Divertimento in D

I mentioned not too long ago that it seemed the pieces I am working on in Alfred's are easier than the fun / supplemental pieces I was working on. This was certainly true of the Clementi Sonatina, and, to a lesser extent, true of the Einaudi pieces I was tinkering with. (Made some good progress on Le Onde yesterday, btw... you'd recognize it, by this point, as Le Onde.) As a consequence, I was spending a great deal of time on short, simple pieces of music, trying to squeeze that last iota of whatever-it-is-I-was-supposed-to-learn from them. And, as a result, I have now been in Alfred's Book 2 for, oh, a year now, and am not even halfway through.

Enough of that. PT pointed out something last lesson that Gramma MA has been saying for a long time now... these Alfred's pieces are easy, let's bust through them for a few months, and see if the book will catch up with where I am musically. The good news is that you'll see recordings coming more often. The bad news? They'll be imperfect, as I won't be spending the time it takes to make them less so. The goal: 1 or 2 Alfred's pieces a week (6 a month). That might have me starting Book 3 in September (more or less... we'll see).

Case in point number 1, the Divertimento in D. It's ok, not great. It should be faster. It should have greater differentiation between the forte and piano sections. It should be smoother.

It will be none of these. I'm already on the next page. Deal with it.*

* - That admonishment is more for myself than anyone else... you kind folks are much more forgiving of my play than I am. Keep up the good work.

Box.net link - Divertimento in D

- Aw2pp, who respects The Pouch.

Rock A My Soul

Rock a My Soul - Box.net link

We haven't had an Alfred's recording in awhile, which could cause you to question whether I am making any Alfred's progress at all. You'd be right to wonder about this, because I haven't. Over the last month, I have been focusing on the Clementi Sonatina, Christmas tunes, and, most recently, restarting Le Onde for the June recital. Given that I average maybe 4 hours a week of bench time, there isn't much room for Alfred's pieces there. Which is a bit of a shame, because I really want to finish these books, but I've been in Book 2 for a year now, and I'm not even halfway through. I had hoped to be DONE with Book 2 by now, and even that wasn't supposed to be an overly ambitious pace.

Anyhow, Rock A My Soul is a fun, unserious* little piece of music intended to introduce the Key of D-Major*** (two sharps). I have found that Alfred's pieces get easy when they introduce something new, which makes perfect sense. If true, I should fly through the next three or four pieces until it gets hard again.

* - What, that's not a word? It oughtabe**.
** - See what I did there?
*** - That was off the top of my head this time! My theory is coming along after all... apparently, all you have to do is remember which note the corresponding scale starts with. Of course, this would be easier if I did scales.

First lesson of the year is tomorrow night.

- Aw2pp, who will rock you.

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Here is another recording from the Plateau of Piano Mediocrity. PT tells me that this is traditional Japanese music played during tea time or something.

Sakura - Cherry Blossoms (Alfred's Book Two)

What I like about it: It took me two weeks to get this far, instead of three. Nice ending, too. Mordendo...

Why I consider it symptomatic of mediocrity: Rough in tempo and dynamics. This is an elegant, almost fragile piece of music. It sounds like I'm playing it with boxing gloves.

- Aw2pp, idol of idle youth.

Greetings from the Plateau of Piano Mediocrity!

I made a recording for you to commemorate my arrival here. Here, give it a listen, and tell me what you think:

Box.net link - House of The Rising Sun from Alfred's Book 2

The Plateau of Piano Mediocrity is not such a bad place, really. Quite crowded though. And from the looks of things, lots of folks have been here a long time... some seem resigned to spending the rest of their lives here.

Looking back, I see that my trip began down in the Valley of Piano Discovery. The road rises quickly at first, but then gradually settles onto the Plateau. The subtle decrease in grade makes it hard to pinpoint exactly where the Valley ends and the Plateau begins. But after awhile, there is no mistaking that, though you’re making plenty of lateral progress, the terrain isn’t taking you any higher.

