Piano Q&A: Advancing through books/levels very quickly
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
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Happy practicing!
-Allysia
I consider myself a slow learner. Been on Adult Piano Adventures 1 for about six months now. Just received book 2 in the mail, but still probably a few weeks out from starting it. I like to have something fully absorbed before I move on.
From other musical instruments I can play, I've learned the concept and practicality of Muscle Memory, and I like to have that established before I progress to the next set of lessons.
I'm fine with my slow pace, for many reasons, but I love playing so I don't mind if it takes me forever. Piano has become my new favorite instrument.
So glad I’ve found your channel! ( I’m in the UK 🇬🇧) I started piano lessons at age 24 just before the pandemic. Sailed swimmingly thought prep and grade 1 Michael Aaron. Grade 2 become a challenge but then had to stop lessons as I moved home after university. In the mean time with the knowledge I gained from lessons and understanding of theory I brought hymn books with the chords written above and happily played them everyday until I decided it was best to start lessons again ( so for about a year) I’ve now started Alfred’s Basic Adult Level 2 which I love but I must admit I do find challenging. Because of my love and interest in only hymns/ traditional gospel music I find these secular pieces hard ( as I simply do not know them) but enjoyable. Progress is good but not as fast as I would like, I must admit I do play/ practise daily. But if I could dedicate more time to my method book instead of hymns I’ll improve at a faster rate! My end goal is to be able to sit a piano and play hymns with or with music in-front of me and one day play for church ⛪️
Great advice... thank you 😉
As a 17 year old who has been playing piano since 9, I also had a growth spurt where my teacher allowed me to skip RCM level 4 and go straight to level 5, and as you said, I did indeed go back to 1 grade per year.
I think the reason why I had a growth spurt and so many other teenagers have growth spurts at around this level is because we become more mature about our practices, are able to have a deeper appreciation about the music we are playing, and we are now realizing what it really means to play music. This of course lines up perfectly with the time children start to have that emotional maturity into young adults.
So why do we slow down? Well actually, I don’t think we actually do slow down. That understanding and maturity never goes away, and only grows as we keep playing. It’s just that we are finally getting to that high intermediate/ advanced level, and the learning curve for each subsequent grade becomes exponentially steeper.
This is just my guess about the cause and reason for that growth spurt that many musicians see when they hit their teens as someone who has had that experience before, interested in some other guesses.
Thanks! Really clarifies that issue
Good day! I am following your videos since few months and I want to say that I like your work and I find it inspiring. I am a pianist and a piano teacher. I. Live in Firenze, Toscana, Italia. Keep on doing video lessons, thank you.
You always seem to answer the questions I have so thoroughly. Every video you have is worth watching. Thank you!
Thank you, I think that this video is a good reminder that patience is important when learning and progressing in music. I'll be sure to keep this in mind as I study
Allysia: What a great video! Most helpful information! You answered many questions I had regarding how long it takes to complete different basic materials, and at what speed I should be moving through my level books and what sheet music pieces I should be attempting. What you say makes a great deal of sense. I wish I had you as my piano teacher, live and in person! I think I would make so much more progress with professional and knowledgeable, weekly feedback (lessons). I bet your students really love you! Thanks for your help.
Omg I’ve been learning to play the Minuet hands separate and then finally together for the last 3 weeks to perfect it and do proper technique, while also doing my scales/sight reading etc. I could not imagine going through my grade 1 book in 1.5 months!!
Thank you for your videos. You're a great piano teacher, Allysia. I wish I had the chance to be one of your piano learners. Unfortunately I live far from you. Brazil! haha I'm in grade 3, btw.
When I was younger I took lessons playing the Viola with a really great player who was the principle for the RPO in NY. One time she said to me, "You're not as good as you think you are" Shock! I took that hard since I was playing in a community orchestra and practiced for 3 hours a day. This goes to the self assessment. I took it hard when she said it, but the more I thought about what she was actually trying to say (She was Russian by the way :) ) was that I needed to spend more general time, not just more hours. That I needed to get to know the piece, that what I was hearing in my own mind wasn't as good as what the audience would hear. While it bruised my fragile ego at the time, it was one of the lessons that really stuck with me in a positive way. Anyways, sorry for the long reply years later.. Just made me think of that great, hard lesson.
