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Practice Journal: Day #66

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Friday, May 22, 2009

Session #218

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218.1: :

I just worked on reviewing scales. I played them around the circle of fifths.

I am embarrassed to say I just recently learned what the circle of fifths is. I’m determined to try to commit it to memory, so that’s why I played them in this order.

Since in the music school, some people seem to play scales from F# and onward at a lower octave than the first six, I decided to play it by starting at C, then going down four, up five, and so on. That worked for the first six, until I landed on B, then I had to go down four again to F#, and continue the pattern from there.

With C and G, I played at mm=96, with four notes per beat, but then had to slow down to 92 for the rest of the scales.

I only did major scales today. I might introduce harmonic and melodic minor scales soon.

218.2: :

Next, I worked on a method that I found in a book, that I will post about soon.

Basically, you do each octave separately, but then add one note from the next octave, so that you can fit 8 notes in one beat, and land on the next beat. So for instance, with C major, you would go from C, to the D an octave above.

I started with Db, because that’s the scale it recommends that is the easiest. I started at mm=60, but that’s with 8 notes per beat instead of four, as I usually do.

I worked on each hand separately at first. Then after repeating 7 times perfectly, I would put them together a few times.

Using this method, I got through the first two sections, basically the first two octaves plus two notes.

Then I realized that with four notes per beat as we do at the music school, this is actually 120 BPM. Amazed that I had just blew by the goal of 112 required for jury, I set the metronome at 120 and tried it. It took a minute since there were more divisions than before, but then I was able to play it. Of course, it collapsed after the first two octaves since I have not worked on anymore yet.

I’m going to continue to work on this method, and see how it affects my other scales. It looks promising, though.

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to practice arpeggios, though. I wonder if there is something similar.

218.3: :

Just like in session #216.1, I worked on the first three measures.

It went a lot more easily this time. Again there was no problem in the first measure.

The second measure was also a lot easier. It felt much more even and clean.

In the third measure, again I had a slight problem with the second half of beat 4, but not nearly so often. Then, I noticed the movement my hand was making when it was even, and tried to replicate that. It seemed to work.

The left hand really had no problem in that section.

I do feel like this was better than yesterday. I am going to continue to use this method, and see how it is in a few days.

Statistics

  • Time: 06:05:52 PM-06:59:20 PM
  • Length: 0:53:32
  • Average session: 0:25:11
  • Session trend: 0:29:32

Session #219

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219.1: : :

Just like in session #217.1, I worked up through the run in the beginning.

The very beginning, up until the run, went very easily. I made maybe one or two mistakes, but nothing major (no pun intended, lol).

The run went a little bit better, but I did spend more time on it, especially in the left hand, and especially in that descending part down to the A, before it goes into that down-up pattern.

I used the same method as before, but also copied the right hand. I played each separate section along with the corresponding section in the right hand, and that helped to make it more even and fast.

I realized that the second section in the left hand, where there is D-C-Bb, was a bit uneven. The C was grouping together with the Bb, and the D was kind of left out. That’s why that sounded so wrong when I was trying to speed that entire scale up.

I then worked on connecting each section again, which went a little better, but there is still a lot of tension there, so I am having trouble going too fast yet.

I didn’t get far into the actual arpeggio pattern after that, within the run, but this is the hardest part so that is OK.

219.2: :

I figured it was about time to actually work on Polichinelle.

I just started at the beginning, like all of the other pieces I’m working on. I got through the first 10 measures.

I had trouble with those little grace notes or whatever they are in the very beginning, making it sharp and crisp enough in both hands, as well as being accurate.

But after a bit of practice, I was well-pleased with my progress.

Surprisingly, the hardest part was in measures 7-10. I’m not sure why, because that isn’t a particularly difficult section, but still I had trouble.

It started to get a little uncomfortable in the right hand. That part has to be legato between the G’s and F#’s, so I’ve been using 1 and 4 on the F#’s, but that requires a bit of twisting of the hand, which is uncomfortable. I’m not sure if I’ll change that or not. It got very frustrating though, so I should have stopped and took a break and it probably would have been easier, but it seemed like it should be easy to begin with, so I persisted.

219.3: :

I haven’t touched this piece in ages, so I figured I’d work on it for 10 minutes or so.

I got through the first 10 measures. The hardest part was probably measure 10, because I had trouble making the left hand very accurate there for some reason. I did get it though, and it seems to be better.

Those 32nd notes in the beginning, especially in the left hand, are a little challenging, so I worked on making those consistent and even, too.

Overall, I am very happy with my progress.

