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Fairfax County, Northern Virginia - USA


George A

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Greetings from the state which has on its license plates "Virginia is for Lovers".  After serving in the Air Force for four years as a broadcaster, I ended up here working at the Voice of America for a while producing shows for the Far East.  I'm now retired with time on my hand to practice and just maybe I might be able to sound halfway decent on the piano.

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Hi George, I went to college and worked in  D.C. as a social worker.  My family and I lived in Alexandria for many years before we moved to the west coast.  I miss Spring in the area, especially taking my kids to the Chocolate Festival in the City of Fairfax and the Cherry Blossom festival around the Tidal Basin. And as a fellow  Veteran,  thank you for your service. 🙂  Oh, and go Nats!!

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  • 1 year later...
On 3/6/2020 at 10:54 PM, Elisa said:

Hi George, welcome. I'm also from the D.C. area 🙂 I wish you all the best with practice and improvement on piano! --Elisa

Don't know how I missed this.  I still love learning!  Hope you are continuing with your piano.

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11 hours ago, Glenn M said:

Welcome, George!  I"m in Frederick, Maryland,   Glenn

I have a second cousin who lives with her family in Frederick.  And today I'm meeting with a woman who still has her dentist here in Fairfax (Burke).  She invited me out to lunch and that is about an hour from now.  She is coming from Frederick.  The last time I was in Frederick was May of last year.

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Hey George and Glenn -- do either of you guys (or anyone else who might see this from the D.C. area) know how to put sheet music onto the Forescore ap? I'm still trying to figure it out on my own--hopefully some more youtube videos will help--but I was wondering if there might be someone who, in a pinch, could show me in person how to do it. I guess having a FaceTime visit with someone from out of the area might be another possibility for me. I'm so tech challenged it's just silly.

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A year ago I watch a YouTube piano player who does what you mention and she show how to do it.  I followed her logic, but didn't have the Fourscore ap.

But I'm afraid I can't help you.  Here is her youtube channel.  She is Korean, but moved to Alexandria, VA.  Let me know what  you think of her.  She's sort of an entertainer.  I wish I could play like her.

 

George

PS....after watching her, let me know what you think of her.  

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Thank you George! I would love to watch her video -- I think she is someone who I've watched before, but before I had bought the ap so maybe now it will all make more sense. Do you have a link to her channel? Thanks! --Elisa

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  • 5 months later...

Hi Glenn -- I just got a message from you asking if I ever figured out how to use Forescore. I didn't, but I put it down as one of my goals for 2022 so that will make me face the technology 🙂 .  And if I have trouble, one of the guys from England has offered to help me over a zoom call. But if you are local and know how to use it and would like to meet up or have a call, that would be great!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Karen,

I had to Google USAGM and see that one of the industries that played a part in my life is Voice of America where I was a producer for the East Asian Pacific region several years ago and prior to that I was doing radio and television for Armed Forces network (AFRTS) in Crete, Greece.  Piano has always been my joy.  I started off playing the trumpet and went on to learning several other instruments along the way and piano and organ was taken up when I spent time in the monestery.  I found Jonny in December of 2019 and enjoy learning from him.  You will be happy that you joined.  I play for myself and occasionally I try to teach my adult son!  

On the 29th of October, I sold my house.  It was too big for me since losing my wife in 2015 to cancer and in 2020 my mother-in-law passed.  She lived with me for nearly 30 years!  Yikes.  I'm staying with one of my sons in Loudoun County (Ashburn) and I'm waiting for the doctors in Boston to schedule me for surgery that can't be done here at Inova.  If that is successful, I will finally get up to the Upper Michigan to spend some time in the state where i was born.  I will stay with my sister.  Eventually, I will make it back to Virginia to be close to my two sons.  

I thought I would send an updated picture.  First time ever sitting on Santa's lap!

Do I still practice?  Yes. I used to practice two hours a day as I'm retired.  But, I'm down to a half hour and find that that is just right for me.  How long have you been playing the piano?  Which city in Fairfax do you live?  AC3ADD3E-B97E-43B7-AD8E-F3B34D397A98_4_5005_c.jpeg.e8b3eaf1cb88863820780b457cefd631.jpeg

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  • 4 months later...
On 6/16/2021 at 12:27 AM, Glenn M said:

Nice! Looking forward to meeting my piano player friends in person someday soon!.  I live in ijamsville. 

