Posts Tagged ‘Music’

My Free Piano Arrived

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

I just found out a few weeks ago that someone wanted to get rid of their piano, and they said if we could move it, we could have it.

Well, that was before Duquesne gave me a partial refund for the semester, so I didn’t know how we would pay for it in time. At first they said we had to move it that weekend, but then said we could take a few weeks.

Well, after the refund came through, we made all the arrangements to have it moved. It cost $300 to move it I guess about 90 miles.

So, the day we set up was yesterday. It came around 2:00 and was moved in without difficulty. It’s not too bad out of tune, either, except that some of the lower keys are sticking. That’s not too bad, though. I mean it’s a lot better than my keyboard, and we just have to get it tuned and it should be good.

Even better, now we can sell the keyboard. I really have no use for it, especially since I hated playing on it.

Now I have to call my piano teacher here in Johnstown and see about starting lessons again now that I’m home. I’m taking it easy, though; it is strictly for enjoyment.

I tried to play through the concerto. I am very rusty, but at least I remember most of it, and am confident I can remember all of it with practice.

But again, it is only for enjoyment. No more slaving away at the piano and hurting my hands for nothing. I definitely want to keep playing.

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Practice Journal: Day #28

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Monday, February 09, 2009

Session #65

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I first worked on the piano concerto. I went through the beginning quickly, fixing minor mistakes, but otherwise I wanted to continue on with the second half.

So, I finally got past the 32nd notes, and into the fast part right before those octave runs. I don’t even have a guess as to the page, so don’t ask, but I know it’s between 10-18, probably around 14-15. I guess that’s a guess.

Anyway, I was having trouble with parts of that, specifically with keeping my hand relaxed, and with some of the jumps in the left hand, after it ascends and then comes back to the bottom. It didn’t go too badly, but it still needs work.

Then, I went into the octaves, but didn’t work on them much, mostly just getting to the descending chords in both hands after the octaves are done. I worked on that transition a bit, and then worked through those descending chords. I have a bit of trouble with those.

Finally, I worked on those arpeggios a bit starting around page 18, as well as going into that cadenza. That is a little better.

Session #66

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Next, I worked on that piano ensemble piece.1 I feel so embarrassed playing this piece, because it really doesn’t sound that great by itself. I mean, I like it because it sounds cool, but it’s just not that great or difficult of a piece. Nonetheless, I put it on my practice schedule, and so figured I should at least try to practice it a little. It was really hard practicing it for 30 minutes, especially while imagining everyone wondering what on earth I was playing.

Someone walked in on me while practicing this, because I had stolen their practice room2. There are certain pieces you don’t mind people walking in on you while playing, such as the piano concerto, but this is not one of those pieces. Oh well.

Anyway, I fixed the minor issues I found. There was actually a small issue with a shift in the right hand at the end, jumping from D and G down to A-Bb-C#-D3. Also, near the end, before it has those dotted 8ths, the right hand has G, A, G, F, E, D, E-C#. Usually I took that D with finger 3, but since I had to reach down for the E, I decided to take the D with 4. Well, that was turning out to be a little choppy, so I worked on making that smoother.

Besides that, I just worked through everything in general, making sure it was all correct and without error.

  • Time: 11:18:43 AM-11:44:18 AM
  • Length: 0:25:37
  • Focus: Piano Ensemble
  • Average session: 0:31:34
  • Session trend: 0:26:59

Session #67

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I next worked on the Brahms Rhapsody. This was right before lunch, so only spent 10 minutes on it, but I figured it was better than nothing.

I actually got a good bit accomplished. Everything is a lot better than I would expect, seeing as I haven’t played it seriously for about 9 months. I did relearn it, but I really haven’t practiced it seriously. All the jumps are still mostly in tact, though, which is great because I put a lot of work into those.

I don’t know how to describe where I stopped. It’s right before the left hand has the octaves and octave jumps and the right hand has a bunch of chords. It is building up to that F major scale.

Session #68

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Forgetting that I had more Brahms to practice, I went into practicing arpeggios.

  • C:
    • Diminished 7th: 96-104
    • Dominant 7th: 88-100

The diminished at 104 was slightly unstable, though a lot better than my attempt at D major at 104 on Saturday.

  • Time: 01:29:56 PM-01:44:55 PM
  • Length: 0:14:59
  • Focus: Arpeggios
  • Average session: 0:31:01
  • Session trend: 0:24:20

Session #69

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Next, I did arpeggios again, to finish off the short session earlier.

  • C#:
    • Diminished 7th: 96
    • Dominant 7th: 80-96

I mostly worked on the dominant 7th, because that gave me the most trouble. I just could not get that right for some reason. However, once I started getting it, I was able to go faster rather easily. It was much more difficult to play it at 96, though, so we’ll see how that goes.

