Your Most Challenging Lessons

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mgardner
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:40 am

Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by mgardner » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:56 pm

Hello, fellow musicians!

I've been really enjoying practicing piano with Playground Sessions and it totally changed my everyday schedule. It's only been a month and half since I I started but I spend at least 3 hours a day practicing. I even have days with 5+ hours so I am very dedicated and mostly having so much fun... but...

Some of the lessons are so hard to get scores of 100%. I am just curious "felt difficulty" is different from a person to person. Which lessons gave you a headache and you got so frustrated? I am currently in Bootcamp (Advanced Tour) Lesson #6 (this is the newest challenge for me) but these are the ones I had the hardest time so far.

- Courses (Chords Practice Triads - Intermediate): Lesson #22 (Killed my left arm practicing. It was a miracle getting 100%.)
- Bootcamp (Intermediate Tour): Lesson #38 (I got it now but still think this should be in Advanced Tour. I almost cried when I finally got 100%.)
- Bootcamp (Advanced Tour): Lesson #6 (Still trying... still don't see any light at the end of the tunnel... TOO HARD!!!)

If any of you made through lesson #6 in Bootcamp (Advanced Tour) please give me an advice!!!

Swampfox
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:40 pm

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by Swampfox » Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:53 am

Wow, you're moving at light speed. I've been playing 4 months and I haven't gotten to any of those lessons yet.
I gave up doing things in a linear fashion and I don't always wait until I get 100% to move on. Rather, I work on several lessons at a time. I've found the lessons aren't always incrementally more difficult so I'll move on to new lessons while I hash out a lesson I find more challenging. For example, I'm still working on Bootcamp Intermediate 20 (GOT) in Cm which I find challenging at full speed, even though I flew past 22,23,and 24 without a problem. Likewise, some of the chord courses can be fairly easy until you get to the challenge. Therefore, I'll often start learning another key while perfecting the challenge at full speed. As an example, "The Way It Is", (G Major Harmony Course) isn't difficult at slow speed but hard for me to play at full speed with zero mistakes but I really like the changes so I work on it a bit everyday and magically I find I'm not always chasing it. I really do wish the backing tracks had more than two speeds.

I've also found that the songs are significantly more difficult than the lessons or courses, and even an easy intermediate song is harder than any intermediate bootcamp, at least into the 20s. So I find even easy songs to be challenging often due to the sheer length. So I spend a few minutes everyday moving the ball on a song.

Sorry, I can't help you on 6. It will be a few more months before I tackle anything in the advanced section. I figure once I get into the "advanced" courses I'll probably start looking for a human teacher.

mgardner
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:40 am

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by mgardner » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:07 pm

I totally agree with wheat you said!!! I was able to get 100% before I move on to the next lesson until I came to the ones I listed in the earlier post. I got really frustrated so I decided to skip and come back later on hoping I will be a bit better by then.

Now I am doing the same thing by skipping #6 on Bootcamp Advanced Tour and working on other lessons. I just finished #9, #10 and #13 but I know for sure it'll be a while before #6 has 100% scores.

I also agree with songs being so much harder than the lessons so I decided not to touch it until all the lessons are completed. I just keep downloading (to use up monthly credit) until I can get to it but I am having fun just to chose the songs.

As far as the speed of the backing tracks, you can change it to pretty much at any speed you'd like by clicking the speedometer logo left of where it shows BPM (BPM is just left of the choice of 2 speeds).

Ok, I got to go back for more practice now!

mgardner
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:40 am

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by mgardner » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:20 pm

My bad... I just realized you would lose the backing tracks when you change the speed. I didn't even notice til now....

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sw1tch73ch
Posts: 539
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:23 pm

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by sw1tch73ch » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:14 pm

mgardner wrote:
Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:20 pm
My bad... I just realized you would lose the backing tracks when you change the speed. I didn't even notice til now....
I very often slow it down past the default slow speed, so I do spend a lot of time without the backing tracks getting the fingering and notes down.
== Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Just keep playing, playing, playing! ==

-- jbs --

mgardner
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:40 am

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by mgardner » Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:11 pm

Just noticed that there's no backing tracks when you chose some a part of the music. I do this every time before playing the entire song but never really noticed it...

Swampfox
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:40 pm

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by Swampfox » Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:52 pm

The backing tract is present at the slow speed and the designated full speed. It's present regardless of where you start or whether you set loops, although on rare occasions seems to lose synch with the metronome or cursor with some looping routines. I spend most of my time playing at of of those two speeds in loops as I work my way though an exercise. I really hate playing with only a click track. Although, I can't listen to some tracks at the slow speed like those in the Bm and A Major exercises, and pick a speed with no backing tract and work my way through with just the click tract.

mgardner
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:40 am

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by mgardner » Thu Jul 25, 2019 2:09 pm

This was the only one of all but Bootcamp Advanced Tour Lesson# 19 did not have any backing tracks. No matter what the tempo was.

Swampfox
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:40 pm

Re: Your Most Challenging Lessons

Post by Swampfox » Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:01 pm

I see. I also found some strangeness in the Cm lesson where the backing track drops out if you loop the second half of the lesson but not if you start at the beginning.

Back to the original topic: I just hit the broken chord lessons in BC. I've really had spend more time on this new skill, especially the both hands lessons. Even the simple "Superman" lesson is challenging.

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