Zane

Student of the Week

Recording Guidelines

Youtube Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxU_OGndc5q-evyx8UawvbK8f5G0kfJL0

Google Drive

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G_VzDHQPjFQ-35aT3p0ElGQNlivT525H?usp=sharing

Long term goal

grade 7

9 Dec

Do all exercises

List D

need to check notes and positions

30 Nov

Etude

please check notes again
check pedalling, pedalling his half on and off
RH check mezzo staccato
senza pedale – without pedal

23 Nov

Jingle Bell Rock

harmonisation
improv
more chords

Stars

reading is on the right track
must check correct position

Etude

slow practice
fix note

26 Oct

Etude

check correct notes
pp keep always soft
p phrasing, focus on softs
sempre staccato, always soft

Scales: Ex 7A and B harmonic minor grand scale

19 Oct

Etude

RH mezzo staccto
add pedal
follow dynamics
- also phrase
  - softs are soft

5 Oct

Learn Etude

Ex 7A
D major Grand Scale

Ideally pick a List B C D if you can

29 Sep

Cuckoo

dynamics, softer soft
- keep fingers close to the piano
articulation in LH, needs a rest

Allegro

dolce sections, no staccato especially in LH
- at least don’t do LH loud

Noturrno

bar 9
- inner chords ALWAYS soft
- phrase TOP line

bar 15 should maintain same speed LH
bar 21 too loud, especially ppp
- focus on soft instead of missing notes

Fiesta

only slowing down for poco rubato
2nd page generally too loud
bar 47 too fast
hold 6 quavers here

soft ending for ff surprise

Nuvole

bar 30-32, check LH notes
speed up throughout the piece

Attempt exam recording this week

14 Sep

Fiesta

articualtion LH bar 11
dynamics page 2
counting in 15-18
monster gap bar 34-35
43-45 way too slow
GO SLOWER, GO STABLE
at least get the correct rhythm

Nocturne

inner voices way too loud

watch soft dynamics
funny notes, watch out

7 Sep

Cuckoo

dyanmics
articulation
correct notes

Allegro

articulation
keep mp dolce long and soft

Record List C and D

Nuvole

balance needs to be lighter

31 Aug

Cuckoo

stability of tempo and rhythm
- slow practice
- metronome practice
- metro practice at 105
dynamics?
articulation

Allegro

softer softs
- keep them soft

check articulation

Nocturne

softer overall
phrase carefully

Fiesta

pedal
dynamics

Record two pieces: Allegro and Cuckoo

24 Aug

Scales

practice soft hands seperate
what happened to arpeggios?

Fiesta

don’t rush 23

bar 29, keep it soft
bar 34 cresc
slow practice – needs more, needs to be slower

Notturno

bar 25, careful of dynamics!

in general needs softer inner sections
bar 58, wait 3 beats

check notes here bar 53-54

bar 15, keep LH as light as possible

17 Aug

Scales

don’t have warmups
do inversions out of order

Fiesta

list of mistakes are small, but severe
- wrong counting, fixed by slow practice (6 quavers in a bar)
- incorrect notes, fixed by reading

10 Aug

in the wrong spot!

Scales

arpeggios need work

Cuckoo

dynamics more obvious
- p dynamic especially

Allegro

Focus on articulation
check LH bar 35 for extra note

Nocturne

inner parts very soft
top melody decides phrasing
bar 15 keep soft, get timing right, follow LH
23 note check

check pedaling in 21 onwards
bar 43 LH, check

extra notes 51

check notes here

3 August

Scales

not bad, but can only start once
chord pattern, no pedal
some arpeggios poor
scales need to be from memory

Cuckoo

LH articulation (rest) needed
needs slow practice, unstable
dynamics not noticible right now
SLOW PRACTICE FOR LIST A B AND D
MOST MARKS LOST FOR INCONSISTENCY RIGHT NOW

Slow practice

needs to be slow
focus on correct notes
dynamics
articulation

27 July

Excercises

dynamics exaggerate

Scales

arpeggios don’t start correctly

Notturno

softs softer, in bar 1, bar 21, bar 15, everywhere basically
bar 15, needs to be faster

List B

careful of soft bits, all soft bits must be softer
articulation, think long short short short

