Week 3: Art, Character, and Imagination

Welcome to Week 3 of the Romantic Music Challenge.

At this point, the notes and textures should feel more familiar. This week, we turn toward the artistic core of Romantic music: character, imagination, and emotional intent.

Romantic music always suggests something human. A voice, a mood, a gesture, a memory. This week is about deciding what your piece is trying to say—and letting that guide how you play it.

Your Focus for the Week

Continue working on the same piece.

Spend time asking:

  • What kind of character lives in this music?

  • Is it inward or outward, intimate or theatrical?

  • Where does the music breathe, hesitate, or lean forward emotionally?

There’s no single right answer—but your playing should start to reflect a clear point of view.

Practice Prompts

Choose one or two and explore:

  • Write a short sentence describing the character of your piece

  • Assign emotional qualities to different sections

  • Shape timing and color to reflect mood rather than volume

  • Exaggerate the character in practice, then refine it

Let imagination lead, while staying honest to the score.

Livestream: Technical Q&A

I’ll also be hosting a livestream on January 28 at 11am PT to answer technical questions that may be coming up as your pieces deepen—voicing, balance, fingering, pedaling, or anything else that’s getting in the way.

You can join post any and all questions here!
https://piano-community.tonebase.co/t/g9ypfk7/mastering-tricky-passages-and-answering-your-questions

Sharing for this week

You’re welcome to share:

  • A short video excerpt

  • A written reflection about character or imagery

  • Questions for the livestream

This is a great week to articulate what you’re aiming for artistically.

56 replies

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    • Angela_Fogg
    • 7 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hello all, hope the practice is going well. I’m playing Op 111 by Schumann and in particular No 2 for this challenge. This piece, for me has two very different moods/characters. The first and last section are very tender, whilst the middle far more turbulent, angry and frustrated. Here are clips of both. I find this turbulent section really difficult in the right hand, it just doesn’t fit somehow. Hopefully you’ll be able to notice and improvement by next week!!

    https://youtu.be/DxVPE12nGs0?si=WFkqLNFANRnFgq6V

    https://youtu.be/owCBwXA79zc?si=wcjeI2zXkdI2dQXr

      • PViseskul
      • 7 days ago
      • Reported - view

       wonderful teasers they are! look forward to hearing a lot more of it in the final recording!

      • Unfrozen Barroom Piano Player
      • Peter_G
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Hi Angela, these sound really solid to me.  The care and attention you have put into voicing of the chords and expression of the melody will serve you well in learning and performing this piece.  Looking forward to hearing these fragments in context with the rest of it!

      • Angela_Fogg
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       that is very kind of you Peter. No doubt during the 150 attempts to record over the next few days it might improve! Thank you also for the information about Faschingschwank aus Wiene, in an earlier comment, I had no idea about the prank element.

      • Unfrozen Barroom Piano Player
      • Peter_G
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I'm right there with you, Angela,  neck and neck, as far as the number of takes needed to get to a satisfactory recording. I've made this observation about my own efforts to produce a good take:  If you are depending on good luck to make a good recording, then you probably don't know the piece well enough yet.  Whereas, once you really know it, mistakes can still occur, but are more a result of bad luck.  (I've tried to come up with a more pithy way to say that, but have not yet succeeded.) 

      All too often, I'm in the former state when trying to make a recording, being impatient to get it down on tape, usually as soon as I've finally got something memorized, however fragilely. When my takes start getting measured by the dozens, it's usually a sign that I need to go back to the workshop and resume more focused practice. This is often a more efficient way to end up with a good recording, rather than recording over and over while hoping for and depending on good luck and lightning to strike in order to render a good take!

      • Angela_Fogg
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

      absolutely Peter!

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