What Piece(s) Are You Working on Right Now?
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It's been a months since I turned the final page of Faber Adult AIO Book 1. Instead of going straight into Book 2, I decided to take a gap month (or two). I am going back through Book 1 again and try to practice things I skipped, such as counting out loud, or singing the lyrics, etc. I also added Faber's Classic Companion book 1 to my practice, to learn some new piece on my own without help from YouTube teachers (although Faber do have demo videos for this book).
Today I am going through Rise and Shine, which I learned to play 2 months ago. There's lyric in the print. With some practice I can kind of hum along. Then I thought, maybe I should go on YouTube and find some performance of this song to see how it's reallly done. What I found made me really laugh out loud:
Looking back, my playing needed some major cheering up 
iternabe I remember seeing a YouTube teacher that recommends taking a break between method books. I'm two pieces away from the end of the set of books that I'm on. I was going to continue on to the next set without a break, but now I might take a break before starting the next set and see how many grade 3 bucket list pieces I can manage before the new year. Then I'll start on the new series and also start on grade 4 wish list pieces.
I recommend the Angeline Bell books for extra curricular music. She has several so you can choose one that matches your musical preferences and style. Between those and the extensive number of Wunderkeys books there's a lot of music out there suitable for early learners up to level 4 or so.
Most of it sounds better than the arrangements in the method books too.
I think Bell's pieces are better. Dow's music certainly is. A lot of Robertson's stuff sounds like the same basic RH melody, played on the same keys. It's all a monotone musically. At least to me.
One thing I was really wanting was music I could use to improve my technique and musicality. Some call this being more lyrical, and it is to some extent, but it's actually more than just that. If you look at videos of people playing beginner music you start to notice one thing they all have in common - choppy fingering. If you look at more advanced players you start to see something different - a lightness where the notes are played almost by stroking the keys. It's that difference which I was looking for.
If you look at your own videos (and mine too) you'll notice that it's almost like you're playing stacatto all the time. Your fingers go down then up, move to new keys, go down then up, move, etc. There's no fluidity because the music is broken into pieces rather than being a whole.
Part of that is because beginners have no technique and this is the only method we can use to hit the notes. But, when I played Bell's Butterflies it was different from that in both the musicality and physical movement of playing.
https://rumble.com/v4lvex0-butterfiles-by-angelina-bell.html
Watch the last few seconds of my LH in the video. You'll see that it's much lighter and more graceful than anything I'm playing in my method books. The RH is like that too but it's not as noticeable.
This lyrical quality is what makes the music sound better and makes it more attractive to me. Robertson's music that I've sampled doesn't seem to have that. It still might have it in stuff I haven't listened to, but I've yet to find it.
I am doing the most basic HT Root 5th version of Let It Be—a slowed-down version at that! If I stare at my hands, I can do it okay, but I'm trying really hard not to develop a bad habit. It is incrementally improving.
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I've been working on the "3 Romances" by Schumann for oboe & piano (with my wife). The greatest challenge is to play at the (quick) tempo, and for it not to sound panicked. I had never played Schumann, and had been told his music is sometimes awkward to play (but beautiful).
Initially I thought there's no way that can play these pieces, but over the weeks I've been working on them, they've gradually become "doable".
As a contrast to the generally serious Schumann, I'm also playing a piece of fluff by Rossini, what's probably the shortest selection (in Eb) of "Quelques Riens" (a few nothings) from his collection of piano pieces "Sins of my Old Age". Apart from getting used to some jumps, this one won't take a long time.
Haven't touched my piano in more than a week. I'm going to try and find the time to sit down with it today and work on a new method book piece. Hah, it's been so long I don't even remember the name of the piece I'm supposed to play.
grin just went and looked - Snowfall.
I will probably continue later today working on "House of the Rising Sun." I need to practice playing and singing at the same time. This is for early next week when our practice group meets again. Yesterday I already added the chord chart and sheet music (ultimate-guitar.com/Musescore.com) to forScore on my iPad. What is interesting is my wife and I each have an iPad with forScore installed, and because of the forScore syncing ability, if new sheet music (or annotations) are added to forScore on one iPad, it automatically syncs that new sheet music (or annotations) to forScore on the other iPad. I really like that convenient syncing feature.
I work on improvising and sight reading every day.
In addition, I'm working on the Allegro molto e vivace movement of Beethoven's Sonata 13. This is a piece I've been working on sporadically for a few years, and I intended to play it for the July ABF Fast Pieces Recital. I realized it wasn't going to be ready in time so I submitted Heartsounds instead.
I made a lot of progress though, and I'm now targeting the November recital. Here's a recording I made right before the Fast Pieces deadline:
Some of the things I'm working on:
- It needs to be faster. I can play most of it faster than this recording, but the left hand octaves near the end were a limiting factor
- Very light pedaling to connect notes across jumps
- Better staccato, especially in the parts with staccato in left hand and legato in right hand
- Cleaner playing
I'm continuing to make progress so maybe I will have a good recording by November!
I question how much effort I'm willing to put in for a piece that's a little over two minutes long, but I think it's good to push myself outside of my comfort zone so I'm persisting for now... 
I am working through Faber Classics Book 1. This piece "Prince Denmark's March" has a trill that I've never encountered in the method book. After lots and lots of practice, I finally get something that is maybe passable? It still does not sound quite right to me, but I am having a hard time telling what it is.
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iternabe I am working through Faber Classics Book 1. This piece "Prince Denmark's March"
That music sounds excellent. That is a very nice tune indeed. Thanks for playing that for us to listen to. I like that one.
That is exactly what it is about. The more you play that tune ... the more your mind/brain/body gels with it ... and the more you will explore ... to play it in your way. And the way you're playing it now sounds good to me. Great start.
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Iternabe - your playing and music before inspired me to play a short portion of the tune - but using the sort of standard issue patterns (like arpegg etc) - to try to generate some nice sound from the piano over here. I was thinking about what to play - and then got a bit stuck - but then ended off with a basic trill or short ornament. I generally don't use trills in my music - but trills certainly can sound nice when used sparingly. And I do like the sound of trills. This really short bit is really inspired by your vid. My playing here is simple notes - but fortunately the piano sounds nice to compensate a bit hehe.
(flac file is three times smaller - both audio above have the same content).
It's only an example of what I mean about exploring etc. I didn't think too much about it -- but what happens is - with more thinking, it's possible to build and refine or evolve it in some direction - where the essence is still in there. Best regards.
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I am working on "Caro Nome" in Faber Classics Book 1. It's a nice tune, but all those staccatos in piano are so tricky to control. After getting it roughly in shape, I wondered how the aria should really sound, so I looked it up in YouTube. What a delightful surprise - it's so beautiful!
Just submitted a "short" piece for the Online Recital.
Still not playing, just pecking at the keyboard every few days. Once I get back in the saddle I'll move on but for right now, just keeping Wolf under my fingers. Not trying to polish it, just keeping it semi-fresh.
Hi
Mostly working on my grade 8 pieces. A Scarlatti Sonata in D, an Impromptu in b minor by Coleridge=Taylor being the main focus at present. Also as a long term piece I've also started working on Chopin's Grande Valse Brillante Op. 18, over the last week.
Cheers
Simon
All round average Jazz, Blues & Rock player.
Currently working towards ABRSM grade 8.