It's been a while. I already performed in the bluegrass band. It was a blast, I messed up a few times, but my friends said they didn't notice. I said I messed up so bad I stopped playing a few times, but they said they thought the pauses were intentional. One person said they knew I'd messed up when I mouthed, "Sorry." But I improved dramatically on the mandolin. I want to keep improving, though I don't have much time.
As I improved on the mandolin, I found myself improving on the ukulele as well. My left hand can move faster. I learned a couple classical songs on the ukulele, namely "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Tarantella Italiana." They sound cool on the uke. Also, my uke is getting old and creaky. I don't know how much longer it will last. It's a two-hundred-dollar uke, but it's not made well. I discovered recently that there is a guy in my hometown that handcrafts them, and I plan to get one around Christmastime. They are $350-$375, but they sound good and I like to think that more care was put into their craftsmanship, so they'll be more durable.
Lastly, I'm taking private piano lessons. Technically, students are supposed to take a few group piano classes first, but that's to learn theory and such, which I already know, so I talked them into letting me go straight to the private lessons. It's definitely a challenge. I'm used to memorizing music because, honestly, trying to sight-read with a ukulele isn't very practical. It takes some planning. Which string and finger will you use for each note? On mandolin, it's easier because only the left-hand needs preplanning, there's only one way to pick a note with the right hand. On piano, you only have to plan which finger because there's only one way to play each note. Thus, my brain is trained to memorize. I'm trying to change that.
My instructor said that she usually tells her students to play the songs slowly and speed up until they're up to speed, but she says I have no problem with speed. My problem is with reading, so she said not to worry about speed. Just play slowly until I can play it, then move on.
I'm excited to become a piano player. I know I can do it. I'm gradually improving.
