Week 2: First Impressions & Trouble Spots
Now that you've chosen your Schubert piece and spent some time with the score, it's time to share your early thoughts and challenges. Schubert’s music can be deceptively simple on the surface, but there's always something hidden in the phrasing, harmonies, or structure that invites deeper reflection.
Musical or Emotional First Impressions
What struck you when you first began working on your piece? Was it the mood, a particular modulation, the lyricism of the melody, or perhaps an unexpected harmonic twist?
What does this music say to you emotionally?
Are there any moments that feel especially personal or profound?
Trouble Spots: What’s Tripping You Up?
Every piece comes with its own set of technical or musical puzzles. Now’s the time to share:
Are there fingering passages that feel awkward or unclear?
Is voicing between the hands giving you trouble?
Are there rhythmic sections that feel unstable or hard to count?
Are you unsure how to shape certain phrases?
Use this thread to:
Ask for advice from fellow participants or mentors
Post short videos of the spots giving you trouble
Offer tips on how you’ve solved a challenge someone else might face
Bonus: Your questions will be answered by Dominic in an upcoming livestream TBD!
Remember: this week is all about process, not perfection. Let’s support each other in getting over the first hurdles and building a deeper connection to Schubert’s music.
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Alrighty - here's our first attempt at playing the 4-hands piece. I played only the A section since I'm not yet confident enough with the B section to play it with someone else, but Thurmond went ahead and played through the B section (since this is supremely easy for him). The plan is to increase tempo just a bit, but he will play around and have fun on the repeats. The primary challenge I'm having is how close we are, I'm not accustomed to needing to limit my sideways movement! I expect Thurmond's challenge is slowing down for me.
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Vidhya Bashyam Thanks, Vidhya. It sounded better than I expected! We've been meaning to do some 4-hands playing for a while. Glad we finally had an incentive to give it a go.
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Michelle R Of course sounds great, Michelle! Well done!
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Michelle R I loved seeing and hearing you & Thurmond playing together. This brought back memories of me accompanying my son when he was studying violin, and then, later on, singing!
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Juan Carlos Olite Gail Ravin Starr Thank you!
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As promised my progress on Schubert's waltz in b minor:
This is how it sounds after 2 weeks into practise :) I really like how it improves!
In week 2
- I gained more pedal control. I have made clear decisions on how and when to use both pedals, and am confident to apply it in part A. In part B I still forget about my left foot pedaling choices and still do it randomly, right foot feels good.
- Part A also feels good in phrasing, articulation and dynamics. I worked on the accented notes and will continue there, to make sure they aren't aggressively accented, but more an emphasis thought, and that the second note in the bar is not doing a crescendo and reveal that an accent is about to come too early.
- I worked on arm/wrist movement and will continue with that. But it's gotten a lot better/smoother. Also I feel more relaxed, pinky is not sticking up so much anymore
- already more secure in part B, especially the end! But there are some "troublespots": For whatever reason my instinct tells me to go to tonic instead of dominant chord in one spot, and I keep doing this regularly although it doesn't make any sense at all. Plus I tend to mix up or get confused by two similar turns. Also in part A there is a spot where muscle memory/sensation is not "save" yet, I feel insecure, and often mess up because my brain doesn't trust the fingering.
- memorizsation got a lot better, thinking gaps are shorter now and expecially in part A I need way less concentration now, which gives me liberty to shape the music.
- I changed some fingerings, because the given fingering tempts me into legato in spots where my hand should raise. So I decided to use a fingering that forces me to reposition my hand in the right moment.
To do for week 3:
- left foot pedaling details in part B
- focus on arm/body/wrist movement for the phrases/legato: work in phrases +1
- continue focussing on relaxation - get troublespots into muscle memory by repeating in short sections. Fix fingering insecurities there.
- continue securing memorizsation
- part B needs some attentive work on phrasing. As I memorized the piece, I don't look at the score anymore, and start getting sloppy with the phrasing, phrase it by intuition, which is not always what's written there. Same goes for part B dynamics. So in week 3 I will spend more focus on details!
- my forte part is too harsh, need to work on softer tone there.
