u/Odd-Stock-6529

Hey allemaal,

Onlangs zag ik meerdere topics over samen boeken lezen (buddy’s, leesclubs, appgroepen, etc.). Daarin werd het 'samen lezen' steeds naar een externe plek gehaald. Dat zette me aan het denken: zou er hier op Reddit animo zijn om iets vergelijkbaars te doen, maar dan gewoon laagdrempelig binnen de sub?

Het idee:

• Elke maand lezen we samen één boek.
• Iedereen leest in z’n eigen tempo, met als richtlijn: probeer het binnen een maand uit te hebben.
• Meedoen is vrijblijvend: instappen of afhaken kan altijd.

Boekkeuze:

• In een apart topic kunnen boeken worden aangedragen, iedereen mag suggesties doen.
• We kiezen het boek met de meeste steun/animo (bijvoorbeeld via upvotes of een poll). Genre maakt niet uit (thriller, roman, historie, biografie, etc.). Misschien geen zware literatuur om het goed toegankelijk te houden voor nieuwe lezers?
• De boeken die worden aangedragen zijn bij voorkeur beschikbaar via de Online Bibliotheek zodat veel mensen mee kunnen doen.

Afspraken voor in het topic:

• Algemene indrukken kunnen spoilervrij besproken worden. Bijv: schrijfstijl, tempo, leesbaarheid, eerste gedachten, verwachtingen, personages zonder grote onthullingen.
• Alles wat echt over de plot gaat, post je met spoilertag. Denk aan plotwendingen, relaties, gebeurtenissen, einde. Boven de spoiler zet je de bladzijde van waar je bent, zodat mensen kunnen inschatten of ze je spoiler willen lezen of liever nog niet.
• Na een maand gaan we er vanuit dat iedereen het boek heeft gelezen en kan er zonder spoilertag over alles worden gediscussieerd.

Wat vinden jullie hiervan?
En als er interesse is: welke boeken zou je evt. willen aandragen?

Hi everyone, over the past year I’ve picked up playing the piano and I’m currently working my way through the (2nd) Alfred’s Adult All-in-One course, which I really enjoy.

Lately I’ve started to feel the need for a more structured practice routine, so I’ve been doing a lot of research online. Everywhere you look, people emphasize the importance of working on scales, chords, arpeggios, technique, etc. But I still find it quite difficult to figure out *what exactly you’re supposed to do* once you sit down at the piano. Because of that lack of clear direction, I notice I sometimes just end up improvising aimlessly and not really progressing as efficiently as I’d like.

Over the past two weeks I decided I wanted to change that, so I put together a big overview of practical exercises I’ve come across Youtube video's, websites and Reddit and that seem useful to me. I got some help from ChatGPT to organise them, and I think I now have a nice overview to get started with. I’d like to share that overview with you all, and I’m also looking for feedback: what’s unnecessary, and what might still be missing?

The idea is to set monthly goals around chords, scales, repertoire, or technique, and then use this overview as a menu to choose from what to practice. Also to keep things enjoyable and avoid getting stuck in a rigid routine.

(And yes, I tend to overthink and micro-manage everything.. I actually work pretty well that way 😉)

Scale Exercises

Practice scales until you can play them without looking at your hands:

1. Two octaves LH
2. Two octaves RH
3. Two octaves hands together (parallel)
4. Two octaves contrary motion
5. Full-keyboard scales

Focus Points
A. Fingering
B. Even rhythm
C. Even volume
D. Finger technique

Variations
E. Legato
F. Staccato
G. Dynamics: pp / p / mp / mf / f / ff
H. Crescendo ascending
Diminuendo descending
I. Independent dynamics (one hand p, the other hand f)
J. Independent articulation (one hand legato, the other hand staccato)

Hand Technique / Finger Independence

1. Fixed finger: Play a five-finger pattern while holding one finger down. Alternate between thumb, index, middle, ring, and little finger.
2. Ring finger & little finger exercise: Play a five-finger pattern while holding fingers 1-2-3 down. Alternate between the ring finger and little finger.
3. Accent rotation: Play a five-finger pattern five times. Each repetition, accent a different note by playing it f, while keeping the others p.
4. High fingers: Play a five-finger pattern. Before each note, lift the finger high and bring it down in a controlled motion.
5. Ring finger isolation: Place all fingers on the keyboard and lift only the ring finger.
6. Weight transfer: Play a five-finger pattern slowly while consciously transferring the arm weight from one finger to the next.
7. Wrist rotation: Play a five-finger pattern slowly while allowing the wrist to rotate naturally to support the fingers.
8. Trill: Choose two adjacent notes (e.g. C-D-C-D) and alternate them slowly. Gradually increase the speed. Practice with different finger combinations.