Statistics

  • Time: 07:34:42 PM-08:27:51 PM
  • Length: 0:50:52
  • Average session: 0:25:18
  • Session trend: 0:31:40

Statistics

  • Today:
    • Time practiced: 1:44:24
    • Sessions: 2
    • Average session: 0:52:12
    • Longest session: 0:53:32 in session #218
  • Total:
    • Time practiced: 92:19:33
    • Average time per day: 0:37:57
    • Time per day trend: 0:46:43
    • Average sessions per day: 1.50
    • Sessions per day trend: 1.53
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #21):
      • Time: 6:13:56
      • Sessions: 13
    • This month (May):
      • Time: 21:37:24
      • Sessions: 45
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 233:20:40
      • Sessions: 554

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Domenico Scarlatti, Felix Mendelssohn, Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1, Scales, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | No Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #60

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

Friday, May 15, 2009

Session #206

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206.1: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I was really happy with my progress today.

I started without the metronome, just to warm up. But then I started at 72 BPM.

That went great, so I sped it up to 76, and then, apprehensively, I increased it to 80. I was very nervous about it because this was again faster than I had gone with it yet, and I knew I was getting very close to the proper speed, if I wasn’t already there.

It actually went well at 80. There were some mistakes that I had to go back and review, but it was not that difficult.

This is amazing, considering that just a week ago, 80 BPM seemed impossible.

Mostly, I was just unhappy with some of the parts in the left hand, especially around measure 8. Sometimes I trip over the notes there and press something I shouldn’t. Also, sometimes I don’t do it quite fast enough.

I’m still a bit unhappy with beat 3 of measure 12. I have that new fingering in the left hand as I discussed in session #201.1, but it is a little bit too slow between D and G, taken by fingers 1 and 2. I might try the old fingering and see how that works out, or otherwise I’ll just ask my piano teacher next week.

Since there really wasn’t much else to do, I also worked on interpretation. I discovered that I like there to be a bit of rubato between beat 4.5 of measure 1 and beat 1 of measure 2. Basically, the first two notes of the melody. I like there to be a little hesitation, before jumping into the “fire,” so to speak. It waits just a moment, and then continues full speed, with intensity.

I also notice that there is a huge difference between two ways that I play it. The one way is relaxed and laid back, as I observed in session #188. The other method has a wonderful stable foundation in the bass, and is constantly pressing forward to a goal. I think I discovered a bit more how to create this latter trait, without using the metronome as was necessary before.

206.2: Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22: 1. Andante sostenuto

I had a little trouble in the beginning, so I repeated it a few times.

I also had trouble with the arpeggio unfortunately, so I had to break it down into four parts, as I did in sessions #190 and #201.2. That went very well.

Then I went into the more melodic part. I had some trouble hitting the right notes in the left hand, so worked on that a while. It wasn’t that difficult, though.

I went up to those 32nd notes around page 9. I didn’t have too much trouble with that, but I did work on the parts that were giving me some difficulty.

Then I went into the part where the hands share those octaves. That’s so hard to explain where it is; I will have to ask my piano teacher which page it starts on. Anyway, the first part of that went all right, but the second and third parts, starting on Bb and D, respectively, were much more difficult. I worked on those for the remainder of the time.

I noticed on the part with the Bb’s, that the left hand transitioned from finger 1 to 2 when it was ascending. However, I noticed I did not do that at the top for some reason, and I was having trouble up there, too, so decided to make the fingering consistent throughout the entire phrase.

Then I went into the octaves, and the transition into the descending chords, only because I love that part with the alternating octaves.

Statistics

  • Time: 01:58:21 PM-02:58:55 PM
  • Length: 1:00:14
  • Average session: 0:25:02
  • Session trend: 0:30:30

Session #207

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207.1: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I just wanted to review it quickly. My hands weren’t very warm, so I had trouble at 80, so I then tried without the metronome. That went better, so then I went back to 80, and it was better.

207.2: Rachmaninoff: Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4

I hadn’t worked on this piece for a while, so wanted to go over the jumps at least in measures 11-12, since I had been making progress.

They were a lot easier today. I mean I wasn’t able to get them right away, but I was overall much more accurate then before, in session #202.2.

I did my usual method for mastering a section, though, and repeated it 7 times perfectly. I was able to do more of the measure in each hand without mistakes, so that was good. It is still a little troublesome when I put the hands together, however.

Since that went so well, I moved on to measures 16-20, especially the jump in measure 19. I used to have this much better a few months ago, notably in session #146. However, it has been over two months, so most of the progress was erased.

So I worked on one hand at a time. I had to do one note at a time in the right hand, and build on each one to create the chord jump. However, the left hand went a bit easier. Hands together isn’t great, though.

