Aarna

Goal: Grade 7 Exam

14 Oct

7C

  • phrase
  • keep in time

Scales

  • prepare before you start

Wind forest

  • F and H needs review

Seasons of Love

  • start slower here so there’s not a dramatic change in speed

26 Aug

Scales

  • scales generally known, but execution can be unsteady
  • quality is main concern
  • practice scales, 5x each minimum, don’t gloss over

Seasons of Love

  • limit pedal usage in softer parts

19 Aug

Seasons of Love

  • make sure pedal is more often

5 Aug

Moonlight

  • make sure expression is well known
  • voicing still key

Wind Forest

  • phrasing larger sec A
  • B, voice top note

29 Jul

Moonlight

  • 62, triplets undistrupted
  • phrasing here as well
  • phrase through top note not other parts as much

Seasons

22 Jul

Scales

  • continue 7C
  • do dom 7 this week

1 Jul

Moonlight

  • larger dynamic contrasts in general
  • don’t speed up in 32

Wind Forest

1 Jul

Technical

Start 7C

25 Jun

Scales

  • arpeggios known, but need to be fluent
  • Dom 7 of D this week
  • focus on quality of grand scales

Moonlight for concert

  • sectional practice only
  • highlight mistakes
  • 3 times minimum

17 Jun

Scales

  • D major and Ab minor arpeggios this week

Seasons of love

  • rhythmic accuracy

Wind Forest

  • watch for accuracy in certain sections

10 Jun

Seasons of love

  • when doing sectional practice, aim for rhythmic accuracy

13 May

Scales

  • accuracy is improving!
  • see list of scales
  • can start chord prog this week

Wind Forest

  • opening, make sure in time + notes are short and light
  • sec A, make RH louder, strong, LH lighter
  • pedalling clear!
  • pedalling clear in B as well!

6 May

Scales

  • still watching basic accuracy
  • do chromatic next

Seasons of Love

  • limit pedal usage in p sections
  • voice melody where you can
  • finish as soon possible using sectional practice

22 Apr

Scales

  • generally improving, but needs quality practice
  • continue with D# harmonic minor

Wind Forest

–

2 Apr

Scales

  • D# harmonic minor!!!!
  • accuracy in general

Seasons

  • sectional practice!
  • check fingering bar 21
  • ocassional wrong notes, bar 17 LH for eg

Sonata

  • don’t overdo rubato, keep flow

25 Mar

Sonata

  • serious passionate character also present in this piece, especially in cresc and hairpins

Seasons

  • think about voicing and dynamics

11 Mar

Scales

  • D# harmonic minor this week

25 Feb

Scales

  • F# contrary this week
  • continue with other scales as well

Seasons of Love

  • check correct hands on 2nd page

Wind Forest

  • section A, watch phrasing
  • section B, voice top

Sight Reading completed today

11 Feb

Scales

  • continue with D major 3/2
  • continue to improve quality

Sonata

  • bar 16 phrase through top line
  • watch accuracy of last two pages in general
  • practice more from the ending

Wind Forest

  • melodic based phrasing more in section A
  • keep first page quiet but consistent
  • last bar of section B, all notes in chord come together
  • section D, keep calm, like wind chimes in RH

Sonata

  • try to limit amount of phrasing in triplet quavers
  • make sure pedalling is clear when LH moves
  • bar 28 phrase according to hairpins

7 Feb

Sonata

  • bar 28 B#
  • phrase through the outer parts
  • return to soft after finishing a phrase
  • bar 32, can phrase melody

Scales

  • focus more on accuracy first
  • new scale: D major contrary

Seasons of Love

  • try to keep light, don’t overpedal. don’t be reliant on pedal for legato

28 Jan

Sonata

  • phrase based on expansion, and phrase position
  • balance is key! accompaniment as soft as possible

Wind Forest

  • experiment with different combinations of expression for each part of the piece

20 Dec

Scales

  • continue on with current scales, do contrary motion if you have time

Sonata

13 Dec

Scales

  • F harmonic minor this week
  • Ab major needs improvement to fingering

6 Dec

Wind Forest

  • start should be simple and soft
  • use pedal where indicated
  • phrase 2nd page
  • RH louder on 2nd page

Moonlight Sonata

  • learn a few bars

Tech work

  • 7C and Ab maj grand scale

15 Nov

Try again with scales

Keep practicing both pieces

2 Nov

Scales

  • practice more of the second half

Fix You

  • actually much better!

