Even at this age, I'm determined to play like Jerry Lee Lewis. I got my new laptop, and a Broadband connection, so I can finally view Youtube videos without waiting an hour for one to download.

I was inspired by this video (starting at :38)



Hardest thing I ever tried....getting that left hand going like that. After about two weeks it finally started coming together (though I still have a way to go......right now I'm still working on getting a Jerry Lee wig).

But about the same time I discovered a new way of practicing EFFICIENTLY.

I'm sure I mentioned this....that I'm into "power of the mind" principles. That's where the POTM principles come into play.

What I learned was I could practice that left hand run every day for an hour and progress very slowly. Or......I could break up the one hour into bits and pieces. Work on the line for 10 minutes, take a break and come back a half hour later and do another 10 minutes. At the end of the day you've had 5-6 mini-sessions.

I'm not sure why the brain responds the way it does, but.......it DOES! Each time you come back to the keyboard, the mind starts all over again.....fresh. It thinks it's another day's practice session. So at the end of the week you didn't have 7 practice sessions, you had maybe 30-40.

I'm progressing very rapidly this way, though I admit that although I knew this way of doing just about everything (learning a new language, etc), I forgot about it even though the method has been around forever. I was just lucky enough to be so busy, the system came up in my mind and it fit in perfectly. Practice a little, back to the desk for paperwork, practice some more, have a glass of lemonade, practice some more, etc. I'm lucky that I'm near the piano for a lot of my day.

Mark