Picking Up the Pieces

  I have signed up for a 14-day free trial of tonebase , a music-learning program. I discovered their YouTube channel a few days ago, and, after some research, decided to try it out. It's geared toward intermediate to advanced musicians (though there are also resources for beginner to early intermediate). It begins with a series of questions so they can determine your level and give you a recommended path. Levels range from beginner (think Bach's Musette in G) to advanced (Rach 3). You could only give one answer per question, but there were some for which two answers could have been correct for me ... so I took it twice. The first time, I landed in Level 7, and the second time I landed in Level 6. I thought this was a pretty good assessment--both levels contained a few pieces I've played before, along with a few that I'd like to play. For now, I'm staying in Level 6 since I'm rusty from a few years of not playing. Plus, I could definitely use some review in the

Readers, meet Roland Nicholas Rogers, initials RNR. Yes, I finally have a piano. I wanted an acoustic, I really did ... but for now, I have a digital. A Roland HP 704, to be exact. We welcomed him into our home about a week ago, and I've been able to play a few times, though not as often as I would like (never as often as I would like). For the moment, I'm working on Chopin's Nocturne in F minor (Op. 55, No. 1). I don't know if I will be blogging about RNR or about the pieces I'm working on, as I've been in a very weird place mentally . .. severely depressed and feeling pretty hopeless. So perhaps the F minor nocturne isn't the best thing for me to be working on ... or maybe it is. The sad "stuckness" of the theme does resonate with me. Whether or not it will spiral me into greater depths remains to be seen. Anyway, this is just an introductory post ... to introduce RNR.