Newer Pianists but Not Beginners

[Susan F]

Truthfully, I'm a little frustrated.  I wish that there was more guidance/plans/attention for those of us who are not beginners and who are not able to spend 2 to 4 hours practicing.  It's intimidating to see that and makes me what to check out.  It seems as if many of your members somehow have 2 to 4 hours to practice.  Do they work?   I see that many are retired.  OR are they just young and driven?

I'm really having difficulty figuring out where to start.  Total beginner plans are boring and not for me.  I am not in a position to be a radical practicer, nor do I care to make that kind of daily commitment.  I am 78.  I have to support myself, however I do it. And besides, how do I find a niche that excites me?

Jonny mentioned a place to put the lessons in a place where we want to work on but could slow things down and return to them without wasting a lot of time hunting for it.  Actually, i can't find the place he mentioned where we could put the lessons we wanted to work on but slow them down.  Where is that place?  i really need it.  

Are there others out there who would like to find an easier, softer way to enjoy learning but not be competing with people who want to be at the very top of their game?  Is there a place for us who are looking for the joy and not the accolades of being Herbie Hancock or Arthur Rubinstein?

I noticed that individual sessions might be available for an extra fee?  Is that available?  That would help a lot.  I'm tired of being frustrated  and struggling to find a niche that would work for me so I could go forward  within what PWJ has to offer?  I'm wasting a lot of time and energy trying to figure What's In It For Me (WIIFM).

I was a singing teacher, pretty well-known and respected, here in L.A.  I played well enough to get by to place a zillion scales in all keys and to accompany (not well but I got by. ) I'm here to find a niche that supports my goals.   Is challenging and fun enough to pull me into as mch playing as I can manage.  I plan to start singing practice again.

I'm also frustrated because the Q&A's and other group situations are right in the middle of my work days.  Perhaps I could rearrange work to allow me to participate but by the time I notice those times, it's too late to rearrange my work schedule.  Are Saturdays or Sundays a consideration?  Does anyone else work beside me?

I don't to be a complainer but I do need to find out what will make me happy to be here.  

Thank you.

Susan French

 

 

 

[Brendan D]

@Susan F I think the PWJ team will find your thoughts useful. @Katie Rushing is the community manager (i.e., the person behind the "support@pianowtihjonny.com" email and more). She's very kind and helpful. You may want to email her / support in case they miss your post here (it happens...).

I feel your frustration; I felt similar when I first joined last January. It took me about 2-3 months to find my way. This is a challenge with online lessons: There's no one directly guiding you. But, here's the thing, when I took private lessons, I was similarly frustrated. My instructors, though good, were not able to press me along either (and boy did I ask!). At PWJ I can move at my pace and focus where I need to focus.

So, you can obviously play. After jumping around -- and despite having a few years of classical training plus an extensive music background -- I elected to follow the Level 1 Learning Track. Some of those lessons (the majority?) went very quickly (i.e., watched it, played it, clicked completed). Others, such as those on hand-independence and where @Jonny May introduces new rhythms, took more time since they exposed weaknesses of mine.

I do suggest, however, that you do not woodenly follow just-one-thing. Follow the Learning Track, but salt in other courses. For example, to help find your niche,  peruse the second half of the Level 2 track. @Jonny May introduces all the styles taught at PWJ. In each course you'll learn a song and style which you can then apply to other Lead Sheets.

And, for me, that was the big turning point: Realizing that I had to work (hard!) at applying what the lessons teach. I'm not so much learning songs or sheet music, but techniques that enable me to play other songs. Since I was musically raised on sheet music, this is a real growth area, but one I want. Perhaps you're facing the same challenge?

Lastly, I've attended the Q&As live and watched them recorded. Recorded works really, really well. Even with the Q&As they offer two forms: Those to which you submit questions in advance and those where they take questions from the live comment stream. Your schedule may mean that the Q&As for pre-submitted questions will work better. PWJ has members, literally, all over the world in a many, many time zones. So, it's not just those who are still working (and many at PWJ are) that miss some of the live events, but others whose time zone is just too far out-of-sync.

Oh, one more thing: I suspect @Jonny May was referencing the "Favorites" feature of the site. You can mark as a "Favorite" any course or lesson (I usually mark courses). You can access all that you've marked quickly from the "My Favorites" link of the "My Account" menu in the upper-right of the screen.

I hope this helps!

[Peter B]

Hello, @Susan F,

Like @Brendan D, I can appreciate your frustration, even though I'm surely in the the category of what you call a "radical practicer." I'm 63-years-old and fully retired; learning to play piano and studying music/jazz theory is my main hobby, so I do practice two or three hours a day. I have the luxury of unencumbered time.

I play at a Conservatory Level 3 but I have zero jazz/blues/improv experience. Perhaps, like you, my skill level precludes real-time involvement in monthly challenges, and I'm afraid the nature of on-demand lessons—in any subject area—means that it may be rare that a subset of members are working on the same lesson and at the same pace.

If I may make a suggestion? Why not select a challenge, course, or workshop, and advertise (for want of a better word) for members who would like to follow along? I believe Jonny recently announced that PWJ will be trying group classes, where a teacher checks on students every week. That format may be more to your liking.

I'm mimicking @Brendan D's strategy of starting at the base, now working on Beginner Piano Foundations – Part 1, but I'm enjoying the little study pieces at the end of each course. There is scope for creativity (and lots to learn).

[Lisa A]

@Peter B

RE: I believe Jonny recently announced that PWJ will be trying group classes, where a teacher checks on students every week. 

Where can I find information about group classes?

Lisa

 

 

[Peter B]

Hello, @Lisa A,

Jonny and Yannick announced upcoming group classes in the Studio 2 Launch Party (see time index 40.04). The new program is not yet off the ground.

Cheers,