  • Time: 04:05:34 PM-04:22:02 PM
  • Length: 0:16:29
  • Focus: Arpeggios
  • Average session: 0:30:49
  • Session trend: 0:23:33

Session #70

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I remembered about the Rhapsody, so decided to finish the other half of that session. I started where I had left off earlier.

I did the end of the main part a few times. The jumps were a little more rusty than in the beginning, but I got them without too much trouble.

I then did the slower section, trying to make it as melodic as possible, as my piano teacher always emphasized so much. I’m not really sure if it was successful or not, though it sounded good to me.

The pedal sounded a little less pronounced than when I used to play it, but I think Mrs. S told me to change it on each beat, so that’s what I was doing.

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 2:03:17
  • Total time practiced: 35:44:21
  • Sessions: 6
  • Average session: 0:20:33
  • Longest session: 0:37:10 in session #65
  • Average time per day: 0:48:44
  • Time per day trend: 1:01:19
  • Average sessions per day: 1.59
  • Sessions per day trend: 2.37
  • Estimates:
    • This week (week #7):
      • Time: 7:11:30
      • Sessions: 21
    • This month (February):
      • Time: 29:45:50
      • Sessions: 75
    • This year (2009):
      • Time: 299:43:18
      • Sessions: 587

Notes 
1. I have no idea what it is called yet, so I’m just calling it piano ensemble for now. I’ll find out on Thursday, and update the categories and the practice schedule appropriately. 
2. I had scheduled it, so I wasn’t budging. 
3. No idea if those are sharps or flats, so I am guessing, per usual.

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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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Practice Journal: Day #26

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Friday, February 06, 2009

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 1:39:56
  • Total time practiced: 32:13:04
  • Sessions: 5
  • Average session: 0:19:59
  • Longest session: 0:28:22 in session #58
  • Average time per day: 0:47:09
  • Time per day trend: 0:57:26
  • Average sessions per day: 1.49
  • Sessions per day trend: 2.10

Session #57

  • Time: 8:48:36 AM-9:02:26 AM
  • Length: 0:13:50
  • Focuses: Scales
  • Average session: 0:32:24
  • Session trend: 0:27:00

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I worked on the C scales and arpeggios. The metronome speeds were as follows.

  • C:
    • Scales
      • Major: 100
      • Minor:
        • Natural: 96-100
        • Melodic: 100
        • Harmonic: 100
    • Arpeggios:
      • Diminished 7th: 100
      • Dominant 7th: 92-100 (shaky)

Note: The dash indicates that I started at one point but was able to speed it up to the second marking.

I say that I’m shaky on that dominant 7th arpeggio because I barely made it to 100. I really feel like it needs stabilized.

Session #58

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I worked on the first 12-13 pages or so. I actually have no idea how many pages it is, but I know the last section I worked on starts on page 9-10.

I worked on the run a bit, because sometimes the hands don’t align up exactly right. I need to work on making that cleaner.

I also worked on the descending arpeggio. I’ve been pretty good with that, but still sometimes I make mistakes, so I spent a few minutes running through that several times.

I also worked on phrasing. In that orchestral section right after the piano solo in the beginning, there are some chords the piano has in the 5th and 6th measures of that section. Mrs. S said it should be rolled slower, and that the second two should be separated a bit more with the pedal.

Also, she had some very specific suggestions about the slower section that follows, as far as phrasing is concerned. I worked on that, as well as making it more fluid.

I next went over those grace note chords, because sometimes I miss the Eb-G when descending.

Next, the part that the piano and orchestra go back and forth with a similar pattern. I found it more useful to imagine the orchestra part in my head rather than counting, which is why you might hear me softly verbalizing (I dare not call it singing) the orchestral part.

When I do that, though, the last one sets me up a little strangely for those octave 16th notes. Usually I play it with normal emphasis on the first 16th note. However, the way this would have me play it, and the way I’ve heard it on the recording, is with emphasis on the second 16th note of each group. I will have to ask my piano teacher about it next week.

Then I worked on that slower, more melodic section that follows. I’m doing better at that, but still sometimes have trouble in the left hand, with those jumps. Also Mrs. S said it should be much more expressive.

Finally I worked on those descending 32nd notes starting around page 9 I think. I want to make that cleaner and a bit faster.

Overall, I think it went rather well. I am progressing as time goes on, which I’m obviously really happy about, since this piece is really difficult.

Session #59

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I just worked on the tough spots of Polichinelle. Mostly, that included the jumps, especially measures 11-15, and 18-19, etc; the arpeggiated sections; and the slower section in the middle, specifically on trying to make it more melodic.

It’s going a bit better, but those jumps are just annoying. I’m not sure why they are taking so long. I know jumps are not beyond me, because the Brahms Rhapsody has plenty of jumps that I’m perfectly fine with. Yes, they took a lot of work, so maybe that’s the solution for these, as well.

