WEEKLY GOALS 📆

RuthPower

Bev Bev I'm so sorry to hear about your friends family, I hope they all recover quickly and that your friend is given the all clear! It's a super stressful time of year and this year even more so, so I completely understand. However, if there's anything you want to get on a zoom call to go through in terms of piano/computer/Piano Picnic, just let me know - I would be happy to carve out 10 minutes to get on a quick call with you. Have a lovely Christmas and we'll see you again in the new year!

Bev

RuthPower Thank you so much Ruth. Three in my friend's family now infected & 2 are quite ill; my friend still ok. I'm currently just playing for the fun of it; wanting to play American Patrol & Algiers Strut better, and starting on Irish Washerwoman & Mobile Stomp. All with simple chords only, so it's a stress-free thing. Just playing for fun, I consider similar to my laying the groundwork of information I need to do computer repairs & upgrades after my mid-January goal date. (Actually, plan on getting back to Piano Picnic a couple of weeks before the computer stuff.) "See" you January 19. 😃

alexx88

So I’m really bad at putting goals to paper. I think I’m too broad in my wants( ex. get serious about ear training, expand voice training), & goals are supposed to be SMART ((specific, measurable, achieveable, realistic & timed.)

Those of you that are good at it, do you make "the big" list & then break down each item into daily baby steps for another list that is actually the goal statement? TIA

noellah-jeannica

alexx88 Yes! I first take note of my main, long-term goal (e.g. improvising better) and then incorporate related small trainings with my daily practice routine -- that is, before practicing any piece, I play around a certain key (which I change every week), going through the whole scale first, then chord inversions, and chord progressions. I also experiment with riffs and making random melodies as I go.

Following this routine as a habit helps me relieve myself from pressure of having to do something necessarily, like a school project. Instead, I just flow naturally with my set routine like brushing my teeth or taking a shower. Eventually, I see and listen to myself getting better with improvisation. 😁

RuthPower

Bev Yes Bev -you gotta take time out. It sounds like things are stressful at the moment with your friends & families health and computer problems exacerbating it – in those times it's actually good to use piano more as a stress relief than a cause of anxiety! Good luck to you and have a wonderful, restful break. See you in '21!

@alexx88 Yes that's it! SMART! For me, it usually depends whether I really am ready to go for a goal. I have lots of other things I want to do, that just hang around in my head, that I never actually set to goals/dates/measuring because I don't really want to put in the work... yet. Other goals which are really important to me and that I'm so tired of NOT having done, I'll set to the SMART scheme. I reckon just choosing ONE thing to try with the SMART process and leave the rest as per your usual practise, might be a good experiment and see if it's worth it!

vkisamore

I'm just now reading and replying. My goal is to think about my goals and the mini goals that will move me in the right direction. This week I am going to pick out 2 different 3 chord Christmas carols by ear and get them down smoothly enough to add some simple riffs. I think I will do Silent Night and Away in a Manger because they are so familiar. I also want to work on 1 lead sheet: Carol of the bells and my goal is to experiment with voice leading.

vkisamore

Actually, I have benefited the most from the Active listening mini-course and I need to keep working on it while I do the other modules.

vkisamore

noellah-jeannica

Bev I'm praying for your and your friend's families' health. It's a good thing to take time to restore, as T. Ruth has mentioned in the Museletter. I, too, have chosen to tone down my piano goals to basically playing for leisure this holiday just to warm myself up for brand new goals in 2021.

alexx88

noellah-jeannica This is helpful Noellah. I really like this concept. I'm going to use this. When something want feels like work, it takes the fun out of it.

noellah-jeannica

This holiday season I vowed to be as laidback as possible with my piano goals, and so I've decided to learn and play simple renditions of common Christmas songs for my family and friends. Maybe I'll add the more complex riffs in the future, as soon as I get comfortable with them. For now, I kept things straightforward to avoid stress.

You can watch/listen to them if you want:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J_cjhYXtnkn1YoLslZZjhhimFD82aley?usp=sharing

Let me take this chance to wish the Piano Picnic family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You are one of the highlights of my 2020. Thanks for being there!

alexx88

noellah-jeannica This is FABULOUS!!! Love it!! So soothing & peaceful. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

alexx88

noellah-jeannica Love the lighting effects, too!

Bev

A Merry Christmas, indeed. Thank you all for praying for my friend & her family. The boys, son-in-law & grandson are feeling much better, and now after 2 full weeks, her daughter's fever has broken. She, also, is now on the road to recovery. My friend has not gotten it. Noella, I am so impressed with your playing (You're at the level that is my main goal!). I'm certain that with your dedication to a very well thought out practice plan, you will achieve just about anything you set your heart & mind to. Merry Christmas Everyone.

alexx88

Bev Merry Christmas!! So glad your friend is well & her family is doing much better!

noellah-jeannica

I'm so glad to hear that Bev. Thank you and alexx88 for appreciating my cover! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays 🎄💕

alexx88

Ok. So I'm not a goal writer. At all. But here goes. This week :

I'm going to re-learn the solo from "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" & post a video/audio of the entire song.
Figure out how to post video/audio to various platforms
Re-visit "Levon" & "Wasted Time"
Just finished the SBE 30 Day Challenge a few days early. I figured the entire melody for Song #4, & I'd like to come up with an arrangement for the entire song.

