The achievement of the last week (more like two weeks) that makes me really happy is learning F# minor harmonic scale. The D-F-F# fingering felt so tricky at first I couldn't imagine playing them accurately hands together. But I just kept at it, and these old fingers slowly learned the new trick. When I finally was able to play it 2-octaves hands together at my target tempo, I was so happy.
The other one is counting out loud. I went back to The Entertainer, a short piece I practiced many many times, and tried on it. Boy, it's like learning a new piece all over again. And I never thought I could be out-of-breath just saying one-two-three-four! (I wish I could count in my native tongue which would be easier 😉). I can finally do it now at reduced tempo. Along the way I also realized a few subtle rhythmic inaccuracies I was making, mainly associated with stops. This is hard, but this is working.