Altogether, I am very happy with my progress here, too. I am seeing my practice method pay off of repeating something 7 times perfectly. I just have to be more consistent with the parts I work on, and I think I would progress much faster.

Statistics

  • Time: 08:07:21 PM-08:28:10 PM
  • Length: 0:20:50
  • Average session: 0:25:01
  • Session trend: 0:29:32

Statistics

  • Today:
    • Time practiced: 1:21:04
    • Sessions: 2
    • Average session: 0:40:32
    • Longest session: 1:00:14 in session #206
  • Total:
    • Time practiced: 86:16:59
    • Average time per day: 0:37:15
    • Time per day trend: 0:35:32
    • Average sessions per day: 1.49
    • Sessions per day trend: 1.19
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #20):
      • Time: 6:04:37
      • Sessions: 19
    • This month (May):
      • Time: 19:13:33
      • Sessions: 73
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 229:03:14
      • Sessions: 689

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Felix Mendelssohn, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1, Sergei Rachmaninoff | No Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #57

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Session #202

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202.1: Mendelssohn:
Prelude
in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I just kept practicing the new part that I learned at my piano
lesson. It is all starting to come much more easily now.

It took me a few minutes to get back up to the level I was yesterday
with the new part (measures 5-14).

I repeated measure 5 until I could play it seven times without any mistakes at all, just like I did yesterday.
I want to do that until it is secure and stable.

Measure 8 is so awkward though still. I find if I lean over to the right, however, it seems to
be a bit easier to reach that top G comfortably with my left hand.

One thing I am having trouble with is the transition between measure 8 into measure
9. Measures 9-10 are supposed to be softer, so it would seem natural to decrescendo at the end of measure 8, but I’m not sure. I don’t want it to be suddenly
quiet, so I guess it is necessary. It’s just not very natural for me yet.

Measures 13-14 are OK, but still take a bit of work. Sometimes I feel
like the left hand is playing some notes too quickly, which makes it so that the whole phrase isn’t steady.

202.2: Rachmaninoff:
Polichinelle
in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4

I began by just playing through the entire piece. I probably shouldn’t have, but I wanted to.

I had a
bit of trouble with the very beginning of it, say the first few measures. I had to slow it down a bit to play it accurately. I didn’t pay much attention
to it today though.

After playing through the piece, I mostly focused on measures 11-12, where the first occurrence of major jumps come in.

They were more accurate naturally then yesterday without any work, but still not good enough. So I split it into each hand playing alone, in a repeat
of what I did on Saturday in session
#190.

I had to break it down even into individual notes again, but it wasn’t as hard as last time. The right hand was actually fairly easy,
and I finished that without too much trouble. However, the left hand presented more of a problem.

I tried putting them together, but that didn’t
work. To prevent undoing the progress I just made, I slowed it down a lot and played them together without error.

Statistics

  • Time: 03:28:09 PM-03:58:47 PM
  • Length: 0:30:31
  • Average session: 0:24:42
  • Session trend: 0:23:44

Session #203

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203.1: Mendelssohn:
Prelude
in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

This time I introduced the metronome, since I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the new part. However, I wanted
to start out slowly, so set the metronome at 60 BPM. That seemed to be the perfect setting for today.

It wasn’t too bad, but I had trouble in the
usual places, especially in measure 8. I get the notes right, but I feel like the left hand sticks out too much, and that I trip over the notes a bit.

Near the end, I was also having some trouble with measures 13-14 for some reason. So I had to slow that down to play it accurately.

Besides that,
it went well. I will try to speed it up a bit tomorrow.

Statistics

  • Time: 09:06:28 PM-09:23:58 PM
  • Length: 0:17:31
  • Average session: 0:24:40
  • Session trend: 0:23:07

Statistics

  • Today:
    • Time practiced: 0:48:02
    • Sessions: 2
    • Average session: 0:24:01
    • Longest session: 0:30:31 in session #202
  • Total:
    • Time practiced: 83:26:54
    • Average time per day: 0:36:49
    • Time per day trend: 0:27:10
    • Average sessions per day: 1.49
    • Sessions per day trend: 1.13
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #20):
      • Time: 5:32:23
      • Sessions: 20
    • This month (May):
      • Time: 16:42:33
      • Sessions: 72
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 226:24:55
      • Sessions: 685

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Posted in Felix Mendelssohn, Music, Piano, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1, Sergei Rachmaninoff | 4 Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #49

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Time: 00:46:11

Session #190

Time: 8:24:53 PM-9:11:30 PM
Length: 00:46:11

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I started out with the prelude. I went slowly a few times, just to make sure that everything was accurate.

Then, I started out at 63. That was slower than I was even playing it with the metronome, so I sped up pretty quickly. This was good news to me, because that means my default comfortable speed is faster than it used to be.

