play piano everyday

.....now that the weather is turning cold again, its great to have a goal to sit down and play a little everyday. I do love it, its just carving out the time…..

....but as the weather warms up, I’m going to ease up on piano and other indoor pursuits. I’ll still play; just not everyday.

...been really busy and I’m realizing that this goal conflicts greatly with my goal to help my kids with their homework….I’m really glad to help my kids (I’m noticing they are much more interested in their homework as a result!), but I miss playing. I squeezed in some time this morning. So no real progress this week. Still working on Beauty and the Beast…..

and nailed A Little Night Music with no music! Thought it was a fluke and tried it again and got it that time too (with 1 little mistake). Going to still work on Beauty and the Beast which needs a bit of work and then I’m going to have to go back to Fur Elise….. Fur Elise I started before I decided to polish up all of my old songs. The melody is fine, but the middle I have alot of trouble with. I’ll be working on it for a while!! I may need to have my daughter give me a lesson!! :D

practiced every day but one. Some days I had just enough time to get through my list of songs once. Other days I had more time. Polished the kinks out of A Little Night Music and almost have it memorized. Probably by next week I’ll have it. Everything else is solid. Added Beauty in the Beast (my daughter’s favorite disney song). It’s pretty easy, so I probably will have the mechanics of it down next week some time (if I practice).

I think I’ve played every day for over a week (I missed LAST Sunday). I’m getting muscle memory or something, because the songs I know by heart I can just play now without really thinking about it. My kids can walk in and start talking and it doesn’t even mess me up!! Wahoo! Getting really close on A Little Night Music. Have half of it memorized and only have 2 sticky parts that are definitely getting better.

Sitting down to play is probably my favorite time of the day!

I didn’t play Sunday, but I managed to get some time in every day. I’m really close to mastering A Little Night Music. Everyday I get a little better at it. But there are still 3 really sticky parts that will come only with lots of repetition!

.....each day for over 30 minutes. That is ideal for me to progress.

Played today. The songs I know by heart (4 of them), plus worked on A Little Night Music. Its amazing that after a couple of days I can regress into making the same old mistakes that I felt like I had just conquered!! Oh well. Its still so fun and relaxing to sit and play. And I love that now I have a few songs that I can play without the music!

Know the Star Spangled Banner without the music!! I love that song. It gives me goosebumps over and over. Sadly its more from the personal memories, than the Patriotism….Reminds me of singing it as a kid in the stands at Fenway Park with my Dad (an avid Sox fan whose been gone 17 years this October….) And lots of Olympic memories. It was my little guy’s favorite song when he was 3 (the Sox did pretty well that year!) and my kids all sing it when I’m practicing (and clap and whistle at the end no matter how badly I butcher it!!) Gotta love the support!

I also worked on A Little Night Music (an easy version of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik). It will take me a while to have this one memorized. Maybe someday I’ll be ready for the real thing, but for now I’m having fun with this.