look what arrived today...........
it came from a nice family who's children had reached the dreaded teens and hence they would not even glance at the old piano in the cornermoney exchanged hands
good for them
good for me x
it arrived with a stool that desperately needs to be recovered and some very basic books.
i have never ever played the piano and cannot read music and by Jove it shows!!
the first book is aimed at children - cripes it is hard!!!
any musical folk out there with any handy hints?
i * will* persevere*
it is only day one after all.
the weather here remains changeable - a little sunshine, a little sleet, and a lot of wind
it has dropped today on the North Coast, but the East is still rough, rough, rough as you can see from the picture above - this is the sea which is about 150 yards from our front door.
so - a little piano playing with great excitement and then disappointment as i realise how hard it is (have i mentioned how hard it is?)
and a little more craft
sadly tree number two had to go to make way for the piano - it is now outside the door waiting to be recycled when it is joined by tree number two tomorrow
now it is dark - i miss that darn tree....
soon be Christmas!
t x
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44 comments:
Hi Tracy. Lovely piano - keep at it! And I see you are going on tour? Very excited and will see you there xx
Hi Tracey,happy new year, good luck with the old joanna...just dont turn into the next scottish chaz and dave!!!
What a beautiful view out your front door!
And how fortunate you are to have that lovely piano! My dad's mother was a professional pianist. It's funny how HARD piano-playing is for my dad's sister and myself. The piano-gene hasn't sprouted in any of us yet! Enthusiasm is the biggest part of learning to play though!
Hi dear Tracy,
What a gorgeous piano! It is really so beautiful! I don't have any knowledge on piano, the only instrument I played when I was a teen was bass guitar. Instruments can be a little frightening at the beginning but keep on it. I know that soon you will be playing very well. :)
Hope you are havinga great weekend.
Take care.x
Hi Tracy, Welcome to Purple Coo! Hope you have a lot of fun with your piano. I have always wanted one but never had the courage to buy one. But my daughter has just been given one for her house, so I am envious. Love the pictures. You are lucky to live so close to the sea.
Hi Tracy
Just wanted to say how much I love your blog. I've been having a nosey over the last few days. The views where you live are stunning! As for the piano, wow...I wouldn't have a clue but would love to be able to play music. I can't even manage the kids recorders, now that's saying something! Looking forward to hearing how you progress.
Jackie
Tracy, welcome to Purple Coo. So happy to have you. This is my first visit to your blog and the pictures of the sea took my breath away. How blessed you are.
We also have an old piano that my mother picked up for the same reasons for us when we were young. I still have it and my daughters are much better pianists than I ever was. Good luck with it and hold onto it so you can pass it on with your blessing to another in the future.
I noticed that you're a knitter as well. I have alpacas and angora goats. I saw some sheep on your blog and am wondering what kind they are and if you use their fleeces for your crafting.
Can you do 'chopsticks' yet? If so, perhaps you could set up the webcam and give us a rendition? :-D x
Hi ya hun........
Love the piano.....I reakon you should make like Les Dawson and not worry about getting it perfect.
The organist was ill when my cousin got married and my dad shot into the vestry for a few sheets of that God awful Izal loo paper and all the men that had combs did the wedding march on the comb and paper.It was a scream.
Try and learn here comes the bride,you never know when it will come in handy.
Happy 2008 to you ......I see many good things happening for you.
I am sure you could get some on line tuition for your music,or just play what you can and sing loud !!!!!
Kat xx
Hi, I have always wanted a piano but wouldn't have the patience to learn.
Good luck x
well done, that's one thing off the list, but maybe you could add piano lessons to the list to help with the learning?
love that photo of the sea!!!!
Oh I'm very envious Tracy, I've had 2 pianos in the past, both given to me but sadly not tuneable and they never sounded all that great. I did have lessons however for around a year ( I was around 40 at the time) and my piano teacher used children's music books to teach me. Stick with it, eventually I could play a pretty good tune, Silent Night being one of my favourites. I still yearn for another piano and would defintely take up lessons again. Good luck!
Hello Tracy,
Love the piano, keep practising. I have always wanted to play, granddaughter said to me, "it's never too late".
Love the pictures, and how wonderful to be living by the sea.
Happy New Year Tracy.
