Group 1
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 Recording!
- https://youtu.be/Fl-ExGT9aZY
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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Hello All!
Here's my assignment two for the TWI. This was a great exercise in keeping the motion of the melody line moving forward for me. I hope to record a progress video today. I am admittedly struggling with my interpretation of the B section of the nocturne, which feels a little more like a Polonaise to me. I am attempting to keep it in character, but with enough contrast so that it sparks real interest without becoming too march-like. Maybe I am way off base. At any rate, here's this morning's video.-
Bryan Sable oh so jealous! You're doing amazing. I can't find one single bassnote with my voice yet
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Bryan Sable That’s a wonderfully clear melodic bass line! Beautiful!
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Bryan Sable The secret is out; Vidhya and I team up on everything, including cheering.
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Bryan Sable the swell in your voice when harmonies change in mm. 1-2 is precisely the idea intended by this assignment. When our ear catches the changes of harmony it intuitively wants to switch to singing them, so keeping it attuned to the organ point requires a bit of extra sound. This is exactly how we should hear it when playing too - as a crescendo, even if the piano is not making one at some point during the long tone. You'll also notice far more sophisticated rubato and phrasing than your first video because this time you're hearing how long the bass actually can (or cannot) last and in good, natural timing and taste. Next step: add colour to ends of phrases in your bass line.
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Bryan Sable Beautiful singing! Completely envious of your deep bass sound :)
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Bryan Sable wow!!
You really are doing an amazing Job! Your singing is so beautiful!
I’m sure you’ll do amazing when you play it with both hands. It looks like you are really understanding the piece.
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Jarred Dunn Dear Mr. Dunn, Can you repost the Assignment #2 video, please? I think it disappeared. Thank you, Wendy
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Wendy It is right at the top of this page. Directly underneath the assignment one video. :)
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Hi!!!
I hope you're having a great day!! :D
I'll upload my video of this week assignment.
But I must say it has been very challenging for me. What I realize during this assignment is that if I start singing the base...
I start loosing the melody and...
Instead of making the melody stand out. I start highlighting the base which is not only wrong but my brain starts thinking that the melody is in the base.
So...
What I did is hum part of the base and part of the melody.
A mixture of both voices.
I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the piece. Is slower than it's usually played.
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Adriana López This piece is heavy. Good sound.
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Kerstin thank you so much! <3
At least is progress. It needs so much work still…
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Adriana López Yes, I have played it last year and this last part in tempo is absolutely difficult but also so emotional and fantastic. Do you play other pieces too?
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Adriana López Most of your singing I cannot hear, but the notes I do hear are in the middle range of the harmony? Try singing only bass notes - this will help your phrasing and security in the melody. The soprano and alto are too heavy for a real Chopinian style if we do not sense the support of the bass. Then switch it and sing the melody while playing only the bass note. You'll soon find the textures become more clearly separated and voices emerge.
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Adriana López I had the same issues. I am not used to sing harmony so I got distracted, plus I can't play the piece well yet, so it was too much.
I recorded both hands seperately. Left hand bass melody, to learn it. And the soprano melody to sing with it. So I needed to concentrate only on singing, plus I could help me on difficult soots with slightly tapping the piano key and make sure I was still in tune.
Maybe this helps you, too?
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Kerstin yes.
Actually I was deciding between the 1st movement of the Sonata op.35 and this nocturne and I decided the nocturne since I’ve been having more trouble with it (specially this last part).
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Jarred Dunn amazing!
Thank you for your feedback. I was worried about the middle section being too heavy :/I’ll practice the way you’ve told me :)
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Dagmar thank you!
I’ll do it! I think it would help me tons.
Really need to focus on my singing without distractions…
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Adriana López This Sonata is wonderful. My favorite Sonata is
op. 58. I am not sure, if I can play it sometime. But anyway I am playing just for fun and have still time to get it done. Have fun.
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Now, singing is not my favorite subject (last part is missing, was to complicated) , but I have realized, that I can take more time in such beautiful melodies and have to breath while I am playing. https://youtu.be/IPbaJcouwt4?si=U6fB-nFAqAkdamhC
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Kerstin very nice, Kerstin!
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Kerstin Very beautiful!
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Kerstin I think you’re doing an amazing job.
I love the dynamics in your playing, the ritardandos you make here and there… I think is working! :D
it just flows!
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Andrea Buckland Thank you.
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Hi Jarred! I have question about phrasing. In bar 8 the f-sharp - is this the end or beginning? I feel more the end, but on bar four the phrase starts with f-sharp. The other phrases are quite clear.
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Kerstin it's the beginning of the phrase; Chopin writes a slur that finishes there to show it's still legato, but the phrase really does end on the C-sharp in a poetic rise. As with many long phrases in Chopin, you can play it as an elision (end and beginning are one note, the note functions in two ways), but the phrases are upward in this movement, so thinking of the poignant moments as high notes is more lyrical.
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