Chords

1. Learn chords by name: Cover the notes in a (lesson) book and play the chords based on their names. Look up any chord you don't know.
2. Learn chords from notation: Cover the chord names in a (lesson) book and identify/play the chords by reading the notes.
3. Jumps: Practice jumping one octave higher or lower.
4. Chord progressions: Choose a key and play the following progressions:
   • I-IV-V-I
   • I-V-vi-IV
   • ii-V-I
5. Inversions: Play each chord in root position, first inversion, and second inversion.
6. Voicing: Play a chord while accenting one note.
7. Transposition: Play the I-IV-V-I progression in three different keys.

Arpeggios

Practice arpeggios until you can play them without looking at your hands:

1. One octave LH One octave RH
2. Two octaves LH Two octaves RH
3. Four octaves LH Four octaves RH
4. Play LH and RH together (parallel): 1, 2, or 4 octaves
5. Play the arpeggio staccato.
6. Play each arpeggio three times:
   • Root position
   • First inversion
   • Second inversion
7. Inversion variation: Play an inversion in one hand while the other hand plays the root position.

Focus Points

• Fingering
• Rhythm
• Touch
• Volume

Only increase the tempo once rhythm, touch, and volume are consistent.

Variations

A. Legato
B. Staccato
C. Dynamics: pp / p / mp / mf / f / ff
D. Crescendo ascending
Diminuendo descending
E. Independent dynamics (one hand p, the other hand f)
F. Independent articulation (one hand legato, the other hand staccato)

Sight Reading

1. Fluent playing: Choose a piece below your level and play it through once without stopping or correcting mistakes.
2. Interval reading: Choose a new piece and read the notes without playing. Name every interval (second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). Then play the piece while naming each interval.
3. Interval reading from a landmark: Choose a new piece and identify a landmark note (e.g. D in the bass clef). Name each note based on its distance from the landmark.
4. Pattern recognition: Choose a piece and identify all chords and arpeggiated chords.
5. Reading ahead: Play a piece while focusing on reading ahead.
6. No looking: Play a piece while avoiding looking at your hands.
7. Preparation: Choose a random piece and spend 20–30 seconds examining it before playing. Identify the key signature, time signature, difficult jumps, repeats, chords, and rhythmic patterns.
8. Silent reading: Read an entire piece without playing it. Try to hear it in your head.

Ear Training

1. Have someone play two notes (or use an app) and identify which note is higher.
2. Have someone play two notes (or use an app) and determine whether:
   • it is a half step or whole step higher.
   • it is one or two scale degrees higher.
3. Play an interval yourself (e.g. C → E) and sing it back. Repeat several times.
4. Listen to the beginning of a song and try to find the first note on the piano.
5. Sing a short melody and try to play it back.
6. Play a chord and try to sing its root note.

Repertoire

1. New Repertoire

a. Practice LH and RH separately.
b. Practice LH and RH together very slowly.
c. Work in small sections (e.g. measures 6–8).
d. Backward practice: Start with the final measure and gradually work backwards.
e. Metronome ladder: Start slowly. After playing it correctly three times, gradually increase the tempo.
f. Record yourself and listen for areas that need improvement.

2. Diagnose Problems

Practice the piece and determine the cause of any difficulty.

a. Notes: I don't recognize the notes well enough.
Solution: Practice hands separately, read intervals, slow practice, writing.

b. Rhythm
The rhythm is incorrect or inconsistent.
Solution: Use a metronome, clap the rhythm, count aloud.

c. Fingering
I'm using awkward or inconsistent fingering.
Solution: Choose one fingering and write it in.

d. Hand Coordination
I can play each hand separately but not together.
Solution: Reduce the tempo and practice very slowly and carefully.

e. Jumps
I miss the next hand position.
Solution: Practice looking ahead, isolate the jump, practice the jump without rhythm first.

f. Tension
I'm squeezing or becoming tense.
Solution: Slow down, check shoulders, check wrists.

g. Pedaling
It sounds muddy.
Solution: Continue practicing without the pedal first. Practice the pedal separately.

h. Transitions
The transition between two passages is difficult.
Solution: Practice only the notes around the transition and gradually add more surrounding notes.

