Picking Up the Pieces

For about six months, I've been doing regular "hand yoga" exercises that I've developed, partly based on Sara Davis Buechner's Tonebase series on the technique work of Alberto Jonas. Back in May, I was able to reach a tenth with my right hand, but just barely, and I couldn't play the notes at the same time. I had to play a note with the thumb, and then stretch, stretch, stretch so that my pinky could just catch the corner of the note a tenth up. Last night I played the two notes at the same time with either hand! I tried to do it again on this video and couldn't. But you can see that the reach has become doable if I play one note and then the other. Will I ever be able to play stride piano, which uses lots of tenths in the left hand? Probably not. But I can keep trying. The best part of these exercises, I think, is that my octaves are much more solid than they've ever been!

For the past three years, the period from mid-November to late March has been devoted, in part, to volleyball, as my daughter played on a club team. She’s never been a power player, but she enjoyed being part of the team and making friends along the way. My husband and I loved it too—the parent friends, the travel, the memories, and, of course, watching our kid play! And as a volleyball enthusiast, I always looked forward to the games. My #34, on the court with her 15s teammates last season. A Time for Change This year, I knew things would change. I’m now on the coaching staff for her club and had asked to be the assistant coach for whatever team she was on, provided she decided to try out (which was uncertain) and made a team. She had been waffling all year about whether to try out. A bad experience with her coach last year made her swear off volleyball, but a good JV season at school gave her some renewed interest. When two of her good friends said they were trying out, she decided...

I'll be playing my Liszt at the next performance workshop on the Piano With Rebecca B platform. The workshop is November 1, and I'm happy with this piece is for now. My focus between now and then will be on practicing to perform . I think I know what to do, but I'm still going to review Molly Gebrian 's  chapters on performance, as well as Rebecca's own video . I'm sure there are tips I've forgotten. For now, here is the "progress post" I shared with the PWJ community today. It's not perfect, but I still think it sounds beautiful. What's the Beethoven quote? "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable"? I do play this piece with passion. And love. Listening dispassionately right now, I see a few spots I'd like to improve (aside from the missed notes), so I'll work on those as I prepare for the performance. Can't wait!

(Warning: Cheesy Metaphor Below!) This weekend was glorious for piano. Despite my wrist hurting, I managed to put almost four hours into piano on Saturday and Sunday. I never spent more than about 30 minutes on a piece/project, and most of my sessions were just 10 or 15 minutes. In other words, I practiced in bits and pieces. With several projects this month (including three new ones), I'm taking the approach of planting seeds and watering them regularly. The Cheesy (or Flowery) Metaphor It doesn't take long to plant a seed, and it takes even less time to water it. Yet, with sunlight, good soil, and regular watering, the plant will grow. The good soil is my foundation of music and piano knowledge and experience. The sunlight is the goals I'm working and growing toward. And the watering? Those are my short but focused practice sessions. The invisible growth of the plant is my brain working on everything when I'm away from the piano. In my non-piano life, I trust that the...

One unexpected benefit of this little practice blog? It’s like having a time machine. Sure, I can hear how much I’ve improved (always encouraging on those days when progress feels invisible). But the real surprise is this: I can stumble across ideas I once played, loved ... and then totally forgot about. Case in point: today. I uploaded yesterday's take on the You Are My Sunshine Rag to YouTube. Then, out of curiosity, I went back to my version from two months ago , just to check that I wasn’t repeating myself. (Before yesterday, I don't think I'd touched the piece since then.) Here's what I found: The rag roll section is much more solid now. The little curlicue ending ... still shaky. The best part: I had completely forgotten that, in August, my right hand arpeggiates up an octave halfway through the chorus. It is delightful, and I can't believe I'd forgotten about it! So I'm going to bring back that little arpeggiation next time! For now, here’s yesterday...

