Sophia almost everything in music can be taught, except good timing. Either you have it or you don't...

Hey @Sophia, I disagree! Just like other aspects of playing I think we have varying degrees of talent for timing, and if our natural sense of timing isn't solid we can learn to do better. I speak from experience including lots of metronome time! Also, I would never claim that any aspect of music or anything else can't be taught. I have managed to at least somewhat overcome my lack of innate talent with hard work and discipline and for me it's all the more rewarding because I had to work so hard to get where I am! 🙂

      Sophia Well, I started lesson 12 for real now... it's so smooth, I like it! I also just now found out that he sent me the wrong book... I thought I purchased the bundle of his entire course... and I did. But instead of book 3, he sent me book 1, 2 and Easy Licks in C. I don't mind, I'll just buy volume 3 separately. WieWaldi, is this the course you are following?

      The link to his playlist doesn't work so I just want to make sure. Then I'll get that as well 🙂

      What exactly did you get? I am currently puzzled. I have Easy Blues Piano Vol I + II, covering lesson 1-4 and 5-8.

      Lesson 10 is sold seperately.
      Volume 3 contains lesson 11-13
      But I am missing lesson 9 - it links to Vol II (covering 5-8)

      Sophia I sent Christian a message about the mistake, it's obvious what happened

      How did you contact him? I haven't seen a comment from you in the YouTube comments.

            rogerch Just like other aspects of playing I think we have varying degrees of talent for timing, and if our natural sense of timing isn't solid we can learn to do better.

            Hehe, Roger, I actually agree 100% (or more) with everything you said. So if you disagreed with my post, that means I probably worded it too clumsily or too cryptic... happens a lot to me 😃 You are absolutely correct - anyone can learn to do BETTER, no matter our natural abilities. But if those natural abilities are strong to start with, it's just that much easier to get it right. I was referring to people such as Nightowl and WieWaldi (and others!) who are self teaching and have shown to possess solid internal timing - they are fortunate with that, because not everyone is that lucky. Others can also learn to get better at it (unless they are one of those very unfortunate few who have no sense of timing at all, which is rare), but it would take a little more effort on their part, and probably quite a bit guiding and correcting by a teacher to "get it right".

            It's like that in all aspects of life - sports, writing, programming, running, you name it. Everyone can and will get a better at any of those with practice, but for some it takes less practice than for others to reach the same level. Did I word it better this time? 🙂

                WieWaldi What exactly did you get? I am currently puzzled. I have Easy Blues Piano Vol I + II, covering lesson 1-4 and 5-8.

                I just checked... I have

                • Blues Piano For Beginners 1-7
                • Blues Piano For Beginners 8-11
                • Blues Piano For Beginners 12-16
                • Easy licks for Blues piano in C updated
                • Easy Blues Piano Bundle Series Vol 1+2+3

                I think the last is a combined version of the course you're following - it starts with part 1-4, then 5-8, then 11-13 all in one bundle. So I guess 10 is missing in mine too... strange!

                WieWaldi How did you contact him? I haven't seen a comment from you in the YouTube comments.

                I sent an email - to the one that said to use to contact him. I haven't heard back though, so perhaps it's unmonitored after all!

                    Lesson 10 is sold seperately, means lesson 9 is missing. Looks like I have to note it down by myself. Another 3 to 5 hours... yawn. But then I get proper sheet music, Christian's notation software is crap.

                    It drives me nuts when grace notes are overlapping with b symbols.

                      WieWaldi Lesson 10 is sold seperately, means lesson 9 is missing.

                      LOL, you are so right. I guess it's quickly becoming quite apparent that my natural talents do not lie in doing math eh? 😃

                        Sophia It's like that in all aspects of life - sports, writing, programming, running, you name it. Everyone can and will get a better at any of those with practice, but for some it takes less practice than for others to reach the same level. Did I word it better this time? 🙂

                        Thanks Sophia! Yes, exactly. 🙂

                          Well, I learned the lesson... now it's a matter of playing it more smoothly and record it - done 😃

                          I also heard back from Christian, so now he knows about the little error in the sheet music, but also about this forum. He seemed very amused that we are discussing his method like this, on the web 😂

                            I hope he signs up! It would be cool to have him chiming in here!

