Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Grieg recital: Proposal.....

47 n 5 Melancholy

I too have a long way to go. It's a bit more difficult than I thought, a challenge to finger independence.
I've got my teacher on board. I've done the fingering. The playing part is still in the early stages. I could post a current audio (chock full of mistakes). I was a bit slow ramping up---I'm working on too many pieces at once---but am fully committed to this.

One other problem is I think I'm developing an excess of black bile. Luckily, I've found some information useful in dealing with this.
http://www.greekmedicine.net/Princi...ng_Black_Bile_and_the_Nervous_Humor.html

Well, at least you don't seem to require a blood letting!!

Good. That way if I don't get it done, it's my fault ...

I think if I could concentrate on the piece it would only take a few weeks to get it under the fingers, but life is .... well, life, and setting aside a lot of time is not easy. And in any case, I do better if I can keep coming back to something over time. I learn it better that way.

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OK, my son just sat down and sightread through the silly piece. He had it pretty much up to speed on the third run-through.

Arrrrrgh.

Auch!
But why don't you ask him to write his fingering for a reference.
It would save your time.

Yes, but purgatives may be indicated

I tried Puck. Not bad. The patterns are very logically laid out. My fingering works. I won't start this until August. The Summer xxxx bag song (Summer's Eve) is beautiful, short and sweet. I just read through and put fingerings. I will wait to start this until one month before.

The fingerings aren't really much of an issue in that little piece. It fits pretty naturally to the hand, and the edition (Schirmer) has reasonable fingerings already marked. I was just annoyed (hah!) at the difference in our technical skill levels ...

I know - I'm constantly outplayed by youngsters in my class (community college piano performance studio). At least you can be proud of giving him good gene and lessons:)

I think I’m getting on ok with 57,1. With the recital so far off I haven’t done much more than noodle with various bits of the piece so some of the difficulties may not become fully apparent until I try and play it as a whole. Some evident problems arising from having a very ordinary span, particularly the little triplet octave 3rds jump in bar 4 – that’ll need an element of luck. Also the long chord build towards the end of the A theme which will need some note removal and/or thumb-on-two-notes – fortunately it’s not fast. There’s an arpeggio which might bring on my arthritis.

I'm undecided about Grieg’s modulations – they ‘work’ a lot of the time, often with a tiny kernel of an idea, usually producing a strong effect and yet because he does it so much they seem, sometimes, to be a device rather than an inspiration. The key change in some modern pop has always been effective, giving the song a certain kind of lift, but I never met a writer who didn’t admit it was a cheap trick. I certainly wouldn’t accuse Grieg of that - he at least does it with finesse and some of his music is sublime.

Update on op 62 no 3 - Brooklet

I have memorised this piece already, because I probably won't be able to play over the summerholiday as I am going home and there is no piano to play on! I would really like to finish this piece, but it's much harder then it looks. I am having trouble getting the trills in the left hand playing with the right. My teacher meant it would take me two months to play the trills even and fast. But I don't have two months!!

Second choice op 62 no 1

This piece is as hard as my first choice. I have also memorised it, but the jumps in the right hand are quite hard. At the same time it should be played light and leggerio. I hope that before the holidays, I am ready to record them both.

I'm not sure that I would agree that a well placed modulation is a cheap trick. In fact, a well crafted song that includes that is probably the opposite. As to whether Grieg overuses them, well perhaps or perhaps not. But he was writing at a period where harmonic progression was being "tested" and, eventually annihilated, so perhaps it's not unexpected.

Food for thought though - it will get me thinking some!

P.S. I had a big discussion with my teacher of Opus 12, No 5 where I had written the word "unusual" over one chord change. She disagreed so I just played the harmonies out for her in blocked chords. Oh, yes, she agreed.

One of the pieces I'm playing, 65/1 has any modulations, just a sudden shift from d minor to D major and back. The 71/5 (my unofficial 2nd piece) does have frequent modulations though, but I think it's very cute and adds to the folksy quality of it. Certainly not a cheap trick, IMO.

You're misquoting me.

Just the term "cheap trick" creates impressions, even if unintended.

BTW, Grieg was hardly the only 19th century composer who used modulations quite a bit.

Who is this about?



In fact, according to some accounts ...

Will no one read what I wrote before misrepresenting it?

Misunderstood perhaps, misquoted - note sure. You said (paraphrasing) that Grieg used modulations "so much" they seem like a device. And that key changes in pop songs could be effective but can also be considered a cheap shot. Is that not what you said? And, in my opinion, if it's well crafted, it is never a cheap shot however much it could be regarded as such. Just my opinion, though.

From how I understand Dire Tonic's post, I'll say that I had similar impressions. I first noticed it in my piece. There's a pattern in the music, and in the chords that go with it, and that pattern repeats over and over, "verbatim", simply being modulated unchanging to new keys. Then a B section, doing exactly the same thing, except instead of major - in minor. Instead of descending chromatically, ascending chromatically. ... I looked at other music when I was choosing mine, and saw the same kind of pattern there. Then there was someone who needed help with rhythm or something similar with hers. I printed out the music, played it through, wondered whether it would be equally predictable - it was.

Hey, if a composer can make it work, then why not? But I did see the type of thing mentioned by D.T.

No I get it, you were saying that pop composers who would modulate up half a step and *they* called that a cheap trick. You were simply saying the modulations Grieg did in your composition didn't appear "inspired". But it's hard not to assume that you meant it was a cheap trick for Grieg since you then went on in the same paragraph to talk about pop composers.

Perhaps you can expound a bit on why you don't think Grieg's modulations in your piece were inspired?

Let's keep in mind that the Lyric Pieces were popular music for normal people to play. They weren't written to give Chopin's or Liszt's Etudes a run for their money. They are also quite short. There is only so much one can do in 12-15 lines of music if you want some coherence and resolution.

The pieces that I looked at could easily have been written with some altered things without being made longer. I'm not sure what it means to give Chopin or Liszt "a run for their money" - that sounds like a competition. If written for "normal people" - it is harder to bring something out of very simple music without the skills of a very good musician.