WEEK TWO Updates: Main Thread - Enjoying G major (and G minor)!

Hello and welcome to the WEEK TWO Main Thread for this challenge! 🤩

Awesome job everyone! You are doing so great, and I am loving the videos + all the hard work! It is inspiring see the level of commitment/enthusiasm you all have for this music!

 


Alright everyone - this is the thread where we'll all be posting our daily updates.  

Make sure you've read the rules before replying (<- click)

 

Twice a week between June 17th - July 8th I hope to be reading your daily updates in this very thread right here!  


Download the music:

Handel: Chaconne in G major HWV 435


Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!):  

  • Variation you worked on:
  • One thing you found easy:
  • One thing you found difficult:
  • (Optional): a video of you performing it!

Sample daily update:  

  • Variation you worked on: No. 1
  • One thing you found easy: Learning the notes, and rhythms were rather straight-forward, and not challenging!
  • One thing you found difficult: Playing the trills/ornaments in an elegant way was what challenged me the most.

Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!

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    • Tim
    • Tim
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view
    • Variation you worked on: Working diligently on just one variation - but loving it #9
    • One thing you found easy: Falling in love with this beautiful music.
    • One thing you found difficult: Pursuit of perfection - watching everyone working through all the different versions has made me want to stop perfecting and move on to other variations - but really, I'm not there yet... but so enjoying everyone's videos and feeling inspired.

    I chopped off my head in the video and couldn't get another one I wanted to upload... so just audio this time.

    • Tim That is beautiful sensitive playing and sounds perfect to me !

      Like 1
      • Tim
      • Tim
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      mariannejhampton  wow, you made me tear up, thank you, that means the world to me.

      Like 1
  • 11 nearly there - YouTube

    11. needs more practice, but nearly there

    Difficult: after the two adagios, 9 and 10, 11 picks up the pace, and finding the phrasing, and rhythym,  that makes sense for 11 is not easy. Also I think how you play 11 will affect 12 to 17.

    Like 1
    • Edwin Schalk
    • Think Different
    • Edwin
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Variation you worked on: continued work on no. 10 (G minor) and starting no. 19 (G major)

    One thing you found easy: having the repetition in no. 10 sound more 'distant' (like the Perahia recording - not saying I can do it like he does but it wasn't as difficult as I expected)

    One thing you found difficult: On no. 10: ornamentation is still something to work on (and not that easy - found it way more easy back in the days when playing the organ ;-)) On no. 19: trying to have the left hand like an ongoing flow of notes while the right hand distinctly sounds as the melody.

      • Tim
      • Tim
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Edwin Schalk Sounds great, I guess I should probably do repeats too .. but I'm just so happy to get one good recording. I really love the tone on 10.2 sounds really good. Also like 19.1 - I think I'm going to be living with this piece for a while, so thanks for the beautiful inspiration. 

      Like 1
    • Edwin Schalk really beautiful and delicate sound in the slow variation, the repetition well pondered too. 

      Like 2
      • Edwin Schalk
      • Think Different
      • Edwin
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Tim thx. Recognize what you say: I've deleted too many recordings because I messed up in the repetition 😂

      Like 1
  • Like 3
    • Tim
    • Tim
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view
    • Variation you worked on: #9 - getting better... loving this one, excited to start #10.
    • One thing you found easy: Finally... parts that were impossible are getting easier and even dependable and not just lucky.
    • One thing you found difficult: Giving each note the time it deserves and not rushing.
    Like 1
    • Tim I like your embellishments in the beginning, have you figured them out by yourself or did you hear them by someone else?

      Like 1
      • Tim
      • Tim
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Elena Nikitina I wish they were my idea 🙂 my piano teacher added them though... there are one or two more that are going in, but I can't do them well yet.

      Like 1
    • Tim Coming along nicely, Tim!

      Like 1
      • Tim
      • Tim
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Steven Ellner Thanks man, I appreciate that! Now adding trills and wrapping it up for the final week. I'm going to keep working on other variations as I'm really liking it.

      Like 1
      • Tim
      • Tim
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Elena Nikitina Spoke with my teacher - they are from the Barenreiter edition. 

      Like 1
  • These days I’ve been trying the slow variations 9 and 10.

    The most difficult is to overcome the hammer nature of our instrument and “sing” the melody and contrapuntal voice.

    Like 2
  • Like 2
  • The Variations in g minor of yesterday.

    The most difficult for me here is to get grip of all the twists in cadence and between the variations, making them flow into each other smoothly.

    Like 1
  • Variation I worked on: 1

    One thing you found easy: playing through the melody deciding on articulations to give it a sense of shape

    One thing you found difficult: getting the  ornaments right without interrupting the flow of the melody and deciding if I want to add other ornaments to add in some improvisation

    Like 1
  • 12

    Difficult. I struggled to make it sound ok and I ended up playing it as a gentle piece of music, with a light touch, so as far as I am able...

    Handel 12 - YouTube

    Like 1
  • I didn't know there is another thread going on here.

    I found Variation 7 very interesting, and made a quick recording by my cellphone.

    Like 1
    • I worked on Var 3, 4 and 5 this week. It got too late and I ran out of time to make the Var. 5 video. I think I will jump forward to work on the g minor vars. next after listening to the other beautiful recordings that have been submitted here.

      Like
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