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No, no - I protest - you're my hero - but I'm not great at either - just passing or barely "above average" - a "duffer" at both - but not too shabby for a geezer trying to self-teach both with rapidly declining physical & mental faculties

However, you're obviously a person of incomparable intelligence and impeccable taste - and as they say "it takes one to know one"

Trap

Cheryl and Recaredo,



As you can see from the updated sig line, I've joined you in the Beethoven admiration society. Mine is a different (and easier) G Sonatina than the one you two are working on, but beautiful nonetheless.

Trap, in the game of golf, just breaking 100 on a regular basis automatically puts you in the 90th percentile among other adult beginner amateurs. If you can break 80, you're probably in the 98th percentile easily.

I think golf is the #1 adult beginner activity in the country, and that explains why so many are bad at it - even after much practice and many dollars invested. (lol)

If I were to give myself a "piano handicap", I'm a solid 15. (lol). Scratch - being able to play Fantasie Impromptu, and hacker - only playing "Mary's Little Lamb" after a year. Also, I know my technique is bad, but I'm able to somewhat get away with it, which shows that's I've got at least a little talent.

Back to golf (where I have no natural talent)....I worked very hard at it, and still looked like a hacker at times. At my "best", I was only a 22 - never having broken 90 after 8 years.

...and that's why you're my hero.

PS-just go with it...lol.

PPS-if you're ever in the Chicago area, we should get out one day for 18.

Hi,

my achievement of the week is to learn "perfectly" this one from 00:00 to 1:22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMyGACAGe8

but the big obstacle to me is the fast scale at 0:34, I never practiced scales
anybody here knows if there is a best fingering to reach that speed?

A.

Achat, I can't quite tell which key you're playing in - I think there are 3 sharps but I'm not sure. Can you specify?

JimF - which Sonatina in G are you playing???? I'm very curious to hear it.
I did some hunting on youtube for one that was different than "mine" and all I saw were kids 10 and under playing exponentially faster than I'm playing.
The Bach Musette you're playing in ... Is that the Musette in D?

TJ and Cebukid..... what fun you've got two hobbies in common. I never got into golf, but when we lived in Canada we played curling. That too requires a tremendous deal of focus and attention to small details. ...while you are shivering

Sorry, it is a double scale with Eb and Bb.
maybe it has a specific name?

A.

That would be Bflat.

here is a link that shows you all the scales and the fingerings. I'm not an expert, so maybe there is a better way, but you can at least have a look and maybe get some ideas.

http://www.learn-piano.org/major-scales.html

Btw - that is a very pretty piece of music you played!!!!

Thanks!

Kyle's performances are a constant source of inspiration.
I will be satisfied if I will be able to play just the begininning of Eternity. Then it becomes too much hard for me...

A.

I'd love to believe that percentile figure (and won't question your source out of fear that it's too good to be true!)

OK, OK, I'll be your hero, but it's an awesome responsibility and I'm not sure I'm up for it

Would love to do 18 with you some day!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled thread...


Trap

Cheryl,


Here's the IMSLP score for the G Sonatina I've been assigned:
(You should see two pages - A section and a B called Romanze)
Sonatina in G

The Bach is not Musette in D. (I know because I've played M in D). It is a one pager from his English Suite No.3 in G minor. If you go to this link and scroll down to the bottom of page 9 of the pdf you will see it is actually called Gavotte II (ou la Musette) IMSLP link Bach's English Suite No. 3 (and just to make it more confusing this part is actually in G, not G minor)

I haven't looked for any youtube performances of either one, so don't know what is available if anything.

Glad to hear you've got things on track. I have moments when I think my focus is good, but more often think it could be a whole lot better.


Just found this, I believe the relevant part starts at about 5:10 Richter plays English Suite No.3 Nice performance, glad I found it. The Beethoven is anh.5, and everything on utube I saw was awful.

Jim, the Beethoven IS exactly what I'm playing ! If you go up a few posts, you'll see Andy has a super recording of his performance from a recital back in December (I think it was December...anyway, he plays is beautifully!!!)

Do you love it? I do. I'm thinking it might be my November recital piece - here in the ABF, or maybe even LIVE ooooooooh !!! lol.. We shall see. I do find it very exciting to be playing this piece - and very satisfying, even though I've still got a long way to go on it. It is really stretching my skills and that feels good!!

