The two classical piano pieces Fur Elise and Tarantella before I played every note right at two recitals in front of a crowd. Mind you I'm a musicologist but not quite a musician though.
This post was edited by CosmicWunderkind at June 19, 2025 7:26 AM MDT
(I think that anyone who claims that he or she was great at it the very first time, or who claims to be great at it on every single occasion, is plainly and obviously lying.) ~
Playing a drum-roll properly. I took up the drums many years ago but have not played for nearly as long!
A roll is not as easy as it looks, to play as it should be, but one day it sort of fell into place.
I did not though pursue the snare-dumming tutorial, by Buddy Rich, to such arcanities as the 'Triple Flam Paradiddle'.
Ordinary Flams (equivalent to a grace-note) and Drags (with two grace-notes) yes. The basic Paradiddle (8 strokes so if marking quavers, fill a 4/4 time bar). Anything further.... no.
Actually the very advanced patterns would probably be lost on any listener not a skilled, experienced drummer anyway! To anyone else it would more likely just be a blizzard of quaver and grace-note strokes like a slightly lumpy roll; but the jazz and big-band drummers liked using such things to show how clever they were.
I still know these basic rhythm and fill building-blocks, called "rudiments", but I'd be well out or practice for playing them to a decent standard.
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Using a hacksaw and file properly - the former well enough to minimise having to use the latter!
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Not really grinding practice but related to that...
Finally understanding some mathematical topics thanks not to mechanically following text-book examples and exercises, but to real-life applications throwing themselves on my mercy so they showed me at last what the numbers actually do to each other!
Back in 2022 I answered this question. When I saw it today it was not familiar and a completely different response came to mind. Sleeves. From 8th grade I made most everything I wore until I became pregnant. I actually bought patterns and fabric for several pieces right away but NEVER sewed those pieces together. Back when I was learning how to sew I had trouble getting the sleeves into the arm holes satisfactorily. I remember going to my friend's mom asking her for help. She was so excited. She had four daughters and none of them wanted to learn. From that day forward she was my go-to sewing advice.
Ohh that's so touching. Thank you Thrifty Maid. That's all. There is an art to everything!. To be the master of none other!
This post was edited by CosmicWunderkind at June 21, 2025 7:06 AM MDT
Thriftymaid 