Way off in the distance, I see the Hills of Piano Excellence, and, past those, the Peaks of Piano Virtuosity. I would like to think I am headed in that direction, but the way is shrouded in a deep fog, and I am not entirely certain how to get there from here. Michael Stipe says it can't be done. I guess I'll keep on taking one uncertain step at a time. At least I can see that far.

Ok, so the metaphor only works to a certain point, I admit. But the truth is, it doesn’t feel to me that I am making a lot of progress these days. Plenty of reasons for this, of course… mostly having to do with schedules, travel*, work… you know, life. But it doesn’t change the self-perception that I am pretty much the same piano player I was a year ago… certainly the same one I was six months ago… At this rate, Chopin and Liszt are going to have to wait a long time for me to catch up with them.

* I’m doing my best to squelch a whiny post about traveling for work… truth is, I should be thankful that I have a job. But be warned, I may lose this argument with myself, and whine in an unseemly manner.

What makes me feel this way? A couple of things. First, it seems to me that it is taking a longer-than-expected period of time to pick up new pieces. Second, the added time I spent polishing pieces I think I've learned isn't really making them sound that much better.

Consider this recording I’ve attached. On the one hand, there is a lot to like about it. The phrasing is nice, and I added an 8va section (that's the higher part in the second half) that, to my ears, gives it a little bit of life that the original Alfred's version lacked. That's all good. Problem is, I worked for three weeks to get it to this point. One week to learn it, and two weeks trying to iron out wrinkles and eliminate pauses. Those two weeks produced no observable results. To me, it sounds hesitant and timid. It also sounds like another hour or two would fix that right up, but I'm telling you, it won't. This is as good as I can get it, and, until further notice, it ain't getting any better.

Likewise, it is taking a very long time to learn some of the Christmas pieces I’ve been assigned in Bastien Book 4, and also the Clementi Sonatina. It takes me a month or more to get those things down. In my mind, the music doesn’t seem that difficult, so it shouldn’t take so long. But the mechanics of making the fingers consistently go to the right places aren’t coming easily.

There is one more important point to be made here: I believe this is perfectly natural. Most learning involves an initial period of rapid acquisition, followed by a longer, perhaps even indefinite, period of perfecting some basic skills while slowly acquiring new ones. I get it. I am experiencing, I assume, the same feelings that everybody goes through when they pick up the piano later in life*. My hunch is that the vast majority succumb at this point, and accept that this is the musician they were meant to be. I’m going to continue to plug away, hoping to finish Alfred’s Book 2 some time mid-next year, and Book 3 another year after that.

* - Except for the select few who are naturally gifted… I'm looking at you, Tim Moriarty, hello!

Liszt and Chopin can wait for me. They've got time on their hands, to be sure. Good thing, because those Peaks are way far off in the distance.

- Aw2pp, who remembers something about slow and steady winning the race...

Streets of Laredo

Continuing with a relatively heavy posting schedule this week, I now offer for your approval my version of the next Alfred's Book 2 assignment. I actually had this one completed before Introduction and Dance (a pox on it), but the purist in me wouldn't allow the blogger in me to post it (Laredo) without having completed the earlier piece (Intro) first.

Box.net link - My recording

Streets of Laredo - Aw2pp

My favorite version, of the hundreds scores dozens one or two recordings I've heard comes from Nashville musician and self-proclaimed Last of the Full Grown Men: Webb Wilder*.

* - Not his real name, I'm sure.

By this point, my 30 second version of the song is surely done (you listened, right?), so why not hear a professional's take.

