Halfway through the Schaum Orange Book

I am now halfway through the Schaum Orange Piano Book. Hooray!

When I finish this book and graduate to the next book, I swear I’m going to have a little graduation party with champagne and cake!

See more progress on: Learn to play the piano

Grieg is finally approaching vivace

The simplified Grieg piece I posted about earlier might actually be approaching “vivace”.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Likewise, in my piano exercises, my fingers are starting to play dominant seventh chords in different keys and inversions with a greater degree of ease. That’s a first for me.

It’s nice to feel like I’m making some progress.

See more progress on: Learn to play the piano

Slogging through piano practice

I just slogged through a piano practice session. I lapsed for a few weeks this summer, but have been back on track for the last week. Currently working on:

Schaum Book D: #11 and #12, kiddie versions of pieces by Rachmaninoff and Grieg. Despite the significant dumbing down of the excerpts, I am struggling…the Grieg is definitely nowhere near “vivace”. This is where persistence comes into play. I play the problem passage slowly 10x with the left hand, 10x with the right hand, 10x with both hands, then maybe try it a little faster, then move to the next problem passage, then repeat the whole process the next day, then the day after that…

Dozen a Day, Book 3: Group II, Exercise #5. Good news is, I finished the Group I exercises since the last time I posted about piano. Group II has a lot of block chords, so every day I play the exercises in a different key so my fingers can get used to different chords and inversions in different keys. I think it’s helping.

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Phoenix, summer sings, tech for non-profits, PHP

Last week, we returned from our visit to Phoenix. We celebrated Sugar Daddy's grandfather's 90th birthday, and boy, was it an uplifting experience! Despite his age, he is feisty, funny, and in pretty good health. He even danced the "Waikiki Walk" with every lady present at the party!

I've been working through the PHP tutorial at W3Schools. It's not the best tutorial I've ever used, but at least I learned something when I had to debug why the tutorial instructions didn't result in the expected output...

I stopped at the library and hunted for books that would provide some guidance on the legal/financial/procedural aspects of setting myself up as an independent contractor. Two useful finds: Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants (which is exactly the information I'm looking for) and Starting a Business in San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties (info that is locally pertinent).

I spent some time reading articles about tech for non-profits, specifically the ones at TechSoup. There are more blogs/feeds on tech for non-profits that I'd like to check out, like the ones listed at Beth Kanter's nptech blog. Plus, there's an interesting article on How to Pinpoint the Right Social Networking Tools for Your Nonprofit, and Get the Support and Budget to Put Them to Work that I'd like to get to. But despite all this interesting reading material, I don't want to develop a case of blog reading fatigue like my buddy Oluf. So I looked around for some different free feature-rich RSS readers, and am currently experimenting with JetBrains Omea Reader to see if it will successfully tame the information monster.

In addition, I've just started brainstorming about what new online tools for activism and enhancements of existing tools might best benefit New American Dream. Comments, ideas on this topic are welcome.

On the music front - my recent listening has been following the Schola Cantorum Summer Sing schedule. Last week, the Verdi Requiem (and I found a pretty decent recording by Claudio Abbado at the library). This week, Poulenc Gloria and Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzer. As a bonus, I borrowed a recording of Carole Farley singing songs by Ned Rorem, one of my favorite art song composers, with Rorem at the piano. I've got my next two voice lessons scheduled, and am getting back to the piano after a couple of weeks of practice hiatus.

Concerts, socializing, learning PHP, dealing with apartment issues

This week in review:

On the social scene: Saturday I attended G.'s party to celebrate 5 years of cancer-free living. It was an uplifting and life-affirming experience. While I was there, I also got to catch up with some colleagues from my former workplace. That evening, we went up to the city to visit my uncle and an aunt who's in town from Vermont. (Note to self: I also saw my cousin C. who just finished filing for non-profit status for his organization, the Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative; he might be a good contact if I ever want to start my own non-profit.) Sunday, I called my old high-school friend J. who lives in CT, just because. Monday, I visited a relative of mine who's distantly related to me, yet happens to live maybe a mile away (and yet I haven't seen her for years). This coming weekend, another aunt is coming to town from Toronto; gotta make plans to see her. And the most surprising encounter of the week: I got an email from B., a junior-high friend I haven't been in touch with for years and years. Sounds like lots of changes and challenges in her life recently; hugs to you, B.!

