People often ask if I intend to stop taking piano lessons this fall because on top of other projects, I hope to enter graduate school, while working—No, I don’t want to quit. Will I practice less? Perhaps, but quit? No.
Despite currently working full time, studying Korean, volunteering, &c. I’ve have approximately 21 lessons and kept up with piano for over five months. Regrettably, I’ve gone several days in a row without practicing, but never an entire week. I’d love to raise my length of study to six months, my lesson count to 22, 23, 24 and then … but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.
I’m not willing to dwell on whether I sound good, bad, or whatever else for someone who’s had almost half a year of classes. As far as the piano goes, half a year is nothing. The instrument requires a diabolically insane amount of time. While learning quickly is nice and while others are often impressed by those who learn quickly, it doesn’t matter. It’s not a race and the piano can’t be learnt quickly, anyway. I’m ecstatic to be learning and just don’t want to quit.
If anyone knows of interesting books on music theory or pianists or violinists ♥, let me know. Also, pieces—I’m curious about what you like.
The obligatory this-is-how-I-sound clip is below. It’s Sarah Mclachlan’s “I Will Remember You.”
For the curious, the books I’m currently using in my lessons:
A Dozen a Day Book 1, Accelerated Piano Adventures for the Older Beginner Lesson Book 2, Accelerated Piano Adventures for the Older Beginner Popular Repertoire Book 2, Piano Literature Book 1 Developing Artist Original Keyboard Classics, Teaching Little Fingers to Play More Classics, and China: Suite for Piano.
Normally, I do 1-2 from each book, except I’m doing a dozen from A Dozen a Day (they’re very short).
Obviously, there are other factors involved when it comes to things like becoming the next Mozart, but I’m not trying to do that. I just want to play a song that sounds like a song and not like half a song or a dumbed down version of a song.