-Work on improv & creating riffs in C, & maybe G

Work on figuring out a 2021 Music Goal Statement

Seeing as it's Tuesday night, this is pretty lofty, but it's out in the universe now.😳😬

RuthPower

@noellah-jeannica I'm so delighted to hear your goals - and your no-pressure practice 'like brushing teeth' is brilliant and will pay dividends for you ongoing (especially with learning keys, inversions & improv!). I've loved listening to your Christmas carols too - beautiful, your technique is really coming along nicely - those alternated thirds in 'Carol of the Bells' are not easy! Thank you for being an integral & motivated Creative Pianist member this year!

@Bev - So glad to hear your friends are on the mend. I hope you had a relaxed Christmas all things considered.

@vkisamore a goal to think about goals is a legitimate way to do it! How'd you go with the carols?

@alexx88 YES! For a non-goal writer you've done pretty well here! See how you go - I've started the year yesterday (back to work) and I'm already feeling that easing into things is a better pace at least for the first week, so perhaps focus on 2-3 things to really REALLY get done and the rest are bonuses. That way you can be confident you'll achieve most of it. (OR throw out my advice and just GO FOR IT!))

alexx88

RuthPower Well, last weeks goals are also this weeks goals. 🙄 I spent a LOT of time trying to get a video. Way too much time. I did accomplish the 1st two though. Maybe I'll add starting my goals on Monday instead of Wednesday, but that will have to wait till next week. 😆

Here's a link to my 1st video EVER! It's one of my favorite songs to play. I used to play it all the time, but it's been a few years. "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word." Two goals written & completed. Check.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XHIV5sk6OAti65DyTLrX-B1L8UR_op8B/view?usp=sharing

Haven't done anything yet in terms of solidifying my BIG goals.

vkisamore

RuthPower I sort of relaxed my goals and was satisfied to just pick out the melodies, didn't really get a lot of extra fiddly bits put in. Had fun with my carols and with Carol of the Bells, never really got any of them polished, but I was working on process.

noellah-jeannica

My goals this week:

Get halfway through the SBE 30-day challenge (Finish the Songs 1-3) + catch up on forum / broadcast (if any)
Start a new warmup routine before playing
Wrap up my "Start Developing Musical Ears" training plan + update my progress journal on Musical U

P.S. I'm a bit ahead on the SBE 30-day challenge since I sometimes cover two to three days' worth of playing by ear practice each session (I get too excited sometimes!! 😆)

RuthPower

alexx88 ALEXXXXXXX!!!!!! This is SO amazing! Thank you so incredibly much for sharing this with us. This is a huge step for you – the song is absolutely beautiful, where has this arrangement come from? Is it a leadsheet conquest, or by ear, or by both or sheet music? Regardless, you played it without anything in front of you which is a huge feat to memorise, it was well-paced and thoughtful. Just gorgeous start to my day today!!!!
You've done this - I feel like you better set some BIG goals girl, because you've already smashed this one to pieces!
As teacher - I have one weeee tiny tip for next time you want to work on something.. it's the pedalling. Have a go at lifting the pedal more often see what a difference that makes.
Of course - I'm going to ask - would I have your permission to share a small portion of this with others? (Completely up to you, no pressure).

@noellah-jeannica Those goals sound great and I'm really excited (and impressed) that you are working in Musical U training as well. If you get ahead on the 30-day challenge, that just means you're loving it - absolutely no wrong thing about it!

noellah-jeannica

alexx88 You've played the piece nicely, Ms. Alexx! Also, thank you for introducing me to another classic (I've been collecting a few old tracks to take a break from modern ones).

And I can totally feel you with that inner frustration of getting through multiple takes when filming a piece 😅

alexx88

RuthPower Thank you so much for your feedback!! I learned that song probably 6 yrs ago. The one & only time I've ever played in public for a room full of people I didn't know at all, this is the song I played. That was 4 1/2 yrs ago. I have the sheet music for it, & I used that for the iconic riffs (intro, solo, outro), but it's a combo of the actual notation & my own arrangement. I just use sheet music as a road map, then I'll have a chord sheet as a cheat sheet/crutch to jog my memory. Never will I sit & play an entire place from sheet music.

When I'm really concentrating & trying not to make a mistake, I do have a tendency to zone out & get a little lead footed. Especially when I'm on the millionth take. I wanted to post a video of it done on my grand, but I wasn't feeling the love for that version.

I pulled a Sia, so sure, you can post some of it. ☺

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