Michelle's Diary of a Beginning Pianist
Welcome to my practice diary.
Many, many years ago (approximately 35!) I played Double Bass, so while I am not new to music I am new to piano. I began piano lessons in August 2023 (after some playing around on my own, which I don't really count!) after watching my son having so much fun on our piano. I'm slowly making progress, and am enjoying the journey of learning.
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Working with an injury to the fifth finger, one can come up with some slightly creative fingering which still works (for some pieces). Here is the Mozart K-3, "Allegro" which I have been working on.
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It's been a couple of months since last I posted, and I've continued on my counterpoint journey having now learned all four species and the accompanying rules. I've just now begun working on "mixed value" counterpoint (or fifth species), which incorporates all four species. In this exercise, I've been given a cantus firmus above which I am to write - but as a bit of help I have been given five notes interspersed along the way as guideposts toward which I must find my way and then navigate between.
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One way I like to practice is to record a section, watch it with score and mark where there are little hiccups, then practice those sections and record again. I find that when I do this (which isn't often enough, since it takes a fair bit of time) I tend to improve trouble spots more quickly. Here is an example of this practice, taken from the Khachaturian Andantino/Ivan Sings that I've been learning this past month. Take one was my first time through this section; I spent about 10 minutes working on the little sections after watching the video and then recorded again.
Take one: https://youtu.be/XMRCAcZdVMY
Take two: https://youtu.be/ow6fBwsnfYo
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Alrighty , this is for you!! (and fair warning to anyone who might watch the attached video, this is not piano practice but singing practice!).
Here is the start of the Italian arietta I'm learning in the TB Voice "Italian Arias and Art Songs" challenge. This is where I am 2 weeks in, with still a fair bit of text to put to music and lots of vowel work and consonant work still to do.
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Bach Little Prelude in C (BWV 939) not quite ready for the TB Bach Page but slowly in the process of getting there. Am hoping to incorporate some of the section work I've been doing on the LH mordents which is currently not carrying over to playing the piece in full; also steadying and increasing the tempo is a goal.
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From the Mozart 2026 Challenge: Allegretto in F
I finally found time and energy to practice this little piece, so here it is one month after the end of the challenge: