Group 4
Welcome to the latest TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
For the next two weeks we will be working through assignments given by Lindsay Garritson to improve your Cantabile Playing
Pianists of all levels are welcome.
More Detailed instructions coming soon!
- Sign-Up : September 11
- Course Period: September 18-October 2nd
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom:
September 28th at 11am Pacific Time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84812603822?pwd=DUo16MYAj50zLwbmZ1fco9PKbYh6qb.1
Assignment #1
"Singing at the Piano"
Description: How do we sing at the piano?
This is one of the most difficult yet rewarding things to achieve in our piano playing! We will look at the different technical components which go into creating a beautiful, singing sound. From transparent to rich textures, we will take sections from four pieces by Mendelssohn, Chopin, Brahms, and Ravel, and discuss the considerations required to achieve a resonant sound in each.
Introduction video: https://youtu.be/UezTgcCsp7c
C Major Scale Exercise: https://youtu.be/Ug6BnzuTIHk
1) Record a one octave C major scale very slowly (right hand alone, then left hand alone), applying the "down - up" motion with every note, listening carefully for the quality of sound in each note and using as legato a touch as possible
2) Record the same C major scale in both hands separately at a faster tempo, but applying the "down - up" motion over the entire pattern (not a separate motion for each note)
Mendelssohn Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 1:
1) Record the melody in the right hand alone (at a much slower tempo) from the upbeat of measure 3 until the downbeat of measure 15, listening for resonance of sound, legato articulation, observing places to "breathe" between phrases; don't worry about using the fingering that you will use when playing all parts together (the focus now is quality of sound and phrasing)
2) Record just the bass line in the left hand (also at a slower tempo), start from measure 3 until downbeat of measure 15, listening again for the quality of sound, special moments of harmonic change, legato articulation; again, don't worry about the fingering in this exercise (do what promotes the most legato touch)
3) Record the melody in the right hand as well as the bass line in the left hand (outer two lines), listening to how the "voices" are interacting (the energy between the two and how the left hand functions as a counter melody), as well as indicating clearly shaping within the phrases
4) Record all parts from upbeat of measure 3 to downbeat of measure 15, again slowly, listening particularly for control in the sixteenth notes and making sure they are at a dynamic which does not overpower the clarity and resonance of the melody in the right hand as well as the bass line in the left hand
Chopin Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1:
1) Record the "voicing" exercise: taking a C major chord in the right hand (C, E, G, C) and play the chord seven times in a row, highlighting one note at a time (middle C the first time, then the E the next time, and so forth)
2) Record the melody in the right hand alone (top note of each chord) from measure 25 to downbeat of measure 37, listening for the legato between each note, resonance, attention to shaping within the phrases; don't worry about using the fingering you will be using once you play all of the notes (use what best promotes legato in this exercise)
3) Record all notes in the right hand alone, but WITHOUT pedal, trying to connect each chord where possible from top note to top note (melody); where physically it is not possible, try to give the illusion of legato through careful shaping of the chords (small crescendi, decrescendi, etc.)
4) Record all parts, hands together in the same section, WITH pedal, listening carefully to the voicing in each chord and listening to how well you connect the sound from chord to chord
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WEEK #2 Assignment!
Brahms Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2:
1) Record top melody in the right hand alone from beginning to measure 16, focuses the legato touch, phrasing (important moments you are leading to and away from), adding a different "color" to the places Brahms writes dolce
2) Record the "alto" line in the right hand alone (same material), listening for the same qualities as in the first exercise
3) Record the left hand alone, listening for a richness and depth of sound, particularly in the low bass notes (think of the sound of a cello for inspiration)
4) Put all parts together, slower than the original tempo, paying attention to the quality of sound between the soprano and alto lines (thinking of them as a duet, so one part is not necessarily more important than the other); listening for the depth of the bass notes in the left hand; taking time in moments you feel are important (larger intervals, between phrases, etc.)
Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte:
1) Record the melody in the right hand alone from beginning to downbeat of measure 8, taking special care in listening to the notes with ties, making sure the notes coming immediately after each tied note are not louder (making sure you aren't adding any sort of accent to these notes); don't worry about using the fingering you will use when playing all parts in the right hand together
2) Record the "alto" line in the right hand alone (beginning to measure 6) WITHOUT pedal, listening to evenness of staccati articulation and seeing how little you can move your hand (relying on the staccato articulation with just the fingertips)
3) Record left hand alone WITHOUT pedal (same measures), taking care to use an articulation that is slightly longer than staccato (almost as if you are adding tiny tenuto marks to each note)
4) Record all parts hands together WITH pedal (slowly), listening to the quality of your legato in the melody, evenness of staccati and softer dynamic of the"alto" line (even though it will not sound short with pedal), and a resonant sound in the left hand
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Tom Mackey
hi Lindsay, I am perhaps an early intermediate (at most) and playing the 12 measures of Mendelssohn Two hands would take me weeks. What do you recommend I do?
it could be that this class is too much for me though I understand appreciate the concepts. Thanks!
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Tom Mackey Hello Tom, Don't worry about it. This TWI is for all-levels. My approach is to take a manageable amount of the score, which could be two bars, one bar, one chord, or one note, and build up from there. I take out notes if there are too many to play comfortably, with the intention of putting them all back together when my brain can cope with all of them.
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Tom Mackey Thank you so much, Tom, for being here! Apologies for taking some time to respond, but I will echo Roy's words: just take even one or two bars from the Mendelssohn, or whatever seems manageable! Or even just taking the first exercise for the Mendelssohn, which is the right hand melody. Please let me know what has been manageable. I would love to hear a part of what you are doing and to help in any way. Really, all levels welcome here!
Were you able to do the C major scale exercise?
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Lindsay Garritson hi Lindsay, thanks for reaching out. Yes, I did the C exercises and the Felix melody and baselines.
I am not clear, having not done it before, how I get the recordings from my iPhone to you. Do I attach them to a note on this string?
By the way I watched a performance of yours on YouTube. You play beautifully and I was struck by how play the wsy you teach - and vice versa!
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Tom Mackey Thanks so much, Tom! Much appreciated. :) So glad you've enjoyed the playing and teaching. I believe you can upload the video recording(s) you make (doesn't need to be edited!) onto Youtube. It's up to you if it is unlisted or public (when you are uploading, there is a place to choose), then once it's uploaded, you may paste the link directly here in the chat!
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Thanks Lindsay and Dominic for including in the this TWI. It is now 7:36pm in the UK and I could not log in until now. I shall start this assignment tomorrow - looking forward to it!
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Thank you Roy for your very helpful advice. I will take it!
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Hi everyone! Excited to give this challenge a try. The pieces are a slightly advanced for me, however I think I can manage them with enough elbow grease
This is my first tonebase challenge. With these assignments, how long do they last for? Are we supposed to complete the first assignment by a certain date?
Also are we meant to upload our recordings or share them with the community? I don't really have a feasible recording setup (if the idea is to video ourselves) since my phone camera (and only camera) is sadly broken. However my digital piano has midi output so I could record my performances as audio into my computer that way.
Regardless I look forward to digging in. Thank you!
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Jonathan Wing Hello Jonathan and welcome to TB. This is a two-week intensive. I do as much or as little as ability and time permits. My intention is to sort out my recording/audio/computer this year. I have mentioned this on a number of previous occcasions and not put it into practice yet. My main issue is that I want to have a separate computer that is used exclusively for music recording, etc.; - a small studio, effectively. I shall use my phone to record. My recollection is that we have to upload to Youtube and then share the file with TB. Just upload the audio, if you have no camera. I am not sure whether you can upload directly to TB if it is just audio. Hope that helps.
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Jonathan Wing Hi Jonathan! Thanks so much for being here. Great to have you! I would say there is no deadline for the assignments! I am trying to help in any way possible as you work on these exercises, so whatever you'd like to share here is great. If you only have audio and that is difficult to share, I am happy to provide an email address that you could send to so I can listen. Please let me know, as well as any questions you have had while working on these!