 

Hi Glenn -- I just got a message from you asking if I'd been able to learn Forescore yet. I haven't been able to see your whole message (that's how tech challenged I am. they keep saying I have to sign in, but then I sign in and it still doesn't work.) Anyway, I never did learn Forescore. But when I buy music on MusicNotes, I can download it, and I'm also using print books for sight reading, so it's all working out fine.

Elisa

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  • 6 months later...

HI Alan- 

Good to hear from you.  I moved out of Fairfax to Ashburn.  I googled Clarksville and we are 59 miles apart.  So,  you are new to Jonny.  I joined in 2019 I think.  I enjoy it.  In the spring I'm hoping to move to Michigan (U.P.) and spend time with my sister.  Happy practicing.

George Alexa

Screen Shot 2022-12-06 at 9.35.23 PM.png

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On 6/16/2021 at 10:37 AM, Elisa said:

Thank you George! I would love to watch her video -- I think she is someone who I've watched before, but before I had bought the ap so maybe now it will all make more sense. Do you have a link to her channel? Thanks! --Elisa

I know this is an old post, but the person on YouTube is Sangah Noonah.

She is great, I love her playing style.  She did 1 or 2 videos demonstrating how she gets her sheet music onto Forscore.

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And so, how is the piano playing going for you?  I've been playing forever off and on and never really got too far!  I have lots of time for practice and at times I do well, but laziness sometimes finds it easier doing nothing!  And then I see Jonny's quick tip and I'm off trying to do as he does.  Of course, that is wishful thinking on my part.  He actually told me not to do the quickstep about a year ago and to focus on some other things!  Still, I like to look at them anyway.  I hope you will have a wonderful Christmas 2022.  Hope you get all that you been wanting!  

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Hi George -- thank you so much for letting me know Sangah Noonah's name 🙂 I actually was able to meet with a PWJ member over zoom and she took me through the steps of getting my sheet music onto Forescore. But if I need a refresher I will definitely look up Sangah's videos.

Piano is going great for me. I find that setting goals at the beginning of the year really keeps me motivated, so I'm busy working on finishing up goals for 2022 and formulating goals for 2023. Very inspiring!

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and an inspiring New Year -- in piano and in all things.

--Elisa

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I have been with PWJ for a few weeks now.  I haven't had nearly as much time to practice as I would like.  I would like to practice/play 30-60 minutes per day but most days, life gets in the way.  I have a few years to go before I retire.  After then, I will certainly have more free time.

I have been playing piano on and off for a very long time (I initially had piano lessons over 50 years ago) and I would still consider myself an "advanced beginner", more or less. I am trying to stay on the step-by-step path, although I get easily distracted by many things, including Jonny's quick tips and other YouTube videos.

Happy Holidays1

Alan

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Hi Alan,

So glad you found PWJ and that you hope to have more time once you retire to enjoy piano. I will make one suggestion about practicing. Commit to at least 10 minutes a day. Anyone can find 10 minutes somewhere in their day. If you commit to that, at least you will sit down and some days you'll probably practice longer. But just showing up day after day will also serve you well. Even if you just practice a few scales you will be strengthening your fingers. And if you practice one song for 5 minutes, you will see progress as the days pass. Progress creates satisfaction, which creates more interest, and interest is what will motivate you find time to dedicate.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year!

Elisa

 

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9 minutes ago, Elisa said:

Hi Alan,

Commit to at least 10 minutes a day. Anyone can find 10 minutes somewhere in their day. If you commit to that, at least you will sit down and some days you'll probably practice longer. But just showing up day after day will also serve you well. Even if you just practice a few scales you will be strengthening your fingers. And if you practice one song for 5 minutes, you will see progress as the days pass. Progress creates satisfaction, which creates more interest, and interest is what will motivate you find time to dedicate.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year!

Elisa

 

Hi Elisa,

Thanks for your comment.  You are right, anybody can find 10-20 minutes in their day.  I'm sure that I can.  I just need to push myself if I want to move forward and continue progressing.

Alan

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