Jeremy

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gk9O9tBUT6-vrmekmv5Oyn1ROJOTcH6C?usp=sharing

This Week’s Goal

  • continue with scales and excercises
  • focus on passing pieces

Long Term Goal

  1. Scales and excercises
  2. 4 pieces
  3. aural
  4. sight reading

Notes 7 Apr

Confidence

  • dolce, softer accompaniment
  • fix pedal at end

Lose Blatter

  • rit, needs to slow down towards the end
  • can have more rubato
    • equal parts speeding up and slowing
    • can match with phrasing

Notes 26 Mar

Scales

  • focus on evenness
  • practice hands seperate
  • contrary motion: make sure you pay attention to first 3 notes
  • jumble scales up, do exam setting scales, not in order

List B

  • accent chromatic notes on second page to make it funny
  • be careful of danger zones
    • slow practice
    • seperate hand practice (especially left)
    • improves mental memory

List C

  • fz and p can be bigger contrast
  • watch pedal in 27, slightly more accent
  • 35, voice melody. go a bit louder in the major section. staccatos a bit longer
  • get LH involved with phrasing 46
  • 65, don’t pedal over pause
  • 73, cresc more aggressive

List D

  • rhythmic error in bar 20
  • aim for accuracy when practicing

Notes 19 Mar

List B

  • LH softer overall so that you don’t have to voice RH too much
  • bar 5, RH mp
  • when forte comes, your LH can be louder
  • sf not too loud in p sections
  • bar 41 LH slur
  • 42, make RH goofy by accenting the dissonant notes
  • ending ff, LH aggressive

List C

  • semiquavers here are falling behind, keep ahead
  • bar 9, make RH slightly louder to be clearer
  • bar 17, don’t hold LH
  • don’t slow down 27
  • 43 check RH note
  • 35 staccatos not too short
  • 46, more phrasing and LH
  • 65, pause should be silent
  • 72, no big crotchet rest

Notes 12 Mar

Wistful

  • pedal needs to be lifted fully
  • fix rhythm in bar 5
  • G# bar 7
  • softs, use arm weight so you don’t miss notes, louds use armweight so it is not aggressive. DO LOTS of phrasing
  • piu mosso – more movement, faster, also more rubato
  • p subito – suddenly soft
  • meno mosso – less movement
  • 29, check notes RH
  • bar 32, not too loud, mp
  • soft pedal from bar 42

Confidence

  • pedal is for linking RH legato
    • however, don’t be too reliant on pedal
    • phrase top line as well, but don’t affect volume of inner RH
    • after doing all these things, don’t be too restrictive
  • 2nd page try accompaniment even softer
  • towards ending, use soft pedal, play ULTRA light

List C

  • if melody is in a chord, make sure that you voice the melody. POWER TO THE PINKY

Scales

Notes 5 Ma

  • in good condition already, can have a focus more on pieces

Confidence

  • certainty of notes?
    • make sure you don’t skip and are sure
    • practice method: don’t make mistakes
  • also try to expression in 2nd page
  • hold pedal through last bar
  • pay attention to markings in last line

Confidence

  • 2nd page, difference between LH and RH must be much bigger and have an overall p feeling
  • first page, need to fix mistakes
  • 2nd page, phrasing RH needs to be more careful
  • ending phase out into nothing

Notes 26 Feb

Confidence

  • relax arms and divert energy to pinky and 4th
  • hold top note longer
  • LH not too soft, it is a melody
  • fix mistake bar 6 and bar 5
  • 2nd page
    • not too loud on sf
    • espressivo, don’t let RH
    • make sure you follow the crotchets in the melody
  • follow pedalling in the last line
  • make sure p tranquillo is light
  • can use soft pedal at the end
  • don’t rush final chord

Wistful

  • elements of this piece
    • strong voicing – all notes are equal
    • phrasing
    • dynamics
    • rubato

Notes 19 Feb

Scales

  • remember 4th finger rule
  • arpeggios, focus on LH practice sometimes

Lose Blatter

  • bar 3 immediately softer following forte. keep RH legato, but soft
  • bar 9 staccato not short low energy
  • sempre p less accent
  • 35 longer staccato, more focus on hitting the keybed reliabily
  • 53 mezzo staccato
  • 74 get a lot louder get softer before cresc

Confidence

  • check 5-6 notes
  • dolce – melody voiced and phrased, but not over the dolce limit
  • make sure melody is always there, not missing
  • go 20% slower to make sure the balance is there

Notes 12 Feb

Scales

  • contrary motion, watch first 3 notes
  • 4th finger rule

5C

  • good

Bagatelle

  • adjust for smaller sound
  • sf not too loud
  • bar 5, use soft pedal, no sf
  • senza pedal, without pedal
  • make sure crescendo is controlled and planned

Lose Blatter

  • fz accent just a bit less
  • make sure all chord notes are present
  • bar 9, don’t lift RH, RH soft. sempre p, always soft
  • make sure semiquavers are accurate
  • can use soft pedal in pp
  • 27, keep everything small. staccatos not to short
  • 35, keep staccatos longer. don’t lift off the keys
  • get soft at the end of phrases from bar 47
  • these staccatos not short bar 53
  • try rhythm practice here

Notes 13 Jan

Keep up scales and be accurate

List B

  • careful with overpedalling
  • even in pp sections, make sure melody can be heard. use soft pedal (una corda)
  • sf is more expressive than large
  • to get more intense we can also change the note length
  • bar 42 staccatos must be soft

Lose Blatter

  • natural separation on these staccatos, relaxed
  • don’t jump on these staccatos. must be less energy
  • to make fz louder, make everything around it softer.

Notes 16 Dec

Start Ex 5C + continue with scales

Can start a List C

Beethoven

  • Don’t be careless with fingering
  • ending ff, not too polite.
  • this articulation contributes ‘funiness’. accent at start of slur
  • follow dynamics carefully, then they will make sense

Confidence

  • first 8 bars, would recommend going slower. Still need to focus on the super legato RH. Occassionally RH doesn’t come with LH
  • Make sure top note is louder

Notes 9 Dec

Technical

  • all scale + 5B left hand version

Bag

  • bar 20-32, gradual buildup. Loudness to related to how wide the music is
  • this piece is defined by different moods. Sometimes it is serious, but sometimes it is silly
  • silliness is caused by sf, and differences to the melody (variations)

Notes 2 Dec

Do Ex 5B

Watch fingering LH G# melodic minor. Make sure scales are legato. Make sure scales are together. Increase speed

Confidence

  • For first page, adopt relaxed posture. Will help balance accomapaniment.
  • Make sure there is clear difference between melody and accompaniment in RH even when getting louder
  • bar 11, RH not too soft
  • bar 14, voice LH over RH
  • Check RH bar 26

Notes 25 Nov

Ex 5A, and continue with scales

Confidence

  • dolce – sweetly, balance with RH and LH. Because RH needs to be heard even if it’s really soft.
  • markings such as dynamics are about phrasing. If you can do phrasing, you will be fine
  • 2nd page, LH soft, RH phrase, add pedal in this section for contrast.
  • bar 14, voice LH
  • bar 16, watch out for notes in RH. Also the biggest peak of the piece
  • bar 26, tranquil, keep pedal down, keep all notes soft.