I’ve been watching these videos for a while and I just realized I never subscribed… To anyone just checking this channel out I suggest you watch more from her. She answered a lot of my questions. I’m 2 years in and I’ve definitely improved a lot.
Remember to practice slowly; buckle up, the piano is a long ride. There are times when I felt like quitting because I felt as if I wasn’t progressing. It took me a couple of months to see some improvement, so hang in there!
Much love
From Los Angeles to Canada.
This is an interesting subject. I went through book one without bothering to work on the pieces. I studied all the the technical stuff, which I love, but I couldn't be bothered memorizing a piece that I didn't particularly like so I didn't. Well guess what, after diving into book 2 I realized how wrong I had been and now I am going through book one all over again and I realize that I know more than I thought but I still need to practice those pieces, maybe not all of them but at least some of them to a point where I am satisfied that should I wish to play them in public I could do so by working just a little bit on them. Also I am doing an online course at the same time which is helping me perfect my knowledge of chords that I tried to avoid but I now know they are essential!
Recording yourself is a great way to hear how you are actually playing versus how you think you are playing.
I stopped playing for ages and left at grade 4, stopped playing for about 4 years and now ive come back and learnt fantasy in D minor by mozart and nocturne op 27, and now ive finally learnt fantasie impromptu! But its taking me a lot longer than 1 week to learn these pieces
Thanks for your valuable and fresh advice. Really helpful. I think I have been cutting corners recently and it was hurting my progress. I have been a musician for 40 years (guitar) but recently was trying to up my practice effectiveness on piano and music in general. Read Gerald Klickstein's The Musician's Way and while not really aimed at the beginner in piano (me), it has really helped my advancement. I have tailored my practice from ideas from his book, yours (and other) sources to really start to improve both learning accessible pieces and also more challenging ones. I now value and benefit from 1) internalizing more, layering and slow practice (metronome) on new material (focus on EASE rather than speed), 2) logging and planning practice, 3) staying with accessible material longer, 4) and using method books as guidance rather than rote piece learning. I read/practice and try to 75% everything and review each section as I move forward but only retain (or try to perfect) a handful that I like. I think this is working for me. I am retired and can (and do) practice 2 to 3 hours daily but have learned the super skill of taking short breaks every 15 minutes or so and mixing up my routine so that tough or rough spots can marinate.
Wonder if you have any comments or opinions on "The Musician's Way" or other resources we should use to improve practice effectiveness. Again, thank you.
Just the learning experience is the most important. What is the rush? Quality over quantity. Don't skip over anything.
Love the video! My thing I took from this is - Never do tomorrow’s work today!
Thanks for this video. I’m an older beginner who bought a copy of Adult Piano Adventures book 1 a few months ago and I’ve been very hesitant in starting it because I’m not sure how to exactly approach it. I am self-taught and I’ve studied music theory, chords, etc. over the past few years. I thought a method book would be a huge help when it comes to a more structured approach to learning piano. I understand how proper self-assessment can be difficult to do as well. I think I might record myself and play that back with some honest self-criticism. I also decided to get on the waiting list for your beginner course in October. From what I’ve seen on your website, I think you will provide excellent structure and very constructive criticism. Also, a huge weakness of mine is memorizing pieces. Anyway, sorry for the long comment. This video really gives me all the tips I need on working through my method book. Thanks.
Hi Alyssa :) I have question about fingers strength I was hoping you could help me with.. apologies if you covered the subject already, but I am having a lot of trouble with my fourth finger which I just cant get to move independently or do anything else either, especially if the firth or the third fingers are down holding a note. I find this particularly when I practise thirds (especially if the fourth finger is playing a sharp or a flat!), where I just cannot lift the fourth finger together with the second, when 3rd and 5rd are down. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to answer in your next Q&A session, your videos are awesome :)) Alberto
Thank you Allysia! I’ve been taking piano lessons for a year with my college professor. (I play several string instruments prior to that) At about half year mark she gave me two pieces to learn: Beethoven Sonatina in G and Bach Prelude in E (BWV 937). I managed the sonatina pretty easily but couldn’t play the Bach, so she gave me Chopin Waltz in C# minor instead. I struggled but played through it and after months of practising now I genuinely enjoy it. However, I’m not sure if I want to keep challenging myself to play even higher-level music or if I want to stay in my comfort zone. The thing is, I love the piano and really regretted not having picked it up in my teenage years and I’d like to play at a level which at least I myself can appreciate. But at the same time I don’t know what’s a healthy pace to go at that is not too fast that I neglect certain foundational techniques nor too slow that I feel like I’m not going anywhere. Do you have any advice on that?
