A week ago I spoke with a local piano teacher about getting help with playing the opening chords for So What. He agreed to send me either a video or simple diagrams on how to play it on my keyboard, and I would pay him. For our mutual convenience, we wouldn't meet in person. He said he was excited with this work arrangement and would get back to me soon.
After a week of no communication whatsoever, I text messaged him this morning for an update. Several hours later, here's the reply I got:
I'm sorry I haven't gotten to it, and I'm also sorry to say that the online video thing would be quite the learning curve for me. I know I sounded positive about it, but I now realize what it will take from me and that is not how I teach piano. If you would like regular piano lessons we can set that up, but I am unable to put together customized tutorials.
This is obviously disappointing for me, and I'm beginning to question myself. Is my request reasonable or completely outlandish? But I also marvel at how unresponsive and inflexible some traditional piano teachers are despite the challenges their profession faces in this age of free, instant information.
However, with the help of a timely blessing I made a breakthrough tonight...
Simon Glenister's Udemy course Piano beginners: Unlock the power of chords in just an hour went on sale today, so I grabbed it. What a godsend! I learned more about piano chords in that single hour than the previous three weeks of watching YouTube videos and reading ebooks.
I still need to practice these chord formulas regularly to solidify it in my mind and build muscle memory, but I think I've passed to the other side of understanding and will be able to decipher the chords for So What without help.
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Rosa Suen's ATTACK & SAY IT OUT LOUD method reminds me of Crazy English, the brand name of a non-traditional yet wildly popular method of learning English in China. The slogan for Crazy English sums it up best: “By shouting out loud, you learn.”
I haven't yelled or even said Rosa's flash cards loudly, but I do say them under my breath. And it seems to be working. I'll test the second flash card tomorrow, and yell them out while doing chores.
Canadian novelist, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen was asked if it was possible to fall in love with more than one person at a time. He replied “yes, but not madly.”
As I mentioned earlier, I'm in the early process of teaching myself two unrelated skills. Most of my limited free time is devoted to learning music theory and piano. That's where the momentum is, and my passion. My spare minutes are spent on the vocational course. I guess I'm madly in love with music theory, but my heart races a bit when I think of the better pay and new freedoms passing that vocational course will afford.
Yesterday I printed out the sheet music for the hymn Be Thou Humble by Grietje Terburg Rowley. I know the hymn well, so I thought I'd study its music notation*. Seems like I'm not ready for this. I'm glacially slow at identifying notes. So I've resorted to using flash cards using Rosa Suen's ATTACK & SAY IT OUT LOUD method.
I'm giving it a try and will get back to you tomorrow.
*There's another reason why I'll be using hymns liberally, but I'll save that for another post.
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One of the very first things a new piano student learns is the piano finger numbering system. Basically, you assign each finger a number on your left and right hands. It is pretty much universally taught (because it apparently works).
I questioned the system, at first. I didn't know it was omnipresent when I first started, but everyone uses it. Well, almost everyone.
...piano fingerings tend to be asymmetrical and hard to memorize because we’re applying a number system of five (the fingers on each hand) within a number system of four (a ubiquitous number of note groupings and rhythmic divisions in music).
Another realization of mine (probably considered heresy by most piano teachers) is that there’s no rule that says we have to use all five fingers all the time. My alternative is to look at the five fingers as being used to form four-fingered patterns, which we’ll call sets. The main ground rule is this: The last finger of each pattern—the target finger—is always predictable because it repeatedly falls on beats 1 and 3 of a bar. We’ll call these the target beats.
For example, using four-note sets such as 1-2-3-4, 4-3-2-1, or 5-3- 4-2, the first three fingers in the set help you anticipate landing the final finger on the target beat. You eventually develop a “muscle memory” of feeling your fingers in motion toward the final finger landing on the target beat. You’ll actually feel them “coming up” as your hand progresses through a four-note set. Applying the rule of no thumb on a black key wherever possible, I discovered the trick to applying these four-fingered patterns was deciding which white key the thumb had to be on to achieve the finger pattern that will best set you up for playing the next group of notes fluidly. I’ve tried to apply the four-fingered rule to as many situations as possible. It doesn’t work perfectly with all types of arpeggios and scale-based note groupings, but it works in enough situations to make your musical life easier.