I do have to practice it more, though. I’ve neglected it for the last week since my piano teacher wanted me to focus more on the piano concerto and improving that second half.

Session #60

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This piece is quite nearly there, so I just mostly reviewed and worked on any problems that popped up.

I was still having trouble with those staccato 16ths in measures 9-11, so I worked on that. I know they aren’t actually staccato in the music, but Mrs. S wants them that way.

Anyway, I worked on those a bit. I was especially having trouble with the left hand in measure 10. To make it a little cleaner, I changed that bottom E to be played with finger 5. I was playing it with 3 to make it more connected between B and E, but I think it’s fine like this.

I also worked on those 32nd notes in the beginning. Again, mostly the left hand is more problematic than the right.

After that, I just worked through each page, trying to play it perfectly, and squelching any problems that came up.

Session #61

  • Time: 1:32:05 PM-1:43:23 PM
  • Length: 0:11:18
  • Focus: Scales
  • Average session: 0:31:41
  • Session trend: 0:24:51

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I worked on the C# scales.

  • C#:
    • Scales:
      • Major: 92-96
      • Minor:
        • Natural: 96
        • Melodic: 92-96
        • Harmonic: 92-96

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Practice Journal: Day #9

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Monday, January 12, 2009

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 1:05:12
  • Time practiced this week: 2:32:03
  • Average time practiced per day this week: 1:16:02
  • Average session length this week: 0:25:21
  • Total time practiced: 10:52:03 in 16 days
  • Average time practiced per day: 0:40:45
  • Average session length: 0:36:14

Session #16

Time: 2:50:46 PM-3:27:33 PM
Length: 0:36:48

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In the beginning of this, I accidentally say session 15 instead of 16. I had lost count.

I started out by warming up for about 8 minutes, with major, natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales, and diminished and dominant 7th arpeggios.

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

I just pretty much reviewed the piece from about 0:08:00 to 0:13:02.

 

I had some trouble with 26-30, so I reviewed that for several minutes, trying to hit the chords accurately.

I also worked on those sections like 30-35, where I have trouble hitting the F# when descending, such as in measures 32 and 34.

I next worked on that middle section that is more melodic, from measures 59-91. I wanted to bring out the melody more.

In the next section, measures 92-101, I had some trouble with measures 93-94, and 96-97.

I finally worked on 107-111. I have trouble making those small shifts from beats 3 and 4 of measures 107-109. Same goes for measures 112-114.

Session #17

Time: 3:33:14 PM-3:52:10 PM
Length: 0:18:57

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I was really messed up with this one. I don’t know why I said 116.

17.1: Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo

I mostly just reviewed the piece at first. I had some trouble with that fourth page starting at measure 50, though I usually have trouble with that.

I then started back at the second half of the piece, I think around measure 41.

I went over the first page a few times with the metronome, since I sometimes have trouble with the tempo in measures 8-11.

Also I practiced the 32nd notes in the beginning a bit, especially in the left hand.

I just reviewed certain sections I was having trouble with, such as on page 4, and the end of page 4 into page 5, when the left hand has to jump from around middle C down into a low B octave.

Session #18

Time: 3:53:49 PM-4:03:15 PM
Length: 0:09:27

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Again, I was off with the session number, saying 17 instead of 18.

18.1: Brahms: Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1

I reviewed that section I think around measure 40, up until the fast F major scale. I didn’t spend too much time on this piece; I just wanted to review it and make sure it was OK.

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Lesson Journal: Lesson #7

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Sunday, January 11, 2009

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This was another lesson with J. I continued relearning the Brahms rhapsody, and got through about 27 measures, I think.

As I continue, things are coming back to me more easily, which is why I learned considerably more this time. I haven’t lost all that much technique with this piece, I don’t think, though some of the jumps are rusty.

I want to point out that in the statistics, the total measures learned says 6 lessons instead of 7 because one of those was with my actual piano teacher at college, and I don’t actually learn notes, but instead work on interpretation. I don’t want that to weigh down the average, though.

Statistics

  • Velocity: 27 measures
  • Average velocity: 26 measures
  • Total measures learned: 156 measures in 6 lessons

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Practice Journal: Day #8

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 1:26:51
  • Time practiced this week: 1:26:51
  • Average time practiced per day this week: 1:26:51
  • Average session length this week: 0:28:57
  • Total time practiced: 9:46:51 in 15 days
  • Average time practiced per day: 0:39:07
  • Average session length: 0:39:07

Session #13

Time: 9:07:49 PM-9:34:18 PM
Length: 0:25:44

13.1: Technique

I started by warming up, and then tried learning the Eb major and minor scales. I got through major, natural minor, and melodic minor. They’re not very fast yet, but I’m just learning them so that’s OK.