Hi Tracy
You'll have great fun I'm sure! I had lessons for a couple of years as a child but the piano teacher lived opposite us and knew I never practised. She was so horrid I went home one day and said I was never going there again. Amazingly my parents agreed. I wish I'd continued though.
Hannah plays beautifully and the piano went with her when she left home. She used to come home from school and go straight to it. We knew immediately what sort of day she'd had by what she played and the way she played it.
You could start off with Baa baa black sheep!! Have fun regardless!
Sue
I love the view from your home. We had a piano when I was young and I took piano lessons but my mum made me quit because she said I didn't practice enough. Now, many years later I have a keyboard that I got about 6 months ago. I haven't touched it yet though. I keep saying it is going to be one of my retirement projects!!!
Gorgeous piano Tracy!
Happy playing.
Good job! I'm starting music lessons soon, too. Keep us posted.
I've got a similar piano in my living room - the one I was taught on many moons ago. Don't get the wrong impression - I'm rubbish at it! No. 2 decided that it wasn't cool enough for him, though, so has opted for keyboard lessons instead and I've had great fun dredging my musical memories and playing a few bits for him. I think he was quite in awe of my Silent Night...
What I'd give for your view...
T x
Ooooh, how exciting. I would love to have a piano - like you I never learned - but have no clue where we would fit it in this cramped little house.
So, are you going to record some tunes and put them up on your blog?
Hi, best advice I can give is to get lessons, it will seriously help. My mum has several adult pupils. And practice practice practice. I wish I had when I was a kid (no I'm not a very good advert for my mum but parents aren't always the best teachers).
Good luck!
I love the piano. I too am trying to learn. I got one last year and can play a couple of things now. Greensleeves is one. Am teaching myself Gymnopodies (Spelling!), but got a bit stuck, need to practise!
What a beautiful looking piano, you'll be playing pretty music and I can just see the cats sitting on top of it and dogs by your feet swaying along lol.
Jade has just started playing the piano and I can't believe how quickly she's picked it up, I can just manage chop sticks on it hehe!
Hope your weather calms down soon, those waves look scary.
Speak soon
Hugs.
Catherine x
Hi Tracy and welcome from another fellow Purplecoo-er. I'm impressed with your new piano (is this your New Year's Reolution?) and with the view from your front door too!
Hi Tracy, I learnt the piano and took it up to grade 6, sad thing is I never touch it these days although i do have it tuned every year. I remember learning with a very grumpy old lady who would rap my knuckles with a ruler and snap at me if i got it wrong! thankfully I eventually changed teachers after grade two and my next lady was brilliant and I really began to enjoy myself. I did use childrens books and Emily started using them too with some sucess. So stick with an early starter book and keep practising, just five minutes here and there and in no time at all you will be playing a one handed tune. Always keep your hands warm, cold, stiff fingers don't play so well. But most important have fun playing.
Good luck Jane x
Wow that sea looks fantastic. I really admire what you have done. One day I'd like to pick your brains to know how you went about deciding to make such a move as I'd like to do it myself.
Happy New Year Tracey and good luck with the piano, I was one of those teens who gave up! I love the rough and wild pictures you posted, looks fabulous, I do love crashing seas. Looking forward to catching up with you throughout 2008 and especially seeing what wonderful new treats you'll be stocking. Warm wishes
Stephx
Hi Tracy - We bought a piano when we moved up here, having had to leave our old one in London. We always had one in the house as children though no-one could really play.
I can play chopsticks and one or two other set pieces but haven't had lessons and can't really read music properly. But we love having it. All the children exercise their fingers on it most days and my daughter, who is learning viola, now picks out tunes as she learns to read music. We have various piano books, some picked up at charity shops. Some of them are of the listen and play kind with a tape or cd which are helpful but also once you start to read music even a tiny bit I suggest the Usborne Very Easy Piano Tunes for Beginners. There's nothing like being able to knock out a simple tune to give you the confidence to carry on. If you can afford lessons go for that too. Unfortunately for me it always seems there are more important places to spend our money these days! Have fun!
What a beautiful piano. My daughters are driving me mad to get one but we just don't seem to have the space. For some strange reason they don't want to sacrifice the TV (nor do I really!). Good luck with the piano playing - I bet you're going to end up with a gorgeous piano stool! How lovely to be so close to the sea
Kimx
Ooh, how rugged that sea looks - very Far from the Madding Crowd .... or is it The French Lieutenants Woman? Whichever, it looks fabulous!