Btw I didn’t really follow any method books. I just played whichever pieces my prof gave me and sometimes I also got to choose which pieces I like to learn. I already knew music theory pretty well before picking up the piano so I didn’t learn to read notes or that kinda thing
Hmm, I've been going through Alfred's Piano Level 1A, the lesson, theory and recital books. I'm not finding them difficult at all. I can do 1-3 pages of all three books in a 30-60 minute practice session. The pieces are so simple that I didn't think I needed to try to "master them". I practise them until I can go through them once or twice without any mistakes.
I really don't feel like I'm rushing, but I'll try to go over the previous couple of pages at the beginning of my sessions before going to new pages. It's strange because this is my second try as an adult at beginner's lessons where I had a weekly teacher over ten years ago, but I remember nothing of what we did and maybe it was three months? I have grown a lot since then.
Thank you so much Allysia. I recently started to learn piano, 2-3 months already. I'm doing it by my own and its so fun. I'm really focused on learning not only the pieces (just hitting the notes as you said) but the whole music stuff. Thats why I love your channel so much, you bring us knowledge about history and music eras, composers, styles and much more and this is just amazing. Is there any
great online comunity for musicians and music enthusiasts out there? I want to be part of one but I dont know any @-@...
The online community to be is Piano World (www.pianoworld.com). People post messages in the forum section everyday.
I practiced 4 - 6 hours daily. Daily 36 scales, 24 arpeggios, sight reading, kodaly method.
My first exam was Grade 2, then Grade 4, then Grade 7 and Grade 8. Finished all Grade 8 in 3 1/2 years. And score distinction for 4, 7, 8 ABRSM exams.
It is how we practice is more important than how much time we are willing to spend our time to practice. If we know how to practice and willing to spend long time to practice, then we can definitely speed up the process.
This video answered so many questions! I hit my "growth spurt" around 13 and rapidly went from a grade 5 to an 8 (while still conquering the levels between). Now I'm 15 and am playing some 9 and some 10.
Wow 😳I'm 15 and I just started
@@Naomi-rf1bl I started at 15 6months ago
Well I've been treating the pieces in faber book 1 as one time sight reading exercises. Guess I need to give more thoughts to all of them though
Hey Allysia im focusing solely on Bach's pieces this year, cuz i think he has a very good progression in difficulty in his work. Do you think focusing solely in him for now is good ( i play piano for a year and a half in a music school ) or should i play something else too ?
Went to a Suzuki music seminar. Suzuki teachers in general prefer students to take their time and learn everything properly. Unless someone is really a slow learner, you basically go through each of the Suzuki books in a given time and then on stage for their recital.
The extreme case involve the daughters of the Chinese-American author (law professor) "Tiger Mom" Amy Chua. Ms. Chua got her older daughter Sophie into Suzuki piano and pushed her to complete 9 Suzuki Books in 1 year. Ms. Chua would take the no nonsense approach of not serving dinner until her daughter played a piece without 1 single mistake. And on vacation, Tiger Mom would make sure every hotel they stayed had a piano so that her daughter could practice. And the younger daughter Lulu would be practicing violin just as vigorously (thanks to Tiger Mom).
I forge ahead for various reasons:
1: When returning to the beginning of a lesson book it's much easier to work through with some idea about what's coming rather than plodding along from the beginning with zero knowledge/ability.
2: Some pieces are tedious. Not spending too much time on those helps me with keeping motivation. I will always return to them at some point but with greater ability and awareness thus not getting bogged down in a boring piece. Sometimes however, this isn't always possible to avoid.
3: Keeping going on fresh challenging pieces always feels there is some momentum in the learning journey rather than stuck in the mire of self doubt, boredom and/or disorientation.