September had a slow start, but I still logged 37.1 hours of practice, averaging about 1.2 hours a day! My top projects were Liszt (7.1 hours), Bare Necessities (6 hours), technique (6 hours), America the Beautiful Rag (3.1 hours), and the PWJ Lead Sheets course (3 hours). I also kicked off Honky Tonk Women and worked on St. Louis Blues/G blues improv. September Highlights In the past month, I managed to: Prepare Liszt for my upcoming Piano With Rebecca performance this Saturday. Master Jonny’s St. Louis Blues Challenge. Keep my maintenance pieces performance-ready. Start reviving Jingle Bells Rag for the holidays. Be seriously inspired by Chuck Leavell’s live performance ! Realize I want to shift focus away from " playing by the dots " and more toward improvising, arranging, composing, and playing by ear. Revive Bare Necessities to near-performance level—check out this video of the first section! (Apologies for the weird angle!)    I also hit my percentage goals and made sol...

As October approaches, I’m already thinking about which Christmas song to add to my repertoire this year. (I’ll share a September recap and October goals soon, but today’s focus is on my holiday project.) Last year, I tackled "Jingle Bells Rag," which I started learning in September. It was a challenging piece, but I managed to have performance-ready by Christmas. Here it is, in all its glory, including one charming flub at the end: This year, in my efforts to get away from complicated reading-by-the-dots pieces, I'd like to do something a little simpler, and a little more flexible--something that allows for creativity and doesn't demand hours of passage-drilling. Sadly, this rules out my initial idea: Jonny May's "Silent Night Rumba" in the style of Dr. John. It's delightful (listen to it here ), but it's too intricate and challenging for my timeline, especially if I want to balance other projects. Instead I'm considering three options for m...

 Yesterday I revisited an old song, and a younger version of myself. I wrote “Of Heroes Who Never Die” when I was 18, and I hadn’t touched it in at least a decade—maybe two or three. But yesterday, when I gave myself a few minutes to just play, listen, and feel at the piano, this song came bubbling up from the deep recesses of my memory. My version from yesterday (video below) sounds a little different from before—a little grittier, a little less ballad and a little more rock 'n' roll. I can still hear Roy Bittan's influence, and I can tell I've added a touch of Chuck Leavell, and maybe a bit of Bruce Hornsby. Those inspirations have shaped the song’s current vibe, but the lyrics are another story ... Yes, "Of Heroes Who Never Die" has lyrics. I wrote it back then as a tribute to a real-life hero whose light went out way too soon. Some still resonate, but others make me wince at my teenage earnestness. I’m tempted to rewrite the cringey lines, maybe even reco...

This week at the piano has been… unexpected. I didn’t set clear goals for September—life was too busy (I wrote about that here ). I vaguely planned to prepare for my assisted-living performance during the first week of September, but I wasn’t feeling great physically or emotionally, so I canceled it. That left my September piano goals in limbo, but here’s what I’ve been working on anyway. Playing Liszt (with emphasis on "playing") I’ve now put over 100 hours into Liszt’s “Liebesträume No. 3,” and it’s finally feeling like a comfortable old pair of jeans. I keep meaning to revisit recordings to check my interpretation, but I just love sitting down to play it my way. I’ve listened to hours of “Liebesträume” over the years, especially this past year, so I think my version is just fine. So there. Back to Bare Necessities! This was not planned. I guess I thought I'd try to get “ Bare Necessities ” back to performance level for the recital, but there was no way. Still, I've...

In the Billy Joel documentary And So It Goes , Billy talks about "reading the dots." He didn't want—or need—to "read the dots," meaning the music notes on the page. He had developed his own rock 'n' roll piano style and, after a few years of classical training, he left the dots behind. I didn't want to read the dots, either, once upon a time. As a little kid, I had a good ear and could quickly figure out just about any tune on the piano. But in first grade, I finally started piano lessons, thus beginning my life with the dots. The Wall of Dots Between Me and Music I hated the dots! I wanted to learn them, sure, but it was so hard. If my teacher played what was written, I could play it right back for him. But if he asked me to play it from the dots, I felt like I would pop a blood vessel in my brain. It was so frustrating for my six-year-old self to have the code to a simple tune sitting silently before my eyes and not be able to crack it and bring th...

