Alfred Adult All-in-One Course Level 2 and 3

Sophia

Well, it seems that this forum is a nice refuge from another place that has too many ads and too much drama lately! I see we already have a nice Alfred 1 thread in here, so we might as well get going with Alfred book 2 as well!

In short. I started with the Alfred method in January 2024. I had some prior experience with the piano, so I went through the first book pretty quickly. In March I started the second book and as I'm writing this (May) I'm about halfway in. It's going a LOT slower now because rather than catching up, I'm now learning new skills and facing lots of challenges 😃 I'm self teaching for several reasons, so I'm using the forum to keep motivated, hopefully motivate others and of course to enjoy the banter and comradery.

Not sure how active this thread will be, because as far as I know, only Nightowl and myself are currently in this level 2 book, but if you're new, please don't hesitate to participate 🙂

Nightowl

Hi Sophia, I'm glad you started this shiny new thread and I'm looking forward to the kittens popping in from time to time, along with a certain tiger. 🙂

I am nearly finished with La Bamba, which is good as I'm so bored with it now. Meanwhile I managed to crack Tarantella, a short piece that is pretty straightforward but involves a new fingering technique to move the RH steadily down successive notes, playing a repeated phrase.

Yesterday I started on Festive Dance, a familiar tune which is not too tricky. Pd'A is now tantalisingly close. 🙂 When I reach that piece it will feel like I'm playing something worth making an effort for. I'm also dipping into my Broadway Hits book and am pleased that the pieces are manageable and give some relief from the tedium of book 2. I view many of the pieces as piano exercises to be ploughed through, rather than enjoyed, but so far I've been fairly diligent and have only skipped one piece.

Progress feels SO slow. No wonder many people lose interest in book 2, the pieces aren't exactly inspiring, but I'm confident that my sight reading is improving.

Sophia

I am just starting La Donna è Mobile from the opera Rigoletto. Being a tad fickle myself (what woman isn't), I'm really enjoying the piece! It will take some time though. I haven't polished the preceding pieces enough just yet to really move on from them, and I'm having a lot of fun with the blues course.

Plus I'm enjoying this new forum - all it needs is a few more regulars 😃

Pallas

Sophia Which blues course are you doing? I just got started on Level 1 of Jazz, Rags, and Blues (Martha Meir, Alfred series).

Sophia

Pallas I'm following the course that @WieWaldi recommended, this one:

I have made it to lesson 3 so far - it's harder than it seems! But he is introducing new concepts gradually enough to keep the challenge manageable 🙂

Pallas

Sophia Oh, good! I must have missed that, or instantly forgotten due to overwhelm. I'm going to add it to my Watch Later. Thanks!

WieWaldi

Sophia I have made it to lesson 3 so far - it's harder than it seems! But he is introducing new concepts gradually enough to keep the challenge manageable 🙂

This is fast progress. I think I needed almost 1 year and I am still not done with the playlist.
And you are doing Alfred at the same time? That is amazing!

Sophia

Well I'm half thinking of creating an unlisted playlist to record the lessons. I recorded the first one so far but it's not uploaded yet 😊
I don't expect the 3rd lesson to be finished soon though... I just started it!
Maybe we should create a beginners blues thread?

WieWaldi

Sophia Maybe we should create a beginners blues thread?

You should.

I mean, this thread is about Alfred all in one and we are talking about blues.

Nightowl

I've just begun work on Scherzo, it's a pleasant enough piece which travels up and down the treble stave quite a bit. It also involves the LH crossing over the RH, which is a novelty for me. The only problem is that it ends on some very high notes which my little keyboard does not have! Yep, the day has come when I've finally run out of notes! I knew this day would come, but didn't realise that it would be so soon. I wasn't really sure I had the ability to progress this far, but now I'm a victim of my own success! 🙂 This hobby is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive.

Pallas

Nightowl I wish you all the best, and I hope you get a splendid 88-key piano. I wonder if one absolutely must play that arrangement on 88 keys. Would it be terrible to change it to suit your current piano?

Nightowl

Thanks Pallas. No, it wouldn't be terrible, it's just a repeat section where you're meant to play it 8VA, so no big deal. It feels like a bit of a milestone for me, in a good way. Trouble is, I'm torn between the idea of a beautiful piano with a highly polished wooden case, and the practical option of a digital piano. I don't really have room for an accoustic without changing the living room around and even then the noise level might make it prohibitive - the sound proofing on the party wall may not be sufficient for a piano that can't be played quietly. Or maybe it can - is there such a thing as a soft pedal option? Piano pedals are a mystery to me, but that is something else I will need to master and no doubt it will be a shock to my system going over old pieces and learning the technique of sustaining notes etc.

