In regards to thoughts on your teacher: All we know is how he plays, but not how he teaches. I don't see how we can have thoughts on your teacher. If he were to play badly, then he can't teach what he can't do, so at least we know that. I looked up the name. His stated teaching philosophy doesn't go into more detail than to say that he gears lessons to his students, which is good. Feedback by students and parents mention some specifics such as having learned skills such as sight reading, learning to listen, and emphasis on good technique. All of this sounds good.
Everyone on the forum should take the time to read and research before posting as you do keypeg. Think of the intelligent well supported comments we would have around here. It would curb the outbreaks of "troll-ism" threads I bet...maybe even rid the forum of them completely.
Your sheet-music is crumpled. The score is precious; you must respect it. Before you play a note, you have to read it, and, if like yours, it is a crumpled mess, your reading will be effected. This is immediately telling of any student, who does not use the music and so has allowed to get into this condition.
You are not paying any attention to your time. Are you counting? It gets a lot easier if you put the notes down at the right time. If you have to go at a crawl, so be it; at least the foundation will be solid.There is very little attention to the detail; this is Mozart. He was all about the details; this was written during a time when musicians had a very thin margin for creativity, and so used every faucet of what they had, because it was limited. If Brahms used a wide brush and an assortment of colour, by contrast, Mozart had a super thin one with a very limited colour pallet. Not to say contrast was not there, but it was much more refined and very, very, precise; he did not use dynamics wastfully, his forte was saved for those moments when his music needed it. Brahms would use forte, and more importantly, gradient, because he could and it was at that point a standard concept.Think by comparison to the confines of, Super Mario Bros, in comparison to its various remakes (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2030/1589360805_21e4f009ae.jpg). Essentially they are the same game, but due to breakthroughs in technology, one has substantially more tools to ‘play with’, resulting in a somewhat different experience.The problems you have encountered in this piece are because you are not listening to what you are playing; I will say it again, you are not listening, or rather, listening fully. Forgive my bluntness, but there is so much you are not hearing that needs to be worked on in isolation. Most importantly is your ability to keep time consistent and constant.Your weaknesses in left-hand coordination is due to your insufficient knowledge of scales and arpeggios. This is Viennese classical music; the entire school of thought is built on scales and arpeggios, to neglect them would be a dire mistake on your part.Do not see this as an attack on you, but a criticism of the music you are making. You clearly have the spirit and drive, but what is lacking is your discipline and patience; slow yourself down and it will begin to work for you.Sight-reading is not a separate part of music making; in classical music making, it is the point: "Recreating the music of others with precision by means of sheet-music". Work on your ability to look at the page, and you will improve dramatically, even by the default: “you actually see what you have to do with it.”
...Rather perplexing observation. I've seen music in much worse condition contained in the libraries of professional music organizations. Its what they have, so it is what the musicians use. Does the listener care about the condition of the sheets or the sounds they hear? Does anybody pay a ticket price to go to a concert to see the condition of sheet music the musicians are reading from? In this age of digital music when many professionals forgo paper for digital displays, I feel it is more nitpicking and there are more serious topics to deal with. Sheet music is easily replaceable if one's copy gets dogeared. In my books music > score....
...All valid points of discourse. However, some of these topics are presented in a manner which fellow teachers or musicologists would converse about, probably not the best choice of presentation considering the OP's situation....
Sight reading is a hard enough task for some people, why make this process more challenging by creating obstacles where there need not be. This situation has arrived because ‘pianist7s’ paid little attention to the score, and so, over time neglected it.
Yes, our own veritable Ruler of the Queen's Navy!
Always nice to meet another G&S fan....HMS Pinafore is my favorite.
Hard to beat Pirates of Penzance for sheer approachability though.
Question to you 'Quantum': Would you pick up music in this condition and prepare a performance from it?(No agenda, just curious)
As a member of a professional music organization, I frequently have to use sheet music in poor condition. It does not bother me for the most part. There are also a number of old scores than have been passed on to me through generations of teachers. Some are out of print or difficult to find, and I use these as well. I do take care to make sure minimal wear is caused to them.
Thank you for posting; it does take a lot of courage to put oneself out there.My advice would be to stop worrying or comparing yourself to others, particularly a musician who is of an entirely different caliber.IFeedback:Your sheet-music is crumpled. The score is precious; you must respect it this was written during a time when musicians had a very thin margin for creativity
That's why we approach it with cat like tread be it animal, vegetable, or mineralHardy-har-har.
I think the more apt quote for many of the contributors here would be "poor, wandering one."
Surely "poor, wondering one"?
I understood it as Tim wrote it - "wandering" - as in "lost and seeking" or perhaps "aimlessness". Tim?
Keypeg is the monarch of the sea. We are her sisters and her cousins and her aunts..her sisters and her cousins and her aunts
For shame For shame For shamePoor wandering one Though thou hast surely strayed Take heart of grace, thy steps retrace Poor wandering onePoor wandering one If such poor love as mine Can help thee find true peace of mind Why, take it, it is thineTake heart, no danger lowers Take any heart but ours Take heart, fair days will shine Take any heart, take mineTake heart, no danger lowers Take any heart but ours Take heart, fair days will shine Take any heart, take minePoor wandering one Though thou hast surely strayed Take heart of grace, thy steps retrace Poor wandering onePoor wandering one Poor wandering one Take heart, take heartTake any heart but ours Take heart, take heartTake heart, no danger lowers Take any heart but ours Take heart, take heart Take any heart but oursTake heart
And the final word(s) for the benefit of you young 'uns? CHORUS. — Stick close to your desks and never go to sea, And you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navee!