I set the metronome to 66, and that also was rather simple. I know I had trouble at 69 for the last two days, so I sped up the metronome apprehensively. However, it wasn’t nearly as hard as it was.

I was happy with my progress after a few minutes, so decided I was ready for 72. That was a little harder, probably about as hard as 69 was two days ago. The first three measures are mostly OK; it is the fourth where I lag behind a little bit sometimes. However, I am happy with how I did.

I slowed back down to 69 to make sure I was doing OK before ending.

I then did the Polichinelle by Rachmaninoff. I played through the whole thing at first, and it went much better than yesterday. I then started back at the beginning, and reviewed those jumps around measures 11-15 in both hands.

They are chordal jumps, and were too difficult to do all at once, though I tried. So, I broke them down, jumping only to one note at first, then two, then all three, in each hand separately. That went pretty well, but not good enough to put them together yet. I’ll try that another day.

After all of that, I just played through the first part of the piece, until it repeats the main theme.

Then I worked on the Saint-Saëns concerto. As usual, I worked mostly on the beginning.

I split the arpeggio into 4 parts, only working on one transition at a time. I think if I split it up like that, it’ll be easier to put it altogether later on. That went pretty well.

The jumps after that could use work, but didn’t want to work on them yet.

I then pretty much played through the rest of the piece. Everything went better than they were before, including all of the arpeggios. That part I was working on in session #188 with the transition from the octaves into the descending alternating chords went nearly flawlessly.

The ending went decently as well, considering how difficult it is. I did the last few arpeggios a few times, just to make sure I could play it correctly. I didn’t want to work on it, but just make sure it was in decent shape.

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Felix Mendelssohn, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1, Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1 Comment »

Practice Journal: Day #48

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Friday, May 8, 2009

Time: 00:37:07

Session #189

Time: 6:24:42 PM-7:03:07 PM
Length: 00:37:07

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I started with the prelude, per usual. I played it slowly a few times at first, then used the metronome again.

I tried starting at 66, since that was the comfortable spot I ended at yesterday, but that was a bit fast, so I backed off to 63. That was a lot easier, and then I was able to do 66 without too much difficulty, too.

I went up to 69 after a while, with not too much trouble, or at least not as much as yesterday. I found if I made my hands lighter on the keys, my fingers could move faster. That helped me to get up to 69 more easily.

I called my piano teacher earlier to ask her what the markings were for the piece, and how fast it is supposed to go. She said it is Allegro con Fuoco. That confirms my suspicions about the personality of the piece, that it is supposed to be rather angry.

Also, I asked her what tempo it is supposed to be at. I was nervous, because usually allegro is around 120 or faster. But, this has so many 32nd notes, I thought it’d be impossible to be that fast. She said it was probably around 80, or a little faster, which relieved me, since I’ve been able to get to 69 already. Hopefully it shouldn’t be too much harder, then.

Then I worked on the Polichinelle by Rachmaninoff. I know a lot of it doesn’t really sound that great, because I haven’t practiced it for a while, but when I played it the other day, I couldn’t remember the end of it. Before my practice, I was thinking about it and thought I remembered at least the first note of the part I forgot, in the right hand. So, I was playing around with it, trying to get it, and I think I finally figured it out. I was rather happy about that, since I didn’t want to forget this piece. It is a strange one, but kind of neat.

Then I went into the concerto. I just spent some time on the beginning of it, especially that descending arpeggio. It went OK, though I had to play it slowly several times.

That part after it where there are the large jumps in the left hand is coming better, too. I am able to hit them more accurately.

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Felix Mendelssohn, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1, Sergei Rachmaninoff | No Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #43

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Session #143

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I started by warming up with some minor melodic scales. I got through C-A, at 108 BPM. I had the most trouble with A, for some reason. Also sometimes I get confused coming down, and use the wrong fingering, so have to consciously switch in the middle of the scale.

  • Time: 06:22:31 PM-06:43:48 PM
  • Length: 0:21:17
  • Focus: Scales
  • Average session: 0:26:57
  • Session trend: 0:18:06

Session #144

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Next, I worked on the concerto. I worked on the section where the left hand has arpeggios under the right hand melody. This is around page 18 I think.

I tried making the left hand cleaner and faster. I often miss the Bb, so I have to work on that. I tried blocking the chords to practice moving thumb-over faster. When I really try to do thumb-over, I find it is a lot faster.

After my left hand got tired, I worked on the part where both hands have arpeggios pretty soon after this part. I worked on the inverted G minor arpeggio, first.

I couldn’t do the whole thing without mistakes for 7 times, so I broke it down to just 5-6 notes at a time, depending on the arpeggio, and overlapped.

Session #145

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I next worked on Polichinelle. I went from the beginning, but primarily worked on the jumps in measures 11-12. I did one hand at a time, trying to go as fast as I was able to. I find that this jump is coming along much better, and it didn’t take me too long to learn that one. I did have trouble consistently landing correctly in the right hand, though.

Session #146

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Then I worked on the jump in measure 19 of Polichinelle. That one is not so easy right now. When I was unable to get it right away, I decided to build on the jump. That is, I would jump from the F# and A, to just a D (the first note of the new chord). Then briefly I tried just D and F#, etc. I started to get it more easily after that.

By the end, this jump was coming better, but still needs work. However, this was just the first day I started working on this, so hopefully if I do it consistently, I will master it soon.

Session #147

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I worked on the concerto again. I worked on that part with the alternating octaves that are very fast. I have no idea which page it is on, but it is a few pages before the section I worked on earlier.

I had to work on it in sections again. I did one hand at a time, about 8 notes at a time, and overlapped each time I introduced new notes. It is a lot faster now, but I still need a little more work on that jump down to the bottom D octaves. I also want to make sure they are actually alternating. Otherwise, though, I feel really happy about it.

Session #148

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As much as I didn’t want to, I thought it wise to work on the Scarlatti sonata. I hadn’t practiced it for a while.

I really didn’t have much material to work on. I worked on measures 9-11 a little, especially the left hand in measure 10, but after that there really was nothing else. I played through the whole thing and I think maybe made one minor mistake, that I couldn’t reproduce or find any problem with to fix. It was in the latter section, though, so maybe I’ll run through that some other time to make sure.

Also, I had trouble in the final section jumping down to the bottom B’s, but went through that a few times.

As you can tell, this is not my favorite piece by far. It’s a nice little piece, but really hard to practice because there’s just nothing there.

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 1:46:21
  • Total time practiced: 65:37:46
  • Sessions: 6
  • Average session: 0:17:44
  • Longest session: 0:22:44 in session #144
  • Average time per day: 1:01:32
  • Time per day trend: 1:39:42
  • Average sessions per day: 2.31
  • Sessions per day trend: 4.68
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #10):
      • Time: 12:24:27
      • Sessions: 42
    • This month (March):
      • Time: 54:56:51
      • Sessions: 186
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 378:23:44
      • Sessions: 853

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Scales, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | 1 Comment »

Practice Journal: Day #38

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Session #105

I had to review my choral pieces for a rehearsal my group was going to have for the midterm. I went briefly through all of the songs, since I pretty much knew them all already.

  • Time: 08:33:00 AM-09:02:00 AM
  • Length: 0:21:00
  • Focus: Choir
  • Average session: 0:29:25
  • Session trend: 0:26:05

Session #106

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I started with dominant 7th arpeggios. I only got through C and C#.

I did several things to try to get better at these arpeggios. For C, I didn’t have so much trouble, so I played it slowly 7 times without mistakes. I then did hands separately, and tried to make it faster like that.

C# was more problematic, though. I couldn’t do the whole thing 7 times perfectly, so I did different sections. For instance, I would do the first two octaves, then 2 and 3, then 3 and 4. That seemed to help a bit.

I’m trying to practice the thumb over method, too, but I don’t have so much luck with that with C#.

  • Time: 09:57:42 AM-10:19:52 AM
  • Length: 0:22:12
  • Focus: Arpeggios
  • Average session: 0:29:21
  • Session trend: 0:25:42

Session #107

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I worked on the concerto, especially in the start of those octaves. I worked on the part right before it, before it jumps down to the octave D’s.

I practiced going from that jump, through the first set of octaves, and back down for the second set. It seems to be going better, and my hands feel more relaxed.

Session #108

This was the actual choral rehearsal I practiced for earlier. It went OK, but I really have to put in the effort to think of the intervals and hear them in my mind, because otherwise I am very off. There are no other baritones to support my position in this, so I have to be as accurate as possible. I’d like to practice this a lot more sometime before the midterm, to make sure I have all of the notes. Maybe I should sing it by myself to see how that goes.

  • Time: 01:02:00 PM-01:15:00 PM
  • Length: 0:13:00
  • Focus: Choir
  • Average session: 0:29:09
  • Session trend: 0:24:15

Session #109

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    Again, I worked on the concerto, but this time went to the end of the octaves, where it is about to go into the descending chords. It was my intent to work on those alternating descending chords, but the transition needed a lot of work, so I did that.

    I tried practicing each small section 7 times perfectly, but that was hard since it was higher up on the piano so I had to do a lot of leaning over. I had to build each section on top of each other, often consisting of only 2-3 notes. Hopefully that helps, though.

