Picking Up the Pieces: A Piano Practice Journal

I’ve finally nailed the intro, outro, and first full run-through of Jonny May’s intermediate/advanced “Silent Night Rhumba” arrangement. Here it is! I flub a few notes in the middle (as usual), but I’m proud of myself for powering through without stopping—or making any primal frustration noises. Coming soon: Part 2 (up an octave with extra embellishments) Part 3 (full solo) Fingers crossed I’ll have everything finished—and maybe even stitched together into one complete performance—before the year ends!

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...

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”...

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...

Ah, the joy of trying to make a quick video while your teen daughter is pushing you to hurry up so you can get her to drivers’ ed on time! That was my life this morning as I worked on Jonny May’s delightful “America the Beautiful” rag. Where I’m At I’m having a lot of fun learning this rag—it’s not too difficult, and the structure is simple enough that my brain is buzzing with improv ideas. Now that I’m mastering the score, I’m ready to start adding my own signature, and perhaps a key change. (No more details for now in case it doesn’t work out!) I also have the option of learning Jonny’s page-long jazzy intro, which I’ve sight-read a few times. But it’s tricky, and I’m not sure I can have it ready in time for my July 4 deadline (particularly since I’ll be away from the piano all weekend). The Video This progress clip is at a slow tempo, and my playing is a little raw and wooden, as I’m just trying to make sure I hit all the right notes. Despite my best efforts, I fumble a few notes (I...

 I posted my video of Jingle Bells Rag on Christmas Eve. I messed up right toward the end (at a section I've practiced far more than any other section) but I was, overall, happy with the result. JBR is now a maintenance piece, and I'll be reviewing it weekly until next Christmas, when I work to get it back up to speed. Enjoy!

I found myself with an unexpectedly capacious amount of time for piano practice this weekend--and my wrist didn't hurt at all! I have no idea how long I practiced, but I estimate it was around seven hours over the two days. I tracked my time on Saturday (103 minutes on Liszt and 90 minutes on Jingle Bells Rag). But Sunday? I have no idea. I spent nearly all of Sunday's practice on ragtime. Technically, I was working on Jingle Bells Rag, but I was working more on improvisation and arranging. I came up with my own little arrangement for the first instance of the verse after the crossed-hands section. I'll share it here, even though it sounds terrible--not only is it plinky because I had the piano on a low volume due to family members sleeping, but I accidentally cut off the first second or two. But here it is: The "Nina elements" of this are (1) the off-beat notes in the melody, (2) the harmonized chromatics as filler, (3) the ending of the first part with the held ...

 Now that the doctor has cleared me to play piano as much as I want, I sat down last night to work some more on the bluesy Silent Night from a few days ago . I just turned on the camera and started to play. I ended up cutting out about half of the video (the first half, where I was still working things out), so here is the second half. I want to give it more of a boogie-woogie bass (broken octaves, walking up and down), but for now I'm just using the familiar old blues shuffle. You can tell as the video progresses that I'm loosening up more and more. By the end I'm practically dancing in my seat. It is so good to be able to play like this! And I didn't even delve into the many runs and riffs I've learned! There will be time for that later!

Once upon a time, almost a year ago, I wrote about feeling like I was locked in a "gray little room," worlds away from feeling freedom at the piano. I'd had many years of lessons and could play, but I was tied to the sheet music. Or if I was improvising, I would fall into the same old pattern in the left hand and could hardly advance beyond the actual tune in the right hand. I felt trapped, and I'd felt trapped for nearly all of my piano life. I wanted to play jazz. I wanted to play blues. I wanted to be able to "ragtimify" any song. I could hear the arrangements in my head, but I didn't know how to play them. Last night, I started picking through "Silent Night" with a blues shuffle in the bass. And ... I improvised. I riffed. I rocked. I had so much fun. I hated having to go to work today because all I wanted to do was stay home and play this bluesy, boogie-style Silent Night. I feel like I am walking on air. That rusty lock has broken, and ...