Box.net link - Webb's version

Streets Of Laredo (The Cowboys Lament) - Webb Wilder

It's simultaneously an interesting, sad, and perplexing song. Apparently all the following is true:

A cowboy is a drunken gambler lowlife. Said gambler is also a cheat, and got caught. So somebody shot him. At which point, while dead ("dressed in white linen and cold as the clay"), he wanders the Streets of Laredo, and comes across the, uh, narrator. Whom he doesn't know ("I see by your outfit* that you are a cowboy..."). So he (the now dead cowboy cheating gambler) spends the rest of the song describing what happened to him, finishing up with very specific funeral arrangements. Which the narrator (again, a stranger, mind you) dutifully follows, even arranging for a sextet of prostitutes to sing a song in his memory. And why? Because, shucks, that kid, that's just the way he rolled, and they all loved him like that.

* I can just imagine this conversation between two rough characters.

"Nice outfit!"
"Oh this? Just something I threw together this morning."
"No, really, it's simply dashing** the way it conveys your cowboy-ness."
"Uh, thanks. Say, your outfit is... unusual. Looks like some bedsheets. And come to think of it, you also look kinda pale. Is that a new base you're working with? Or is there a toga party I am missing somewhere?"
"Oh, that. Well, funny you should mention it..."

** Yes, they actually use the word "dashing" in this song.

That's quite a bit of inconsistency to try to digest. And yet? It's still vastly superior to "Those Were The Days". (I know, it's time to move on.)

The Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament)

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day
I saw a young cowboy dressed in white linen
Dressed in white linen and as cold as the clay

"I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy"
These words he did say as I boldly stepped by
"come sit down beside me, hear my sad story
Shot in the breast and i know i must die

Play the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

It was once in the saddle i used to go dashin'
Once in the saddle i used to go gay
Off to the dram house, off to the card house
Shot in the breast and i'm dying today

Beat the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

Get six strong cowboys to carry my coffin
Six pretty whoregals to sing me a song
Place bunches of roses on top of my coffin
So they can't smell me as they bear me along"

We played the drum slowly, played the fife lowly
Played the dead march as we bore him along
Took him to the green valley and laid the sod o'er him
We all loved our comrade even though he'd done wrong

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day

- Aw2pp, who tends not to let his freak flag fly.

Introduction and Dance

Sorry to have put you through this. But given the time that I spent on this miserable, accursed piece of music (more here, in case you missed it), the very least I could do is let you hear my recording of the final time I will ever play it. Yes, once this was recorded, I turned the page on this piece, literally speaking, forever. Enjoy.

Box.net link

Introduction and Dance - Aw2pp


- Aw2pp, who actively detests wistful songs about long-passed days ofyore

I'm stuck

I do have a recording for you, but not today. Instead, I will whine about the piece I was supposed to have finished weeks ago. In Alfred's, it goes by the unassuming title Introduction and Dance, a Folk* song.

* - This Folk fellow... quite a prolific composer. Lots of Alfred's Book 2 pieces are attributed to him.

When I got started, it seemed simple enough. Sure, it's a minor key, and sure I tend to struggle with those for some reason. Two pages, with a repeat. I didn't recognize most of the first page, until the last three notes. Then I knew what I was playing. It was foisted upon us the year I was born, and remained on the airwaves for so long, I actually have childhood memories of hearing it on the radio. Naturally, I had the good sense even at a young age to develop a healthy hatred for this song, a whiny, defeated longing for times gone by. Here, in case you don't know what I am talking about, enjoy this clip, for all its putrescence. Please join me in despising this music with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.



Yick. I don't blame you if you never come back here again. I am sure it's pieces like this that convinced Anthony B to learn piano using his all-Einaudi repertoire. Heavens, even my piano teacher dislikes it... I stumbled through it for her last week. When I finished, I started to point to a measure I have trouble with, but she stopped me, saying simply, "I think we've heard enough of this one."

So you'd think I'd just move on, wouldn't you? Thing is, it is my very hatred of this music that keeps me from letting it go without perfecting it. Sounds strange, I know. But there is a voice in my head (don't laugh, you have them too) that says, "You can't let THIS beat you, can you?"

No, I can't. So Alfred's progress (and, to a lesser extent, progress on my Clementi Sonatina) stalls while I grit my teeth and try to pound out a recording.

