Monday, March 31, 2008

Wow, Apollo

I had skipped Good People in Alfreds because none of my "teachers" (read: Youtube posters) had recorded it. I figured this was one of the handful of pieces that was part of the All-In-One book, but left out of the standard Book One. And therefore, it could be ignored, if I couldn't pick it up quickly and easily. Of course, I realize how silly this reasoning is, but hey, did I mention that I was hoping to play The Entertainer by May 1? I'm on a mission.

Anyhow, a couple of things happened along the way to the piano bench yesterday. First, I warmed up with Why Am I Blue?, which is standard for me these days. I sometimes have a little hiccup when I have to handle the fine and return to the beginning, but otherwise, I like this piece, and play it pretty well. Then before returning to the real focus of my work these days (Little Brown Jug), I took a second look at Good People.

"aw2pp, this doesn't look so bad... in fact, it looks a little interesting... try that RH part, see what you think..."

Next thing you know, I am back on Youtube looking for some version of this, whether it's Alfred's or not. And yeah, verily, I found one. And it was my pianoworld Alfred's Book One classmate Apollo who had posted it. I was excited to see this. Then, when I went to the video, I was blown away...

I haven't figured out how to embed a Youtube clip here, so take 75 seconds out of your day, and watch this: Apollo's posting of Good People on Youtube

This is really amazing. Apollo, like me, has been at this piano thing for (IIRC) two months, maybe three. And yet he (right?) even added some extra-fancy embellishments that aren't in the original score. And they work! Astounding progress. Apollo, please post more!

So, until my version of this piece sounds 75% as good as this, Little Brown Jug has been shelved.

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