about Jane

my current playlist

you just have to click on the first song to start things movin' then select any song in the list - enjoy!

finally see what’s good for you

so digging   Blue October              Download Hate Me.mp3

      

so this is my third actual lesson.  I've been moved to Saturday mornings so now I don't have to miss half of my lessons because I'm stuck at work.  But with this comes a new instructor, João.  A portuguese man whose english is not as good as Marisa's but we managed just fine.

I wasn't sure I would like his teaching style, but he seemed to get my way of learning very quickly.  He is pretty observant of things I say and we have agreed that while he teaches me piano theory, I will teach him English. 

Today's lesson consisted mostly of my playing things already taught by Marisa and I've been practicing for the last two weeks.  He did assign me to practice my scales over and over and over. And I have to be able to play one of my songs with my eyes closed (not really he said but i'm going to try to do it anyway).  He said he was impressed with how much I've learned so far and that it seems to be that I have very good ability to learn on my own.  [I suspect that means I'll have lots of homework]

 

Plain Talking

The other day I downloaded Moby's Hotel
It's awesome. I can't turn it off.  It's making this workday (after a sleepless night ) bearable.


So I went in search of the lyrics to Lift Me Up and ended up at his website which is pretty cool but no lyrics unfortunately.  There he has a journal and lots of links to other stuff like Teany.

My heart was blinded by you

James Blunt   Goodbye My Lover

this song brought me to tears.

-new songs-
Lazy Mary, Air (from Surprise Symphony), Paper Ships, The Butterfly, Blue-Bells of Scotland, Big Ships, The Long Trail, My Bonnie

-tidbits learned-
sharp, flat, the tie, hand over

-Online-
While looking for some help to quickly learning how to read music, I found this great website that offers a Freeware program that does just that.  The program is AMCC (A Music Crash Course). It's simple, it's easy and it cuts right to the chase. 

[Be forewarned that if you use the downloadable version, a few of the .gif files are missing.  I went to the online version and saved the images onto my computer and now it works fine.  I sent any e-mail to the website owner with the list of missing files so maybe they will fix it soon.  If not, I can send you the files.]

-After Class-
Waiting for Marisa to make copies of my new homework assignments, we started to talk about the rain situation in Portugal.  Apparently, this year again, an insufficient amount has fallen.  It won't be as bad as last year but it's still not good. There are some towns up north that may have to shutdown because their water reserve is nearly depleted.  One of the owners of the music school joined our conversation and she shared that some experts believe that this situation will continue to worsen and that Spain and Portugal will become completely desert regions.  She also said that some towns in southern Spain have started using desalination in order to meet their water requirements.  Something I have to consider if I continue with my plan to purchase some property in this region one day.

Everyday is a new day

Like kismet, I heard my new theme song on the way to work today - P.O.D.'s  Alive

There is some wise advice about not going to bed angry but I think I need something beyond that, situationally, that just seems impossible sometimes.

So I'm thinking that I have to treat every day as a new day. Whatever it is that I cried myself to sleep about the night before, has to remain there, merely a stain on my pillow not a permanent blemish on my life.
So...

Everyday is a new day
I'm thankful for every breath I take
I won't take it for granted
So I learn from my mistakes
It's beyond my control, sometimes it's best to let go
Whatever happens in this lifetime
So I trust in love
You have given me peace of mind

with a song in my heart...

and a keyboard in my apartment.  This is my new baby! I am the proud owner of the Yamaha PSR-E303

                         

In A Low Gentle Voice

songs played:

Cúcú..., Final, Entradecer, Saltitando, Marcha, Reflection from Walt Disney's Mulan

tidbits learned:

italian definition of piano -  slow, voice: in a low voice, gently
[Italian, from Late Latin, smooth, graceful, from Latin, flat.]
[Italian, short for pianoforte. See pianoforte.]
~
typical notes for the piano are A thru G but in germany, Johann Sebastian Bach wanted to use his name in his pieces so he added an H
~

beers, steers and queers

while looking to download some new music for The Cowboy, I came across this oldie but goodie by RC (won't spell out the name, i'm afraid of what kinds of searches will visit my page)

will add MP3 file here for everyone to enjoy (as soon as I get my internet at home working again)