Y'all! Picture this: It's 90+ degrees, and the Georgia sun has been blazing down on me since noon, and now Chuck Leavell, the legendary Rolling Stones pianist, is hammering out a soul-stirring "Honky Tonk Women" solo right at the piano just feet away. And, readers, I GOT TO MEET HIM! This weekend at the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival in Thomson, GA, was unreal. Lots of great performances, and then there was Chuck—his show was phenomenal, and he was so kind when Dan and I randomly wandered to the artists' area to say hi! Goodness, I am a sight with that sunburn. I couldn't stop smiling all day after this pic! Chuck has been around for much longer than I've been even listening to rock & roll, so I guess I'm a bit of a latecomer. But I got to make up for some lost time this weekend! Here he is playing a bit of "Honky Tonk Women." The solo starts at about 1:04. [Ugh, ugh, ugh. The video won't upload. Copyright issues, probably. Will t...

Juggling Work, Family, and Volleyball Work has been nonstop, and I’ve been coaching volleyball on the side. Most importantly, I’ve been prioritizing time with my 15-year-old daughter—helping with her studies, shuttling her to school and volleyball practice, and taking evening drives where she belts out Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams. These moments are precious. She’ll be driving herself soon and won’t always want to hang out with her mom, so I’m soaking it all up. Do I miss playing piano? Absolutely. Would I change my priorities? Not a chance. Gearing Up for a Performance Next week, I’m scheduled to play at a local assisted living facility—less than a week away! I need to carve out serious practice time to prepare. Here’s what I plan to have ready: The Entertainer   Maple Leaf Rag   Solace   Pineapple Rag   Bare Necessities Rag   America the Beautiful Rag   You Are My Sunshine Rag   Amazing Grace (gospel with a bluesy...

The school year has kicked off, and life has turned into a whirlwind! I'm making the most of my piano time when I can get it, but it's been touch-and-go for the past week. To make up for the missed practices, I've begun exploring musical work away from the keyboard. Two activities have been key: mental practice (studying the written score away from the piano) and ear training. Both are great brain workouts, but I have to admit, ear training has been a lot more fun! Ear Training Adventures Over the past few weeks, I've tackled PWJ's beginner ear-training courses on intervals (ascending and descending) and triads. Even though I can play most tunes by ear, it's a challenge for me to identify intervals out of context away from the piano. I did better with triads, but there's still work to do. To practice, I've made recordings where I play triads in different inversions and try to identify the chord quality (major or minor) and inversion. It's wild to rea...

At lunch today, I had the opportunity to hear a fellow student perform Liszt's Liebesträume. As you know, I've been working on this piece for awhile and, despite making progress, I've been thinking of dropping it in favor of more creative piano pursuits. I played it for a few minutes last night, and all I could think was, "ugh, ugh, ugh." How can it still be so sloppy (compared to Kissin's recording, at least) after so much intentional, slow, and loving work over the months? Well, there's the fact that I haven't practiced it regularly since June ... But still. Even though I love this piece more than just about anything, I want to move on. Last night, after ugh-ing my way through Liszt, I switched over to Jonny's lead sheets course ... and time disappeared. It felt like maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but suddenly my husband was home from his meeting and an hour had gone by. How on earth did I focus that hard for so long? The Release At some point during to...

When I started playing around with "You Are My Sunshine" as a ragtime piece, I nicknamed it my "YAMS Rag." With Scott Joplin’s Pineapple Rag still fresh in my mind, "YAMS Rag" makes me think of a sweet potato casserole with pineapple. I can almost smell the casserole when I play this. Hmm, maybe I should call it my YUMS rag ... Anyway, I've dabbled with the idea of the YAMS rag for years, but this weekend I decided to look at it more seriously--more like an arranger. I'm using what I've been learning at Piano With Jonny --rag rolls, slides, turns, and other techniques. It's still early, but I got excited and recorded a quick video to share on the PWJ Facebook group. I knew it wasn't polished--it was literally my first day working on it--but I thought it would be fun to show where I'm at. Then someone commented, "Awful." Just that one word. At first, it was kind of funny--who leaves a comment like that on a rough draft? Bu...

I’ve already logged seven practice hours this month, and I didn’t even practice this morning! St. Louis Blues Challenge This weekend, I kicked off Jonny May’s "St. Louis Blues" challenge. Learning his arrangement in G should be straightforward, but the real test will be improvising in G. I’m excited to apply techniques from the 10-Lesson Blues Challenge and Bible of Blues Riffs to make this piece pop. My goal? Master Jonny’s written section this week and spend the rest of August exploring G blues improv. There’s a second part to the song Jonny skips, and I’ll likely skip it too unless I get bored with improv (unlikely!). I’m aiming to wrap this project by month’s end, so I’m keeping my ambitions in check. (I briefly considered taking on  this tougher and more impressive version , but after pushing hard on Pineapple Rag, Liszt, and my America the Beautiful Extravaganza over the past few months, I’m ready for something more manageable!) Here’s my first St. Louis Blues video: Le...

Hi, piano friends! I’m finally ready to share my August piano goals with you! Over a few lunch breaks, I tinkered with my practice log (yes, my trusty spreadsheet!) and had a little heart-to-heart with AI to figure out what’s doable this month. I’ve decided to push some projects to September and October to keep from overwhelming myself. Here’s what’s on the musical horizon! America the Beautiful As mentioned in my previous post, I'm shifting this holiday piece to my maintenance pile, but I'm going to give it a little extra attention for a September 11 performance at an assisted living facility. I’m not going nose-to-the-grindstone like I did in July (whew!), but I’ll polish it a few days a week to have it memorized and at tempo, with all of the improv included. Liszt, Liebesträume As I also mentioned earlier, I'm at a crossroads with Liebesträume: Do I prepare it for a Piano with Rebecca B recital, or let it rest? I’m hoping to chat with Rebecca in another week or so to get...

Hello, lovely piano friends! July was a whirlwind of 46.2 hours at the piano -- quite a feat considering a week-long vacation and 1.5 post-trip days when I could barely muster the energy to sit at the piano. Was it a successful month? I’m leaning toward yes, with some sweet wins and a few projects that, well, fizzled out. Here are the highlights. An Unexpected Gift: “America the Beautiful” Picture this: We're all packed for vacation, rushing to the tiny Augusta airport (two gates, folks!) for a 6 a.m. flight. But a low tire throws us off, and we miss check-in by two minutes. The airline’s computer says, “Nope, you’re done.” Disappointing? Sure. But the gift for me was a bonus day to play piano, tidy up, and plan our trip. That extra day truly was a gift. I poured hours into “America the Beautiful,” determined to share a video before vacation. I’d been bummed about not finishing it earlier, so this felt like a second chance. The video isn’t flawless, but it’s a milestone I’m proud o...

Hello, piano friends! I’m back with more updates on my journey to tame Jonny’s arrangement of "America the Beautiful," and it's starting to feel more like a friend than a challenge. In this post, I'll share where I’m at (again, LOL), with a video from three weeks ago and one from early this week. See below! Jazzy Intro: Finding My Flow (and My Voice) Three weeks ago, I shared a video of me working through the jazzy intro —definitely a bit rough. Now, I’ve got it memorized and I’m playing it with more confidence and emotion. Check out this video from two nights ago to hear how it’s coming along: Last night, I started adding some slides to the melody and a few harmony notes. And I loved it! I'd like to add just enough to give it a bluesy feel without losing the smooth jazz vibe. So that's another thing I'll be working on! Ragtime Section: Building Speed This ragtime section is tough, but I'm making progress. Yesterday I focused on fast-twitch exercises...

I had such big dreams of nailing Jonny May's arrangement of "America the Beautiful" (with an improvised finale) by July 4. Alas, I didn't even come close. This piece is a sneaky little devil. Jonny makes it look deceptively simple , but it's anything but easy. This beast has four wildly different sections, each with its own personality--and its own way of humbling me. I'll break it down for you and will include a new video of my ragtime section with links to videos from late June to show how far I’ve come. Section 1: Jonny’s Jazzy Intro This intro (in G major) is smooth and melancholy, a cocktail-jazz sound replete with quartals , extensions, and chord alterations I don't understand. It’s slow, moody, and a bear to memorize. I posted about it a few weeks ago , and looking back, I’ve made some serious strides. But full disclosure? I’m still not 100% solid playing it from memory, so there's still work to do. Section 2: Jonny’s “Fun” Ragtime Section “Fun”...