I listened to the album Cubist by the Hal Galper Quartet as I wrote this post. Incredible stuff. Do check it out.
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One thing I've neglected to mention is what I'm learning piano on. No, it's not a Steinway. Far from it. More like it's polar opposite. It's a RockJam 54-Key Portable Electronic Keyboard. Yes, it has 54 keys.
Modern pianos have 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. Older pianos have 85 keys.
My concern is that a truncated keyboard may impose limitations on learning certain songs, like the intro to So What. Will those gorgeous opening chords so lovingly handcrafted by Bill Evans need to be modified? I don't know. I've asked the question to a piano teacher who actually replied to my inquiry and will get back to you.
‘Steinway has its own forest?’ He looked at me quizzically, as if wondering how this could possibly be news to anyone. Yes, it has its own forest and it takes the wood from the centre of the forest, where the trees have to grow taller in order to reach the light. The trees are therefore straighter, which means you get a superior cut of wood for the soundboard. Other, lesser, piano manufacturers presumably have to make do with the punier spruce trees at the edge of whichever plantation serves as their source.
There's a documentary on the making of the Steinway, but I haven't watched it. Not sure if I ever will either, as this kind of esoterica will not help me learn piano, music theory, or the intro to So What.
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Contacted two local piano teachers last night before bed. Neither has replied back.
I wonder about the long term health of the profession, considering the superabundance of free online learning material available for instant gratification. The single advantage local piano teachers have is they can give personalized, one-on-one attention. Yet I've been dismissed or ignored by all three private music teachers I've reached out to.
On a happier note, I'm enjoying the John Cage: American Composers audiobook. I ordered a used physical copy of the book too because it discusses very technical music theory I'll want to grapple with later.
I asked a casual friend who knows music theory to help me with the opening chords for So What. When I play them, they don't sound right.
The next day she gave me a piece of paper. It spells out the chords, but I still can't follow it. There's mention of quartal harmonies and 2nd inversions in the first two bars alone. I haven't learned this yet. Triads are still new to me.
I don't want to retreat yet again to a different song, or slog through another Udemy course. They're good but time consuming, and I have a knack for not finishing them.
So I downloaded several android apps (the one from Songtive looks best) but the gap between where I am and where they are seems a leap too far. Then again, isn't reading above one's current level of comprehension an effective learning strategy?
Somehow or another, I must get to the other side.
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Today I had an illuminating little conversation with a customer. He happened to be holding this book, so I asked him about it. He said he reads the musical notation as he listens to Beethoven. He does it to sharpen his sight reading skills.
“Does it work?” I asked, somewhat stunned at the serendipity of the moment. I told him I'm learning music.
He shrugged. “A little bit, but you still have to put in the hard work. There are no shortcuts.”
I must have looked disappointed, because then he laughed.
Secret Ceremonies are easiest to implement in the morning, when you begin the day fresh.
If that's not feasible, you'll probably need to decompress / de-stress first before starting a Secret Ceremony. Decompression from work is not part of the Secret Ceremony. It must be done before the Secret Ceremony starts.
Today I tried to start my Secret Ceremony during my decompression and it didn't feel right. My mind wasn't clear when it was time to practice. I still felt agitated.
As to why, I think this Zen proverb explains it:
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It's full! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “This is you,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”
In this proverb, the cup is a metaphor for one's mind. The lesson is that one must empty their mind of ideas, preconceptions and so on before it can receive new information. Decompression is a kind of emptying, or untethering from the events of the day. A proper decompression should refresh and quiet the mind.
Today I struggled with the musical notation for the So What intro. There's so much to learn from these opening chords. Looking forward to filling my mind with new knowledge!
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