Whew. This piece has been harder than anticipated. (Aren't they always!) True, it is easier than "Bare Necessities." I didn't expect to breeze through it, but I also didn't expect to still be struggling after six or eight weeks. It doesn't sound bad. I can play through it pretty well. But it doesn't sound great . It doesn't sound polished . It doesn't sound professional . I don't feel confident about it, and confidence is key. Some Changes Granted, I've made some changes that have taken some time to learn. I've replaced a few of the jumps with octave walkups/walkdowns --partly because I like the sound, but mostly because it allows me to focus more on some tricky jumps in the right hand. I've also made a few fingering changes that I'm having to re-learn, and that takes time. The High-Octave "Jingle-Bell" Section I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the high-octave section toward the end. I go back and for...

According to my practice log, I've spent about 10 hours on "Jingle Bells Rag." Most have that time has focused on the outro. Still, I learned it pretty quickly (for me), and memorizing it wasn't too hard (mainly because there are just a few chords, and a lot of repetition). The Challenges The biggest challenge will be with the tempo--it needs to be a lot faster than what I'm currently playing! Some sections, such as the crossed-hands section, will be easy to get up to speed (mostly). Other sections will take more work. The hardest section, by far, is the outro. It comes right after the high-register "jingle bell" section and begins with climbing arpeggios. The arpeggios aren't too bad, but there's the one little spot where the left hand is playing C7 to F (at 2:47 in the video) that has dogged me ever since I first started learning this piece! I've come a long way with it, but it's going to be a while before I can play that section as fas...

Here is the Music With Ben pianist (I'm guessing his name is Ben) playing the Jingle Bells ragtime piece I am learning. He does a nice job of it! I particularly like the flourish when he stomps on that low "C" in the crossed-hands part. Enjoy!

I have learned all of the notes to Jingle Bells Rag. Now for the real challenge: coordinating everything and getting it up to speed. It is a challenge I don't want to underestimate, or I will end up feeling discouraged. Comparison of Sections The crossed-hands section is by far the easiest. I learned it yesterday and played it through several times this morning, and it's pretty smooth. I'll need to drill the part where I go down to the low C, but it's otherwise good. The final section is by far the most challenging. I posted on it a few days ago , and I must admit, I'm still slowing down when I get to part where the right hand jumps around. (It's at 4:05 in the video below.) But it's a lot smoother than it was last week, so that's progress. The rest of the piece is similar to the first part of the final section (starting at 3:00 in the video below), only an octave down. There is a short ragtimey section that is similar to Section B of Bare Necessities, a...

Thanks to my new practice-tracking system , I put more time into Jingle Bells Rag last weekend than I otherwise would have. I'm glad I did, because the arpeggio section I focused on is a little tricky. When I first watched/listened to Jonny May's video of this piece , I though, "Wow, that arpeggio section sounds really hard. I should practice it first." When I started learning it, I thought, "Wow, this section isn't nearly as hard as it sounds." But then I put the hands together, and, while it's not what I would call "hard," it definitely took some time to get it right. "Tricky" is the word I use for this kind of thing. I still haven't mastered it yet. I can play it, but it's smooth only if I play it very slowly. This video isn't perfect, as I have a few pauses that I shouldn't have, but I wanted to post something on this piece. Until this weekend, I was still in "dabbling mode" with Jingle Bells Rag. I...

It's that time of year again. This morning for church I practiced "Oh Come All Ye Faithful,"Emmanuel," and a few others. We're supposed to do "Go Tell It On the Mountain," but I don't have the music to it ... so I went through my old music and found a book of Christmas Carols for Level Four Piano, edited by David Carr Glover. I wrote down the chords, and voila! I now have the music. I think Christmas carols are tricky, partly because we only play them for three weeks out of the year. So it's almost like I re-learn them every December, and I never feel like I quite have them down. I've always found "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" particularly difficult to play well, since the chords change with nearly every beat. The bad thing is that everyone knows these pieces, so the pressure's on to play them exactly right--to give them what they're used to hearing. The good thing is that people generally sing Christmas carols so loudly and ...