Mellow Mood

  • softs softer
  • more phrasing, especially details

Comptine

  • braver phrasing
  • more experimental rubato

19 Oct

Scales

  • improving

Fix You

  • much softer pp at the start
  • watch rhythm at 11
  • mental memory needs improvement bar 22

Mellow Mood

  • watching rhythm and notes in general still

11 Oct

Scales

  • on the right track

Mellow Mood

  • sectional slow practice here
  • focus on improving our skill of carefulness here

Fix You

19 Sep

Scales

  • see full list of scales

Fix You

  • a lot of the issues stem from

Mellow Mood

  • LH soft, RH phrasing

Comptine

  • rhythm practice

12 Sep

Mellow Mood

  • keep three quavers in each beat going
  • try to get to the end this week

Scales

  • still focus on evennness
  • every other scale other than F# major needs to get quicker

Comptine

5 Sep

Mellow Mood

  • brave jazz style phrasing
  • voice LH melodies
  • syncompation

Scales

  • G# harmonic minor this week

Fix You

  • soft in bar 20
  • watch L

29 Aug

Mellow Mood

  • bar 23

Scales

  • G# minor contrary this week
  • similar motions need to be faster

Fix You

  • watch for pedalling
  • great phrasing and ideas overall though

Comptine

  • think about balance carefully, listen carefully
  • bar 17 using a bridging speed, not too fast, not too slow

22 Aug

Mellow Mood

15 Aug

Scales

  • continue with B contrary
  • C minor grand has a few errors

Mellow Mood

  • keep learning this one

Fix You

  • emphasise phrasing
  • keep LH soft, even when phrasing
  • how is the music structured? how can we bring out details?

Comptine

  • similarly, how can you take advantage of structure here?
  • long short rhythm practice at 17

1 Aug

Scales

  • do B major contrary this week
  • general quality okay but not excellent

Mellow Mood

  • continue with this one
  • use pedal

Fix You

  • phrasing throughout the performance
  • bring out melody in bar 22

Comptine

23 Jul

Comptine

  • slow practice for technically difficult sections
  • larger dynamic range in phrasing, start softer

Fix You

  • in bar 5 wait for two beats
  • watch pedalling
  • slow practice for accuracy
  • aim for perfect practice

Scales

  • C harmonic minor grand
  • F# major scale needs to be faste

16 Jul

Comptine

  • watch pedalling
  • watch phrasing
  • watch balance

Fix You

  • continue with notes here

Scales

  • grand scale
  • ex 6B

18 Jun

Fix You

  • bar by bar from bar 2
  • try to get basic balance between left and right hand now

Ex: do 6B

28 May

5C

  • don’t start too slow

Scales

  • check C# minor contrary motion fingering carefully

Queen Alice

  • start quicker, confident
  • phrasing larger bar 25
  • slow down a bit later at the ending

Legend of Tanis

  • molto espressivo can be larger in RHs

21 May

Scales

  • focus on control this week

America

  • focus in on specifics
  • be adherent carefully to dynamics

Legend of Tanis

  • br 15 make sure quavers are straight rhythm
  • pause longer on pauses

Queen Alice

  • more phrasing in bar 25
  • medium practice can benefit this piece in general

7 May

Mock Exam next week

Scales

  • for further security
    • slow practice
    • rhythm practice

Sight Reading

  • put more energy into key signatures

America

  • check speed bar 27
  • keep up practice methods this week

Legend of Tanis

  • not too too heavy at the start, LH staccatos keep those short
  • pause longer bar 22
  • middle section phrased but not too loud