- Aw2pp, with a tip o' the bowler to Aleister Crowley.

As I was saying...

Once in awhile, when PBS is trying to raise money or something, they'll put interesting programming on.* One of their staples during these times** is a series of documentaries about TV in the early days. I try to watch these each time they come on, even if I have seen the particular installment before. I enjoy trying to imagine what it must have been like. Today, we have several hundred channels to choose from... back in the day, folks would gather the family at the giant TV and gaze at a test pattern, marveling that the annoying tone and concentric circles were being broadcast all the way from downtown.

* - I kid, of course. I'm a fan. The Ken Burns National Parks Series last week was phenomenal.

** - "Pledge Drives", they call them. But I know you pretty well by now, and I suspect I didn't need to tell you that.

One of the things that I learned from watching these documentaries is that, in the early days, late night TV had some real geniuses. One of them, Jack Paar, got himself into an argument with his network TV hosts, and as such, left the airways for a spell. I don't recall any of the specifics, and, natch, I am too lazy to look them up. But I do recall that there was some doubt as to whether he would be coming back. And during the interim, since this was before The Daily Show, Nightline, or QVC, folks, either watched their local test pattern, or, heaven forbid, turned the TV off at night and turned in early. Or something.

Anyway, returning to what I DO recall from this story, Jack DID return. His studio audience applauded him wildly as the show opened, for some time, several minutes even. The applause died down, and then Jack paused. There was some tension in the studio. Would he acknowledge the "recent unpleasantness"? Would he take a moment to say bad things about NBC (I think it was NBC, but don't hold me to it)? Or would he go on as if nothing had happened, thereby creating the possibility that the tension would forever be unresolved?

He did none of those things. Or all of them, depending on your point of view. The first words out of his mouth were... "As I was saying..."

Laughter ensued, tension was broken, brief hiatus was simultaneously recognized and dismissed, and the world returned to normal.

What relevance does this have? Pretty much none. I am nowhere near as interesting as Jack Paar, I have not gone on hiatus because of some feud with Google, and, by all accounts, you've probably not noticed that it has been a couple weeks since my last post. And besides, even if all that were true, I totally forgot what we were talking about. Instead of "As I was saying," "Where were we?" is probably the more appropriate question.

Work has been very busy. I've spent various parts of the last two weeks in beautiful Appleton, Wisconsin and Holland, Michigan. There is talk of paying a visit to St. Louis next week. Remember, now, I am in software sales. And remember also (or perhaps you didn't know, since you weren't with us then, I'm looking at you, Moriarty) that July and August were disconcertingly slow. I had a lot to say then, and lots of bench / piano time. Today, not so much. But regard this as a good thing... salespeople like it when they are in the weeds.*

* Waiter term. Look it up. And it doesn't mean what you think. Shame on you.

The bad news, at least for our purposes, is that this pace results in a lighter posting schedule. I'll work on it, but no promises. Briefly, if I had been posting, I would be saying any or all of the following:

- Jillian continues to progress well in her lessons. And practice pretty much without being asked, although I think she over-reports her practice times to her teacher.
- I have missed two weeks in a row of lessons. Not to worry, Jillian has taken my time slots instead, and seems to be getting quite a lot out of the extra 30 minutes.
- Nevertheless, 10 minutes here, 30 there, I try to make progress on my own. I am almost ready to record a couple of Alfred's pieces for you. But I am growing concerned about my lack of progress on the Clementi Sonatina. That needs to be recital-ready in a month.
- I am finding myself reading a lot of "I just got my new piano" threads on PianoWorld. Which I really shouldn't be doing.

And, as you've come to expect, you'd see some kid pics. Sorry, not today.

I have to get back to work. I have to create a presentation explaining a prospective customer's pain points. You know, to show that I understand their problems, and how my company's software will help. Gripping stuff.

- Aw2pp, who knows how to improve the quality and outcome of business stakeholder reviews. No really, he does.

