Level One

Started Lesson 7. Learning a couple of licks and got through comping. Was intimidated starting today possibly thinking I'm not going to get this stuff. But I plowed through anyway. Doing ok with it; it's going to be hard work! (Still doing ok with taking better care of my health).

Level One

• Took an hour walk this morning at 6:00 AM. Did a great job following diet today.

• Practiced chord shapes and a second pattern in my guitar studies.

• Then listened with headphones to a remix of the greatest album ever made: The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Those strings in "She's Leaving Home!" Cool sounds throughout. 

 

Week One

Started the Guitar Improvisation course today, and I like it. Up to Lesson 5. Did a preliminary improv on Summertime that I think sounded pretty good. Just using a min7 scale though at this time. 

I have to build up my jazz vocabulary of licks. Scales just won't cut it. My small vocabulary of rock and roll licks sound just great; so if I can add to that number a lot of jazz licks, wouldn't that be great.

Well tomorrow I start yet another attempt of trying to be more healthy. Will try to take a 6:00 AM walk, and eat healthy. I used to to that walk every morning and felt really good. I'm hoping I can get out of bed to do that tomorrow morning. Also hoping to practice guitar for at least 45 minutes everyday, starting tomorrow. 

Ponderings

Would be nice to:

1) Take an hour long walk at 6:00 AM.

2) Practice guitar 45 minutes daily.

3) Throw a little piano practice in there

4) Eat more healthy

Sunday

Ten week guitar improvisation course starts tomorrow! Also, keep thinking still about the piano (!). 

Drastic Change of Plans

Did it. Will stop piano after this Thursday's lesson. Thinking I'm not really meant to play the piano.

For

Now,

Anyway.

Might go back. Might not. 

Geez, I was even tempted again to go back to the Sudnow Method for piano. 

My interest in guitar was again sparked when I saw a certain ad. I ended up signing up for the 10 week course on Jazz Guitar Improvisation. Feeling a bit anxious about it since there seems to be assessments involved as well as sharing of solos and issues on a blog. The course is requiring one hour per week of learning the lesson as well as 45 minutes of practice five days a week. 

Let's see what happens. It starts in about a week.

Monday / ChangeDay

Looks like I'm going to be changing piano teachers to learn from an old friend of mine. He is an amazing piano player. His fee will be less than my current teacher. 

Now in the mid 1980's sometime, I took some piano lessons from the guy that taught my friend. I liked the way he taught. So hopefully the methods he used will be used to teach me. 

The original guy has since died. I remember him telling me that he had played with Benny Goodman! Also, this original teacher had perfect pitch, and it used to drive him up the wall when he heard a piano out of tune.

I did continue my invetsion practice today. I'm still hoping to learn how to play on the fly from fakebooks someday. I can play chord changes now, somewhat, but it takes a lot of time for me to make the required changes.

"The Inner Game of Music"

Reading a book that is very timely for me: "The Inner Game of Music" by Barry Green with W. Timothy Gallwey. I probably talked about it somewhere else in this blog because I started it before. It's about how we sabotage our experiences with music by having attitudes and distractions that get in the way.

That couldn't be more timely a read for me than now. Being bombarded by negativity with regarding my piano journey. And that's nothing new! 

Relatedly, I'm beginning to think that perhaps another contributor to my negativity is feelings of guilt regarding the money bring paid for lessons. Did a little questioning to see if there might be another teacher out there, so we'll see how that goes. 

Oh yea, I did practice today. Questioning how much is actually "sinking in," though...

Friday

Again went through a period of contemplating  quitting the piano. But then something interesting happened:

I practiced.

Just getting out of my head and onto the piano was a very good thing to do. It's probably a theme somewhat throughout this blog, but the more I think about things regarding learning music, the more deeper in trouble I get. The trick for me is to just DO THE WORK.

.

 

Happy Birthday

Well today I turned 55 years old. Tempted to do more guitar....didn't practice piano....had pizza and some delicious cherry water ice.

Here's a picture of me and my bandmate (who shares the same birthday as me):

 

Tuesday Bright Spot

Practiced piano and it actually went well. Funny how sometimes things go better than they did the previous day. 

Monday Piano Blues

Ok so the piano lessons honeymoon seems to be over. Time to work. Work with sometimes seeing little progress if any. Continue to work hard. Not sure if I'm getting anywhere. Wondering.

Wondering if it's worth continuing to shell out the money for lessons. I mean, come on. The guitar is fun for me. Piano is work! It's hard! 

It's not clicking today with me and the piano. Wondering if it's typical for a person my age to be where I'm at in terms of how hard I'm finding it to click. My teacher seems to really feel like there is no way that I am too old. He agreed when I mentioned I need to just trust the process. 

Maybe a related issue is that because I'm paying for lessons, I feel it's my duty to practice. And practice is hard! Not convinced that things are clicking!

Trust the process?

Will do.

Sunday

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's my wife and kids out for breakfast this morning to celebrate her day:

 

Going to continue to trust the process of just keeping on practicing the piano. That's the key right there. Just staying in action doing what needs to be done despite negativity. 

Saturday

Would be easy to quit piano, but I just can't. Keepin up the work today. Also made flashcards involving maj7, min7, dom7 chords, as well as maj 3rds and min 3rds.

Piano Lesson #3

Went well. I'm in the middle of trying to really get a number of things under my fingers. Inversions seem to be so key ...

Inversions

Man if I thought inversions were difficult, I have to say that practicing inversions on TWO hands with proper fingerings is REALLY difficult!!

 

Piano & Tooth

Had to get a tooth fixed at the dentist today. Really dread seeing the dentist....

Anyway, came hone and got some good piano time in. Also started working on a different exercise that again, tries to work on inversions. Continue to read my music theory book. 

Sunday

Busy day. 

Went on a long drive with my family to visit my dad,  and took him out to dinner. Came home, and continued my piano practice. Up to chapter one in the theory book; interesting to read the introductory material written by my piano teacher. 

Looks like my son will be going to Temple University in Philadelphia to be in the same profession as his dad.

Sometimes I think about if I should have pursued a serious study of music. Can't say that I can answer yes; I see my chosen profession as a calling to do what I was meant to do. Help people.

I also think that there is no way that I could have known when I was younger that this music stuff in getting into was really a choice. I would have had to gotten into it deeply as young as elementary school, and looking back, I just don't see that as a high probability situation. 

Dad's 91st Birthday

Celebrating dad's 91st birthday a little late:

 

Me and Dad:

Me, my brother, and my dad:

 

 

F R I D A Y

No piano practice today, but practiced with the band. Disappointed because a version of the Beatles' "Blackbird" could not be worked on because I need to arrange in better. Ordered a music theory book written by my piano teacher.

Thursday

A really good piano day. I just keep reviewing my inversions and chords. Received some enormous tips from my teacher that are helping immensely. Hoping these chords are getting into my muscle memory. 

INVERSIONS

Working hard trying to put those piano chords in my muscle memory. Working on all 12 major chords and their inversions; 3 - 7 as well as 7 - 3 major jazz chords, and minor 7 jazz chords with the b7 on top. Doin' the work.

Zoey

 

Piano Lesson 2

Really good lesson today. What can I say? I'm liking it. It's good to be held accountable in a patient way by an expert who knows what he's doing. Thought maybe I'd do pop piano and forget jazz stuff for now but decided to stick with both. 

There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to practice an hour a day. Just play it all; no waiting to actually master every nuance.