20 July

Scales

on the right track now

Fix You

check LH notes

Nocturne

check coordination and inner part not too loud bar 9

15 coordination, RH not too heavy

notes incorrect 23

notes incorrect 31

25 incorrect

42 LH

many mistakes 52

13 July

Technical

EXCERCISES need more DYNAMICS

Scales

excecute first time

Fiesta

metronome at 83 (or 249)
- beat must be constant

dyanmics then need to be accurate
- especially the softs

Allegro

this is actually pretty okay
- still some mistakes but not super critical or too many

watch articulation
- long short short short

Notturno

this has many wrong notes
coordination issues: are the notes coming together at the right time
look at this first thing next week

10 July

dynamics
start in the RIGHT SPOT
don’t mush LH together

pedal
phrasing
go slower
cool

good

Scales

p -> f, f -> p
D# melodic minor fail?
D# harmonic minor
G# harmonic minor contrary
Bb harmonic minor contrary
WRONG NOTES ARE BECAUSE OF BAD PRACTICE, NOT BAD TECHNIQUE
- PRACTICE SLOW

ARPEGGIOS NEED TO BE ABLE TO START WITHIN SECONDS, NOT MINUTES

SCALES NEED TO BE MEMORISED
- WITHOUT BOOK
EXAM STYLE SCALES
- ask yourself a scale with specific requirements
- can you do that scale on the spot

3 July

Allegro

avoid a careless sound
- caused by wrong notes
- bad dynamics

mp dolce
- soft
- long notes
- delicate phrasing

Nocturne

inner LH softer
more careful and planned phrasing
CAREFUL of LH and RH coordination ALWAYS

cold winters day
- slow
- inner part ultra soft
- phrase carefully

pp piu mosso,

Fiesta

precision in articulation and note lengths, as well as precision in dynamics
precision in pedalling

22 June

Nuvole

21 no chords, all ties
- also watch out for LH here

29-31 need massive note checks

Fix You

don’t speed up, keep a stable speed

8 June

Scales/Excercises

prepare all scales
must be exam style prepared
- one playthrough, one correct playthrough
- no bumbling around
- also has to be from memory

Fiesta

no gap bar 14-15

60-61, wait for 6 quavers here

hold note 51, also in 27

middle section consistent

Nocturne

accompanying chords ALWAYS softer
21 even softer in piu mosso section
- softs show the examiner you care

fix sections 51-54

Allegro

prioritise notes

1 June

LH smudging
dynamics

phrasing
wait for correct time bar

Scales

dynamics for scales add
arpeggios need work, play correctly the first time

Fiesta

still need slow and stable work
accuracy with dynamics, needs to be intentional
bar 11 LH rests

bar 15, not such a big gap here

Notturno

coordination not correct in many key sections, be more care ful
inner part (accompaniment) should always be soft
coordination bar 15
notes 51-54

25 May

don’t smudge notes
see dynamics

Scales

generally okay for 3 months out

Cuckoo

check fingering bar 21

bar 60 timing, don’t stop
at the end, slow down a bit (pochissimo rall)

Allegro

tiny notes not fast in mp dolce
- long and soft notes
- no pedal
- don’t jump off the keys high

Fiesta

middle section still need slow and stable work

18 May

Scales

D# melodic minor

check where you are starting
bar 2 is wrong
don’t hold more than one note at once
DYNAMICS

phrasing
missing Bb
pedal

good

Cuckoo

rests between LH cuckoo patterns
more dynamics
bar 30, mistake RH

bar 33-35, count number of bars

bar 60 wrong LH

Allegro

repeated notes in LH bar 16

mp dolce more quiter and calm
- small acciacaturas in not to fast

be really careful with use of pedal
past bar 70, still lots of wrong notes

Fiesta

keep all 3 quaver groups same speed
- look out for detail

11 May

Scales

D# melodic minor

Cuckoo

LH articulation
semiquavers even
can we hear cuckoo
don’t slow down on ornaments
bar 60 notes LH

Allegro

wrong notes
mp dolce, softer

Nocturne

LH/accompaniments softer
COORDINATION ISSUE

4 May

Scales

D# melodic minor

Cuckoo

make sure all ornaments are ‘clean’
make sure speed is the same for entire piece
check all fingerings as well

Nocturne

bar 15 is not coordinated

bar 21 RH is completely wrong!