3. Improve Existing (Mastered) Pieces

Choose a piece that you already know well (notes and rhythm) but want to refine further. Record yourself and identify areas for improvement.

Examples:

a. Evenness
b. Dynamics
c. Pedaling
d. Articulation

VERGEVEN

https://www.ah.nl/digitaalsparen/zegels-delen/227/b86e3598-aa7a-4328-a77e-d249f7078e27

https://www.ah.nl/digitaalsparen/zegels-delen/227/23852967-8d66-4a7d-a10f-5c91541a9ea7

https://www.ah.nl/digitaalsparen/zegels-delen/227/b1018599-b68a-434b-8db9-c68452651c67

https://www.ah.nl/digitaalsparen/zegels-delen/227/c0b0366e-9d0a-4364-aa0d-1134ee19e541

A bit of background first: I have hypermobility and have struggled with ankle and knee problems for a long time.

Despite that, I’m trying to slowly get back into exercising at the gym. I mainly focus on exercises that seem beneficial for my situation: mild cardio (elliptical trainer, walking) and strength exercises targeting my core, arms, upper legs, calves, etc. I avoid squats and other exercises that put a lot of stress on my knees or ankles.

Now I’m trying to strengthen my core to improve my posture, but I keep noticing that with many exercises I mainly use my back instead of my abs. I’ve experienced this since childhood. Even when I was around 8–10 years old doing dance classes, I already noticed that I did all abdominal exercises (sit-ups and similar movements) mostly with my back. While everyone else would grab their abs afterwards, I would have to stop early because of severe back pain.

That hasn’t really changed now. If I do abdominal crunches, I mostly feel my back. If I try planking, my back starts hurting within 15 seconds. And it’s not because I’m not trying to engage my core properly, I genuinely try very hard to brace and activate the right muscles, but somehow I just can’t seem to get it right consistently With the abdominal crunch machine, the only way I can somewhat feel my abs working is by making the exercises extremely light and really focusing on bracing my core. But then the exercises feel so easy that I don’t really feel like I’m “training.”

I recently discovered that I can do exercises like the kettlebell side bend and the around-the-body pass. I also use the back extension machine to strengthen my back.

What I’m really hoping for is a good and realistic gym routine that I could do 3 times a week. So my question is: what other exercises could I try that are relatively safe, less likely to secretly overload/train my back instead of my core, and still gentle on my knees?

About six months ago I started learning piano. I had some keyboard lessons about 30 years ago, but this time I wanted to learn proper piano playing.

Because I wasn’t sure whether it would become a lasting hobby, I didn’t want to invest heavily right away. So I bought a cheap keyboard, a Fazley FKB-180, for about €100.

Now, six months later, it turns out it wasn’t just a passing phase. I play almost every day using the Alfred's books (I’m now at the beginning of book 2) and Piano Marvel. I’d also like to take lessons, but unfortunately the local music school doesn’t have any spots available right now. Hopefully in the future I’ll be able to take lessons too. I mention this just to give an idea of my learning pace: steady, but not especially fast.

What bothers me about my current keyboard is the poor key sensitivity. I also think it’s probably not ideal that I’m getting used to playing on such light keys. On the other hand, I really like having MIDI out, the ability to connect a pedal, and a wired headphone connection. I don’t really use the many sounds and rhythms. That’s why I’m considering switching to a digital piano.

I’ve been looking at the Roland FP-10. It gets a lot of positive feedback, but people also describe it as an entry-level model. What I’m wondering is: how long is an entry-level model actually enough?

I don’t want to have to upgrade again within a year. Can I reasonably expect the FP-10 to last me for several years, or would it be wiser to invest in something more expensive right away? The price difference with the Roland FP-30X is a bit over €200.

(Advice on other models or other things I should consider is very welcome too.)