4: Overall never permanently skip a piece just to avoid the pain of the lesson but come back to it when prepared for the challenge it presents or the reward for conquering it boost confidence.
I call all these approaches my "Go away and have a cup O' tea theory". Personally speaking, taking a break from a challenge and returning to it later, after tackling something else instead, can make the original challenge seems much less daunting on the second visit i.e. come back after a nice cuppa and try again.
We don't wanna skip books altogether but only the exams to save money etc. I can skip levels and hope to start from grade 5. But rhythm is indeed most diff. Plz teach rhythm by demonstration. I'm running thru grade 1 by myself, just finishing it. I will start with grade 2 book soon with avg accuracy and revision of course. I need videos on rhythm coz I can play after watching or hearing that piece but I can't play just by reading in the same rhythm. Piano adventure. I hope to give abrsm.
What if I really hate method books? Could u recommend other pieces, say Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Mozart ,clementi Haydn Beethoven,Brahms
"...going from Minuet in G to Chopin waltzes and nocturnes". I literally went from Minuet in G to Chopin's Nocturne Op 9 #2 and his Op69 #1 Waltz and have now returned back to grade 1-2 theory :') hahaha
I know this is completely unrelated, but do you mind if you can make tutorials of Beethoven's Ecossaise in G major and his Bagatelle No. 9, Op. 119, because I'm studying them right now, and some advice on them would be great! If anyone else has any tips, feel free to share it with me! Also, can anyone advise me as to the difficulty of all the rest of the bagatelles in Op. 119, and what "easy ones" I can tackle, because I'm looking at the entire collection right now and I am loving it!
Hi Allysia. I had been learning piano and passed RCM grade 3 around 20 years ago. Now I start self-learning piano and just happen to choose Bach Minuet in G Major and G Minor to start with. I feel that it is pretty easy for me and progress quickly. Do you think it is too early to attempt some easy Chopin waltzes and preludes (not as aggressive as nocturnes)? If so, what pieces would you suggest to fill the gap between? Thanks a lot.
Alyssia, you should make a video discussing Chopin's 4 ballades! They are wonderful and amazing pieces of music, and I'd love to see an analysis of them!
She can do an analysis of them, describing the themes throughout them. Alyssia can't play some of Chopin's preludes (Dm, Eb, Bbm) yet she did a fantastic analysis of all of them. The ballades have great uses of counterpoint and storytelling, and she would do a great job explaining that.
I've wanted to ask her to do this, but haven't been able to. But you got to before I could! Lol
Haha! Great minds think alike! Let's hope for the best!
I would go to a new level in aout 6 months with my new piano teacher. For my old one 1 level would be like 2 years.
Any advice on choosing a piece to learn, or pianopieces to learn, when you have got yourself a piano years (10++ years) after last playing another similar instrument, like an organ? I find that I can pick up and play most of the organ pices that I have learned in my childhoold reasonably well, and I manage some piano pieces as well. I am also working on converting my left hand from chordplay to independant playing along with my right hand. But when purchasing pianobooks with piano pieces I find that many of them are either too simple or too hard to play.
Due to illness I do not have access to a tutor, and in my country the pianobooks seems to be rated quite differently than the pianobooks you refer to.
Should I begin at the lowest level and go through all the levels even though some are too simple and I suspect that I will quickly get bored of those pianopieces / levels or should I begin with something a bit more advanced/challenging than I can currently play and learn what needs to be learned in order to play that piece successfully and so onwards?
I'm still working on two level one method books, Faber's Adult Adventures and La Méthode Rose.
You might be familiar with La Méthode Rose if you've had any contact with Quebec. French speakers teach music differently, and I'm very confused. I have a Hanon book with scales and arpeggios. But they have sharps on the A minor scale!! I've written to the Paris Conservatory to find out why, I've got a friend teaching at our Conservatory, but I'm still confused. So I am only using LMR for songs, since it is stressing left hand rhythm patterns right from the get-go, tout de suite. But any technical stuff, I'm not paying attention for now.
Good comment about rhythm, that is something I need to work on.
How do you know you should move forward. For example I get alfred level 1, how do I know to flip to another page is it if i played the piece on that page? Or daily or what?
