Week 1: A New Hope

Starting on May 4th...

Welcome to the Unfinished Business Challenge — and the beginning of our four-week musical adventure!

Every great journey starts with a first step (and some hope!) This week is about choosing your piece: something you’ve always wanted to learn, something you started and left behind, or something unfinished that keeps calling you back.

This Week’s Mission

Choose one piece (or excerpt) to stay with throughout the challenge.

A few ideas:

  • A piece you’ve always meant to finish
  • Something abandoned years ago that deserves a second life
  • A new piece you’ve been waiting for the right moment to begin
  • A small excerpt from a larger dream piece

Big or small, all choices are welcome. What matters is that it feels like your unfinished business.

This Week, Share:

  • What piece did you choose?
  • Why this piece?
  • Is there a musical challenge or goal you hope to work through this month?

If you’d like, post a recording of where you’re starting from — even a rough first read. We’d love to hear it.

Over the next four weeks we’ll build momentum together!

 

203 replies

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    • Marian_Miller
    • 3 days ago
    • Reported - view

    This challenge will inspire me to carry on learning Schubert Moments Musicaux no.4, which I was about to abandon. 

    • Mary_Manuel
    • 3 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I have 3 choices and haven't decided yet. 1. JS Bach "Sheep May Safely Graze" (I had to set this one aside because of elbow pain - I think it was those inner melodic voices!!) 2. Liszt/Schumann "Widmung" (I started this last year but other pieces took precedence and I put it aside) 3. Earl Wild/Gershwin "Embraceable You" (I brought this to my lessons a year or so ago, but it also got moved to the parking lot while other pieces took over. My mother sang this at my wedding  - It was her favorite piece. Hmmmmmm....I think I better chose this one!!!)

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       someone played that Gershwin/Wild piece at masterclass hosted by our local piano society last year. I had never heard it before and was blown away. So beautiful!! Oh, but don’t let that influence you. Play whatever you see fit. 😉

      • Der Wanderer
      • FRANZ_SCHUBERT
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Yes - Earl Wild / Gershwin Etude No. 4, Embraceable You !  I did not know this piece either until late last Fall.  Somehow I came upon it as I was trying to listen to different brands of grand pianos - Schimmel,  Blüthner, Fazioli, Steinway, Yamaha etc.  An awesome piece that once heard is unforgettable yet somehow I did forget about it (temporarily!) until I read your post.  ;-)  

      • The Retired French Teacher
      • Monikainfrance
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       If you love playing for others, Sheep May Safely Graze is am ever-popular choice. It's something I should add to my list of pieces to learn, too. 

    • Fionna_Zhang
    • 2 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I think I’ll use this challenge as an opportunity to complete Chopin’s Grande Polonaise brillante op. 22! I learned the first half about 8 years ago before life got in the way, would love to finally finish it off. (If I have time, I’ll throw in relearning the Andante Spianato as a bonus)

    • Mark_Cooper
    • 2 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Wow, I’m so impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the members of this community, fantastic !! Looking forward to hearing all these contributions.

    For myself , my ‘ unfinished ‘ business is actually preparing pieces for my upcoming AmusA examination in August / September

    so I plan to present movements 3 and 4 (adagio and allegro) from Handel’s keyboard suite in F . The allegro is a fugue , so I’ve been rewatching Dominic’s talk on this subject , very helpful !

      • hot4euterpe
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I didn't know what an AmusA examination was and ended up learning all about it and the AMEB program this morning (I am from Canada). It seems like a combination of our RCM curriculum (Royal Conservatory of Music) and the European ABRSM (Association Board) curriculum. Your AmusA is similar to our ARCT exam here, which is a lot of work to get to. So congrats to you on this upcoming goal! I look forward to hearing your Handel selections for this challenge=)

    • Sachi
    • 2 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Thank you Dominic and Tonebase for providing us such great opportunity and encouragement. 

    I have two pieces in mind: either Liszt: Liebestraum no.3 the last section «dolce armonioso» or the last page of Chopin prelude op.28-13.

    I have chosen the Chopin prelude because this one is dear to me. I just love this one.
    I wanted to learn the prelude during Chopin challenge, but time was running short. I need to work with the last half. 

      • Koshka
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       I’ve also chosen the Chopin prelude no. 13! ❤️ 

    • TT2022
    • Yesterday
    • Reported - view

    Well, I just tried out the coda of the Barcarolle after learning the notes for the first time a few months ago. (I had to put it in cold storage over the past few months due to other commitments taking precedence.)  I just tried it out today and cold recorded myself and it’s patchy and I’m hunting around for notes here and there. So I’m debating whether to share a shambolic Week 1 video as a baseline or not 😅  

    Will see if others do the same! Nothing like solidarity in collective week 1 beginnings…! 

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       that depends! What I produced in tonight’s practice session was too atrocious a horror show to record even as a draft. But by the end of the week, this movement could have mellowed from an R-rated slasher flick into a PG-13 rated horror comedy. So, if you’re talking about recording the baseline status on the weekend (late, very late on the weekend 😉),, I could be persuaded to join you. 

      • TT2022
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       Ha! yes, current status is semi slasher flick zone! This is actually a good idea — recording on the weekend after we’ve had the chance to spend a few more days with our pieces. And then we can do this every weekend for the next few weeks of this challenge. 

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       deal! I’m in. 

      • Pianist, composer and piano teacher
      • Sindre_Skarelven
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       Yes! This is how we used to do these challenges before (as you may remember), actually making a recording each week! I find it much more useful and interesting, and will try to join in :) 

      • vbashyam
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

        I agree with  Sindre. The old challenges where everyone posted weekly videos were great! I will do it for this challenge as well. 

    • Pediatrician
    • a_weymann
    • Yesterday
    • Reported - view

    I’m going to pick a hope-themed motto for each week. This week, it shall be: “Hope is no strategy”. 😆 Although I guess Dominic will give different titles to subsequent weeks…? 🤔

      • Pianist, composer and piano teacher
      • Sindre_Skarelven
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       I’ll be very curious to see what you will come up with for the coming weeks! ☺️

      • Noel_Nguyen
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

        I suggest "abandon all hope, ye who enter here".

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       😂most certainly not! We will all remain relentlessly positive and optimistic, won’t we? 😀

      • vbashyam
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       Or more like- 

      “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” 

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       brilliant! 😂

      • Pianist, composer and piano teacher
      • Sindre_Skarelven
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

        Aragorn: “This is a good piano, Haleth son of Hama (enter own name)…There is always hope!” 

      • Pediatrician
      • a_weymann
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

      inspired mixing of pop culture universes! 

      • Mom, fitness instructor, lover of music
      • Michelle_Russell
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       "Hopelessly devoted"? 

Content aside

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