Festive Dance

I had a lot of fun learning this little piece. I had a maddening time trying to get a perfect recording (you know me). Instead, I leave you with this perfectly acceptable, yet subtly flawed version of this faintly Slavic thing-a-ma-bob.

Box.net link

Festive Dance - Aw2pp

Technically, I was done with this last week, but wanted to grab a recording before moving on. My Alfred's pieces are (at the risk of incurring the wrath of the angry piano gods) easy these days. I am able to pick them up in maybe 2 or 3 hours (which, these days, still translates to a full week... not getting much bench time with our new busy Fall schedule). I know Hava Nagila looms shortly in the distance, and that is certain to take me a week or three. But for now, I am putting one lesson after another in my rear view mirror.

To make up for this, PT has assigned me some of her standard stuff. So I am working on a Clementi Sonatina. Without going into too much detail at this point, it's a real pain. In the Alfred's stuff, the LH mainly plays chords or simple repetitive patterns. In the Einaudi pieces I have learned, where the LH is often playing a repeating bass line, allowing one hand (sometimes both) to go on auto-pilot. Not so this classical stuff, where I have to pay very close attention to what both hands are doing. And, uh, well, I can't. At all. So this could take awhile.

- Aw2pp, keeping it between the ditches.

Arrrr...

Next piece in Alfred's is the Tarantella. For those of you who haven't had enough pirate music in your day so far.

Box.net link

Tarantella - Aw2pp



- Aw2pp, who thinks this would make a really annoying ringtone.

In today's epdisode, I drive an ice cream truck

"The ice cream truck in my neighborhood plays 'Helter Skelter'."

- Steven Wright

I can play the Mexican Hat Dance. Listen for yourself, and see what I mean. The problem is, I can't quite play it Allegro, whatever that is supposed to mean. I can play it at a brisk Andante, but when I ratchet it up to 140 beats per minute or so, all sorts of wacky things happen, and frankly, it's best I keep those to myself.

But because I can play it, I tried, over and over, to play it at the tempo I thought it needed to be played. Over and over. And over again. And several times, I made it halfway, most of the way through, only to have some sort of fatal error near the end. Thankfully, the family was spared this, because I am sure it was annoying. But after awhile, it occurred to me that this endless repetition of an otherwise perfectly harmless song sounded very much like an ice cream truck. And I wondered to myself, "How do those guys" (they're usually guys, in my experience) "do it? Do they have a playlist of 4 or 5 songs that they rotate when they can't stand it anymore? Does the music in their truck ring through their ears when they go to bed at night? If one of their children had piano or violin lessons, and came to the ice cream truck music, would the ice cream truck man / dad say, "Um, go ahead and skip that one please?" I had to deal with this for only about 40 minutes until I gave up and uploaded this. I think those guys are wired differently from me, because at this point, I am not sure I want to play (or hear) this song ever again. Of course, I have to play it this afternoon for PT, but I think I can convince her it's time to move on.

All that said, enjoy my version of the Mexican Hat Dance, recorded for your listening pleasure at about 80% tempo.

Box.net link

Mexican Hat Dance - Always Wanted to Play Piano



- Aw2pp, whose kids can't hear me when I ask them to clean their rooms, but they can hear the ice cream truck from a county away.

Theme from Solace

Here's a new recording for you. I'll give you your links, you can fire them up, then read on as I yammer about what I've done here.

Box.net link for AnthonyB and others: http://www.box.net/shared/v1zqczr6vd

Imeem link, just in case you've a preference for it:

Theme from Solace - Aw2pp

I began this piece a couple weeks ago, when I beaten I Due Fiumi to smithereens. SO I guess you are hearing two week's worth of progress here. It was slow going at first, mainly because I was not the least bit familiar with the tune. (" 'Solace?' Is that some sort of chick movie I missed?") But PianoNoobAlexMan's recording on Youtube got me off and running. There were two measures that I had particular trouble with (right around the 40 second mark is the first instance), and I had to CC Chang those measures to get them down. Thankfully, Joey and Rowan expressed a great deal of patience with me while I played those measures over and over and over and...