Apartment issues have been a time suck this week. There was a situation with the landlord that we thought might escalate into something unpleasant, but miraculously, it might be headed towards the happiest possible ending. It did get us talking about our future housing needs. Ideally, we'd like to live close enough to Sugar Daddy's workplace that he can commute by foot or bicycle. We might shop around for an apartment in that vicinity. We talk about buying on and off, but never really get serious about it, although we did go to our first-ever open house on Sunday - a condo in Mountain View.

Music has kept us really busy this week. Voice lesson Tuesday, dress rehearsals Monday and Wednesday, performing in concerts this coming Saturday and Sunday, went to my friend R.'s concert last Friday, and also saw R. sing yesterday with the HP Choir (and Sugar Daddy accompanied them in the orchestra). I'm doubling up on practice hours this week because I'll be in Phoenix all next week and won't get in any more practice time before my next voice lesson. Between all this and the apartment situation, I had to slack off on piano this week. If I can get a couple of hours in on the piano before leaving for Phoenix, I'll have to be satisfied with that.

Two-and-a-half months after leaving my software job, I was finally able to look at code again...I just started giving myself a crash course in PHP to prepare for the contract job with New American Dream. At least the basics so I can fake it until I make it :) I've also started reading a bit about technology and non-profits at TechSoup. I want to do some high-level reading about social media/networks, find out what's out there today, and think about how it can be incorporated into a non-profit's strategy.

Off to Phoenix next week for Sugar Daddy's grandfather's 90th birthday bash! The man has three times as much life experience as me, and he still has a sense of humor, pretty decent health and mobility, and probably a more active social life than me! Amazing!

My current music playlist and reading list

Recordings checked out from the library:

Bach Magnificat. We are performing it this Christmas, and I want to learn all of the soprano solos so I can audition.

If You Love Me: 18th-century Italian Songs, Cecilia Bartoli. Has some of the songs from the Twenty Six Italian Songs and Arias book I'm using for voice lessons.

Rutter Requiem (performed by the Cambridge Singers and conducted by the composers). We're performing this in a week and a half!

The Ultimate Puccini Divas - a compilation of various women singing Puccini arias. Got curious about Puccini after hearing some at the SCU masterclasses, and am discovering how much I enjoy his writing.

I need to identify some good sopranos to listen to as role models. I have a couple of recordings of baritones that I like, but I need to find women. My previous teacher mentioned Joan Sutherland's early stuff, and Dawn Upshaw. I'm not really tapped into the opera or pro singing worlds, so I need to find out who are the world-class singers of the past and present who are well-respected not just by audiences by also by the ranks of professional singers and teachers.

On the reading pile:

Still working through The Choral Experience: Literature, Materials, and Methods. So far I find it to be an interesting survey text aimed at the beginning choral conductor (or morbidly curious choristers, like me).

I read through parts of A Jazz Improvisation Primer and also the first lesson at LearnJazzPiano.com. There is an awful lot of music theory to absorb and to try to put into practice. But both sites had essentially the same advice about what a beginner's first step should be: learn to play the ii-V-I chord progression in all twelve keys. Argh, that'll keep me busy for a while!!! I've added it to my practice routine, right after the scale-of-the-day.

(On a side note: I also read a bunch of plant field guides because I would like to be able to identify more plants when hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But I didn't find any guides that I was entirely happy with. Also, I'm accompanying Sugar Daddy on a combination business/vacation trip to Australia in July, so we checked out some guidebooks to do trip planning.)

Piano progress

I feel like my piano skills are gradually improving. I started with Schaum Book D (Orange Book) and book 3 of the Dozen a Day series. That’s about the skill level where I was when I quit piano at the age of 12. Here’s where I’ve gotten so far:

Schaum Book D: #9 “Two Military Heros” (easy medley arrangement of marches by Strauss and Berlioz)
Dozen a Day: Group I, Exercise #11 (yay! almost through the first dozen.)

