Abigail

Youtube Playlist

Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxU_OGndc5q8aFchejbOpalVsfxNRi1u9

Google Drive

Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10s-HHQdLYSNM7DwPIMubef4GSWRT_Cbs?usp=sharing

Long term goal

Finish Grade 5 Exam Requirements

Abigail’s Amazing Aural Assessment Advice

6 Dec

Prelude

• good improvement to learning!
• balance
  • LH as soft as possible
  • RH slightly louder

• rubato
  • back and forth of tempo
  • sometimes, RH and LH don’t have to align

• phrasing
  • feel the flow 🙂

22 Nov

Prelude

• further improvement to independent learning needed
  • think whether you can do this correctly
  • does it need to be simplified
  • is it correct
    • what are my expectations for reading

• is this the correct sized section?
• am I repeating this section enough (correctly)?

15 Nov

Prelude

• focus on independent learning for remaining sections.

Queen Alice

• lots of missing sharps in 2nd page
• 2nd page needs more phrasing
• 3rd page, what happened to dynamics?
• ww

8 Nov

Prelude

• in learning process
  • A LOT LESS HANDS SEPARATE
  • A LOT MORE READING

• finish notes by end of week.
• a good indicator of whether reading/learning is up to standard for Grade 6, good piece to finish on.

Also finish

25 Oct

Scales

• C minor homework + improve C# melodic

Chopin

• feeling developing
  • phrase chords, but SUBTLE
  • RH balance must always be more no matter what LH phrasing

• sight reading past halfway point still weak.
  • section by section as usual
  • read sharps and flats with the actual notes, not after
  • just read the letters maybe?

18 Oct

Prelude

• excellent rubato (wow)
• speed of learning not bad, but could be enhanced with more targeted section, more push forward attitude

• in octaves we can take out the top note LH, bottom note
• goal: get to end hands separately

C# melodic minor: hands separate first

Queen Alice

• reading just colossally wrong bar 49 onwards.
  • bar by bar hands sep then combine

11 Oct

Scales: new scale C# melodic minor

Prelude

• how to do expression
  • reflective
    • phrasing? (amount depends on the section, how passionate it is)
    • texture and balance (how much LH? how much RH?)
      • we want more LH when we want a lower sound
      • can use soft pedal for SUPER soft LH
    • rubato (freedom in rhythm)
      • first beat delay, speed up in 2nd and 34d to make up for time

Simplifications

• don’t do turn in bar 16 yet

Queen Alice

• bar 25 onwards
  • missing F#
  • quavers are NOT dotted

• bar 41 has exactly the same rhythm of bar 1, copy that
• ENDING IS WEIRD

4 Oct

Queen Alice

• watch rhythm in bar 41, should be the same as bar 1
• phrasing in bar 25, softer softs

Prelude

• write down wrong notes
• needs to be more accurate
• listen to the recording

Scales

• first 3 scales

29 Sep

Queen Alice

• bar 25 is NOT a dotted rhythm
• bar 25, MASSIVE PHRASING
  • follow haripins, one bar loud one bar soft
• bar 27, check LH C#. Also F# in general.

• piu mosso – more movement
  • go a bit quicker

• bar 1-24, bigger dynamics

Prelude

• use pedal
• expressive elements
  • rubato
    • putting in delays
    • usually before first beat
  • phrasing
    • just do it
  • balance
    • RH louder
    • LH SUPER SOFT

13 Sep

Queen Alice

• watch for F# and C# 2nd page
• rhythm, dotted RH from bar 1

• LH soft, for an overall light sound
  • needs to be much softer
  • LH ‘gides’ on piano

• bar 13 pp una corda, soft as possible
• finish whole piece: holiday homework

Prelude

• bar 12 hands together
• combine roughly two bars at a time (or just little by little)
• think about balance (look at recording)

30 Aug

Queen Alice

• learning methods
  • doing it correct once is better than five times incorrect
  • 80% allocation of time to new material (if you’re seriously learning)
    • larger percentage of time sight reading – improves sight reading
    • helps you learn faster

• set ambitious goals
• phrasing
  • any opportunity to get soft, must be soft as possible

• balance in LH is soft

• una corda means soft pedal

Scales: Eb major this week

Ins and out Part 1

23 Aug

Things to learn in Grade 5

• how to read
• how to look at detail

Reading

• push the ‘reading barrier’
  • read larger sections
  • don’t backtrack too often
  • memory happens naturally, reading doesn’t (for you)
    • spend more time of your practice reading rather than backtracking
    • don’t worry about quality yet, it will happen later

• goal Queen Alice: bar 40 hands together (ambitious goal!)

