The Final Blog Post

Yes, you read the title correctly. This is my final post to this blog.

I couldn't be prouder of what I accomplished during this project. When I look back on my entire journey, brainstorming all the way to now, there are a few things that I want to talk about

1. I am so glad I did not choose to learn the Rubix Cube.

Before "embarking on my journey to learning the piano," I was seriously contemplating learning the ins and outs of the 80's toy that people have taken a little too far. I thought it would be perfect. Easy to show progress, and tons of things to learn. Knowing the practice it took for me to do piano, I would have gotten pretty bored, pretty fast with the cube.

2. Practice with other people around you helps tremendously. At least for me.

Like I spoke about in my TED Talk, practice with others pushed me to performing better. And in case you didn't get the gist of it during my talk, I'll break it down now. Competition is one factor that comes into play. I wanted to learn better and faster than everyone else, even my dad, who was learning at the same time I was. Competition brings out different emotions and different thought processes than regular homework and study time does. Another factor that supports practicing with others is the human's desire to evoke emotion. All the while, I wanted to make people smile. I wanted to make people as proud of myself as I was. This pushed me even further towards reaching my goals.

3. Ode to Joy feels like most worn-out phrase I've ever written.

If you've been reading along, I bet you can't stand to see that phrase Ode to Joy anymore. I'm with you. Well, Ode to Joy, Ode to Joy, and Ode to Joy. Ah, there. I'm done writing that phrase for the rest of my life. I'm sick of it.

4. I've learned other songs and tunes that are not *song that shall not be written*

That's right. It does get boring playing the same thing over and over again, so sometimes I would change it up. I learned the melody to the Birthday Song, and Joy to the World. I also made up some cool melodies that I may use for a project someday...

Thanks for following me on my journey!

Yar Har Har! X Marks the spot at the end of our Adventure!

Week 5 - VLOG

Thanks to a Christmas present from many years ago, I am proud to say that I have learned a lot from this project. Not only the value of practice, but of efficient practice. Over the course of five weeks, I have conducted an interview, learned a song front to back, and discovered a new passion and talent that I hope to pursue for years to come. This video shows my process of learning, and as you can see, I evolved from following keys on a keyboard to playing a classic. I am very proud of my work and I hope you are too.

VLOG Documenting My Work

https://vimeo.com/209841391

Interview with an Expert!

I reached out to the Music Coordinator at the Agnes Irwin school and asked him a few questions that would set me on a path to more efficient practice and learning. Murray, as we will call him, has taught for over 35 years at the school. My mom used to teach 1st grade at Agnes Irwin, and knew him well. Below are a few of the best questions/answers I picked out. Here is his response

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I'm honored to answer your questions!  Congratulations on learning the piano.  I hope that you continue.  With YouTube and other online resources, it's SO much easier these days to begin piano study.

Here are your answers:

How and why were you introduced to playing the piano? Was it out of interest or an outside force?

When I was about 6 years old, I had a friend down the street.  They had an old upright piano in their basement.  I'd always just play around on it.  Eventually I figured out songs just by sound.  My friend's mom told my mom that I had some talent and suggested that I take lessons.  I also had an uncle who was a professional violinist.  They had a piano at their house, too.  Every time we visited them, I'd also 'mess around' on the keys.  My aunt would teach me little songs and duets.  By age 7 it was obvious that I had some real talent to develop.  One day in second grade I came home to find a new piano sitting in our living room.  That's when I started to take lessons.  

When did you discover that piano was for you? When did it become fun to play?

The piano was always for me.  I had a natural knack for it.  It was always fun for me to play.  I preferred playing 'by ear' (sounding things out) rather than reading notes and doing exercises.  

What would your advice be to someone just starting to play?

My biggest advice is NOT to start lessons too early (for most kids).  It's too hard for a younger child to sit alone and practice.  It could become a torture for them - and the parents constantly nagging about practicing.  I would suggest that careful attention is given to finding just the right teacher - personality, skill, etc.  I find that children learn an instrument fastest and better if they start around 2nd or 3rd grade (the earliest).  Middle school/upper school is also a good time to begin a new instrument.  

Practice means perfect. What methods do you find effective when practicing songs?

Practice isn't just about time spent.  It's about the quality and effectiveness of that time.  It shouldn't be too long.  Shorter periods.  If you really want to know my philosophy about practice for ANYTHING, watch this short video.   CLICK HERE FOR LINK  I've shared this with all of my high school students and friends.  It's applicable for sports, dance, music, language, almost anything!

How did you overcome the challenge of playing with both hands when you first started to play? 

At first it was hard getting both hands to coordinate.  But after a time it got easier.  And now...I can play 2 hands and even carry on a conversation at the same time.  The brain is a magnificent piece of machinery!!! Also, at first I'd just play patterns or chords with the left hand.  What is really good to do is to cross hands and try to have both hands change jobs!  That might make you crazy at first, but it can be done!

Any more questions?  Feel free to ask!

Week 4 - Even More Chords and the End of a Song

If playing with both hands wasn't enough, and playing with three different chords wasn't enough, "The Piano Guy" made it that much harder. This week I focused my attention on the B Flat Diminished and B chord.
Before I get into that debacle, I bet you are wondering how exactly I am learning these songs.

Learning

Like I have said before, I'm using a program called the "ION Piano Apprentice." I have a selection of three songs to choose from, including "Ode to Joy," "Take Me Out to The Ball Game," and "The Birthday Song." Within these songs, I can choose to learn each hand individually, and then put them together. The reason that this app and keyboard pairing are so affective for me, is because whenever the online instructor (The Piano Guy) presses on a key, it lights up on my own keyboard. Also, along the way, he explains the chords, explains hand positions, and provides all that I would ever need to learn a song.

I have been reading my comments, and I see that everyone wants me to buy a piano book. I understand why this would be smart, but I simply don't need it. If not for the way I have learned these songs, I wouldn't have been able to play the melody blindfolded. Although this method is technically harder in practice, I have dedicated my time to it. With hours of grinding practice, I am almost to the level of playing the entire song (chords and all) blindfolded. Almost.

Another concern of my classmates has been that I have not learned to read notes. My answer to that is, look me in the FACE! Every Good Boy Does Fine! The app also has a section devoted to simply the sheet music of all the songs. I use that as I'm playing the songs. It does help if I forget exactly what chord to play, and in the beginning, the keys.

I did add yet another set of sticky notes onto the keys to help me remember the B Flat Diminished. Below, green is the D chord, and orange is the B Flat chord.

Progress

Back to the B Flat and B chords. In learning these two, I can play the second half of "Ode to Joy." As documented in last week's update, I have also learned to play the first half. One half plus one half equals one whole song. It was a challenge, learning these chords, which took all week to flow correctly. In adding these however, the song sounds a world better. I may not be perfect, but below is a video of "Ode to Joy" played by me, who four weeks ago could not have played a single key correctly. (Sorry I have hiccups)

Week 3 - Chords and Pairing

Beating It Into My Skull

*Hums Ode to Joy* Here we go. Yet another week of screaming at the piano. This week I devoted my time and efforts into learning the chords to "Ode to Joy." The D chord and the A7 chord were the two that I focused most of my attention on. As I showed in my previous blog, I color coded these keys to help me memorize them. I also have started to build on the G chord. The keys that make up the G chord are highlighted in green.

Progress

I then moved on to the third most common chord in the piece, the G chord. This chord gave me a bit of a headache. Let me explain. With the A7 and D chord, I could keep my thumb in the same position, simply moving my pointer, middle, and index finger in between. That in itself was a struggle that took practice to get down. The G chord requires me to move that thumb, which throws off my already established flow of playing. As you can see in this video, I am not flawless, and it takes longer than the rhythm of the song for me to switch between the chords. This shows that I'm learning, and slowly progressing my proficiency.

Second Half of Song

As you can see, I only played the first half of the melody/song. I did not play the other half because there are yet two more chords to learn. Both are played only once, but are essential to the harmony of the song. These chords are the B Major and B Flat chords. I have a longer period of time to work on this coming up. The next time I write, I hope to be able to play the full song of "Ode to Joy" at a slow pace, just like I did above.

Week 2 - Learning Melodies and Learning the Piano

Progress

It has been a great week of progress. I decided to learn the song "Ode to Joy," and started on the right hand, or melody. I have noticed that I was inclined to use both hands while attempting to complete it. I forced myself to only use my right hand, because I know that later on the chords or accompaniment will be played with the left hand. At first, I burned into my mind the first half of the melody. Slowly but surely, I built on that. Practice means perfect, and after hours of practice and watching tutorials, I was able to successfully play the melody to "Ode to Joy." I then commenced on mastering it. My goal was to play the melody to "Ode to Joy" blindfolded, and I did that. It took hours of practice and repetition, but I can now say positively that I have mastered it. Below is a video of that progress.

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Learning

After mastering the melody, I started on the left hand, or accompaniment. So far, I have really been struggling in getting this part down. Not only is it using my non-dominant hand, but memorizing multiple keys at once. For example, the "A7" chord requires four keys to be played at once. To help me switch between these keys, I have been taught to keep my hand in the root position. While keeping my thumb on the same key, I can switch between the A7 and D chord with much more ease.

Root position: the lowest note is the root (hence the name), but

other notes are the lowest in other inversions of the chord.
I have to invert my notes, because I am using a shrunken keyboard. The sounds are the same, but they are played in a different way.

I have also color coded the keys. Blue is the A7 chord, and Pink is the D chord. Once I memorize these, I can move on to the two other chords that need to be memorized. Eventually, I will pair the chords and melody to play the full song.

Week 1 - An Introduction

After seeing the corny title of my blog, and the cliché skill to learn that I have chosen, I do not blame you to expect to be underwhelmed. I hope to, however, entertain the reader with my progress, and wishfully enlighten them on the process of going from no skill to some proficiency.

About Me

Before reading on, there are a few things you should know about me, myself, and I. Basketball and any other sports are probably my favorite things to do. Friends are made, skills are established, and competitiveness are all reasons for me playing them. Playing an instrument has always been something that bored me as a kid. Whenever my parents would suggest it, it would be met with a long sigh and a resounding NO. It wasn't until recently that I have found that being able to play a song of any kind and making something that sounds good to the ears is exciting.

Goals that I hope to reach. Journeying from nothing to something.

I truly hope to be able to play with both hands by the end of my time pursuing this topic. From my experience of about three hours of learning so far, attempting to play with both hands feels like rubbing your stomach and patting your head, except twice as hard. I will measure my progress by my ability to play melodies and chords flawlessly. Once that has happened, I will group them together.

Another goal to reach would be to familiarize myself with musical notes. I have never played a musical instrument on a high level, and therefore have no experience reading notes. Understanding the notes would allow me to further appreciate the music I’m playing, and is used in all instrument playing outside of simple tutorial/lessons.

How are you doing this? Are you some kind of all-knowing wizard? 

The answer is no. I am using a keyboard called the “ION Piano Apprentice” which came with an app that teaches me songs and the notes that go with them. I will also be using resources such as “HDpiano” on YouTube.