  • Time: 03:07:37 PM-03:29:54 PM
  • Length: 0:22:18
  • Focus: Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22: 1. Andante sostenuto
  • Average session: 0:29:05
  • Session trend: 0:24:04

Session #110

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I worked on the Polichinelle. I mostly worked on the jumps in measures 11-15. Actually, I pretty much exclusively worked on that.

It was hard doing that 7 times perfectly, until I got a feel for the jumps. But by the end, fortunately I was hitting the jumps accurately more times than not.

There are so many jumps in this, I fear it’ll take me a while to master all of them in this fashion. I’ll just have to keep working at it, though.

Hands-separate practice did help somewhat. I worked on one hand for a while, then tried to add in the other. I did have to go slower, because otherwise I’d miss the jump straightaway.

Session #111

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Finally, I worked on the concerto again. This time, the focus of my practice was the arpeggios in the left hand, accompanying the right hand in the melody. When my left hand got tired practicing that, I went into the part where both hands have arpeggios, though the right hand has more work because the left hand only has four notes, so doesn’t have to go anywhere. I mainly worked on the G minor arpeggio.

It took a while to get that left hand arpeggio in the beginning of this section, but I eventually did. Now I have to keep working on that, but also work on making it faster, and quieter. It’s really hard to play very quietly.

The G-minor arpeggio both hands share came along rather well, but still needs some more work.

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 2:19:18
  • Total time practiced: 53:27:53
  • Sessions: 7
  • Average session: 0:19:54
  • Longest session: 0:23:49 in session #107
  • Average time per day: 0:54:22
  • Time per day trend: 1:10:22
  • Average sessions per day: 1.88
  • Sessions per day trend: 2.81
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #9):
      • Time: 6:33:33
      • Sessions: 21
    • This month (February):
      • Time: 31:50:29
      • Sessions: 76
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 334:22:55
      • Sessions: 694

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Arpeggios, Camille Saint-Saëns, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | No Comments »

Lesson Journal: Lesson #19

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Unfortunately, when I walked out of this lesson, I realized I had forgotten to record it. Oh well.

Honestly, I almost canceled this lesson. I hadn’t practiced nearly as much as I should have, and I had this nagging guilt that I wasn’t doing what she had asked, namely to practice three hours a day. I have no idea why I fight so much with this, but I felt very unworthy to even go to the lesson.

But I thought about how relentless choir was about absence, and thought lessons surely must be worse, though I had canceled a few last year. So I went down two hours early, as usual, and practiced. I practiced the dominant 7th arpeggios, as well as harmonic and melodic minor scales, and the concerto. I actually did decently I thought, but I knew nothing could replace the many more hours I should have done throughout the week.

Regardless, I walked into my lesson.

We went over my scales at first. I had practiced them all morning, so I was hoping they’d be good. They were decent, but shaky. They were much better than last week, though, so she was happy. In fact, she seemed very happy, which made me happy, too. She said "you must have practiced them a lot." Of course I said yes, but that wasn’t true.

Same went for the arpeggios, though diminished were actually pretty clean.

I still have to work on technique a lot. I have to work dominant up to 104, as it is currently at 100. Most scales are now at 104, but have to be worked up to 112.

She wanted to go over Scarlatti and Rachmaninoff, so we went into those next.

I started with Scarlatti. She was happy with it, but wanted me to work more on dynamics.

On Rachmaninoff, I still need to make that faster, and work on the jumps. Also the ending needs to be cleaner. I slightly butchered the ending.

Finally, we just went into the concerto, from the very beginning.

She was very specific about how she wanted the beginning played, especially that part leading up to the run, and the run itself. I have to work on that a bit.

The parts she said I need to work on the most are those alternating octave runs in both hands, where the right hand chases the left, and also the arpeggios in the middle, per usual. They are coming along rather well, though.

Apparently with the alternating octaves, well I keep playing them together instead. She said to practice them slowly, and to gradually speed up. That’s a good idea, because I also need to relax more when I play them. I’ve had some pain in my left hand that makes me a little nervous, and it acts up when I play this section.

Other than that, things are going pretty well. The ending is still doing pretty well, which I’m very happy about since it is very difficult. I still want to perfect it more, though, and make it even faster.

I walked out of there, asking myself how much better I could be if I practiced as much as I was supposed to. I resolved to make my best effort to actually practice a lot more throughout the upcoming week. I know what I’ve been doing is pathetic at best.

After I meet that goal, I’ll endeavor to practice more than that. I really want to reach 35-40 hours per week eventually. But I have to focus on the minimum, first, I suppose.