Overall aim for Grade 5: three ticks

• ticks are given out for B level performances
• halfway through term 4 – late term 4
• 2022, start Grade 6

Cadences

• grand, 5-1, perfect
• calm, 4-1, plagal

9 Aug

• rit missing bar 18

• cresc, start softer
• no slowdown bar 50
• accompaniment never louder than melody (careful bar 42)
• Bb bar 41 LH
• difference between p and mp, p softer, mp okay
• more precise dynamics at the end (dim to <)

Twilight

• slow practice
• RH drives dynamics
• is there a clear difference dynamics
• LH too loud for entire piece. LH should not decide dynamics
• don’t lift pedal at last bar

New York

• bar 32, missing A in LH

Good Times

• think about speeda

26 July

Spinliedchen

• second page slow practice recommended
• be careful to get all accompaniment all soft

Twilight

• we’re looking for overall touch instead of individual.
• prioritise RH
• PHRASE A LOT, be expressive

Let the Good Times Roll

• bar 13-20 dynamics
• dynamics last line
• check dynamics boundaries

19 July

PLEASE LOOK AT ALL GUIDELINES ON www.isaachok.com/recording

Let the Good Times Roll

• might recommend 5% slower
  • rhythm not super accurate, try not to be ‘loose’
• softs in bar 13-20 not great

Twilight

• consistency very poor
  • seperate hands
  • start from EVERY FOUR BARS cleanly
  • DON’T FEED BAD HABITS (don’t repeat mistakes)
  • 3 times perfect practice

• generally too loud, especially in LH. Should have a ‘floaty feel’ even in the loud sections

New York

• this is pretty good, expressive. Sometimes soft dynamics incorrect in bar 5

Spinliedchen

• speed change 42, then in 3rd page again

• some dynamics too loud, accents in soft bits, too loud
  • some dynamics not planned well

12 July

Spinliedchen

• no cresc. in bar 3-4 to accent. ONLY accent
• bar 14 hit accents HARD

• can softs be ANY softer overall
• learning on 2nd page should be fast tracked
  • no mistakes challenge
  • practice small chunks

• watch 2nd page dynamics carefully
• watch slurs bar 43

Twilight

• needs more dynamics

21 June

Spinliedchen

• dynamics most crticial
  • most of it is really straight forward, what’s written on the page
• take a moderate speed
• important that dynamics are planned well
• also think about melodic balance
• staccato, to be soft, don’t lift off high
• accents in soft sections, small, accents in loud sections, big
• 27, make RH very soft

• suddenly soft bar 42

• 79 rit must be carefully planned

7 June

Spinliedchen

• learn this week
• be careful of coordination
• be careful of Bb

1-2 weeks Abigail, 3 weeks Isaac’s prediction

Recording: send audio of all three pieces

24 May

Scales

• Bb chromatic, make sure it is 4 octaves
• G harmonic contrary, make sure both hands have the same fingers
• Make sure recovery is good

New York

• ff can be louder
• doesn’t need to be too slow

Twilight

• all about balance, if you are able to fix in this short period. RH slightly louder, LH slightly softer.
• good speed choice

Let the good times roll

• more accents
• softs softer
• don’t get faster (if possible)

22 May

Scales

• all about 5 second preparation
• recover if mistake, don’t start again. Okay for one or two mistakes

New York

• bar 44, not too fast, just original speed
• some coordination issues in 41

Twilight

• slow down metronome 80
• focus on being delicate
• hold last note longer

Let the good times roll

• a bit rushed, don’t get faster
• metronome 120

General

• try not start from the start after a mistake

17 May

Scales

• need to mentally prepare before starting
• check speed of similar motions

New York

• ff can be more
• check coordination 41

Twilight

• should be a lot slower and delicate
  • think slow motion
• balance STILL not correct.
  • very little LH, a lot of RH

• needs some consistency work (see consistency notes below)

Let the Good Times Roll

• precision of dynamics
• keep same speed
• metronome at 120

10 May

Consistency

• start fluently from any where
• can play fast or slow
• can play LH seperate and RH seperate

3 May

Scales

• need to be faster for similar motion and chromatic
• DO NOT land on thumb hard
• you need to think for 5 seconds before playing
• chromatic needs work
• arpeggio check

Theme From New York

• bar 7 LH wrong note

• difference between p and f is in the wrong
• many notes wrong last week are still wrong, NEED TO REVISE

Twilight

• loud section is too loud, too fast. makes mistakes happen
• LH can always be softer, don’t include LH when getting
• might help to go slower overall, compared to other pieces

Let the Good Times Roll

• softs need to be softer
• this is too fast, needs to be more relaxed

Notes 26 Apr

Scales

• similar motions too slow
• arpeggios need to be memorised
• chromatic needs to be exam quality

New York

• clear difference between dynamics
• CHECK ALL LETTERS ON PAGE
• when it is loud, get very loud, when it is slow, get very slow
• if slurred, check if legato

Twilight

• treat entire piece lighter, especially LH.
  • go two dynamics
• don’t rush, don’t go too fast

Let The Good Times Roll

• DYNAMICS
• not too fast
  • also gives more time for accents

Notes 19 Apr

Scales

• good quality!
• similar motion: loud or soft
• start chromatic, see three rules on paper
• make sure you memorise all scales

Twilight

• we need to hear melody a lot more all the time. LH must generally be really soft RH controls the dynamics
• 21-24, all notes LH need to be fixed

New York

• keep listening to recording
• needs consistently desperately
  • practice slow
• some notes are wrong past bar 30

Can you play:

• slow?
• hands seperate

Notes 29 Mar

Scales need to be

• memorised
• consistent
• fast
• correct fingering notes

Scales to check

• both contrary motions
• G melodic minor 4 in LH

Let the good times roll

• still very inconsistent
  • start from the start of every two bars
  • slow practice
  • perfect 2x practice
  • seperate hand practice

New York

• Listen to recording a bit more
• be careful with dynamic barriers
• STILL INCONSISTENT
  • start from the start of every two bars
  • slow practice
  • perfect 2x practice
  • seperate hand practice

Notes 22 Mar

Scales

• ALL scales should be exam speed/standard
• also must be from memory
• all fingering must be memorised for fourth finger rule
• arpeggios need improvement in general

Let the good times roll

• time to carefully relearn stronger!
  • play slow
  • start from the middle
  • read carefully
    • each relearn will make it stronger

• don’t jump so much. There are some notes that are not staccato, like accents >
• needs dynamics

Notes 15 Mar

General Twilight notes

• always more RH and less LH
• consistency needs to be careful
  • slow practice
  • sectional practice
  • must be w

• phrasing makes it expressive
• try your best 🙂

Notes 8 Mar

Scales

• still 4th finger rule
• Arpeggios need to be 4 octaves

Twilight

• balance between LH and RH needs to be lighter
• do dynamics as well
• for memory, LH should be able to played all by itself
• for memory, slow practice
• don’t do too much normal practice
• try your best for performance

Notes 1 Mar

Scales

• slowly improving, but still need lots of work
• 4th finger rule is wrong in EVERY scale 😦
• speed needs to be up in every scale
• scales need two things
  • speed
  • accuracy

Twlight

• severe fluency mistakes can be fixed by being hyper aware of mistakes, practicing in small clusters and
• metronome practice is also recommended, at speed 70-80
• balance between two hands is sometimes not great, LH has to be a lot softer

Notes 22 Feb

Scales

• improved, but still need to speed up good scales
• C# harmonic minor needs a lot of work
• please, 4th finger rule

Twilight

• bar 1-4, voice melody more by making LH softer
• please stop for mistakes and read
• for greater consistency, practice hands seperately
• main issues here are speed, balance and consistency

Notes 15 Feb

Scales

• well known and correct scales need to be played faster
• scale to work on slow and seperate: G melodic minor
• scale to work on slow: Bb contrary motion
• SEVERE and URGENT practice required. Must be accurate

Let the Good Times Roll

• Overall, speed needs to be more ‘slow and cool’
• articulation is good
• dynamics need to REALLY careful!
• rhythm needs to be fixed slightly, but we’ll do that next time
• for memory problems, practice slow! VERY slow. Read while going slow.
• also helps to go hands seperately for memory

Twilight

Notes 8 Feb

Scales

• need to be 77bpm per 4 notes
• correct fingering, use 4th finger rule and don’t skip fingers
• MUST be 4 octaves
• refresh arpeggios

New York

• bar 3 LH watch this note

• legato bar 8, with correct fingering

• clear diference in dynamics bar 13

• 18, use pedal for legato

• 24, legato

• add pedal, helps with big sound and articulation

• poco rall, getting a bit slower
• molto rall, getting really slow

Notes 1 Feb

Twilight

• watch pedalling carefully, don’t BLUR different chords
• pedal exactly on the marking to make sure there is no gap
• For the entire piece, we need to work on getting the speed all the same. Would help to listen to recording.

• bar 7 check this note

• bar 8, rhythm is TI TIKA

• LH missing in bar 11?

• 25, check if everything is in the correct spot, bar 27, check LH notes

Notes 15 Dec

Scales

• 4TH FINGER RULE PLEASE
• in general, need to increase speed as well
• melodic minor, do brackets on the way down
• scales are starting to become careless. please be careful this holiday!
• if the scales are going to be careless, do not do them at all

Twilight

• in general, very good. Keep practicing in small bits and READ that notes are correct. Present in good condition in 2021.

New York

• STILL be careful about articulation, especially staccato.
• after bar 30, for some reason there are suddenly a lot of wrong notes. See music for markings on page.
• add pedal when marked

Let the Good Times Roll

• bar 1-4, watch articulation
• still, dynamics need greater exaggerated. accents are good though! rem
• in 2021, we have a look at the detailed rhythms

Summary

• in 2021, we will look at details. details and attention

Notes 7 Dec

Scales

• generally, keep working on them

Twilight

• last line, very similar to before but just check where you are.

• bar 21, watch out for when LH stretches past 1 octave

Notes 30 Nov

Scales

• overall need to check fingering on ALL scales. Quality of fingering is poor.
• Present the three scales in the weekly goal next week with correct fingering!

Twilight

• reading here is good, however again watch out for fingering.
• bar 20 hands together, bar 24 hands sep

Notes 23 Nov

Scales

• look carefully when doing Bb major arpeggio/contrary
• E major fix fingering. 4th finger rule!
• Scales might need to pick up pace

Twilight

• all note learning today. See goal on weekly goal

New York

• with articulation (dots and slurs), don’t get into bad habits. Try being very careful
• Also be careful with dynamics, especially difficult ones
• 1st page needs careful work, 2nd and 3rd pages are pretty easy