Patience, Patience, PATIENCE ! ! !

Patience is needed for this piano stuff. Simple but true. Trying to figure out what to practice takes patience. Patience needed playing songs and then forgetting them. Patience when my fingers don't get the idea. Patience with learning and then forgetting scales. Patience needed when things get forgotten. Today, I worked on some songs. Patience needed there. Learning a song isn't like making a painting, to me, anyway. When a painting is finished, we can stand back and enjoy it forever. But learning to play a song is different. I have learned songs, they have sounded nice, and sure i can have them recorded, but then I FORGET HOW TO PLAY THEM ! ! I'm going back and forth between the Harrison book and song learning...

"How High the Moon"

Interesting couple of days. Was frustrated because I thought my "What a Wonderful World" (see yesterday's post)lacked something. I let a friend of mine hear it, and he had some great advice. He said that I should do more peppy type of songs in order to build up my chops. He had a great point; I'm working on "High High the Moon."

"What a Wonderful World"

Here's me playing this favorite today...copy and paste:
http://www.box.net/shared/7l3e35unsh

July 23, 2010

Not in the mood to study scales today too much. Playing around with "Blackbird," experimenting with some Sudnow voicings with it... Would be nice to blend a Sudnow version with the more traditional voicings.

The beauty and the frustration.... July 22,2010

Scales, scales, scales. Trying to remember the minor scales and pentatonic scales is a pain. Started learning the blues scales. The value of learning these scales is getting obvious to me. Fitting in these scales in fills during songs can be pretty cool. And the pentatonic and blues scales sound quite nice to my ears. But the frustration of getting them learned!!! I continue to have fun playing "Blackbird."

July 18, 2010

Worked on minor scales, and pentatonic. Learned all the minors, and eight of the pentatonics. Of course, they are not mastered yet! Having fun playing around with "Blackbird." Listened to some of the great Elton album "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road" album. I think I'll reach my October 1 goal.

July 17, 2010

Check out my music player that now plays songs when you go on my blog. I included some of my favorite piano popular tunes. Thanks to my son who helped me install this!

July 16, 2010

Must have spent too much time having fun learning "Blackbird" in that of course my learning of scales has gooten slow. Practiced minor scales today, and have two more to learn (Ab and Bb). [Not that I'm an expert at the other ones!]

July 14, 2010

Here's how "Blackbird" sounds today. Mostly played it staight, but added a little run, and some Sudnow stuff. Still needs work, of course. Copy and paste:
http://www.box.net/shared/1iddjvukhd

July 10, 2010 - Addendum

Worked on playing "Blackbird." Sounds nice; using some of the C minor scale I've been learning to add more color to it. Working on C mior, D minor, E minor, F minor, G minor, A minor, B minor, and Eb minor scales.

July 10, 2010 - Some More Goals

With the piano, I'd like to just sit down and play songs "on the fly" with as little prep time as possible, utilizing fake books. I'd like to play background music at retaurants, and take "requests" as long as the songs are to be found in the fakebooks I'd have with me.
The Sundow Method has been helpful to me, and a look through this blog will reveal my ideas and reactions to the Sudnow Method. My issue with it at this point is that for me anyway, it takes a lot of repitition of songs learned inorder to maintain the songs "in my fingers." But I've learned some great stuff with the Method that I will retain in my play.
I'm now using the Mark Harrison Pop Piano Book, and I'm trying to go through it but in a time limited way, breaking up its contents into deadlines by which I should be at a particular place. At the current time, I'm in kind of the foundational part, where I'm to learn scales, chords, etc.
So I'm hoping that learning this stuff will help to achieve my goal. I'd also like to compose more stuff on piano!
As far as the learning process itself, what's helpful is the book "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner. It really streeses getting rid of the ego/self-criticisms that hamper the learning process.

July 9, 2010

Practicing mostly minor scales: C minor, D minor, E minor, F minor, G minor, A minor, B minor.

I've been tempted lately to invest in yet another piano learning method, but my better sense has so far prevailed. Just trying to stay with one method here....

July 8, 2010

Working on C minor, D minor, E minor, F minor scales....getting complicated.

July 7, 2010

Saw Ringo in concert last night with my son, and I'll never forget it!
Today, practiced mostly the C minor and D minor scales.

July 5, 2010

Working on my scales, mostly. Tomorrow, I'll be seeing Ringo Starr!

July 3, 2010

Worked on first chord inversions for all major chords. Interesting. A lot of work ahead...

July 2, 2010

Worked on 1st inversion of: C, F, G, Bb, Eb, and Ab chords.

July 1, 2010

Back again.... could not stay away.....

New direction that's not so new:
Trying to use some ideas from The Pop Piano Book by Mark Harrison. Worked on second inversion chords for C, F, G.