• Sophia

  • Post #656
  • Edited

WieWaldi My dad is in hospital and it isn't going well. But that's another story, this is a piano thread, so let's stick to it.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Even though this is a piano thread/forum, we're also human - and we love our families. We don't want to see them suffer! And when they do, it takes up a lot of our time. That's the last I will say about it 🙂 So, back to piano discussion:

hebele Yes, hands separate is easy but when playing hands together, my left hand likes to rush or drag and messes up the rhythm.

Yes! This is exactly what I noticed too. The left hand seems so easy... until you add the right hand. POOF, the left hand goes out of whack - and I haven't noticed that with my regular (Alfred) lessons. It just seems to happen with the blues lessons... I don't know why. Sorry @Nightowl if I accidentally drowned your beautiful dream of an easy way to learn it 😃

WieWaldi I was (and still am) busy and I pledge to submit before you!

Hehe good. Don't worry... my life is in a little turmoil too right now and I think my next lesson (whether lesson 2 or an actual piece from the 8 blues book) will probably not go much faster than this lesson one 🤗

        Sophia The left hand, though constantly repeating, is a little more tricky than it seems 🙂 It's entirely different from the stuff we do in the Alfred books and in some ways I am finding the repeats rather hard to learn.

        Oh, I didn't mean that particular piece you just uploaded - that's far more complex than the few very basic blues pieces I've played from the method books. I just meant that for some reason I do not struggle too much to play a swing rhythm with the LH, it feels quite natural and relaxing.

        This thread has been a real education for me. In fact, playing piano has really broadened my knowledge of music, it's been good for keeping boredom at bay.

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

          WieWaldi I'm sorry to hear about your father, I've been in that position and I remember how hard it was. When a parent is ill our roles suddenly reverse and we become the ones caring for them - it's hard to cope with and can be all consuming. Don't forget to take care of yourself too - you need to stay strong. The piano can wait, you have other priorities right now.

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

              Nightowl Thank you very much, Nightowl. ❤️

                Sophia just had a chance to listen. That is great, sounds lovely. It is like peeking through a window to the future. I can get there (in a year or two) if I keep up!

                  • Sophia

                  • Post #661

                  I know this feeling 😃 When I started the Blues course, I listened to WieWaldi and I thought I'd never manage that level... it is so advanced! And then when I reached that lesson (I think that was 7) myself, it felt soooo good to conquerit. Just keep going and we'll all get there! 🥰

                    Sophia (I think that was 7)

                    I think it was lesson 14, the St. Louis Blues from the quartety recital in May, PianoWorld.
                    Wow, this was only 9 month ago and you did more than just catching up. You are far more advanced now, than I was back then.

                      Ah yes! You are right, it was the St. Louis Blues. I think one of the big changes we both made, which makes us sound so much more "advanced" all of a sudden, is the use of the pedal. I forgot which lesson I started using it, but since then it made everything sound so much richer. It's a great way to mask poor playing and I found this convenient shortcut before you did

                        Sophia and I found this convenient shortcut before you did

                        Mmmmm.... well... yes... indeed...

                        I still don't pedal properly, but I explained you, how it works. Don't remind me bout that, this make me look like a 🦧

                            WieWaldi I explained you, how it works

                            True! And every time I push that pedal, I feel like

                              Here is my current state of "Blues Piano for Beginners" lesson 3:

                              Tempo is slow but still has mistakes. And I am getting tired of it. I think my piano's C2,G2,A2 are going to feel different than other keys because of the abuse 😅. I'd like to move on. But I've just checked lesson 4 scores and there are 5 pages! That's going to be fun 😬.

                                Oh wow, very impressive @hebele! Very well played, rock solid rhythm overall, flawless mother of all turnarounds - not once, but TWICE (it took me many more lessons to get that as smooth as your version) - and nice use of dynamics/beat emphasis. And a proper ending, something I think I only just managed recently and not too often either 😃

                                I think we have found ourselves a new victim to call annoyingly talented.

                                Well done!

                                  hebele Very well played. Especially the turnaround had a very cool groove and perfect tempo. And you played the royals with slides. Nice! The bluesscale was very crisp and clear in both directions, congrats. This, and your playing is stable enough to do it twice, should give you confidence.

                                  Sophia I think we have found ourselves a new victim to call annoyingly talented.

                                  Hahaha. No. It's you, Sophia! If you want to hoax him, you need to find something new.
                                  I always said, you are the one who is learning is super high speed, and Nightowl calls you annoyingly talented. Basically same conclusion from both of us. No no, annoyingly talented sticks on you and you'll never get rid of it.

                                        Poor me
                                        And, OMG... groan. That cartoon.....................

                                        Sophia thank you. You are too kind. And I am sorry but I think I am pretty safe to be "a new victim to call annoyingly talented". You are on your own 😀

                                        WieWaldi thanks. I was trying to squeeze in those pesky slides from the previous lesson. Not completely there but they are definitely getting better.

                                            Okay, my turn... previous lesson is 3 months old, already 😰
                                            (🦥-mode)

                                            I must apologize, this one got too long. Way too long! And I am glad I didn't add lesson 9 to this. Actually, I thought lesson 8 contains too little stuff to make a recording. Well - okay, it is really not that much, I played the same over and over again. Call it noodling. And of course this one contains a lotta mistakes: wrong notes, messing up with the rhythm, and more. Anyway, it is time to move one, I was strolling around with this lesson for too long.

                                            This lesson does not contain complete licks, it provides only chunks. Meaning smaller parts, maybe only 2 bars, sometimes 4. And it is up to the students to connect them. Well - I just played them in about the same order as Christian was teaching them, not able to add lots of variety.

                                            Get a big cup of tea - or coffee - lean back and enjoy 🙂

                                              WieWaldi Eight minutes of great sounding improvised licks, jamming, and runs! Great job WieWaldi, it sounds awesome!!!

                                              Your playing is smooth and steady, and you do a great job of putting all the pieces together in interesting ways. I also really like the way you leave space between licks. That lets me appreciate the preceding lick while anticipating the next one.

                                              You made a lego town!

                                                  rogerch Thanks, roger. This means a lot of me when you are saying so.

                                                    WieWaldi wow... that's some impressive noodling. It is eight minutes! I also think your lick blends well with others.

                                                        hebele Thank you. I guess you should have recognized already some patterns. In a slightly different way maybe. In your last lesson you learned the royal thirds (I think), I played them over and over again - but with variations in rhythm.
                                                        And I am sure, Sophia will recognize more stuff from the lessons she learnt so far.
                                                        Bottom line - it sounds all like Christians.