The Bach is really - I love Bach! ( I confess to going "gulp" while I scrolled down.... I found the pages preceding the Gavotte ou La Musette rather scary!!! )

Cheryl,

Oh, it is the same. I really thought you were playing something different - didn't you call your B section Rondo?

Anyhooo, yes I really like it. I'll even show you one specific reason why...which you may find trivial or uninteresting, but its one of the things that always amazes me when I realize it....

So, I was doing harmonic analysis on the first section, you know, writing in the chord names and numbers. I do this sometimes just in hopes I will learn something from it sooner or later. Anyway, I get to measures 13,14 and 15 and I'm playing those five little chords; D-A,rest,rest,D-F#,D-G, rest,rest, D-E,D-F#. I'm looking at the corresponding treble and wondering, gee, I wonder why he chose those? Nothing seems apparent, so I try playing the top note of each of the five chords above; A,r,r,F#,G,r,r,E,F#. Oh, that sounds familiar, where did I hear that. So I look up a few measures back and see the little slurred phase in the right hand in measure four (D,E,D,B,C,A,G), I play that and realize the later chords are just an echo of that phrase (If you don't hear it at first add in B to make it ABAF#GEF#). And then I look ahead and see we are also previewing the little slurred phase in the treble in measure 16.

I would guess that folks who had lessons as kids or studied music though another instrument would probalbly find this kind of stuff old hat, but it continually amazes me. I really don't know what it all means, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Beethoven did and it is not an accident.

So, sorry for such a long-winded way of saying, yes, I really like it.

Oh, and you're not the only one that got heart palpitations when they first scrolled through the score of Bach's English Suite looking for the ou Musette part.

Jim, sorry for the confusion. I did say Rondo! Oops! I have other pieces where I've seen part two called Rondo and I just carried it over. Sorry.

I agree with you that it is fascinating to discover the patterns in this piece. Well, in any piece, but it is even more rewarding when we're talking about Beethoven, isn't it?

My homework for this week is to play slowly and without tension. My teacher won't let me bring it up to tempo until I master this aspect. She's right. I find with my familiar works I can be relaxed but with the new ones tension creeps back in.

We're really focusing on many technical aspects now and I am very pleased. I feel like I'm working at a different level.

Cheryl, I'm glad that's sorted out because you saying Rondo instead of Romanze really confused me too. And thanks for the compliments.

My AotW is somehow managing to have convinced my wife that one hour practice is "expected". I have been setting a timer ...

... but, of course, I now thing I need two hours a day!

The compliments are well deserved Andy!
I don't have to convince my husband how much practice time I need because I generally do the bulk of "practice" when he isn't home, and he gets to hear the "performance". I play a little "concert" for him when he comes home from work, and on the weekends. There was a time when I was really working on scales a lot and it was the ONLY time he ever said anything....what he came out with was "Um, could you please play some ....music?"
So now I play scales etc when he isn't home, or with the silent feature in place.

this weeks achievement for me is playing the new song ive been working on better.. and i no longer have to look down to find the chords in it as i play it.. it may not sound like much but its my first song with chords so i count it as an achievement..

Good work Squiggyflop. Keep at it. What is the song you are working on?

thanks i think its called "outdoors in new england"..

I'm not sure if this is right, but I like to compare it to process of reading aloud to someone, because I have a lot of experience doing that and can understand what it involves. So have you ever heard the result of a text-reader program on a computer? It doesn't ever sound quite right. It sounds mechanical, the words aren't always given the correct emphasis, and the rise and fall of the voice doesn't match what is trying to be expressed. So compare that to hearing a good production of an audio book, where the actor uses pauses, tone changes, volume and tempo changes to draw you into the story. I try to use this comparison as a way to think about how to play something "musically".

Cheryl - oh, I love that Beethoven piece. I do hope you play it in one of our ABF recitals!

JimF - isn't it cool to make these kind of discoveries in the music we're learning? One of the things I really like about my teacher, is that he is always bringing these kind of details to my attention. (I think he's very attuned to that because his primary work is as a composer.) It makes me appreciate the music so much more.

squiggyflop - yeah--chords! Adding chords gives such a richness to the music, don't you think? I have a dim memory from when I was 3 or 4 years old, hearing a chord played on the piano for the first time, and feeling like I had never heard anything so beautiful before. It still sometimes gives me goosebumps to hear a perfect chord.