Week 2: Amplifying your message!
Hello and welcome to the WEEK TWO Main Thread for this challenge! 
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 January 30 - February 6 I hope to be reading your daily updates in this very thread right here!
Here is this week's assignment!
1. Specify at least ONE aspect of the piece that you love most! (Ideally write this down here in the forum below!)
2. Ask yourself this question: "How do I AMPLIFY the experience of this moment for the audience?"
3. Consider your answer, write it down below, and then let us know how you are trying to implement this!
4. Submit your practice video below!
Example:
I love Debussy's piece "L'isle Joyeuse", especially the moment of the climax where the music transposes from A major and then briefly F major and then to B-flat major (measure 236). I need to focus on saving my reserves of energy for this passage, and have a fast speed of attack, plus a rich and explosive Left Hand pinky for that bass!!
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Life became busy and practice went by the wayside for a few days! The right balance is not always easy to achieve… Time to refocus and return to the piano… It is hard to put into words why I love Rachmaninov’s Op 16 no 5. The lilt of the base line running through the whole piece and driving it forward. The harmonies he creates. This is an early work, but you can already hear hints of what will come later. The simple, yet achingly beautiful melody line. The push and pull of dynamics that hints at an inner turmoil somehow kept under restraint. The second voice that arrives like a ray of hope in the final section. The simplicity of the writing is deceptive. I am forced to find different colours and textures in my playing in order to make sense of it. And it can be played many different ways within the framework of the score. So (like Bach) there is always room for spontaneity, it is always open to new possibilities and I never get tired of playing it.
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Juan Carlos Olite Thanks!
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Gillian It’s sounding really good!
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Vidhya Bashyam Thanks, Vidhya.
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Gillian , quite lovely. Your left hand is indeed steady and meditative - I could almost see a boat rocking on water! My son is quite good at letting the music breathe when he plays. I think his "secret" is that he isn't tied to one particular way of playing. He becomes a free spirit when he plays. I imagine part of that is youth!
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I've delayed on posting this week, as my in-house arranger/composer has been super busy and not able to help me work out an interesting arrangement/medley combining "If I Were a Rich Man" and the theme of "Fiddler on the Roof." What I like most about this music is the harmonies - there is a slightly mysterious feeling to them. I mostly want to play the right notes
, for that would amplify the experience for the listener more than anything, right!? Other than that, I'd like to find moments where I can bring out certain of these harmonies, especially the ones that have a questioning aspect to them. -
Michelle R A sense of humour is always good!
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Well, my son (aka My In-house Arranger) has been too busy to help me, so I'll be defaulting to playing only "If I Were a Rich Man." What I appreciate most about this one is the sense of longing and desire for that which is beyond reach - but what we as humans are continually trying to find (whether we recognize it or not): the peace of being in the presence of that which is more than we are - Love. I hope to bring out that sense of longing along with an understanding of the joy that exists when that which is longed for is found.
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This audio file is for me to remind me of how much better this sounds, even today. I recorded on Tuesday after I had memorized the piece (I didn't practice it last week, as I thought I would be playing a compilation), so there are places where I forget. I can also hear clearly why the piano technician recommended having the hammers re-shaped. My son has much more facility in his playing, so the harshness isn't as noticeable - but when I play it's quite obvious.
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Gillian
. I tried singing along today as I played, and I can actually do it now. It's fun to sing along (when no one else is in the house!!). I just wish I could make the piano sing. I know that will come in time - for now, the left hand sounds like "oom pah oom pah." 
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Hi everyone,
My week two update on this short Chopin prelude includes the central slower section which is the part I love the most as it has a bel canto style but also brings in some tenor and bass lines which I am trying to work on and get better balance while still trying to make it sound alive at the same time.
Derek
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Derek McConville Pretty bel canto with the piano, Derek!
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Derek McConville Beautiful! Sounds like a Chopin Nocturne. Looking forward to hearing the rest.
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Derek McConville Wonderful, Derek! In the first half I was entranced by the left hand.
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Derek McConville Lovely playing! Nice job bringing out the different voices.
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One aspect of the Beethoven Sonata op. 109 (first movement) I love most is the incredibly beautiful beginning. I don't know why it has that powerful effect to create a unique atmosphere. When you look at the score, it seems something very simple but extraordinary effective in terms of expressiveness. And I would like to play it like Emanuel Ax says about the beginning of the Beethoven Sonata "Pastoral" (I remember a masterclass video on youtube), in an inward manner, doing the sound not to be too much present... Work to do for the next week final video
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Juan Carlos Olite Can’t wait to hear you play!
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Hard to post twice a week, but managing time on the weekends. Spent a lot of time trying to figure out if I was doing measures 3 and 4 correctly as Ben said, finally just figured I'd do it the way it came out and hope I'm not doing it too badly. I was trying to amplify a message of hopefulness at the beginning and a bit of sadness at the end. A bit faster at the beginning, slower towards the end. But still too focused on getting all the notes right and the camera doesn't help. I do love the middle section, and after hearing what I'm doing, I need to soften it a whole lot.
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Judith Wow. Sounds great. Amazing progress from your last post. It’s all beautiful but agree that the middle section is special. This waltz is on my list to learn this year too.
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Judith Lovely playing. I agree with Vidhya regarding obvious progress since your last post.
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Judith Extraordinary progress from the previous video, Judith! I love how you change the color in the middle section.
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Judith That is sounding great! Your musicality is coming through. You're encouraging me to play this piece. It's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
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My first posting of the second movement of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata. I recorded it in 3 sections as I have a lot of work still left to do and couldn’t manage it in one uncut recording yet.
Quoting Boris Giltburg from his video on YouTube- “It could be a song from Schubert- it has the same natural flow, the same ease of expression, the same feeling that this melody has always existed…”Looking forward to spending many more hours with this piece in week 3- it is well worth the effort.
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Vidhya Bashyam Loved it Vidhya! One of my favorite pieces, so soothing! I always find that part in the end of this movement with 4 notes against 3 followed by the turn a little tricky but you nailed it. Nice sounding Steinway too. How long have you had it?
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Darrell Jenkins Thanks Darrell! I was working on the first movement actually but then when this tonebase challenge came up, I decided to switch gears to the second movement. I didn’t realize how hard it was! So many details and many more tricky parts than I realized! My Steinway is a 1983 Model M. I have had it for about 6 years and love it even more as time passes. I was very lucky to find it.
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Vidhya Bashyam Yes you are lucky to have that Model M. A friend of mine always says to get a piano that you like so much you'll want to play all the time. And you picked the perfect movement to share! It already sounds so beautiful, I can't wait to hear what you do with it in another week!
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