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Arpeggios, Camille Saint-Saëns, Domenico Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo, Lesson Journal, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Scales, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | 2 Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #33

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Today, I started using timer software I found from XNote Stopwatch, so that I can be more accurate with my session lengths. I always want a session to be either 30 minutes or 15 minutes, depending on the time I have left before I have to go somewhere. As you can see, the times in these sessions are much closer to their intended target.

The only downside is that I have to get out my computer and plug it in in the practice room. I didn’t even realize they had outlets until I saw someone’s cell phone plugged in there, after I kicked that same person out of the practice room. It still took me a while to find the outlet, though, even though I knew its general location.

Session #84

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I began with melodic minor scales.

I set the metronome at 100 BPM, and started at C. I got up to F#, but didn’t actually make much progress with it.

I keep tripping over my fingers, and I’m not quite sure why. What I mean is that I can do the scale when going slowly, or even faster, but when going a certain speed, my fingers just don’t seem to want to move.

  • Time: 11:07:57 AM-11:38:13 AM
  • Length: 0:30:07
  • Focus: Scales
  • Average session: 0:29:46
  • Session trend: 0:24:24

Session #85

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I next worked on dominant 7th arpeggios. I continued with C#, trying to get it up to 96. It didn’t cause so much trouble as usual, which was great.

I’ve been trying to use flat fingers like my piano teacher told me to do with arpeggios. That seems to work better when I do it consciously, especially on black keys.

I just got through C-F#, in half steps. Actually F# was far from completed when the timer went off.

  • Time: 11:41:50 AM-11:56:56 AM
  • Length: 0:15:06
  • Focus: Arpeggios
  • Average session: 0:29:36
  • Session trend: 0:23:28

Session #86

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I did the dominant 7th arpeggios again, continuing from earlier.

I have been having a lot of trouble with F#, but fortunately I was able to clean that up a lot. Again, the trick to this one is hand rotation, especially in the left hand, on F#, A#, and C#, since that is such a large stretch especially between 4 and 3.

I got through F# and G.

  • Time: 03:24:25 PM-03:40:15 PM
  • Length: 0:15:12
  • Focus: Arpeggios
  • Average session: 0:29:26
  • Session trend: 0:22:38

Session #87

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I worked on the Polichinelle. I mostly worked on the first 30 measures or so, especially on the jumps and arpeggios.

The jumps are coming along better. I made sure to over-emphasize them, so that hopefully they get ingrained into my muscles. I’m definitely getting better, though.

I’m also getting better at the arpeggios. I’ve found that the trick is to turn the hand with the notes, in the direction I am playing. For instance when I am ascending, I keep turning my hand counter-clockwise, then snapping back to the initial position when the thumb plays again. It is the opposite when descending. This puts me in a better position for the F# coming down.

Session #88

I finally worked on the Perfect pitch course.

I did this one a little differently. Since it says for this week I should work on C, D, E, and F, as well as playing the trigger-tune-tags for C-D-E-F, I decided to split up my 30 minutes into 5 parts, one for each thing I had to do. Each part was approximately 6 minutes.

My times here are only estimates, since I didn’t use the recorder, and since I accidentally reset the time about half-way through.

For each of the first four tracks (for C, D, E, and F), it plays the tone, as well as the trigger tune, five times. Therefore, I alternated between merely listening to it, and actively singing it before it played the tune. I sang in solfege, to emphasize which notes they are.

This seemed to sink in a lot more. After these 5 sections, I spent another 10 minutes testing myself, and also tested myself throughout the night.

For instance, I just tested myself on D, and was directly on. However, for C, I am either a little sharp or flat, so that one still has a little more to go.

I am really happy with my progress in only two days, though. I’m at least able to come very close to the notes, sometimes being fully on it. I can’t wait to see how it is in a week or two.

  • Time: 08:55:00 PM-09:35:00 PM
  • Length: 0:39:18
  • Focus: Perfect pitch
  • Average session: 0:29:33
  • Session trend: 0:25:00

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 2:10:02
  • Total time practiced: 43:20:46
  • Sessions: 5
  • Average session: 0:26:00
  • Longest session: 0:39:18 in session #88
  • Average time per day: 0:50:01
  • Time per day trend: 0:59:37
  • Average sessions per day: 1.69
  • Sessions per day trend: 2.36
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #8):
      • Time: 6:02:21
      • Sessions: 16
    • This month (February):
      • Time: 28:17:12
      • Sessions: 69
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 307:35:30
      • Sessions: 624

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Posted in Arpeggios, Music, Musicianship, Perfect Pitch, Piano, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Scales, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | No Comments »

Practice Journal: Day #27

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Session #62

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I decided to actually create a practice schedule for myself. I made a script to generate it, because I had come up with an algorithm myself, but it was too involved to do manually. Today was the first day I followed this schedule, so I started with Polichinelle.

