21st century piano student

I use both my iPad 2, iPhone 4 and the Jawbone Jambox to assist with my piano journey. Here you can see the iPad loaded up with Musician's Practise Journal, a great little app for organising and tracking one's practise and overall progress as a student. I have found this app has really tightened up my practise routine and enhanced the results I am obtaining especially in scales. It tracks the time and provides a means to record the last metronome setting. After the practise is finished, it provides both a written overview of each individual session and a graphical one of all practise sessions. Using sensibly named folders it also helps to keep track of all your repertoire and the stage it is at in the practise process. I highly recommend it.
I am using the Visual Metronome app on the iPhone which is great but it does not quite have enough volume. I could use wired or even wireless earbuds/phones but they restrict being able to hear the piano sound. Instead, I am sending the audio to a most awesome personal wireless speaker, the Jawbone Jambox, sitting on top of the piano to amplify the output so as I can hear it more clearly.
I also send the audio to the Jambox to listen to the hundreds of scores, I have on the iPad whilst using ForScore to view them. It does so very well, is quite functional to use to play from also and has an auto page turn facility.

Half yearly piano lesson report

So, I have been having piano lessons for half a year and I can report that I have certainly progressed and that I have every intention of continuing lessons with the right Reverend Franz Moeller.
I now have some 10 pieces in my repertoire including:
1. The first 4 Duvernoy studies
2. The first two pieces from The Children's Bach
3. A transcription of the theme from Schubert's Unfinished Symphony from John Thompson's 3rd grade book
3. A Tarantella by John Thompson also from his 3rd grade book
4. A transcription of the first motive from the Andante of Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony
5. The Purcell Minuet from Easy Classics to Moderns Volume 17
6. All 3 movements of the Clementi Sonatina also from Easy Classics to Moderns
The main change to my technique that I have had to concentrate on is playing much more lightly than I am used to in order to get a more singing tone. Apparently, this is a common problem for players who have only ever used a digital piano. So after 6 months and the assistance of an acoustic piano in the U3, which, thankfully, is finally getting tuned as I write this post, I have started to habitually do this much to Franz's relief.
I have also been playing the following 2 octave scales with two hands in contrary and similar motion.
C, G, D, A & E major scales
A, E & D minor scales
I am very keen to be as competent a sight reader on the piano as I am on the guitar because it is so advantageous in being able to play lots of repertoire. So yesterday, I was very pleased to hear from Franz how impressed he was with my sight reading of the 2nd piece in The Childrens Bach. So I am on track there also. I have also continued the study of jazz piano under my own steam. Currently, I am concentrating on learning standards focusing on being able to:
1. Play the melody over the chord progression using rootless shapes.
2. Improvising over those same rootless shapes and
3. Transferring those rootless shapes to the right hand for comping.
I have also continued to practise improvising the blues in different keys over various walking bass patterns using minor and major pentatonics and the diminished scale. I am absolutely delighted that after 2 and a half years of playing the piano I can finally improvise over the shuffle rhythm Root, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 5th pattern that one hears in the blues so often. It is still a little insecure but well on the way to where I need to get it. This new found independence has opened up the possibility of further interesting variations in the left hand.
So all in all I am happy with my progress and look forward to seeing where I have go to in another 6 months!

"It's better to do something simple that is real!"

Unreal iRealBook!

Thanks to Jazzwee, whose blog I discovered today, I have just downloaded iRealBook, an incredibly useful app for the aspiring jazz player. It is brilliant as it plays chord charts (no melody or lyrics thereby avoiding copyright issues) in a number of different styles. More charts are being added all the time but there is a core group of 1200 jazz tunes plus heaps of Latin, Brazilian and a good selection of Pop too to boot. You can also create your own charts and iRealBook will create a backing track for you. Another brilliant feature is that it copes with transposing instruments so all you trumpeters, saxophonists and clarinetists can get in on the act too.
Get it now for your Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android phone.

Dave Frank on Bill Evans

I discovered the seemingly unknown, but quite remarkably knowledgeable and talented jazz pianist and teacher Dave Frank by accident recently. It did not take me long before I ordered both of his Joy of Improv books which I really like the look of as they are set out in graded curriculum style using 26 lessons. Each lesson contains a technical exercise, hip jazz voicings, a solo pattern for transposition, an original blues tune and a jazz line based on a standard. Dave has also done a great series of video lessons and the one I have watched took apart Bill Evans playing and technique using the tune "A Time For Love". About the best explanation I have come across to date of how these great jazz players but together their real-time compositions. Here is the first in the series of 8 videos Dave has put together for this lesson alone. Enjoy!

Clavier Companion

I really like the Pianist magazine which I have posted about here. Yesterday, I did a little google search for other keyboard/piano magazines and discovered Clavier Companion which I think has only been in existence for a little while as there are only 9 issues dating back to 2010. It is perhaps aimed at the more experienced pianist being a little more erudite than Pianist with some great in depth analysis articles. Like Pianist it is published every 2 months and they also offer an iPad app. Although, their website offers a digital edition to subscribe to it appears that if you use the iPad app you can download the issues for free as I have done just that. with 8 of them. Do check it out as I think you will find it is well worth it.

While I was away, the U3 arrived, the...........

.................police and the state power company and I owe Michelle big time! The furniture removalist engaged to pick up the U3 from Perth and deliver it here to Denmark had driven up our street in his truck many times. This time unfortunately, he managed to knock down a power line 2 doors up just before he got to my place.





Despite all this, the U3 is now ensconced happily in it's new home. It will wait patiently for the piano tuner to arrive for a touch up tune, some hammer pricking and damper unsticking too I would think. It is such a privilege to have a real piano to play on and I look forward to the difference that I know it will make for me as a player.