                            Haha for sure! He'd be the thread celebrity 😃

                            Sophia Well, I learned the lesson... now it's a matter of playing it more smoothly and record it - done 😃

                            I still have lot of stuff to learn...

                            Yes - I know! It looks uuuuultra advanced! ðŸĪŠ Only total beginners are able to read it! If intermediate or advanced classical pianists see it, they get green in the face. ðŸĪĒ

                              I know... with that attitude, something tells me: we should be learning guitar, not piano...

                              Or this:

                              Well, the lesson is still not going smoothly. I can play the first part without any effort now, and fairly fast at that. The second part is okay, it's a little more of a struggle but still good enough for just a lesson. But the last part is hard, very very hard. I can play it, but error free only at a single digit bpm 🙄

                              One option is to play everything at a slower speed and pretend it's a ballad. I tried that, but somehow my internal clock doesn't agree with it and speeds it up gradually anyway (we talked about this phenomenon in other threads too). It just wants to be played at a certain speed and that's that.

                              Another option is cheating and recording in sections, pretending I'm practising my camera angle skills. But I won't do that, I promise 😁

                              The best alternative is to keep practising the last part until I can play that just as smoothly - this is my current plan.. Probably another week or so... one of the shortest lessons so far is taking me the longest to learn 😅

                              I don't remember that much of that lesson. I even didn't remember I cheated here and there, until you debunked it. Only thing I remember, the last part was the hardest one, but it was also the most fun to play - after learning it.
                              Oh - and applying the Blues shuffle LH from bloody beginner lesson 1 was harder than expected. At least this I wrote in the silent movie text boxes. And I remember this is the truth. If you listen to my recording, In the 1st repeat I could play with the rhythm - and adding a kind of a triplet to beef it up. In the 2nd repeat with the Blues shuffle, I couldn't do this anymore. Maybe, if I had spent another week of practicing or so, but the recital had a deadline date.

                              Btw - I stuck in my current lesson 8 as well... This is the lesson he tells the secret of improvisation.
                              It's magic

                              No - it is plain simple... Make a cheat sheet or write Postit-stickers somewhere with the elements you learned. And you can connect them to have options like going from here to A/B/or C because they connect well.

                              Same strategy I did as a Salsa dancer... With the difference, Salsa dancers don't have a sheet-music rest to look at.

                              Sigh - this brings me back to my own topic... today my PACT is missing... again.
                              Ehrm... PEDYS (Play every day, you scumbag!)

                                Yes, if I wanted to submit this for a recital, it would need a few more weeks. But for a lesson, it's getting there... slowly. It's like when you tell your teacher "I could play it well at home!" but it isn't all that great when you play it in front of them. My camera is my teacher and it tells me it needs to be better even for a lesson 😛

                                Funny enough I have less trouble with the left hand. I find that it is playing without needing my full concentration when it's just going back and forth... almost as if it has a brain of its own sometimes. BUT... I find those right hand jumps where you suddenly need to move two octaves higher very hard, because you have to be there almost immediately after the previous note.

                                And then there is the ending... oh boy. I think that is the hardest part of all! But, I'm gradually getting there 🙂

                                WieWaldi PEDYS (Play every day, you scumbag!)

                                If PACT is not working for you, how about i1u2play instead? (I Want You To Practise Later Again, Yippee!)

                                  What does the 1 in i1u2play?
                                  Anyway - seems a good strategy. Don't play now, but intend to play later ^^ (Could do this all day long, haha)

                                    WieWaldi What does the 1 in i1u2play?

                                    It stands for Want. So if I asked, "Do you wanna play piano?" Then you would reply, "Nine, not yet, but i one two play four u leightr" 😂