Challenge: Learning to Play the Piano #3

 

Hello there.  Wow!  I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since my last piano challenge update, but it is, and here we are again.  I have to admit to the fact that I haven’t done as much piano practice as usual due to the sheer mass of other things going on.  I know, I know...excuses, excuses.  It all sounds like a cop-out, but there just hasn’t been enough time to do all the things that need doing.  Time...  Mmmm...  Time will have to be the subject of another post.  Another time...

Getting back to what I have done piano-wise, I’ve been trying to concentrate on the sight-reading aspects, as I find I can play things quite readily by ear, but not necessarily with the right fingers.  This means my fingers almost get tangled up at times!  Imagine my long, bony fingers all tied up in knots...  Yep, that’s the image!  It will get better though, and I have progressed since I started.

Each time I sit down at the piano, I go back over the elements of Lesson 1, practising the basic notes, scales and tunes, and this week I’ve started on Lesson 2, which is all about ‘understanding timing and rhythm’.  It seems quite theory-heavy, if you know what I mean, and I don’t want to bore you with too much detail, so I’ll just say my brain is full of four-four time, crotchets and demi-semiquavers (!), extended note values, rests, staccato and Mozart!  Yikes.  So, there’s a lot of learning going on, as well as trying to remember which note is which on and between the lines on the staves.  It’s interesting...and I hope it all clicks into place soon.  Looking at the content of Lesson 3, it’s going to need to, because that’s where the ‘left hand’ joins the right hand to dance together on the keyboard!  Now that will be a challenge...

My next piano update will be posted here on the 14^th February, and my plan is to post a video that will be a reference point for my current ‘skill’ level (!), that I can come back to and laugh at in the not-too-distant future when I’m playing like this!  Note: My daughter, who plays the piano, has recently started to teach herself to play the violin, and she wants us to play this piece as a duet!  Won’t that be great (and isn't Brian Crain's piece brilliant)?

If any of you are learning to play something, why not tell us what you’re doing in the comments section below.  We’d love to hear from you!  Until next time...