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Rhys Gibson
Past Notes
October 25th, 2019
Rhys did a really good job today - he said that he didn't practice all week, but we focused on just playing the chords as quickly as we could, and were able to get up to 65% of the recording speed.
We'll try maybe getting up to 80% by the week after next (since apparently we have a PA day coming up).
October 18th, 2019
We went over Clocks another couple of times, and there has been some improvement on the speed when changing between chords. I think we may have reached a barrier for this song, and it's been a few weeks already, so we decided to try a new song to expose Rhys to more information, and help him not get bored.
We added Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdDa1wv22o0
There are three chords repeated over and over in this song: G, A, and Bm.
This introduced us to two new chords, A and Bminor, and the use of sharps in chords, namely C# and F#.
Fortunately this is another song with a lot of repetition, so it makes it easier to play a whole song while only knowing a few notes, but unfortunately, it makes it quite boring to play and practice.
As before, Rhys could be further along in his grasp and execution of playing if he had more practice.
October 11th, 2019
We spent the lesson time practicing today, trying to speed up the transition time between switching chords. I would have liked to see improvement over the last two lessons.
To see improvement week to week, Rhys needs to practice every day. He's really got a lot of potential, which I hate to see wasted. It's a shame to make the lesson time just a practice time, and not good use of your money either.
I know Rhys' grandma has a piano, and that you plan on moving it- but if it's a matter of convincing grandma, here are some free pianos on Kijiji (there are many more)
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-piano-keyboard/kingston-on/free-cabinet-grand-piano/1463951272?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-piano-keyboard/kingston-on/well-maintained-heintzman-upright-piano-free/1463591487
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-piano-keyboard/kingston-on/free-alexandra-cabinet-grand-piano/1459882821
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-free-stuff/kingston-on/piano/1459793777
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-free-stuff/kingston-on/free-piano/1458935194
October 4th, 2019
Rhys doesn't have a piano to practice with yet, so hopefully this week. Practicing is crucial to learning and instrument, so even a small keyboard from Kijiji would be a good option if grandma's piano can't be moved.
We wrote the notes from last week into his book together. We then went through the coldplay song Clocks a few times, working first on the arpeggio, and then adding the left hand.
After that we focused on moving between the chords faster. - because of the nature of the arpeggio, the temptation is to wait for two eighth-beats before playing the next arpeggio, so we focused on note doing that.
By the end of the lesson with focus just on not missing that chord change, he was really close to doing it. When he has the arpeggio smoothly without stopping, then he should work on including the left hand on the start of every chord change.
September 20th, 2019
Rhys didn't remember some of the things we talked about, so we reviewed our lesson from last week. If he can find time to practice every day, and memorize those note names, that will help him a lot in playing.
We added the song "Clocks" by Coldplay, but moved it to the key of C to make it easier to play and to work with the chords he learned last week.
I wrote out the arpeggio for him using P for pinky, M for middle finger, and T for thumb. He should practice switching to the chords without pausing between them.
September 13th, 2019
Rhys already knew how to play this piano, so we reviewed things like note names, which he kind of forgets. We used the grandma,doghouse system to help him recall it if he forgets
We then talked about difference between notes and chords. Chords are made up of notes.
We learned the C F and G major chords. Then we learned the Dm Am and Em minor chords. We wrote a song which we played together, me on the guitar.
He should practice the note names, remembering them, and also switching quickly between the chords.
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