Group 3
Welcome to the NEW TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
Improving your Lyricism (feat Chopin)
Post your progress with videos and written commentary on how things are going for you!
- Course Period: June 26 - July 10th
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: July 2nd at 11am PT
- ZOOM MEETING LINK:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5557629304?pwd=F1jnbTtCaEZxci7lDSSss66kvLtCVT.1
Assignment #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQpw6fZBOlE
- Pick a short piece (Mazurka, Nocturne, Prelude) or excerpt of a longer piece (Ballade, Polonaise, Scherzo, Sonata, Concerto). Focus on lyrical/slow sections.
- Learn bass carefully, labelling all chords and cadences.
- SING melodic line. Practice singing until your voice can identify the melody instantly.
- Submit a video: playing the Bass while singing the Soprano.
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Assignment #2
https://youtu.be/ri2UD1z8sKE?si=w36XWzqb_rao3RAu
-Label all breathing points with an apostrophe between phrase markings. Practice deep breaths between significant points or use a regular breath for phrase changes.
-Sing Bass notes of all chords while playing Soprano melody.
-Submit a video: playing hands together (performance).
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Ok, I found an easier piece where I have the chance to get the first bars hopefully done for this challenge, though it is still challenging for me: Sostenuto in Eb.
Is there someone more advanced who could help me with the fingering in a trickier part, please? Key is Eb, my hand is small, octave span (on white keys a ninth at the edges, 2-5 on Ab-F is stretched but possible)
Is my fingering suggestion reasonable or stupid?
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Dagmar https://youtube.com/shorts/1iMYz35wQ9g?si=XJFd3Fr75lDwyBZE
I have small hands also, so my quick first take on a possible fingering is here. Since I haven’t studied this piece I might come up with something better over time, though.
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Gail Starr oh thank you so much
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Dagmar Contact me anytime for fingering ideas! I can barely reach an octave so I need to get a bit “creative” at times.
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Dagmar I just saw your video, I'll be happy to address your fingering. M. 14 fingering is fine. The positions for your thirds could be easier - try the attached fingering, I labelled my suggested fingering under the soprano double notes. Don't hold the lower note too long, try it as one note only and see if it's comfortable. Upload another video showing if this fingering helps?
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Gail Starr I have small hands too! The thing that I thought really made a difference for me, was yoga and doing lots of downward dog.
Really feeling my palm open out flat so that I have the maximum amount of opening that I can get across my palm to help my fingers get to where they want to go. Smaller keyboards would help… I did a YouTube video once of somebody who makes them, in Germany I think.
It was something you could use at a ‘normal’ piano keyboard instead of the keyboard it came with. Very expensive as I remember.
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Angela Fogg My hands are feeling much better these days, now that I have also started stretching them before I play...kind of "hand yoga", LOL?
And I'm actually on the waiting list for the Stretto digital keyboards, but their production is quite slow, so I'm thinking it may be another 1-2 years before I can invest in one. I actually attended the Stretto Festival in NYC last summer and tried one. It was SOOOO relaxing to just play octaves without tension!
You can also get a Stretto keyboard to put inside your EXISTING piano, but I don't want to that since I need to keep my muscle memory to play anyone's piano.
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Here is my first attempt on the beginning of the Nocturne in F#-minor op. 48 no 2
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Andrea Buckland
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Andrea Buckland Wow…so beautiful! Almost better this way with your hauntingly lovely voice!
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Andrea Buckland you have set the bar very high for this exercise!!
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Vidhya Bashyam Harriet Kaplan Thank you very much, my dear friends! Looking forward to hearing your Chopin pieces!
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Andrea Buckland Whoaaa, that was super good singing; it was really moving. And, you had to go really high too!
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Andrea Buckland Good singing and timing; your voice's legato slides between large intervals helps this sound very choral and lyrical. Work on breathing and melodic flow next: (1) accompany your singing with just solid chords as in recitative style, (2) work out the placement of high points in your voice - this will be key to shaping phrases in a rubato that does not drag/stagnate the line, and (3) listen to secondary dominant harmonies and their colour as in 2:00. Your vocal timbre suits this nocturne beautifully.
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Jarred Dunn Jarred Dunn Thanks, Jarred! Will work on it.
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Andrea Buckland Your singing has inspired me to at least TRY this.
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Gail Starr looking forward to hearing you, Gail!
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Tammy
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Andrea Buckland Beautiful singing, Andrea! Sounds poetic and evocative! Love it!
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Andrea Buckland next try with more melodic flow.., is this too much?
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Juan Carlos Olite thanks
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Andrea Buckland Love it Andrea! Can’t get it out of my head after hearing your beautiful singing!
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Vidhya Bashyam it’s a very haunting melody, isn’t it? I can’t get it out of my head either - very bad news for Schumann and Bach
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Andrea Buckland Ha! Chopin does that! I need to learn this piece too sometime!
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Andrea Buckland Your voice shows how well you understand the dynamics and phrasing! Lovely job.
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Andrea Buckland Beautiful singing in both the videos! You've got a lovely voice and it brings out the nocturne wonderfully!
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