Group 1
Welcome to the latest TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
For the next two weeks either start learning OR take a Chopin mazurka in your repertoire to the next level through guidance and assignments from Jarred Dunn! Learn about stylistic advice, aspects of the dance and more!
Pianists of all levels are welcome.
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Assignment #1: Seeing the Mazurka
1) Watch Mazurka Dance Lessons 1, 2, and 3:
http://www.tance.edu.pl/en/lessons/show/dance/720
-Pay close attention to Lesson 3: the lesson builds rhythms from what we hear as a Waltz into a clear accent on 2nd beat, 3rd beat, and both 2nd/3rd beats
2) Learn one Mazurka
Choose one from the following suggested opuses for the whole TWI.
Week 1: Practice the LH:
-Op. 6 nr. 1, nr. 2
-Op. 7 nr. 1, nr. 2
-Op. 24 nr. 1 or 2
-Op. 30 nr. 1 or 2
-Op. 67 any
- or a different mazurka
Practice Activities:
a) Identify/mark all articulation in LH parts.
b) Clap the rhythm, emphasize accents and count aloud (speak louder for accented beats, eg. "one, Two, THREE" or "one, TWO, Three" etc.)
c) Identify/mark any unknown harmonic shifts or chords.
d) Find all cadences and notice unfamiliar accents (beat 2).
e) Voice tops of chords in LH or find a moving line (could be the middle notes of a chord that change).
f) Use RH for chords and LH for bass lines.
g) Circle any rests/pauses - they need to be heard.
Upload videos of your LH practicing/playing.
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ASSIGNMENT 2
Second Assignment: Continue your new Mazurka
Week 2: Practice the RH:
Listen to instruments, timbres, and moods in the following:
Kujawiak: https://youtu.be/RjV1bpxi0bc
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego: https://youtu.be/mTx45S-dQmQ?t=4
Chopin Mazurkas/Folk Mazurkas: https://youtu.be/n8OyddwnVbE
Look For/Listen For:
a) Learn the soprano part (melody), always sing/scream with it when you play. Think of dancers in this video: https://youtu.be/p6svoYBEWCs?t=10
b) Add ornaments after you learned the rhythms of the melody.
c) Dotted rhythms and triplets must sound distinctly different (no slackened dotted-eighth/sixteenths).
d) Accents on beats two and three can be subtle: try different levels of pressure/weight on the keys, to create at least four different accent types: sudden accent, leaning/swaying accent, light accent, heavy accent.
e) Remember that recording yourself is the best way to find out if you're actually doing what you intend. Record your melodic playing/singing/screaming whenever you practice.
Upload videos of your RH practicing/playing.
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- Sign-Up : starting July 14
- Course Period: July 17-31
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: July 27th 9am PT
CHECK IN VIDEO!
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Here is the theme for Op6 N.1
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Richard George Littlewood I'd suggest making a video of just the LH part first - it'll be easier to discuss rhythmical things/harmonic work. Is that doable?
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Jarred Dunn Sure. I'll do that tomorrow.
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Jarred Dunn Chopin Mazurka left hand practice - YouTube
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Lepiej (better). This made it easier for me to know where to start. In this mazurek the LH has two lines: bass and tenor. Bass has single notes and sometimes octaves, tenor has chords/intervals. I recommend practicing them separately so you can experience each line like a Bach fugue. Next, I suggest shorter articulation between quints and octaves at 0:27, the sound more plucked after each octave. At 0:41, less pedal and more bass emphasis on the G-sharp, imagine a resonant instrument in a large landscape (trąbita): the heavy attack used on a piano will give an accent on 2nd beat. 0:58 passage in chromatic descending lines - try this without pedal and see what fingerings you can use to make bass and tenor lines legato.
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Hello,
Although I have been too busy to post until now, I chose Op 6. nr.1 and have been working on it since Monday. I am really stunned by the level of musical complexity in such a "simple" dance song. So far, I am really struggling with the section from measures 41 to 56. It's hard to keep the left hand balanced with all of that jumping around on the keyboard.
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Steven Hart Here is where I am currently at in the left hand. As you can tell, I am really struggling with bars 41-56
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Steven Hart Dobrze (=good job)! You focused on the right dynamic changes and voicing especially at the cadence. Good tempo change for the rowdy mazurek (0:44), imagine in the LH bass part a trębita (long trumpet) for the G-sharp - on a piano it's not possible to make such a long tone resonate the way a trumpet can, but it's important to think this way to make the line feel constantly energetic. LH in scherzando is good in tempo, think about the first eighth note having a bit of emphasis to hear the first beat is on the eighth and not the quarter (mazurkas tend to accent the second beat but do not put an upbeat-downbeat relationship between Beats 1 and 2: beat 1 is always heard). Już dobrze, gratuluje, do roboty! (Already good start, congratulations, back to work!)
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Here my LH practice of op. 56 No 3 mm 137-220. I've decided to focus on the last three pages of my Mazurka for this Intensive. :) Thank you very much for all feedback!
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Andrea Buckland you have a great sound, and a controlled one, too! Well done, my gutsy friend!
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Monika Tusnady Monika!
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Andrea Buckland What a lovely LH with so much character. Sounds great even without the RH. Beautiful playing. Can’t wait to hear more.
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Andrea Buckland dobra robota na początku (good work on the opening). The octave can be heard as a delicate or distant horn call, with a small ensemble of string players as the chorale. The first bass F could be much softer so that we hear the long G’s resonance. At 0:38, the tenor is the following voice, plan for that to be much softer so the Soprano trill will be heard yet the line still sounding delicately. At 0:51 I’m sure you’ve been working at the sixteenth rhythm in repeated G’s, but wait a bit longer on the rest between the eighth and sixteenth so your finger doesn’t remain too long on the key and stifle the rhythm. This is a challenge in all mazurkas and it is good to solve it early (escapement timing on the key, finger motion and release). Good work with the contrapuntal texture of the main theme and disintegrating/painful chromatics, use more the idea of a lira korbowa (steady, droning chromatic overtone shades) to build the legato here. At 2:27, move your hand and forearm inward when you start the ascending scale. Good arrival at 2:35 on the F. Ten utwór jest bardzo trudny, gratuluję! Do roboty!
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Jarred Dunn Thank you very very much, Jarred! Yes! Back to work!
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Andrea Buckland sounds nice, Andrea! Can't wait to hear it with both left and right hand!
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Natalie Peh Thanks my dear friends Monika Tusnady Vidhya Bashyam
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Andrea Buckland What a beautiful and lyrical left hand voice! Well done! Looking forward to hear more :)
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Sindre Skarelven Isn’t this a wonderful Mazurka? And this is only the bottom half of a third!
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Andrea Buckland Yes!
It’s very intriguing and alluring! Drawing the listener into a wonderful universe. -
Andrea Buckland What a beautiful left hand writing, you play it with great musicality; love it, Andrea!
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Juan Carlos Olite thank you, my busy friend! glad you’re back playing piano again! :)
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Hi Mazurkophiles / Cześć mazurkofile! I want to thank you for your videos, questions, and general participation this week. I’m enjoying this TWI and hope you are learning a lot!
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Jarred Dunn Can’t thank you enough for your feedback and answers! Such a great opportunity for us all to learn. Very valuable indeed!
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Here two practice videos (right hand and both hands). Mazurka op 56 No 3, mm 173-220. In a way I find it easier to play with both hands. Thank you very much for feedback, Jarred!
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Andrea Buckland listened to both videos, good effort on legato, cadence completion, and pulse. When repeating the dotted rhythms of the main theme, don’t start the second one as loudly as the first. mind the rhythm/rest at m.190-91! The final phrase from m. 205 I find easier to play while voicing alto. I think your singing helped you sense phrase lengths. Nice final chords, disappearing folk band is the style here (Chopin’s recollections fade into mists). Second video: listen more to the dispersed octaves in bass (mm. 150-51, 160-61) these can be heard after the fact for a bit longer and clarify the texture. Leaping bass = listen more from listener’s perspective. Chromatic descending line is developing well. Top voice LH octave at m189 can be more and lower voice much less sound (same in RH) - Chopinian octaves voice the higher note. M209 you have the right idea with soprano, just go for a bit bigger sound in accents - this is more an outcry from within the texture to exceed the outer limits (C’s in soprano and bass) and beg for some new solution to the problem, which Chopin of course shies away from by making the ending a faded postcard from some happier place.
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Jarred Dunn Many thanks, Jarred! Will work on your suggestions! I like the faded postcard image. It‘s horrible music to be honest.
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