OK, y’all, here is a new work-in-progress. I'm so excited about it ... but also a little nervous to share. I’ve been playing with a stride/ragtime spin on the LSU Fight Song as part of a bigger medley project. I’ve had the lead sheet forever, but this weekend I finally sat down to mess around with it, kind of a few minutes of “what if I do this?” at the piano. Here’s the result so far. It’s rough, and definitely not pure ragtime since it swings, but I like it this way! It’s far from polished, and I imagine the final version will sound totally different. But that's the fun of it, right? I just love the creative process. I love starting things. Finishing? Hm. Like my ragtime fight song, I'm definitely a work in progress!

This morning, I left Elite Hearing Centers with two new devices: a high-end hearing aid for my left ear, and a CROS transmitter for my right. As I pulled out of the parking lot, Ray Charles's "America the Beautiful" started up on Spotify and, as if on cue, I started sobbing like a kid hearing music for the first time. The harmonies, which are normally a single blur, were clear and distinct. I noticed instruments I hadn't realized were there before. And most important, the music had a warmth to it that it had never had before. Do normal people hear music like this? I sure hope so. It is heavenly. For someone who’s been mostly deaf since childhood, these new devices aren’t just technology — they’re a door opening up to a rich musical world (and I thought my musical world was already pretty rich)! How do you describe the moment you hear a favorite song as if it’s brand new? Here is a bit about my hearing-aid journey. From One Ear to Two I’ve worn a hearing aid since 1999...

(Apologies for the cheesy clip art. I needed to come up with something, or the Blogger template would show a fuzzy, overly-enlarged snippet of the first chart below.) When I showed my husband my piano practice tracker, he said I should market and sell it. Ha. It’s not for sale, but I’m excited to share how this tool has transformed my practice—and why it might inspire all three of my readers. Since my last post about the Amazing Practice Tracker, I’ve made it even better. Here’s a peek at how it works, using my June data. All The Pretty Colors, All the Pretty Winners My tracker now sparkles with color: darker shades for active pieces, lighter ones for maintenance, technique, and sight-reading. Each day, the piece I practice most gets a bright yellow highlight—a little “gold medal,” if you will. (Click image for a slightly larger view.) A leaderboard automatically shows the day’s top piece and time. And if that isn't enough, I keep track of the month's leaders--specifically, ho...

  How is it almost time to flip the calendar to July? I swear I just started my June spreadsheet, but here we are, with June nearly in the books. July will be a bit of a whirlwind--partly because I'm sneaking away for a week of vacation. This means I'm keeping things focused: no shiny new pieces until August. Instead, I'll focus on Liebesträume and America the Beautiful for performances, keep up with my maintenance pieces, and dive into a few creative projects that have been swirling around in my brain for a while. Still, I need to have goals beyond "focus on," "keep up with," and "dive into." Let's make them SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)! Liszt: Back in the Spotlight After a short break, I'm putting Liszt back on the priority list. My mission? Get it performance-ready before vacation. I'm aiming for an August recital--maybe Piano with Rebecca B or a video to share on social media. I'm hoping...

I haven't had a chance yet to seriously work on Jonny's jazzy intro to his "America the Beautiful" rag. This morning I had about 5 minutes before taking my daughter to driver's ed, so I sight-read through the intro once. It hasn't come together yet, but you can see that some sections are easier than others. None of it is really hard--it's just jazz, which means the usual harmonic rules (at least the ones I'm used to in blues and ragtime, and even classical) don't always apply. One reason I'm not crazy about jazz is the constant reharmonization and the dissonances ... but I really, really love this arrangement. This first take is a bit rough, full starts and stops as I hunt for notes. But stick with me—it will sound great after a few days of practice!

When the Song Gets Lost in the Style I was playing yesterday's recording of Jonny's "America the Beautiful" rag for my husband last night, and he gave me the strangest look. "What?" I asked. "I can't even tell what that song is," he said. I sang along to help him follow the melody, but he just shook his head. "I don't hear it. I don't hear 'America the Beautiful.'" I thought maybe my version was too slow and mistake-riddled, so I played a recording of Jonny himself playing it. It still just sounded like a bunch of tinkly notes to him. I was floored. This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. Awhile back, I played a bluesy improv on "Silent Night," and he couldn’t decipher that one either, even when I sang along. I shared that recording on Facebook, asking friends to name the tune. Some recognized it instantly, but others? Completely stumped. How can a song be so clear to some and unrecognizable to...