It’s silly but fun to play from the kiddie books. Anyhow, no matter what you’re age, if you’re a beginner, you just have to start from where you are!

See more progress on: Learn to play the piano

Other stuff I've been up to lately

Notes on various things I've been up to:

This past week, I attended a concert, a lecture, and three masterclasses that were all part of the Art of the Song Festival at Santa Clara University. It was a perfect opportunity because I love art song and all of the events were free! Not to mention that I'm now able to go to daytime weekday events, like the masterclasses. I enjoy sitting in on the classes; I get a lot out of watching the students get critiqued. Plus, voice lessons aren't cheap, so I try to avail myself of free educational opportunities when they arise. Santa Clara has voice students in a range of levels, including a few really stellar singers.

My social life is improving and I'm grateful to have more time to spend with people than I did when I was working. Most recently, I've had lunch and dinner get-togethers with college friends who have been in town, a number of former coworkers, and some other friends. More get-togethers are forthcoming.

As a bonus, some of the folks I've been getting together with have gone through, or know someone who has gone through, a career transition like the one I'm attempting, and they are enthusiastic in sharing their experiences and information. I had dinner with R. and B. yesterday. R. spent some time sharing with me the results of the What Color is Your Parachute? exercises that he found most helpful in planning his past career transitions. B. has transitioned from high-tech HR into management/leadership coaching. She recommends the Cupertino Rotary Job Search Support Group as a local resource for career changers in addition to regular job hunters. I bet she also has some good insights from both her careers as well as her personal career transition experience.

I'm making slow but steady progress on the piano. Most days I work on scales, exercises, and a couple of songs from Schaum Book D. I've made it to song #5, a cheesy medley of stripped-down Strauss waltzes :) As part of each practice session, I try either to sight-read some new piece of music (often a piano accompaniment to a choral/vocal piece that I'm working on), or play through some music theory exercises from my harmony and counterpoint textbook.

I've been knocking myself out, putting together a transitional résumé that I want to email to New American Dream next Monday. It's been quite a few years since I last updated my résumé. I'm trying to create a hybrid résumé that includes not only my software development experience but also my activism and volunteer work. My goal is to have my résumé convey the following messages to New American Dream: the section on software experience says "I'm smart/technical/experienced enough to do the job", and the section on activism/volunteerism says "I'm motivated to work for New Dream because I'm committed to your issues and have the track record to prove it". My résumé also needs to compensate for the shortcoming of not having the exact skill set and background needed for website development.

Music Curriculum for Self-Study

This is my proposed music curriculum for self-study*:

Voice

• Choir
• Private lessons
• IPA
• Languages: French, German, Italian
• Vocal literature
• Sight-singing
• Schools of singing technique

Piano

• General keyboard skills/exercises
• Jazz/improvisation
• Sight-reading

Composition and Theory

• Harmony
• Conducting
• Orchestration
• Jazz
• Ear training

Music History

• Composers
• Performance practice

Listening

• World music
• Jazz
• Great classical singers

The Do-It-Yourself Music Degree (an idea I've been toying with): Find out what a college music curriculum is comprised of, and then do all of the same reading and study, but on a self-directed basis. (maybe later...)

*Disclaimer: This is too much to cover in one year, maybe even in one lifetime, especially for someone who does not aspire to be a professional musician. But this list will provide me some guidance whenever I ask myself, "What should I try next?"

Piano instruction books - got 'em (serendipitously)

I was going to post on Freecycle to see if I could score some free books for learning to play the piano. But while in downtown Mountain View last night for the Your Money or Your Life meetup, somehow I got sucked into BookBuyers, my favorite local used bookstore. They actually have a decent selection of basic piano method books. I picked out three books and was going to break down and buy them, when I realized that I might still have some store trade credit left. Turns out I did, so I didn't have to shell out any cash. So that worked out nicely.

Note to self: BookBuyers also had a few interesting texts on sight-singing, ear-training, and music theory. I'll try the library first, though.

I just fired off an email to my choir conductor Greg Wait to see if he's taking new students for private voice study, will see what he says.