Session #14

Time: 9:41:36 PM-10:01:24 PM
Length: 0:19:49

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14.1: Technique

I continued with learning Eb harmonic minor. I started at 63 BPM. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so well, so I eventually went down to 54. At 56, I complained that this was rather embarrassing. The piano just was not cooperating with me. I finally conquered this scale though at 0:07:25.

I next went into the Eb diminished 7th arpeggio, at 80 BPM. The fingering in the right hand was 2-3-4-1-2, and in the left it was 4-3-2-1-4. I finally got it at 76.

Around 0:10:45, I started the Eb dominant 7th arpeggio. The fingering for the right hand was 4-3-2-1-4, and the left hand was 2-1-4-3-2. I was quickly deflated from 76 to 52. At 58, I was finally able to do this in 16ths! It took me until the end of the session to play the scale satisfactorily.

Session #15

Time: 10:06:29 PM-10:48:23 PM
Length: 0:41:18

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

I played through the solo part in the beginning without any stops, and with relatively few mistakes. But I was unhappy with the run, so I went back and practiced it for several minutes.

The arpeggio was a lot better, since I’m allowed to slow it down at the top.

Then I practiced the slow part after that for a while, trying to use better phrasing. That was until about 0:09:15 or so.

I generally continued on, practicing briefly the parts I made mistakes on.

For the majority of the session, though, I practiced the fast 32nd notes starting on page 9 I think, all the way through to those fast octave runs and then the descending chords a few pages later. I made some progress I think. Mrs. S wanted me to work on the transition from the octaves to those descending chords, so I practiced that, too, at the end. It’s far from perfect, but I was a lot more accurate after I practiced it.

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Practice Journal: Week #2

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Sunday, January 04, 2009-Saturday, January 10, 2009

I’m still not doing nearly as well as I would like. The good thing is that most of the statistics are up. I practiced 54 minutes more than last week. I practiced 18 minutes and 24 seconds more per day. The only thing is that each session is 5 minutes and 26 seconds shorter than last week, though that doesn’t matter too much.

However, it’s nowhere near what I would like. Three hours is required, and I’d love to be practicing 5-6 hours per day. I’ll still keep working at it, though.

Further, since I was home for most of the week due to the break, it was hard to practice on my keyboard. Even when I got back to school though, it was tough to find motivation to go out in the cold when I didn’t have to.

Oh well. I’ll try to do better next week.

Statistics

  • Time practiced this week: 4:37:00
  • Average time practiced per day this week: 0:55:24
  • Average session length this week: 0:39:34
  • Time practiced last week: 3:43:00
  • Average time practiced per day last week: 0:37:00
  • Average session length last week: 0:45:00
  • Total time practiced: 8:20:00 in 12 days
  • Average time practiced per day: 0:41:40
  • Average session length: 0:41:40

Days

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Lesson Journal: Lesson #6

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Friday, January 09, 2009

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I wanted to relearn the Brahms rhapsody I had learned about a year and a half ago. It is Brahms, Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1. It is such a beautiful piece, but since I had been away from the piano for several months, I forgot a lot of my repertoire. The judges seemed to really like it at jury last year, and I won an award from that jury, so I tend to attribute it to that piece. :D

So, I got S (the one at home) to copy the piece for me, and picked it up before I came back to college. I brought it to this lesson, and started to relearn it. This lesson was with J, who is the student that reads music to me so I can memorize it.

If I am counting correctly, I think we got through 16 measures, from measures 23-38, or something of that sort. It was coming back pretty easily in some parts. It’s definitely a lot easier to play it initially than it was when I first learned it, because my fingers still seem to remember it a bit.

I also forgot part of the beginning, so part of it was relearning that.

Statistics

  • Velocity: 16 measures
  • Average velocity: 26 measures
  • Total measures learned: 129 measures in 5 lessons

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Practice Journal: Day #7

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Statistics

  • Time practiced: 0:44:00
  • Time practiced this week: 4:37:00
  • Average time practiced per day this week: 0:55:24
  • Average session length this week: 0:39:34
  • Total time practiced: 8:20:00 in 12 days
  • Average time practiced per day: 0:41:40
  • Average session length: 0:41:40

Session #11

Time: 8:00 PM-8:30 PM
Length: 0:30:00

Technique

I just worked on my scales, from C to D, major and all minors.

  • C major: 92
  • C natural minor: 92
  • C melodic minor: 92
  • C harmonic minor: 88
  • C# major: 92
  • C# natural minor: 88
  • C# melodic minor: 72
  • D major: 92
  • D natural minor: 88

Session #12

Time: 8:35 PM-8:49 PM
Length: 0:14:00

Technique

I continued working on scales.

  • D melodic minor: 84
  • D harmonic minor: 80

Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo

I just reviewed Scarlatti a bit for the final part of the session. It is going a bit better, though those 32nd notes in the beginning still need some work.

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