Fiesta

go slower for ALL details. ONLY details need work, technique is good
- for details, practice WITHOUT mistakes

27 Apr

Scales to check

D# melodic minor

Nocturne

pedal accurately
check bar 9 carefully

15, group RH notes carefully

una corda – soft pedal, tre corda – no soft pedal
check bar 47 onwards

Cuckoo

make sure there’s a gap between cuckoo part
a few wrong notes, especially from bar 44 onwards
dynamics
- soft dynamics

20 Apr

go slower
use pedal
check notes bar 2
do phrasing

Scales to check

D# melodic minor, check notes up and down
Bb minor contrary, 4th finger rule

Nocturne

present next week

Cuckoo

dynamics
metronome for consistency metronme = 100

Notes 30 Mar

Nuvole,

notes are wrong, but will fix in term 2
from 21, needs more phrasing

Scales

Scales to do:

G# harmonic minor contrary
Bb harmonic minor contary
all arpeggio fingerings
Eb dominant 7

Cuckoo

Notes need to be correct

Fiesta

focus on slow but consistent

Notes 23 Mar

Scales to do:

G# harmonic minor contrary
Bb harmonic minor contary
all arpeggio fingerings
Eb dominant 7

Allegro

work on dynamics
less pedal
more details to work on

cuckoo

rests between cuckoo are important

fix ALL notes this week

Notes 16 Mar

Scales

G# harmonic minor contrary needs work

Allegro

wrong sections need to be re-read
soft sections legato, pay attention to slurs
bigger difference between loud and soft
notes improved this week 🙂
mp dolce, RH sweet, LH very soft

Notes 9 Mar

good

Scales

arpeggios SO MUCH BETTER 🙂
now time to test all scales each lesson

Allegro

still some missing notes and wrong, can be found by ‘easter egg’ practice
goal is to have all notes correct by next week

Notes 23 Feb

Scales

only allow yourself one try with scales

not so fast
check bar 2

Notes 16 Feb

Arpeggios

still need to reliably play inversions
don’t play root, 1st, 2nd, do all 2nds

good

Fiesta

do not worry about fluency until notes are correct
mistakes to fix in page 2

middle section must be carefully fixed this week.

Cuckoo

Slow practice required again, many of the expressions are already correct if notes were correct.

Notes 9 Feb

check bar 2 notes

where is Bb
much slower

Scales to watch

D# harmonic and melodic minor
G# harmonic minor contrary
Bb harmonic minor contrary
Inversions of arpeggios, check fingering. Go seperate hands as well when fixing issues

Fiesta

Accurate dynamics required in general
poco rubato – stretch time a bit
see page for wrong notes, page 2 especially

Notes 2 Feb

Fix You

check note LH bar 2

check LH bar 18

this entire section is weird

Notes 1 Dec

Fix You

many wrong notes, but just for this week, work on expression
your responsibility for art show

Fiesta

articulation LH bar 11. Don’t slow down in 14

keep trying at home 2nd page. Read carefully

Cuckoo

cuckoo pattern should always come above everything
there are many wrong notes. try to fix them before next week using concentration.

Notes 24 Nov

Arpeggios: getting better! :). Present similar motions next week

Fiesta

check number of notes bar 9-10 RH. Hit sf hard, then back away.

we’ve done lots of work here, keep it up. Are notes correct? do the need to come together?

LH note bar 47

basic expressions: get the dynamics right

Fix You

bar 6-10 check RH

bar 18-19 bar check coordination

check LH notes in bar 31

Notes 17 Nov

Scales: keep practicing, don’t learn inversion off root

Ex 6C: good

Cuckoo

LH articulation always same. Long short rest
Rhythm fix here:

bar 36 is missing?

watch tie in LH 41

check LH notes bar 51

check notes bar 56

Fiesta

check number of notes bar 9

bar 11, make sure we can hear all the notes

fade away, bar 15

hold tie 27

Notes 10 Nov

Scales

continue to check all arpeggios

Fiesta

bar 1, group into two groups of three. Check fingering
bar 3, LH position higher

LH rests 11-14

count here

do notes that belong to the RH in this section. You can see the L shape lines
bar 27 hold note

check LH positions and notes in this section

bar 51 hold top note

bar 59-60 6 quavers, 61 lower

Fix You