Only other comment: I think the repeat is totally and completely superfluous. Listening to the recording, at about the 1:25 mark or so, I say to myself, "Good grief, finish this piece already." Just in case you are saying that to yourself as you are listening along, I want you to know that I am way ahead of you.

- Aw2pp, who just turned on the AC last night for the first time this year. It was the humidity, mind you.

Now what?

One of my favorite exchanges* in the movie The Princess Bride happens at the end of the movie.

* - High praise, given that this is one of my favorite movies.

To set the stage... it's the end of the movie. Good guys: triumphed; villains: vanquished. Inigo Montoya, the Spanish swordsman played so masterfully by Mandy Patinkin, had spent his entire life seeking revenge for his slain father. He has tracked down the evil six-fingered man, exacted his revenge, and then says to the hero Westley...

Inigo : Is very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life.

Westley: Have you ever considered piracy? You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts.


I sort of feel that way right now. Not about piracy, mind you, but about what to do with myself. For most of May, at least in terms of piano-related activities, I did nothing but polish up I Due Fiumi for the recital. I don't think I made it to more than one lesson; I gave up my slots to Jason, since I was out of town for work and volleyball. As to the lesson I DID attend, it was, yes, polishing the recital piece. I shelved what I was doing in Alfred's Book 2, making zero progress there for nigh on 2 months now. I feel like now that the recital is over with... I don't know what to do with the rest of my life.

One thing is certain: no (or very few) lessons for me this summer. During the school year, our PT conducts lessons four nights a week, from 3 to 8 PM. Which means evening slots are typically available. During the summer, PT condenses her work week into two days, the theory being that since the kids aren't in school, she can have morning and afternoon hours available. In this way, she can cover her full clientele in just two days, rather than four. Makes sense, but I can't commit to a daytime slot, so Jillian and Jason are the only ones in the household taking lessons this summer. Their day is Tuesday, 4:30 and 5:00 PM. If one or another can't make their time, and if I can, I may get a 30 minute session here and there.

But mostly, I am on my own. I figure what I will do is return my focus to Alfred's Book 2, in hopes of making serious progress on it this summer. My goal will be to cover 12 Alfred's pieces before Labor Day, roughly one per week. I am off to a reasonable start with the first of those, Joplin's Mexican Serenade (aka "Theme from 'Solace'"). I have never heard of it by either title, and the music was unfamiliar. But it has come together quickly, and I may have a recording ready in the next few days.

Then, come September, maybe I will restart my regularly scheduled lesson slot.

As for fun pieces, who knows? I am tinkering with I Giorni, but haven't yet committed myself to it. So far, it seems approachable. And, like many Einaudi pieces, it plays shorter than it really is*, since it tends to repeat its patterns quite a bit (or vary them ever so slightly).

* - Pardon the golf term.

I'll take any suggestions. Particularly from you non-Einaudi fans... any fun stuff you'd recommend? I feel like I may be lacking simple pieces from standard classical repertoire, like say, Bach, Clementi, or Kuhlau (there were two of his sonatinas in our recital).

- Aw2pp, who would make a lousy Dread Pirate Roberts.

Regular blogging schedule to resume in 3, 2, 1...

Ok, the job hunt is over, and normalcy is making good on its threat to return. I've plenty to post, but for now, let's prime the pump with a shaky recording of Alexander's Ragtime Band. I admit to a love / hate relationship with this piece. First, the lyrics are totally annoying.

The can play a bugle call, like you never heard before
So natural, make you want to go to way
That's just the bestest band what am...

I mean, who wrote this, Popeye? (Answer: Irving Berlin)

But my initial dislike was more than lyrical. The jumps were unnatural to me, and rather than playing them, I had to basically memorize them, because they made little intrinsic sense to me. Once memorized, though, the piece start to come together a little for me, and at that point, it became fun. I played this a lot two weeks ago, and into this past weekend. But then I found I could not polish it to my liking, and I got all annoyed again. So here it is, as good as it is going to get.