Really good advice. I'm actually starting piano specifically because I'm powering through violin levels way too fast (RCM level 3 right now, in less than a year and a half) and I want to slow myself down. There is just so little early level material out there that the only way to get new stuff is to move on to the next level. I feel like taking up a secondary instrument and devoting half my energy to that is a good way to satisfy the need for more material.
Great vid. Everyone is in such a rush. You have your whole life. There's some guy on RUclips playing la campanella so badly after two years, learnt from Jane's videos. it's painful to watch. Also worth remembering that taking your time means you will actually UNDERSTAND what you're playing and not just bashing keys
Facts
Quick question
Have you done a video, suggesting intermediate pieces or songs that we can play? Without it being to complicated or stressful..
-Sarah p.s. great video, it opened my perspective and made me reevaluate my level/progress. 👍
That's totally upto you. You should play all difficult songs atleast but can skip easy ones. Play as many as possible. And do revision
Where in Canada do you teach ? It would be great if you were my Piano teacher.
What’s a method book?
What do you think about using effective techniques to accomplish something in less time? :) (example techniques like deliberate pratice, deep work, ultralearning)
FocusMrbjarke depends how much time you have to practice? It will be different for 30mins a day than for 1hr a day or 2hrs a day
I am going through john Thompson modern piano course grade 1. No way I can thinking of finishing it in 1.5 months. It's been 6 months and am half way through the book. I am 28, working and practice 3 days 30-45 mins on weekdays and 1 to 1.5 hrs on weekends. Is that fine or I should progress faster?
Amazing video, I’m currently doing a grade per month…yeah I know crazy😂😭 but let’s see how it goes
EDIT: Only up to G6 though (for now)
I love antique furniture! And I'm thinking about learning to play. What brands of pianos would you recommend I keep in eye out for? People are begging to have there grandmothers beautiful piano hauled off. Thanks
rusty Shackleferd I have a Baldwin studio upright piano. You should look at getting something like that.
Chickering is great, if you're lucky enough to find a restored one. I got lucky and inherited one. Elton John plays Yamaha, Liberace played Baldwins. Mason and Hamlin are very well made. Of course, Steinway is the classic concert piano. I think, ultimately, it's a matter of taste and what you can afford and how much space you have. As a beginner, there are many pianos being given away on Craigslist for free, you just have to pay for moving them. I've seen good digital pianos up for sale for a lot less than what the owners paid. They are moving, kids lost interest, etc. So, it's possible to get a good piano for free or cheap. There are videos on RUclips about how to inspect used pianos. The best digital s are by Yamaha, Roland, and Korg. Again, it's a matter of taste and budget.
One more enlightening video!
My daughter 8 started piano last September with Beyer op 101 and she's almost midway through but doesn't seem as enthousiast as she was at the beginning and i would put it down to the monotony of the excersises.
Would there be anything i could do to bring her eagerness back or she has only to be patient all the way through this method and take it from there? If there are any suggestion i'd be glad to read them.
Thank you PianoTV.
Any suggestions for someone like me who had music lessons as a child (accordion)for three years. Also learned to sing from school and church choirs. Studied music theory and notation but I don't sight read piano music well. Good sense of pitch,can sing a capella but probably not perfect. I can play melody lines by ear, but left hand, bass lines weak. So, really not a beginner. I inherited a really nice baby grand piano and own an electronic keyboard and a synthesizer. I'd like to learn a few classical pieces, but mostly want to play pop and electronic music (like songs from the 80's)
Also, I live in the US and I'm not sure what grading system is used here.
Question. As a singer for 30 years I understand theory well. I know the notes and I know the scales and key signatures. However, my music reading is terrible. I have a nearly impossible time remembering which notes are sharped and flatted in real time. When I read should I be thinking BEAD are flat? Should I be thinking of the topographic patten of the Ab Major scale? Should I be looking at what note is Do and think about the chords? I feel like I'm missing something basic. Thanks and I really love your channel.
Donald Burdick check out mangold project
Do you know of any ways to decrease the sound of our pianos, so that our neighbours don't try killing us while we practise?
