Piano Guidance
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Do professional pianists practice scales?

Some concert pianists no longer practice scales regularly because they no longer need to, but all professional classical pianists have paid their dues in the form of many, many hours of scale practice.

Is basswood too soft?
Is basswood too soft?

Basswood is generally considered too soft and not strong enough for use as an acoustic guitar neck tonewood.

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What did Maria cough up in The Impossible?
What did Maria cough up in The Impossible?

She screams in pain. A woman lying next to Maria in hospital starts to cough violently and vomits large amounts of clotted blood. Maria also starts...

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Practicing Music vs. Scales

Question: I am a beginning piano player and want to start on a path to being a good piano player. I have started practicing scales, but it bores me to death. I find myself going back to playing songs after only a minute of playing scales. Is it possible to get better at playing the piano without laboring through scales? Can I work through songs with increasing difficulty in order to increase my performance? – Scott (Marion, New York, USA) Albert’s reply: The short answer is no, and the long answer is nooooooo! The only way you will play scales fearlessly, beautifully and evenly in your music is by mastering them apart from your repertoire. If you wish to play one scale truly well in your music, you must play all of them beautifully independently of the music. If you are to achieve your musical potential you must adopt the master’s mentality. Experts learn to love practicing scales because they know it leads to mastery. Some concert pianists no longer practice scales regularly because they no longer need to, but all professional classical pianists have paid their dues in the form of many, many hours of scale practice. Personally, I find great benefit in starting nearly every day’s piano practice by practicing scales. It is said that Leopold Godowsky had the most perfect scales of any pianist, yet he claimed he never practiced them. (There can be no doubt that he clocked countless hours of scale mileage in his youth to acquire such a perfect mechanism.) I’m not one of the fortunate pianists who can go without practicing scales. If I miss a day or two, I definitely notice when I return to scale practice, sometimes even to the point of embarrassment. I therefore learned to love warming up with scales. I love the way they make my hands feel once they’ve limbered up. They even warm up my mind, making it much more receptive to learning music. Scales are the most wonderful discipline – and like all discipline, they no longer require discipline once they’ve become a habit. Remember that you need to be over-prepared… and that there is no such thing as over-preparation! Learn your scales step by step (going around the circle of fifths – I recommend starting with the bottom, but you can also start with C major at the 12 o’clock position) and you may soon come to enjoy them as well. Learning your scales well is perhaps the single most important thing you can do for your piano playing, as it will lay the foundation for your further progress.

What is an A+ in Japan?
What is an A+ in Japan?

Grading System and Policies Grade (Definitions) Score Grade Points A+ 100 4.00 A (Excellent) 95 - 99 4.00 A- 90 - 94 3.70 B+ 87 - 89 3.30 8 more rows

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What does 7 rings sound like?
What does 7 rings sound like?

"7 Rings" interpolates the melody of "My Favourite Things," famously written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for "The Sound of Music" in 1959. Mar 20, 2019

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What do F8 and F9 do?

The F9 function key retrieves the last command(s) entered on the command line, in the reverse order that they were entered. Now, you can use the F8 function key to retrieve commands in the opposite direction.

You are in: IBM i Technology Updates > General IBM i Operating System > F8 - F9 Retrieve command enhancements The F9 function key retrieves the last command(s) entered on the command line, in the reverse order that they were entered. Now, you can use the F8 function key to retrieve commands in the opposite direction. In addition to providing this new F8 function on the Command Entry display, the F8 key will also do a reverse retrieve on any UIM panel with a command line where the F8 key is not already defined for some other function. New search capability has also been added to the F9 = Retrieve key. You can type part of a command string followed by an asterisk, and then press the F9 key to search for the last previous command entered that matches the string. The search is not case sensitive but leading blanks are significant when performing the search.

Is a basswood a lime tree?
Is a basswood a lime tree?

The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they are commonly called lime...

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How can you tell if a piano is good?
How can you tell if a piano is good?

A well-maintained piano will have clean keys and they should feel smooth and even in touch throughout in terms of the key-depth (how far they go...

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How long does it take to learn to okay the piano?
How long does it take to learn to okay the piano?

If you want to be a professional classical performer, you're looking at a minimum of 10 to 15 years of concentrated study with a master teacher,...

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Are Shia allowed in Mecca?
Are Shia allowed in Mecca?

Both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims agree on the three holiest sites in Islam being, respectively, the Masjid al-Haram (including the Kaaba), in...

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