Enjoy.

Alexanders Ragtime Band - Aw2pp

Box.net link

- Aw2pp, who is all a-twitter about his new job, and will tell you about it later

Sunday afternoon piano blogging

Yesterday afternoon was rainy and windy, with temperatures in the 30's. Basically, my least favorite weather. With Sue gone to work, charming customers and colleagues alike at Costco, the kids and I spent the afternoon indoors. For a couple of hours, we rotated between playing Mariokart Wii, reading books to Rowan, playing a new game on the computer, and playing piano.

My assignment at piano lessons this week is Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2. No, not the full thing... in fact, to say it is simplified does a disservice to the word "simplified"... but Alfred's did indeed distill it down to bare essentials, and in fact, made it pretty easy. I've reached the point in Alfred's to where "pretty good" is good enough, and since I am not striving for (nor attaining) perfection, what I recorded is good enough. For me. For now. So here it is.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Theme) - Aw2pp

Box.net link


By now, you know this recording process. I play something, record it, play it back with the laptop connected, etc. Jillian, in between Marioakart Time Trials, watched me do this. Asked me to explain myself. And was all over recording her own stuff. So she tinkered with one of this week's assignments, and asked me to record it.

"Are you sure, Jillian? It doesn't sound like your best work."

"I know, Daddy. I want to hear my mistakes." Well then. Here is Jillian, and an in-progress version of Little Indian Brave.

indian brave by jillian 4-5-2009 -

Box.net link

By this point, Jason was interested. In fact, he took the process a step further, by asking if we could put recordings of ourselves on the iPod. "You bet, Jay!" So Jason busted out the following, his version of Jillian's first composition, which is called "Dance of the Dolphins" (formerly "Dance of the Unicorns", but remember, "Daddy, I am so over unicorns!").

dance of the dolphins - Jason

Box.net link

Then, of course, Rowan wanted a piece of the action. Unfortunately, we never recorded any of her excellence, but here is a picture of it. You'll notice little brother Joey is helping her with the pedals, since she can't reach them just yet.




Speaking of Joey, he has his own piano.



- Aw2pp, who sure is happy we elected to finish this Bonus Room now instead of later.

Light and Blue

Whew. I had a surprisingly difficult time grabbing an acceptable recording of this. I played it very well at Monday night lessons, and figured it would take five minutes, tops, to reproduce what I had done there. Wrong. Took me most of the week, it turned out.

My only complaint with this otherwise very fun little tune is that the LH starts to get a little repetitive. The suggestion I got for how to deal with this is that the RH (high notes) are where the party is, so let those shine. I tried to mix things up second time through, just for added interest. I'm just not much for improv, so humor me.

Next up: a (very) simplified theme from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

Happy weekend, all.

Box.net link

light and blue 3-27-2009 -

- Aw2pp, aspiring blues pianist.

Theme from Raymond

Job search continues. More on that later. In the meantime, I am still working on Le Onde, with an eye towards possibly performing in front of strangers in June. And I am busting out my assigned Alfred's pieces, completing 2 every three weeks or so. (Which, at this rate, means it would take two years to complete the book. Yikes.)

Here is what the Raymond Overture sounds like. First, my usual imeem link (I removed some banner ads, I hope it still works). Second, for you Linux-impaired folk (AnthonyB, I am looking at you here), the Box.net link.

raymond theme 3-22-2009 -

Raymond overture - Box.net


I admit, I am not a fan of this. This is my first experience with the whole minor key thing, and the jumps are unfamiliar. So please forgive the slight pause at the end... I don't feel like playing it more to capture a perfect version.

The next piece (Light and Blue)... different story. That's lots of fun. Haven't tried to record it, but I'll see if I can do so this week. I still have some time on my hands, after all.