Queen Alice

  • when returning bar 41, try to keep softer. can use soft pedal

30 Apr

5C

  • triplet still wrong slightly
  • add dynamics

Scales

  • some scales might need hands sep practice
  • C# harm minor accuracy
  • chromatic needs to be 4 octaves

Queen Alice

  • even in mf at the start, can be lighter esp in LH
  • watch rhythm in bar 17

Legend of Tanis

  • middle section
    • watch pedal
    • LH can always be lighter
  • 65, first chord louder, then don’t rush after

America

  • tendency to slow down towards the end, might want to plan tempo better
  • slow practice will still be essential, not accurate and a lot of restarts right now
  • review practice methods

23 Apr

5C

  • check 3rd bar triplet

Sight Reading

  • read forward

Scales

  • some scales need to be quicker

America

  • bar 1-4, LH louder, accented, RH softer
  • larger dynamics 2nd page
  • bar 15 dim larger
  • slur bar 21
  • speed concerns at 24
  • 28 louder

Legend of Tanis

  • make sure in middle section
    • softs return to soft
    • check pedalling

16 Apr

5C

  • clap and tap before playing

Scales

  • on the right track
  • Bb minor revise
  • C# harmonic cont revise
  • apreggios, don’t have stops

Queen Alice

  • cleanliness of pedalling bar 25
  • phrasing, get softer on the edges
  • don’t slow don’t too much towards bar 40

Legend of Tanis

  • rall more bar 18 and 20
  • bar 1, small acciacatura, keep legato
  • watch pedalling bar 23

1 Apr

5C

  • watch articulation
  • add dynamics

Scales

  • B harmonic minor
  • C# minor cont
  • B minor arpeggio

America

  • gaps are endemic!
  • practice at a slower pace, then move up in speed

Legend of Tanis

  • counting at 23
  • more phrasing

Queen Alice

  • bar 25, more phrasing softer edges

26 Mar

Scales

  • same notes as last week

5C

  • make sure triplets are even

America

  • priority is the closure of gaps
  • this needs to be practiced slow without gaps

Queen Alice

  • pedalling technique
  • phrasing quality in 25
  • bar 40 don’t slow down

Legend of Tanis

  • middle section pedalling accuracy
  • rhythmic accuracy in middle section

19 Mar

  • start practicing for perfect execution first time
  • watch G# melodic minor notes
  • theory of scales is known, improve on execution

Legend of Tanis

  • contrast staccato with accents
  • first acciacatura notes should be more split
  • make sure all staccatos are staccatos (and light as well!)
  • middle section
    • needs stricter rhythm
    • more phrasing
    • bonus if balance could be better
  • last line piu mosso, quicker and also getting louder

12 Mar

Ex 5C: start this week

Scales

  • start arpeggios this week

America

  • watch some fingerings
  • some ocassional errors in last page
  • focus on rhythmical evenness

Queen Alice

  • bar 25 needs slow practice, soft on edge of phrases
  • left hand softer overall

General Knowledge given today

5 Mar

Scales

  • C# harmonic minor contrary this week

Queen Alice

  • bar 51 LH, watch last section in general
  • phrasing can be larger in the middle section
    • key is starting and ending soft

America

  • the progress this week is pleasing
  • make sure in 2nd page rhythm is fully understood

Legend of Tanis

  • bar 7 soft dynamic, also counting and rhythm
  • pause at bar 14
  • all ralls can be thought of as dramatic stops
  • middle page balance left hand soft right hand phrased
  • dramatic and fast ending

27 Feb

Scales

  • G# melodic minor revise
  • would recommend doing hands seperate as this is tested as well
  • Bb harmonic minor this week

Queen Alice

  • middle section may be overly fast and loud
    • keep phrase endings soft
  • there are some sections with systematic errors, important to practice these sections without errors

America

  • dynamic in first line, f to dim
  • LH accents
  • dynamics in general are suddenly changing

