Lucas

Goal: certficate of performance, session 1 2025

25 Oct

11 Oct

Schumann

  • focus on softs
  • don’t overdo triplets
  • clarity of melody, brooding

2 Jun

Clementi 2nd

  • flow forward
  • don’t have sudden accents

24 May

Rach G minor

  • middle section do more rubato
  • keep integrity of phrasing
  • page 4 keep natural pp dynamic, but highlight middle middle line
  • ppp buildup, goes too loud too quickly
    • don’t get too fast
  • ending not too fast

Clementi 3rd

  • LH rests be careful
  • slow practice is essential

Schubert

  • maintain flow
  • use different amounts of rubato and phrasing in different section

Bach

  • bar 19 come in big bass in fugue

Rach

17 May

Clementi

3rd

  • voice LH sub melodies
  • don’t slam ff
  • have fz and rinfz return to original levels after
  • ending, voice LH melody

Scubert

  • don’t have sudden surges in accompaniment/dynamic
  • pp, keep softer, maybe the absence of phrasing

10 May

Rach

  • start, keep softer but explore situations with voiced top note. keep main melody in bass clear
  • middle section, don’t over romanticise, keep either going faster or cresc, don’t have to do both
  • keep technical difficult section slower
  • voice top in fff

Khachaturian

  • start, keep dynamics clear p is p, pp is pp, f is f etc
  • pg 5-8 avoid playing overly loud, especially single note
  • andante espressivo, a lot of tuplets being played overly faster
  • pg 10, softer and mysterious

Rach G minor

  • try to not lose momentum in front half rhythmically, choose a speed that can be easily maintained
  • middle is generally too loud

3 May

Bach

  • don’t overdo tempo, serious tempo
  • solemn dance nearly
  • metro 135
  • fugue, regulate speed, metro 73?

Clementi

  • fz p, sharper p
  • check rhythm top of 2nd
  • don’t start cresc too early
  • try to create surprise where possible

2nd mvt

  • count rests in semiquavers for accuracy
  • ending, is also semiquavers

3rd mvt

  • don’t cresc early after pp
  • broken chords, not too slow
  • when melody in LH, bring RH down
  • try metronome 66

Schubert

  • look for moments that break out of the intense phrasing

29 Mar

Bach

  • consistency work in general, slow practice
  • fugue, don’t voice things that are not main theme
  • bass entry at 19 bigger, foot pedal of organ

Khachaturian

22 Mar

Rach G minor

  • start softer
  • hold pedal over long melodic notes
  • marcato, quick sharp notes
  • generally don’t pedal on staccatos
  • 2nd page, have natural variation of volume
  • keep middle section restricted soft, but express through rubato

Clementi

  • watch quality and evennness of scale
  • rhythm practice
  • watch for length of notes
  • middle needs to be practices

15 Mar

Bach

  • prelude: have more times are lighter, possibly minor weaker sections
  • fugue, be consicous of resets, let voices build naturally

Prelude in G minor: new piece

8 Mar

Schubert

  • check some notes, number of notes
  • don’t be overly dramatic, resistive, listen to recordings for reference

Bach

  • prelude also at times overly romantic
  • fugue has a tendency to speed up
  • some themes are too detached

1 Mar

Rach

  • don’t overuse rubato in first page

Bach

  • higlight subjects and counter subjects more effectively
  • aim to have everything legato

22 Feb

Khachaturian

  • balance dynamics better throughout piece, doesn’t always need to be maximalist
  • create interest at critical points
  • watch for untidy areas

Clementi 1st

  • feel all triplets accurately
  • don’t speed up
  • count gaps care

15 Feb

Bach

  • when highlighting LH, bring RH down, LH up
  • watch quaver articulation, try to be consistent
  • ending, swell towards the end

Fugue

  • focus on highlighting themes, especially in bass

Impromptu

  • start calmer, have less happening, simple is better

8 Feb

Khachaturian

  • some points at the start are overpedalled
  • some softs can be softer in general
  • don’t overuse rubato in rhythmic sections
  • check rests when related to articulation
  • pg 10 lighter in general
  • wait for for dotted crotchet, final line bar 13

Rach

  • mf on first page a bit too loud
  • use voicing the top note as a solution for loud, but not heavy