- Aw2pp, who is getting destroyed (as usual) in his NCAA tournament pools

And now for something completely different

Remember when this used to be a piano blog? And I used to post recordings? I do. I have been working on Guantanamera for two weeks now, and it's as good as it is going to get. So here you go.

Two formats: first, my preferred iMeem link, for those who can access it.

guantanamera 3-7-2009 -


Second, for friends like AnthonyB who had trouble with iMeem, here is your requested Box.net link:

Box.net link


- Aw2pp, a middle blocker for Chicago Coast North, averaging 1.9 digs per game on the year

Piano lessons update

Jillian is flying through her assignments. Each week, PT assigns her 4 or 5 pieces, and each week, Jillian goes to work and completes them. At this rate, she'll be through the Bastien Primer B by the end of this month.

They spend a lot of time on note identification and counting. PT had noticed Jillian's creative fingering on the keyboard early on, made a couple of suggestions, and told me they would be returning to that topic on down the line. The suggestions were light, mild, and very specific to what Jillian was playing at the time. Thing is, having made those suggestions, Jillian's fingering has improved across the board, and at this time, it's really not an issue.

And most importantly, Jillian loves piano lessons. We'll milk that cow for as long as it remains true. Hopefully, years to come.

Me? Not so much improvement. With the possible exception of Guatanamera (hold that thought), there isn't anything I am playing better now than before lessons. While this is mildly disappointing, it is not entirely surprising. I had my own unique way of navigating the keyboard, and unlearning some of those habits is taking some time.

But there's more... my lessons are, right now, very music-heavy. We spend time talking about how to know if something is in the key of C or A minor, and what the difference is between tonic, dominant, and sub-dominant chords. I take it as a matter of faith that this will be relevant on down the line. But it isn't going to help me with problems I am having on Melodia Africana II. In fact, I am not really playing any Einaudi pieces at the moment. It's all Alfred's Book 2, all the time for me.

I practiced Guantanamera for probably 5 hours last week. I had hoped to play it well enough to move on in one week... two reasons for this. First, I am competitive, and wanted to prove PT wrong when she said we'd probably be spending a few weeks on it. Second, the piece annoys me, and I want to be done with it ASAP. No luck. I played it very poorly. So it's another week with Guantanamera. If I get it up to speed soon enough, maybe I'll grab a recording for you. We've not had any of those in awhile. And I've still got some time on my hands...

Last thing on piano lessons: I think I may have mentioned that there will be a recital in June. PT and I were talking about whether I should participate. I told her that, as much as I'd be a bundle of nerves, I think it would set a poor example for Jillian (and other future piano players in the family... hi kids!) to sit it out. She agreed, so we have begun discussing potential pieces.

I want to play Le Onde.

We'll see.

100 applications, and counting

This morning, at 8:45 AM, I applied for a Senior Sales Consultant position at Informatica. This was a fairly unremarkable event in most ways. The opening was one I felt I could do, based out of the Chicago area. In placing my application, I felt confident that I would want to talk to me about it, if I were the hiring manager. This has been the case for many of the applications I've placed lately. Once I gave myself permission to apply for openings at IBM competitors, that really opened Pandora's Box... let's face it, EVERYBODY competes with IBM.

Anyway, what was remarkable about this application was that it was #100. In the two hours since, I have placed an additional five applications, bringing our count to:

Applications placed: 105
Rejections: 17*
Interviews: 6
Offers: 0

* - I gave myself credit for another half rejection. There was an IBM internal opening that popped up on the career portal Sunday evening. I was all over it. Applied, wrote a fancy "You need me now" letter, found the hiring manager, and contacted her. "I'm sorry, I know the position was just posted, but we've already filled it. If something else comes up, we'll let you know."

There is good news, however. Namely, it turns out that our competitors, especially our big competitors, want to talk to me. And are hiring. More later.

Oh, and I have started earnestly working on Alfred's Book II. Guantanamera is HARD.