You may already solve this issue, but for some one with the same problem, is called Sordina and is basically a metal arm with cloth that can be set between the hammers and strings so it softer the hitting force and lower the volume. It normally comes with the piano and can be controlled by the middle pedal. But I saw some pianos that does not have it and I'm sure there could be a way to be installed.
All my students study piano and theory. I get students from other teachers who did no theory studies, and they can barely answer basic theory questions. Some play by ear, just looking for a few notes in the music. Learn and understand please!
Well its all good, learning a few pieces in a week to 85-90% proficiency, until you reach all these level 10 RCM pieces which require an immense amount of work to get right, and will take 2-4 weeks to play well(Well but not perfect) unless you´re ARCT/diploma level, and you make a living out of playing the piano
Bottom line, as long as you are not skipping levels, you can go as fast as you are comfortable with. Someone very talented and plays 4-6hours a day can finish all the grades within 4-6years without a issue.
Should I spend about 1-2 month to practice a piece that very hard for me to learn?
Quốc Nguyễn In my opinion you can benefit greatly from learning challenging pieces. You just have to have a teacher that checks on your technique. If that is fine and you make constant progress there is no reason not to learn such a piece. My rule of thumb is: if i can't play a piece even slowly after 10 ish hours (depends on the actual length of the piece ofc) I would consider it too difficult. There will always be a piece that needs that much time to develop no matter how good you are...
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Fabi M well thanks for your advice, I'm currently learning chopin's "fantaisie impromptu" and it took me 3 days to play the first page (very slow and not smooth). Should i keep learning this piece?
Really great content... I'm about 2/3 of the way through self-teaching Alfred's adult #1 book and I was worried I was going through it too quickly (I'm about 7 hours in). Part of the problem for me is that the songs are lame and once I play all the notes correctly 2 or 3 times in a song I move on to the next one, even if it still feels like I'm walking a tightrope through the piece. It seems like every concern or question I have, you have a video for it already, thank you.
i want to learn piano please can you advise me to the next step because until now i am good at reading sheet music and i am confused now i don't know what to do next and thank you
laila H try to work on your technic
Henry Li technic like what?
start by doing chords (C Major, Cmin, and then arppegios, dominant 7th ,etc) and then you can buy some piano studies that are at your level to put those techniques to use ( if you are intermediate to advanced level I would suggest Hannon excercies and Czerny. If you are more like a beginner level, I would suggest moving through method books. If one day you reached really advanced music, try Chopin etudes and Liszt etudes if you can).
Henry Li Henry Li thanks for this ideas.
i have tried to learn about chords but i don't understand why we use them
No problem. Also chords normally tell you what key signature it is and how it will sound (Major normally = happy, minor normally=sad, etc) it also tells you where the music will go ( chord progressions). If you are interested, you should learn music theory.
Im playing grade 8 music after 3 months........😮
Ss Animics badly...
Just because you find it difficult or even impossible to do, doesn’t mean other people struggle with it.
In that outtake moment, your voice "skipped an intermediate step."
777 upvotes vs 7 downvotes, nice!
Beethoven or Liszt ? 😏 Opinions ?
Anthony Slater Thanks for comparing musicians with completely different composing style. Whats next bach with scott joplin?
Yes ! Would love to see that tbh
Okay... how are you going to approach an objective conclusion of which one is better will you compair their hairstyle what bach harpsicord looked like or which era is the best..
Amédée Méreaux
What kind of songs are you meaning when you say 2-3 songs a week. I honestly have no clue how someone could do that as I normally do that much in about a month, just 1 song if progress is particularly slow
She's talking about songs in method books, not RCM repertoire material. The songs in method books are very easy, and you can learn about 10 a week if you want.
Ahahaha thank you for clarifying that. I got a bit worried every other musician could just magically learn a bunch of long complex pieces a week
NO ONE BYPASSES ANY INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF ANYTHING. EITHER THEY HAD LEARNED THAT LEVEL BEFORE FROM SOMEONE ELSE OR HAD SOME ACQUAINTANCE WITH THAT LEVEL. LEARNING AND EXPERIENCE DOES NOT OCCUR IN A VACUUM.
Calm down, Karen.
Booger, right nostril.
am I the only one who is staring at that booger in her nose?