Week 1: A New Hope

Michelle R Great job getting through the whole piece so soon! I love slow practice too! 

Michelle R Slow practice can definitely be boring, but is also very helpful!

When my teacher told me I was practicing way too quickly, and as a result, building bad muscle memory, she assigned me C major scales/formula patterns, Hanon Exercises, and hands-separate practice of the Wandererfantasie, all at 30, 40, and 50 BPM and at least 20 repetitions hands-together/12 hands-separately. I reluctantly followed her advice/assignments, and she was definitely correct. 

Vidhya Bashyam Thanks, Vidhya. Slow practice and I get along quite well!

Maria Thanks. My teacher encourages me to move quickly as soon as possible, because I tend to linger in slow-practice-land. My son, on the other hand, is encouraged (same teacher) to SLOW DOWN his practicing. We are all such different creatures, aren't we?

Michelle R Great work for week 1 Michelle! How's the tension you were mentioning in the other thread? In this second recording, you seem to be using your wrist more actively to support the outside of the hand and relaxing your thumb when not in use! =)

Dustin Anderson Thanks, Dustin! The tension is much better. I spent considerable time working super slowly with the right hand, deliberately relaxing the thumb when it released the key. My forearm still gets tired if I spend too much time on this piece, but that will get better with time as I become accustomed to this constant movement. 

Michelle R I always found slow practice boring. My previous teacher always said that if I could play something quickly, than I should, but my current teacher pointed out that practicing too quickly reinforces bad technique, so now whenever I start a new piece/section/scale/drill, I have to practice at 30 BPM for at least 3 days before I can speed it up. 

Michelle R 

Michelle R said:
The tension is much better.

My teacher said I had a tension problem (I did not think I actually did; my hands did not feel tense), but she said it resolved when I started sitting lower. My elbows were previously a bit above the keys; now I sit with them level with the keys) and further from the piano.  

Maria I typically only have tension of the bad variety when learning a new technique or just something new. Once I figure things out, I’m good. 

Michelle R That's fantastic =) Your efforts are clearly getting results!

Alexander Weymann  Colossal work! 

I don't think I have the moral fortitude that you have, to systematically practice hands separately. My hands feel so connected to each other that practicing hands separately would feel like practicing only the parts played by fingers 1-2-3 of a hand, then the parts played by 4-5! But it is without a doubt an excellent exercise, notably to reinforce memory, so bravo!

Noel Nguyen thank you very much indeed. It is comforting to know that someone is listening to this who can appreciate the untold hours of work that have gone into these barely three minutes of music. These six sections are unspeakably difficult, and the movement in its entirety is one of the five, maybe even three hardest pieces I have ever played - which is saying something, coming from someone who has been playing the piano for 50 years. 

Alexander Weymann Great work! Your commitment to your systematic plan is paying off; your segments are consistent in facility and your lateral movement is already quite efficient for week 1. You have your music up but seem to have the passagework mostly memorized with the way you move? (If so that is also impressive!) A great approach to this challenging piece. I look forward to hearing your next steps on this =)

Dustin Anderson thank you so much, Dustin; you are very kind. Yes, I think much of it is memorized, just not consciously and reliably yet - that’s where I would love to be at the end of this month because that, of course, would be needed for a concert performance. Many pieces, even very difficult ones, can be performed while looking at the music, but this movement is not one of them. 

Alexander Weymann Love seeing how you tackle this complex piece! Sounds pretty cool- even just the left hand.

Alexander Weymann I don't know this piece, but even just the LH alone looks super complex. I imagine even these sections took quite a bit of time just to work out! I'm impressed already!

Alexander Weymann I listened to Elia Cecino playing this in last Cliburn quarterfinals (?) and thought the music certainly has a magic magnetism that just traps and locks pianists until they digest everything and own it in their own ways. Because, looking at the score, it seems almost unplayable (to me). Congratulations and bonne courage!

Astrida thank you; that’s a beautiful description. Elia Cecino’s performance was fantastic. Yes, that sonata certainly has an almost magical magnetism and is irresistibly seductive. 

Alexander Weymann thank you for sharing the behind the scenes videos with all of us! It’s inspiring.  I’m particularly impressed with your discipline in working through it all sans pedal!