Pallas

Nightowl There are definitely options. I have both a digital and an acoustic. When I was shopping, I learned that most acoustic pianos have a soft pedal (they only strike 2 of the 3 strings), many have a practice pedal (with various mechanisms for keeping the hammers from striking the strings fully or at all), and some have a completely silent system with a digital component. Each has its pros and cons in a learning and ideal-practicing situation. Mine has the silent system. I pull a handle, which pulls the hammers completely away from the strings, then I turn on the digital voice unit and put on my headphones. But there are tons of digital pianos with weighted action at all price points and appearance options.

Some digital pianos look almost indistinguishable from acoustic pianos. Others look like synthesizer keyboards but still have a plug-in sustain pedal (my digital is like that).

If you would enjoy having support in shopping for a piano, I would be happy to participate, and I'm sure many others would as well. Whatever is most helpful and comfortable for you.

Sophia

Whooo hooo our little Nightowl is outgrowing her crib, now there's progress if I ever saw it 😁

All jokes aside, that's a tough decision to make! Our 1970s acoustic piano had a mute pedal that you could lock in place, but I hated the sound because it was so muffled. I have no idea if modern pianos have a more sophisticated system than just a layer of felt.

Our 1990s Clavinova of course can be adjusted to any level and continues to sound gorgeous. It never needs tuning. And when we moved to this house, it didn't require specialized movers. Also, a digital piano is sampled from high-end grand pianos, whereas with an acoustic you may need to spend some time trying to find one with a good sound. Some sound dreadful!

I think that a really good digital piano might be the best of both worlds, but the two piano sections in this forum might be able to help you make a more informed decision. 😊

Edit: whoops cross posted!

Pallas

Sophia Also, a digital piano is sampled from high-end grand pianos

That's true. I enjoyed the Yamaha CFX concert grand sample when I was practicing with the digital every day. When I started comparing the sound among pianos, my feelings got really annoying. I wanted to spend $1200 and get the sound and touch of the concert grand with the convenience of avoiding piano maintenance. I'm irrational like that! I'm a dreamer, and greedy, and I want it all! So I found shopping really challenging, because I could not find the piano I wanted at the price and convenience I wanted. I had to prioritize and choose which features were most important. My fantasies! Destroyed! BooHOO me! That's why I'm offering a hand to hold. 😃

JB_PT

Sophia Our 1970s acoustic piano had a mute pedal that you could lock in place, but I hated the sound because it was so muffled. I have no idea if modern pianos have a more sophisticated system than just a layer of felt.

Mine doesn't, and I bought it new 4 years ago. I had never experienced a practice pedal and loved the idea, but it makes the piano sound so horrible that I won't use it. Some people don't seem to think it's too bad so it must vary by manufacturer.

Player1

The number one thing most forget when piano shopping is maintenance. Acoustic pianos will have a tuner visiting your house 2X per year while a digital won't require that.

You can get digital pianos in a wooden stand that have all 3 pedals as part of the stand.

Nightowl

Thanks fellow Alfredos, all input gratefully received. I'm in no rush and will take my time, but it feels weird that I've run out of keys so soon, I thought it wouldn't happen until playing classical pieces at intermediate level.
Player1, it's good to know that I could get a digital with a wooden case - I'd love it to be beautiful as well as practical. Good point about the tuning, apart from the inconvenience the cost of a few tuning sessions could be more than a cheap digital (although if I want it to be pretty, I guess it won't be cheap).
Pallas, do you play the digital much, now that you have the acoustic? You seem very pleased with the acoustic, so will you be selling the digital at some point? (Not that I'm in the market to buy it... the cost of shipping it to the UK would rule that out).

Pallas

Nightowl Great question. I'm considering giving my digital to one of our adult kids as a gift. But I enjoy playing with additional voices, like strings and honky tonk, and others, so I might just be happiest with one of each kind of piano. Having the ability to record midi then apply voices in post-recording is also fun. I do practice more on the acoustic because it feels and sounds best when I'm going for a regular, realistic, clean Yamaha sound. I hardly touch my digital, because the difference in sound and touch quality is significant.

Sophia

Well, I got La Donna e Mobile to the polishing stage now. It's cute, but every time I play it, my mind sings "Ta ra ra boom de ay" followed by some very rude lyrics that we sang in kindergarten... but other than that I like it 😃