20 Feb

America

  • focus more on the first half than the second half
  • do two bars at a time

Tanis

  • espressivo, be very careful of individual dynamics of notes
  • slow practice to remove gaps between 16-17
  • try staccatos shorter if possible

Queen Alice

14 Feb

Scales

  • Bb harmonic minor

America

  • use 6 beats in a bar to find rhythm and whether it is correct and even

Legend of Tanis

  • use same beat framework on 2nd page

6 Feb

Scales

  • on the right track

America

  • bar 25 check LH position
  • fingering bar 12
  • use patterns to learn towards the end

Legend of Tanis

  • a few inaccuracies with chords today, bar 2 bar 15
  • check rhythm bar 7

30 Jan

Scales: to be presented next week

America

  • keep quavers same speed
  • watch for accuracy in awkward sections
  • progress through this piece is important

Legend of Tanis

  • pedal in bar 1
  • staccatos not overly soft, focus on f dynamic
  • LH faster in bar 15, RH not rushed
  • check LH bar 19
  • counting in bar 23

12 Dec

New piece: America

Scales

Com

5 Dec

Queen Alice

  • slow practice for stability
  • don’t slow down too early at the end

Legend of Tanis

28 Nov

Queen Alice

  • some dynamics good, some dynamics need work
  • bar 27 RH, should have sequential fingering
  • phrasing, always start soft
  • 21 mf dynamic

Legend of Tanis

  • pay attention to articulation changes
  • pay attention to coordination 14 onwards

21 Nov

Queen Alice

  • check 11 rhythm
  • 25, faster, with dynamics
  • 49, sleeping towards the end

Legend of Tanis

  • first two lines
  • watch accuracy in chords

Scales

  • aim for speed

Scales

  • new scale: G# melodic minor

14 Nov

Queen Alice

  • watch pedalling in middle section
  • watch fingering in middle section
  • check notes in bar 43

24 Oct

  • get feel in LH crotchet/quaver rhythm
  • use pedal from the start
  • key change at bar 25

17 Oct

Scales: all done

Twilight

  • done

Queen Alice

  • start this week

Scales

  • B maj and G# harmonic minor

10 Oct

Scales

  • keep going

Twilight

  • bar 11-12, count carefully
  • observe where mistakes are, practice those sections separately

Let the good times roll

  • ticked this week

Tambo TAngo

3 Oct

Twilight

  • bigger dynamic difference at 9
  • check rhythm at 11
  • check coordination at 15
  • 21-24 needs perfect practice

Tambo Tango

  • 13 evenness on semiquavers
  • 5 onwards watch coordination

Let the good times

  • roll larger accents
  • 13, watch rhythm

12 Sep

Scales

  • get scales done over the holidays

Twilight

  • work on rhythmic continuity
  • loud bar 13
  • watch coordination at 15

Let the Good Times Roll

  • make sure staccato are short

5 Sep

Scales

  • C# melodic minor

Twilight

  • expressive outcomes key, what feeling are we looking for?
    • balance?
  • bar 10 rhythm
  • needs to be in time

29 Aug

4A

  • from second half accuracy went down, key signature incorrect

Scales

  • encouraged to go faster

Let the Good Times Roll

  • stability in rhythm critical here
  • use mix of recording and reading rhythm here

22 Aug

Scales: next week

Tambo Tango

  • pedal when required
  • keep internal beat constant
  • watch fingering on 13 onwards, RH

Twilight

  • still needs to be slower
  • accuracy during practice
  • check rhythm bar 10

15 Aug

Twilight

  • don’t speed up at 5
  • don’t need to hold LH at bar 21
  • expand dynamic from 9-16
  • RH loud, but LH keep soft mostly

