Well, after many years, decades even, of trying to learn the piano, I am happy report real progress. During the last year I have been trying a different approach from a book found in a random meander in a bookshop and a lucky find in a second hand bookshop. An adult piano course complemented by a book promising a surefire ‘new’ way of learning have indeed proved fruitful. The new approach advocated not turning a certain page until one could confidently match a piano key with a note on a line. This approach or suggestion seems so blindingly obvious now, I wonder why I hadn’t done this before. Then I tried playing from some of my early books…the problem lies there. The books try to teach music theory alongside learning the piano keys, the names of the notes, the place value of the notes…all at the same time. I have gained enormously from going back to first principles and simply matching the white or black key to a blob on a line. And now I can confidently say…yes, I am learning to play the piano.
The garden plants have at last decided to wake up and start producing. This week we have enjoyed some young tender runner beans and a few juicy strawberries. The alternating heatwaves and cold spells have not made it easy for them. Or us…as we succumbed to a nasty virus. This morning though saw me half way up my nearby hill…so definitely on the mend 😊
Karen Hedges 