Good luck with the piano .... I too was one of those kids who after a certain age refused to touch ours with a barge pole (but do I ever regret it now!)
:)
ps. Try not to worry .... all the ports and airports have been alerted, as have Interpol, so you should be able to sleep peacefully tonight ....
Ooh how wonderful Tracy, I would have one in an instant if we had any room. I did learn as a child and still have loads of my old sheet music so maybe one day...
Lucy x
What a wonderful gift - a piano. happy new Year. I enjoy reading your blog.
I was so thrilled when I was given a piano a couple of years ago. I learned as a child. I started playing the cello as an adult, but wouldn't have got anywhere without my teacher. However beginner piano books are great for getting you going, as you don't have to worry about producing the sound (unlike the cello, which can sound like a sick cow). It is frustrating though, if your piano is out of tune, and moving them can mess up the tuning. My handy hints- get it tuned, don't expect a miracle, have fun and focus on learning to read and play the corresponding notes from the start of your beginner books with confidence. Then you will be away! There are some beginner books available for adults too. Best of luck! Keep us updated.
Hi Tracy, what fun getting a piano. I started learning in September because my 7 year old was starting lessons (I am 42!). We have the same teacher and started on the same book.
Top tips - practise lots and get the music for something you really like, e.g. Sound of Music or Joseph and his Technicoloured Dream Coat or whatever lights your fire, and just have a go - even if you just pick out the melody.
I find when everything is getting to me half an hour plonking away really helps to de-stress me.
There are some free piano lessons on-line if you have a look and they're not bad.
Happy plonking
Hi Tracy, I am very jealous of that piano. I would love one, but with three children I fear my eardrums would not! Happy New Year, your photos are gorgeous x
I was useless at the piano - failed Grade 1 which is meant to be impossible - my father was very disappointed.
Zoe plays the piano well - best if she is making something up, though she can read music. I am always in awe.
I am sure that you will perservere - it would be a wonderful thing to accomplish,
You will be able to pretend you are Marianne from the latest Sense and Sensibility- play some soulful music and then stride off for a windswept walk on the cliffs (and Mr Cupcakes can chop up some wood)
J
x
Lovely piano - you lucky thing! I miss playing an instrument although I know I don't have enough time now for all the things I want to do now so taking music up again would really cock things up!). I think I still have some of the basic books I used from years ago that if you would like, I will copy and send you. The other thing you could do is try humming a tune you like and then try and find the notes on the keyboard - don't be afraid to hit the wrong note. Chopin didn't learn in a day so we all have to start somewhere. Drop me an email if you want the books copying (it's no bother) x
wow! what an awesome view you have... i love that piano =) i have always wanted to learn to play. have FUN! debbie
Hello dear Tracy,
You have just won a award! Please pop over my blog to pick it up! :)
Take care.
x
HappyNew year my darlings,sorry i haven't been able to leave you little messages,soooo much trouble with computer...but all is well again now. love the piano,i know how determind you are,i know you will learn to play it!!!
Dad sez he loves nutroast,as long as he can bar-b-cue somthing outside!! aunty min left for NZ on the 4th jan. we all cried,but she has texed me everyday. grandad sends much love,working on him for crimbo.will chat again tomorrow. love to you all. Mummyxxxxxxxxxx
The piano is beautiful. I'm not musical so can't offer any advice but it sounds like the perfect thing to be doing while the winter storms rage outside!
What a wonderful view so close to your home. I could never live anywhere far from the sea. I'm sure you will have endless hours of enjoyment learning to play the piano.
I am always astounded by the views from your home. Stunning! Congrats on the piano.
that is one beautiful piano! Practice, practice, practice .... it will get easier. I've used the Faber & Faber books to teach my kids and they are very user friendly - I think someone with no musical background could easily teach themselves how to play.
It must be both exhilarating and a little scary to have that magnificent force of nature 150yds from your front door. Good luck with the piano playing, I can't play or read music either so no help here I'm afraid. Maybe a few lessons from a piano teacher to start you off? Or are you too far off the beaten track for that? Those wooden sculptures in your last post are great - I don't usually like art and nature mixed but those are really good.
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