Clementi 2nd mvt

  • avoid excessive offset rubato
  • avoid excessively loud phrasing
  • watch LH rests
  • watch dynamics in generally a bit more

1 Feb

Bach

  • keep speed the same
  • keep touch not too light
  • have RH and LH interact evenly
  • exaggerate phrasing, but don’t make it too nuanced

Fugue

  • voice main themes more, keep articulation the same amongst them

Clementi 3rd mvt

  • check incorrect scale fingering!
  • 3rd page, check speeds
  • check speeds in general, always understand 3 beats in a bars
  • generally expression is commendable

21 Dec

Clementi 2nd mvt

  • always have an aim to have melody phrased

1 Dec

Bach

  • listen to understand style
  • quavers detached, semiquavers legato
  • less rubato

Clementi

  • more dynamic contrast
  • always be able to hear your melody
  • 2nd mvt, think about where your melody is, sometimes in LH

30 Nov

Rach

  • space out first 3 notes, delay before C#
  • first page can be faster
  • don’t speed up so much on start of agitato
  • spamming notes, group into 3s, rhythm practice

16 Nov

Rach

  • keep better beat on first page
  • watch consistency in middle section
  • more rubato in last section
  • keep up careful practice

Khachaturian

  • keep crotchet beat
  • check amount of notes
  • middle section should be

9 Nov

Rachmaninoff

  • focus on rhythm at end
  • 2nd page needs sectional slow practice
  • start can be a bit slower, first few notes
  • should be able to be complete next week

2 Nov

Rachmaninoff

  • slow down towards end, get softer
  • medium and medium fast practice before full speed
  • avoid repeats

New piece: Khachaturian Toccata

12 Oct

Debussy

  • divide bar into 16 semiquavers or 8 quavers to find rhythm
  • also listen to music to have a more accurate rhythm
  • rubato can be added later

New Piece: Prelude

4 May

Sonnet

  • good rubato here
  • 23 needs technical work
  • you can’t slow down in molto accel
  • last line still needs to be much slower

I say a little prayer

  • a lot of errors stayed the same from last week, slow practice needs to be overhauled

27 Apr

Nocturne

  • would be great with more forward flow in tempo, but take your time in difficult passages, take advantage of technical ruabto
  • memory, can you do LH by itself? or even RH?

I say a little prayer

  • bar 1-6 hold top melody notes, bring out notes
  • limit rubato here
  • bar 20 scale needs work timing
  • bar 22 check notes

Alexander rag

  • pay attention to extra phrasing, accents

20 Apr

Alexander

  • slow and seperate practice
  • all about stability and memory

Sonnet

  • greater difference between melody, (accompaniment less)

30 Mar

Nocturne

  • if in technical trouble, use rubato to ease into that section

Alexander Rag

  • good effort with notes
  • accents can be ‘rougher’ especially when dynamics are f
  • RH, always 1 or two levels above LH

Say a Little Prayer

  • go slower
  • hold notes bar 1-6

Petrarch

  • good attempt to voice but also include phrasing
  • 32 prioritise melody

23 Mar

Alexander

  • 4 bars at a time, 8 bars at a time per practice session
  • main barrier is tech work

Sonnet

  • slow practice to eliminate restarts

16 Mar

Alexander Rag

  • bar 6 pause
  • phrase a lot in first 2 lines
  • bar 8 no B flat
  • 9-16 stay softer

I say a little prayer

  • bar 1-6 staccato
  • control dynamic in 7 onwards, not too loud in the verse
  • probably should be slower for now

9 Mar

Nocturne

  • great elements here but it is just a bit muted
  • phrasing can be big as long as LH stays soft
  • ends of phrases soft

Sonnet

  • bar 15 control RH volume

2 Mar

Alexander rag

  • fingering needs to be accurate for legato
  • this is a concept for the entire piece

Say a Little Prayer

  • better approached slow for now
  • some rhythm errors in first page still
  • pedal bar 33

24 Jan

Sonnet

  • voicing of melody important, bring all accomp much further down
  • bar 1, make sure that semiquavers are in time
  • bar 5, start louder, then fade to accomp
  • single note melodies can always be found with stem up
  • bar 48, count carefully

Alexander

  • page by page stability practice

Say a little prayer