because I like to keep things simple and also I never used the extras on my previous instrument. I once tried to use the built in metronome but the process to set it up and adjust the speed was confusing as the Casio did not have a screen/display attached so there was no visibility of whether it was on the desired speed or not. Tech stuff confuses me!

                                "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                    Nightowl dinosaur

                                    There is a dinosaur solution 😆

                                    We have that same one... doesn't get more non techie 😄😄😄

                                      If you get a stand-alone metronome, I strongly suggest one with a different sound for the down-beat. Mechanicals often don't provide this, and if they do, they are starting to get expensive.
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                                      WieWaldi Ah, thanks so much, that is a really easy tool to use! I might give that a try later. 🙂

                                      @Sophia Yep, that looks dinosaur friendly! I do like those old fashioned metronomes and it would go nicely with the cherry wood effect of my piano cabinet.

                                      Two great options for me to consider, so no excuses for me now!

                                      "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                        @Sophia Ooh, I just noticed your new ID image - what a lovely photo! 🙂 How great that you played the piano on your wedding day - just to make it totally perfect!

                                        "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                        Hahaha I wish! That was just the photographer making us pose at the hotel where our wedding pictures were taken. In fact I completely forgot this picture even existed (it was close to two decades ago), and came across it again just the other day. Since our blues "teacher" graduated me to "lovely beginner", I decided it was time to change the little girl to a lovely (or so my husband seems to think) bride instead 😂