Again, I worked on the jumps, especially in measures 11-15, and measures 18-19 as well as 20-21.

For the first one, I discovered that if in the right hand, I put finger 2 on that A I have to come down to, it is easier to jump up to the chord. I practiced a while jumping from the bottom up to just the bottom note of each chord in both hands, because I figured that if at least one finger is right, the others just have to conform to the shape of the chord. That seems to worked rather well.

For the second jump in measures 18-19, I just kept repeating it. I noticed that a turn of my body really helps me to get better aligned for the jump, so when paying attention to that, I hit the jump much more consistently. It still feels unstable, though, or maybe it’s just that I have no idea how I keep hitting it and wonder if it’ll keep working, so I want to keep working on that.

I also worked on the beginning 6 measures or so, trying to make that more clean and a little faster.

Finally, I worked through the arpeggiated sections. They are going slightly better, especially when I pay attention to how I turn my hand to align with the notes.

This piece is so tough to practice, because the parts I have trouble on are really loud and annoying when played repeatedly, so I’m afraid of bothering someone. I probably shouldn’t worry, though, since that’s what the practice rooms are for.

Session #63

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I next worked on the piano concerto. I wanted to get to the second half as quickly as possible, but decided to start at the beginning just to solidify the work I did on it yesterday. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as cleanly as anticipated, so had to go over it again.

I went through the run in the very beginning a few times, trying to make my hands play together. Sometimes one lags behind the other, which is frustrating.

Then, again I did the descending G minor arpeggio. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not, and I don’t know why.

Next, I did phrasing in the somewhat slower section that follows.

Finally I got to page 9 and did those descending 32nd notes. I wanted to make them faster and cleaner. It is coming along nicely, with a few changes to hand position. There’s a part in the right hand that goes Bb-D, C-Eb, D-F, C-Eb, and Bb-D (I’m not at fault if any of those are sharps instead of flats; I’m only guessing). It is hard sometimes playing those chords exactly together, especially when coming back down like that. With a slight shift in position, though, it seems to be slightly better.

Then, without any care at all, I ran (nearly literally) through that really fast part that follows, all the way up until the arpeggios on page 18. I went faster than I ever had before, just to see if I could; and I did. I was quite impressed, though it wasn’t without mistakes. It proved that I could do it, though. I could go fast enough.

Then I worked on those arpeggios a bit to try to make them cleaner. They aren’t too bad, but there’s a part in the left hand that ascends with the notes D, Bb, D, G, Bb, then the right hand takes the D. Then it descends Bb, G, D, Bb, and D. It’s a little difficult hitting that D when descending, and sometimes to hit the G when ascending, though that’s a little better than the former. Anyway, it seems to be getting better.

With those accompaniment arpeggios that follow, really the only one I have a lot of trouble with is the D minor one, which is the last one of the group.

Finally, I did a slight bit of work a few pages previously on those descending chords. Specifically, when they are done, and it is transitioning into the arpeggios I just talked about, both hands have a chord A, D, Gb, and then immediately jump into Eb’s below. I have trouble hitting those Eb’s fast enough, so drilled that a bit.

Session #64

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Finally, I worked on scales; specifically I worked on D major, natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor. I know I don’t have to work on natural for jury, but it just seems incomplete without it, so I do.

  • D:
    • Major: 92-104 (shaky)
    • Minor:
      • Natural: 92-100
      • Melodic: 92-100
      • Harmonic: 92-100

D major at 104 was shaky because my 4th finger just didn’t want to get out of the way fast enough for some reason. This seems a lot faster than the 104 I had to do last year for some reason, or that is, I’m having more trouble with it. I will hopefully get better though as I work at it.

  • Time: 04:00:48 PM-04:27:44 PM
  • Length: 0:26:57
  • Focus: Scales
  • Average session: 0:31:35
  • Session trend: 0:26:01

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 1:28:00
  • Total time practiced: 33:41:04
  • Sessions: 3
  • Average session: 0:29:20
  • Longest session: 0:31:36 in session #62
  • Average time per day: 0:48:07
  • Time per day trend: 1:00:29
  • Average sessions per day: 1.52
  • Sessions per day trend: 2.19
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #6):
      • Time: 7:30:44
      • Sessions: 18
    • This month (February):
      • Time: 30:02:56
      • Sessions: 72
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 295:56:31
      • Sessions: 562

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Posted in 1. Andante sostenuto, Camille Saint-Saëns, Music, Piano, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, Pieces, Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4, Practice Journal, Scales, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Technique | No Comments »

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