Let the Good Times

  • keep speed steady, not fast to slow

Tambo Tango

8 Aug

Tambo Tango

  • continue RH this week
  • be aware of split at bar 13

Twilight

  • aim for end, even a rough sketch
  • don’t rush!
  • check 11 rhythm

Let the Good Times Roll

  • loud with correct articulation
  • go slower

1 Aug

Scales

  • continue to do these

4A will be tested next week

Twilight

  • Overall tempo should be slower during start
  • bar 10 LH last note
  • basic coordination error 11

25 Jul

Let the Good Times Roll

  • accentuation
    • accents are loud
    • staccato light and softer

Twilight

  • bar 6 watch left hand

18 Jul

Let the Good Times Roll

  • section by section practice
  • aim to finish this week

Twilight

  • get up to bar 8

4A

  • continue

Scales

  • pay attention to 4th finger rule

11 Jul

Scales

  • do 4 octaves
  • keep 4th finger rule
  • add C# harmonic minor

Ex 4A: start this week

  • watch out for flats and fingering

Let the Good Times Roll

6 Jun

3A

  • watch out for crotchets

Scales

  • continue to watch for 4th finger rule

Song of Twilight

  • change pedal whenever LH changes
  • bar 10, check LH
  • separate practice in LH might help

Twilight

  • dynamics a bit muted, more dynamics
  • slow practice may help here

Toccata

30 May

General knowledge

  • most issues about key

Sight reading

  • watch key
  • read ahead in reading time
  • be aware of coordination
  • choose a stable speed here
  • avoid restarting a lot

Scales

  • 4th finger rule a great preparation tool

16 May

3A

  • careful attention to missing notes

Scales

  • A major fingering careful
  • think about scale before starting

Toccata Ritmico

  • larger difference between mf and f in first page
  • watch for tempo change in 17

9 May

3A

  • needs improvement to speed + dynamic

Scales

  • make sure to do B harmonic minor

Twilight

  • rhythm bar 9, slight delay
  • rall in bar 12, rallentando, slow down
  • can try phrasing

Song of Twilight

  • louder RH, it can be more expressive
  • check pedal timing

Toccata Ritmico

  • watch rhythm in second half

2 May

3A

  • needs to be a bit faster
  • remember the flats
  • also needs the dynamics

Scales

  • aim for consistency
  • do chromatic this week

Twilight

  • balance, bring towards RH
  • slow practice for mental memory
  • be carefuly that louds are not too loud

19 Apr

Scales

  • B harmonic minor inaccurate, do hands seperate
  • scales need to be memorised

Ex 3A: to be completed

Twilight

  • increase tempo
  • LH balance, LH soft
  • for mental memory
    • slow practice
    • seperate hands practice

4 Apr

Scales

  • new scale: B harmonic minor contrary

Song of twilight

  • last page, use soft pedal
  • bar 9-12, you can get a bit louder, try a bit of phrasing?

Twilight

  • phrasing can help here as well
  • check coordination bar 4
  • create contrast between lightly and not lightly

Toccata

  • bar 20 check notes
  • bar 31-34 check notes
  • have a look at your dynamics
  • bar 43 check octave

28 Mar

Scales

  • scales inaccurate, this needs to be fixed
  • new scale: D major contrary

Twilight

  • learn in chunks, maybe 1 or 2 bars in size
  • begin to add pedal

21 Mar

Twilight

  • watch coordination
  • learn bar 9-12

Scales

  • first 3 scales need to be revised

Toccata Ritmico

  • rhythm needs to be continuous
  • LH drives dynamic

14 Mar

Toccata Ritmico

  • LH is the melody, bring that out
  • consider dynamics
  • can increase speed, but carefully

Twilight

  • notes need to be 100% correct

7 Mar

Song of Twilight

  • make sure pedalling is lifted at least 75% up
    • pedalling should occur on the next note
  • 2nd page, use soft pedal
  • check note bar 7 LH

Toccata Ritmico

  • check staccatos

21 Feb

Song of Twilight

  • pedal according to left hand
  • check notes that you have written down today

Scales

  • 4th finger rule for accuracy
  • if still in doubt, make sure you read right hand.

New song: Toccata Ritmico