I was quoting from childhood memory and did not google it. I did vacillate briefly between wondering and wandering. Here is the actual text:Pirates of Penzance, Act 1, Scene 8
.This makes me want to sign up to be in the local theater production of Pirates next year....then again listening to G&S every day for hours of rehearsal has to be damaging to the brain....it has to be.
.
Quite Zen. I think that's a good direction to go in.
keypeg would prefer a thread stay coherent and reasonably aligned with the original theme.
Thank you for posting; it does take a lot of courage to put oneself out there.My advice would be to stop worrying or comparing yourself to others, particularly a musician who is of an entirely different caliber.Your teacher is clearly an accomplished musician, who has studied for perhaps most of his life.You are still learning, and so, must accept this; please do this before you go any further.I will give you some comment on your video, please excuse my obsessions with the details, but believe me when I say it makes a difference; even the minor ones.Feedback:Your sheet-music is crumpled. The score is precious; you must respect it. Before you play a note, you have to read it, and, if like yours, it is a crumpled mess, your reading will be effected. This is immediately telling of any student, who does not use the music and so has allowed to get into this condition.You are not paying any attention to your time. Are you counting? It gets a lot easier if you put the notes down at the right time. If you have to go at a crawl, so be it; at least the foundation will be solid.There is very little attention to the detail; this is Mozart. He was all about the details; this was written during a time when musicians had a very thin margin for creativity, and so used every faucet of what they had, because it was limited. If Brahms used a wide brush and an assortment of colour, by contrast, Mozart had a super thin one with a very limited colour pallet. Not to say contrast was not there, but it was much more refined and very, very, precise; he did not use dynamics wastfully, his forte was saved for those moments when his music needed it. Brahms would use forte, and more importantly, gradient, because he could and it was at that point a standard concept.Think by comparison to the confines of, Super Mario Bros, in comparison to its various remakes (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2030/1589360805_21e4f009ae.jpg). Essentially they are the same game, but due to breakthroughs in technology, one has substantially more tools to ‘play with’, resulting in a somewhat different experience.The problems you have encountered in this piece are because you are not listening to what you are playing; I will say it again, you are not listening, or rather, listening fully. Forgive my bluntness, but there is so much you are not hearing that needs to be worked on in isolation. Most importantly is your ability to keep time consistent and constant.Your weaknesses in left-hand coordination is due to your insufficient knowledge of scales and arpeggios. This is Viennese classical music; the entire school of thought is built on scales and arpeggios, to neglect them would be a dire mistake on your part.Do not see this as an attack on you, but a criticism of the music you are making. You clearly have the spirit and drive, but what is lacking is your discipline and patience; slow yourself down and it will begin to work for you.Sight-reading is not a separate part of music making; in classical music making, it is the point: "Recreating the music of others with precision by means of sheet-music". Work on your ability to look at the page, and you will improve dramatically, even by the default: “you actually see what you have to do with it.”Please post more, I am interested in your progress.
Everyone on the forum should take the time to read and research before posting as you do keypeg. Think of the intelligent well supported comments we would have around here. It would curb the outbreaks of "troll-ism" threads I bet...maybe even rid the forum of them completely.To the OPI would like to hear the Mozart again after a few months with your new teacher. It will be far easier for us to answer your question then, especially since you have now given us a baseline for comparison. When you post the Rondo again it will be quite clear how well you have learned from your new teacher.
First of all, I went back to your video when you first started...what amazing progress you've made. Given that you were self-taught for a number of years, this is very impressive.Second, you've chosen a difficult piece. There is a great deal of repetition, fast finger work and you've set a very high bar for yourself.This is also a piece I played and what helped me:. Don't practice by starting at the beginning. We get better and better at the beginning of things, and then we run out of mental energy when we hit the tough spots.. Mark off the toughest spots, start with those first. I chunk it down into 4 measure blocks, and then I play: left hand 5 times perfectly, right hand 5 times perfectly (if I flub, I go back and start again), and then hands together 5 times perfectly.. My mind hears this piece at rapid tempo, but I have found that the slower I practice it the faster I learn it. Take it slow, hit each note "deeply".. I practice the tough parts (4 measure chunks) for 15 minutes, then go back and polish 4 measures for 5 minutes, then 15 minutes of the tough chunks and so on.I am not a teacher, but have been a student for many years. You're doing GRAND! Keep on practicing. Piano is a lifelong endeavor, so enjoy the process!
have a teacher to lead me in the right direction like to better my technique etc, thanks.
I just found out that the teacher can't take me as his student, due because he no longer have time to teach anymore.... so I have to look for another piano teacher. So I will post later of my progress for Mozart Turkish March whenever have a teacher to lead me in the right direction like to better my technique etc, thanks.
Thank you for the update.May I suggest: Taking a few steps back to move forward.I started with Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course, Book 1, and it is basic. You can then move onto the other more advanced books in this series.You've done an amazing thing by cobbling together a self-taught program, but inevitably, you'll miss things along the way. Alfred's will take you step by step through the basics. It may seem ridiculous at times, but I would like to suggest you take a few months to build a foundation.Take care. I'll look forward to updates on your progress.
Topic: Your thoughts on my teacher & help 