- want to continue to focus on precise, clear, intense pianissimo tone as well. And I hope that my inner tempo will adjust better. If feels so much faster when I play it than when I listen back. I know I can play it faster than last week, but this recording is same tempo as last week's video, so my inner speed is not adjusted. I think I should do more metronome work to check where I want to end. Decided for +/- 72 bpm, which is not much but slightly faster than the recording now. I think it's not the tempo itself, more the feel. There are stretches in the video where it feels right to me, for example in the repetition of part B, I note that I feel more secure there, and "let loose". Which is nice. This attitude throughout is what I aim for (as the average tempo, with rubato then applied)
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Dagmar Lovely playing!
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Michelle R thank you
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Dagmar Sounding poignant and lovely!
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Vidhya Bashyam thank you!
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Dagmar Beautiful Schubertian melancholy in your playing, love it!
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Juan Carlos Olite Thanks so much!
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Dagmar Lovely!
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Hi everyone, thanks for the very kind feedback from last week :)
This is the wk 2 update which includes a bit more of the piece (up to bar 40).
Trouble spots for me are maintaining balance between the melodic line, bass and the bubbling accompaniment in the background. There are a few tricky passages around bars 27-31 where the harmonies are quite fleeting and difficult to bring them out cleanly.
My aim for next week is to run through the full piece and also start to memorise in parallel if I can.
Derek
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Derek McConville I'm working on this piece, too, and I'm impressed with your ability to make the long notes of the upper voice sing above the quicker quiet notes played by the same hand. I'll be eager to hear your next iteration.
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Derek McConville Great progress! I love your opening- sounds like this beautiful melody has always been there, playing somewhere and we are just joining in now to listen.
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Derek McConville Beautifully sung, Derek!
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Juan Carlos Olite As always, you say whatever I'm thinking, dear friend! Derek DOES sing this beautifully.
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Really busy this week working on the piece for my tonebase Fast Track mentorship and the piece I'm studying with my piano teacher, but today (Sunday) I finally carved out a couple of hours to write out the fingering for my chosen Schubert piece (Impromptu in A flat major Op. 142 No. 2). That way, I could at least make a first attempt at playing it through from beginning to end in slow tempo. I promised myself to do only one take and record it with all the mistakes that would occur; it's always good to have a baseline from which to improve.
So far, I've identified a few areas I want to work on in the next couple of weeks: 1.) Getting the piece into a more fluid tempo while making less mistakes; 2.) irrespective of the tempo, find a more flowing and graceful rhythm and avoid any plodding heaviness; 3.) identify spots of those typical Schubertian harmonic changes and surprises and bring out their "magic"; 4.) sing out and balance the different voices!
My other important goal for next week is to catch up with listening to the recordings you all - my fellow participants - have submitted so far; I haven't had any time this week yet to do that, but I'm looking forward to it.
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Alexander Weymann I'm impressed, Alex. Beautifully played, especially considering it's your first time all the way through. I look forward to hearing your progress!
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Alexander Weymann Gorgeous! I had to rewind when I heard the LH trill about half way through- reminded me of another epic Schubert trill we all know about. Can’t wait to hear your next version!
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Vidhya Bashyam I know just which trill you mean
- Schubert certainly knew how to write and place them rather ingeniously. -
Alexander Weymann Sounds beautiful, always deeply lyrical in this tempo, an extraordinary "base line" to start with...
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Alexander Weymann Man, your "first take" is more like my final performance on EVERYTHING!
It is SO clear that you, as a gifted singer, really get to the heart of Schubert in your piano playing. I love it!
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I’m beginning to see more of the structure of this piece. Working on crisp staccato in the left hand against the legato in the right hand. And adding dynamics. This creates some tension in the music, then shifts somewhat when both hands are legato. Then thee is the center quiet section. And back to the tension of legato sixteenths against the staccato eights. The main challenge will be getting this up to speed, or close to it.
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Jennifer Mehta It sounds like you're diving deep into the nuances of this piece! The contrast between staccato and legato can create such beautiful tension and depth. Have you thought about isolating sections to focus on the speed before you put everything together? Sometimes slow practice in segments can help solidify those tricky transitions. Remember, it's all about bringing your musical interpretation to life, and it sounds like you're on the right path!
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