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I watched all your assignment recordings. It's 1:14am in Canada. I can't wait to play it tomorrow morning, record and upload it. Thanks Lindsay and Dominic for arranging this for the community. Even if I am busy and not able to polish for both pieces. I think it's a great idea to master even a phrase and upload the video. So that Lindsay can comment on it and I can check if I understand and be able to apply the concepts on my playing or not. Learning the concepts, technique and be able to apply it on playing is the most valuable of all mini challenges to me. Thank you for all your efforts. I really appreciate that, Lindsay and Dominic.
Slow C + HS
Fast C+ HS
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Crystal L Thanks Crystal. I am moving towards uploading my current progress too. I am hopign that my wrist action is flexible, as this is something that I hope is part of my playing. I have been meaning to do the Taubman course on TB. This TWI has inspired me to complete it at the same time.
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Crystal L Thank you so much, Crystal! I will have a chance to listen later this evening and comment.
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Roy James-Pike nice. I can only manage to play these 2 pieces (little parts) due to my routine -_-.
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Crystal L Crystal, these two exercises are looking very good! Thank you for sharing. My comment for the slower of the two C major scale exercises is to recommend now playing it at different dynamic levels (one time forte, one time piano, one time as softly as you can!). This way you are replicating the amount of resonance and attention to legato, and it's harder to control these elements at many different dynamic levels.
For the faster scale exercise, my only comment is for the right hand: take care when your thumb crosses under the third finger (E natural to F natural), trying to move your hand even less when doing so. Otherwise, this can prevent one from getting the scales to a much faster tempo with as much evenness as possible. Although playing the scales at a fast tempo is not part of the exercise, I always recommend to students to think about if you had a coin on top of your hand, and not moving the hand in a way that would make it fall.
Good work with these!
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I am practising separate treble and bass lines in my Mendelssohn, and combined too, trying to use the fingering that is needed when playing all of it, in addition to the fingering to play the melody without the accompaniment.
My first thoughts on my initial attempts at the Mendelssohn were "Why is it sounding so cloudy?" It took a couple of days to become fully aware that I am not releasing each of the semiquavers (16th notes), particularly in the LH, which is odd, as I am left-handed. This still keeps happening. I decided to write out the turn on manuscript paper to clarify the fingerwork, and the timing, in the RH that is underneath the turn, and the releases. I am glad I did this as I then realised that the fingering sits beautifully under the hand.
The Chopin fingering is also challenging in a different way. I am trying to concentrate on voicing the melodic line (in the chords), along with the colouring that he wants by sustaining some notes, while adding others, and removing some notes (say the tonic in the second chord of Bar 26, followed by the fifth in the third chord).
The sustained and added colouring notes at the end of bar 27 (vi in C major, moving to a V7 of G (secondary dominant) are not comfortable (yet). I think this could be a really beautiful cadence when I can play it fluently.
I am trying at least three different fingerings to roll the chord at the start of bar 31, none of which is particularly satisfactory. Does the 2, 1 fingering in the RH really mean G ( RH 2, followed by 1, 2, 4 ,5), or could it be that the 2 is from the LH, that makes sense in arpeggiating the LH notes ending on the E in the treble. This is probably my preferred fingering.
I can see why Chopin didn't approve of (others) playing his pieces from memory. The temptation in this Nocturne (to be resisted) is to block out all of the notes in the given chord inversion.
It's clear from the above that a lot more work is needed for me to sort out the detail, which requires playing each piece really slowly to allow me to attempt to achieve all of the given colourings in each piece. before I share this with others.
This feels like a SWI (6 or 7 weeks), which will be good for me to do, not least to engage in more brain-training on reading precisely, as well as then playing precisely.
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Roy James-Pike Hi Roy, just saw your comments here! I will have a look tonight and get back to you. Thank you!
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Roy James-Pike Hello, Roy! Thanks for your thoughtful comments above. I'm glad these exercises are proving challenging and interesting. I completely understand that it may feel like assignments over a longer period of time, so please don't worry if you don't get to everything in the way you'd like. Perhaps focusing on one or two aspects of each piece is plenty!
If you feel comfortable doing so, I'd love to hear some recordings of the exercises (even just the melody lines alone without putting all parts together) to hopefully address more clearly the issues you mentioned. Please let me know if you'd like to share a recording!
For the Chopin, that is smart to slowly add some (not necessarily all) of the notes to some chords, so as to focus on voicing one step at a time. For the fingering in measure 31, I happen to use the right hand fingering you suggested, starting with 2 on the E natural, then 1,2,4,5. That sits best in my hand for fluidity, and I would recommend that fingering as opposed to playing that E natural with 2 in the left hand. But, only you know your hands! If you can roll these two chords in a completely fluid way with your preferred fingering, then great.
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Lindsay Garritson thanks for the feedback. I shall experiment with taking out some of the more elusive notes in the Chopin chords. The 16th notes in the Mendelssohn continue to require concentrated effort to flow with independence. I’ll make some recordings and share if they are worthwhile.
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Roy James-Pike Looking forward!
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Sorry for some wrong notes, I tried my best. Thank you for any comments.
Here's my Songs without Words, HT.
Here's my C + voicing chords.
Here's my Nocturne, op.48, no.1 , RH.
thank you.
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Crystal L Hi Crystal. Lovely work again!
For the Mendelssohn, I appreciated how evenly you are playing the sixteenth notes all the way through. Not easy! My overall comment would be to make sure that in the right hand melody, be careful that you don't lose resonance and the weight of your touch in some of the notes (this tends to happen in the second beat, e.g. measures 4, 7, 14). Also take care when you have a longer note (half note starting at measure 12) to play it a bit louder, ensuring that the note sustains (not dying away too quickly) and therefore you can create a long, "singing" group of four notes. This is a very good start, though! Overall, if you can play the right hand melody just a hair louder overall, the balance between all parts will be even better than it is.
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Crystal L Crystal, you nailed the voicing exercise! As I mentioned in the original video, you could make it harder (since you did so well) by adding that fourth finger on a B flat in the right hand.
Thank you for the Chopin exercise. This is also sounded very good! I mentioned to Roy above that I recommend using a specific fingering for the first chord in measure 31: in the right hand, play that first E natural with the second finger, then 1, 2, 4, 5. Should feel much better and smoother in the hand! In terms of the voicing, I have very little comments: I could definitely hear your clear phrasing throughout, but continue to work on making sure the notes in each chord are still clear and coordinated (some of the notes that you were NOT voicing in certain chords sounded a bit dropped or too faded compared to the surrounding notes). Lots of detailed work involved with this, of course! But you're doing very good work. Next step I would recommend is adding the left hand (still without pedal), then adding pedal!
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Hello Lindsay,Dominic and everyone.
I am new to ToneBase,… have been followed the instructions of Lindsay’s suggestion of practicing. Here my Mendelssohn.
I found myself playing a bit fast when the camera was on
, and one question, am I using too much Rubato ?Thanks in advance for commenting
Rosamond
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Rosamond Hello Rosamond! So glad you are with us and shared some Mendelssohn. Lovely start to this! In answer to your question, your rubato did not bother me at all; it came across as sensitive to the music and phrasing. However I will add one thing: my overall comment was that some of the melodic notes were not resonant enough, and I think this was because you weren't using enough weight in the key at times. For instead, your very first note of the melody needed to be a bit louder (what happened was that notes immediately after were louder and therefore the first note did not quite match up). Perhaps you were worried about being too loud in certain places (a natural thing to think about!), but I would say for now, err on the side of each melodic note being a bit louder (overall) and having a bit more sustained quality/resonance to it. Even in measure 5 where you have the ornamental turn going into the fourth beat, I wanted to hear more resonance and clarity in each one of those notes (even though they do happen quickly!). One last thing: your sixteenth note accompaniment was also good, but work even more on evenness throughout. I believe if you can really get that melodic line a notch louder overall, the balance and clarity will also be easier to achieve between the parts. Overall I really enjoyed your approach to this music! I appreciated your observation of dynamic changes as well as really bringing out that octave leap in the melody in an expressive way.
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