Week Two: Joie de musique!
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 May 16 - 23 I hope to be reading your daily updates in this very thread right here!
Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!):
- Piece you worked on:
- One thing you found easy:
- One thing you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
Sample daily update:
- Piece you worked on: Ravel's Prelude
- One thing you found easy: Learning the notes, and rhythms were rather straight-forward, and not challenging!
- One thing you found difficult: Shifting the Hands was a bit tricky to get smooth!
Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!
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I don't know what is the secret of this music, since if you play it, you want to play it again and again; if you listen to it, you want to listen it more and more. It has the magic power of the ancient spells... It is very curious since it sounds beautiful with different tempi or dynamics. I have tried to play it with the less sustain pedal possible, but I feel that I am not sure yet how to do it. So, I am going to play it again and again...
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Juan Carlos Olite What a delightful piece, and wonderfully played. The melody is definitely addictive, especially the recurring tonal change first noticed in (i think) bar 3. I looked it up on ISLMP but could only find a guitar version. It's a bit beyond my skill level, but perhaps i'll be up to this one day in the future - I hope so.
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Vidhya Bashyam Thank you very much, Vidhya; of course it is a very rewarding piece.
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Andrea Buckland Thank you so much, Andrea!
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Amy Thank you, Amy; as grounding and calming as your Pavane.
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Sindre Skarelven Thank you so much, Sindre! I know you are playing the Pavane, wonderful piece too!
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Derek McConville Thank you so much, Derek! Yes, it is almost a Minimalist piece avant la lettre...
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Jenny Thank you so much, Jenny! You have here the clave/piano score I have used (it has interesting fingering).
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Juan Carlos Olite Love this piece, Juan Carlos! Sounds so natural with your playing. What wonderful sound and music you are making :) Thank you so much!!
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Juan Carlos Olite After hearing you play, I bought the same score yesterday that you just shared! Glad that I picked the same score you used to learn this great music.
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Juan Carlos Olite I also was drawn to this piece at first listen and printed it out to learn. I am amazed at how contemporary it sounds. If it was not for the trills it seems to me it could be pop music. Also, similar to pop music in that the tune hooks you in and repeats so you get even more hooked! Great job with your playing! I really enjoyed your performance.
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Juan Carlos Olite What a great performance of this piece, one that is new to me.. I fell in love with it instantly. It seems to wind its way so naturally through some marvellous and unexpected harmonies. I can imagine playing it in so many different ways - perhaps in different registers, too - and being delighted with every version. The French would say: "C'est hallucinant!"
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Brother Will Green Thank you so much, Brother Will Green, for your kind words!
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Vidhya Bashyam Great, Vidhya! I think it is a very good edition of the piece.
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Susan Rogers Thank you so much, Susan; you are right, it sounds incredibly contemporary!
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Monika Tusnady Thank you so much, Monika! Play it and you will enjoy it very much!
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Lovely piece! I think I may have to get the sheet music for it and get to work!
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- Piece you worked on: Clair de lune (Debussy)
- One thing you found easy: It's a well-known piece, so it鈥檚 easier to read the music compared to the other pieces I don鈥檛 know.
- One thing you found difficult: It is very difficult to play it while listening to each layer of sound. I chose Clair de lune because tonebase offers free lesson on this piece. The lesson is wonderful and I can learn a lot.
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Well it's been a fabulous week for me, i've learnt so many things from this little piece:
- Piece you worked on: Ravel's Prelude in A minor
- One thing you found easy: The first 3 bars are quite easy, and the tempo slow, so I could luxuriate in the feeling of (relatively) instant success!
- One thing you found difficult: Bar 6, the stretch of the second chord (RH) is quite uncomfortable, and I initially started dividing the notes in to both hands.
Now, i'm adding another category here today, because i've experienced a personal musical revelation:
- Things i've learnt this week: I have never tried to memorise a piece of music before, but I decided to try with this particular piece. As part of the process, I listened again to Dominic play the piece during the "French" live stream. I listened several times, and began to create a story in my mind. The imagery was still vivid as I tried to recreate the music on my own piano. There was such a difference in my playing: my hands were more relaxed, I was able to reach octaves more easily, notes seem to synchronise without so much effort, and I had no prodding from my tyrannical "inner critic". This was such a wonderful experience, it felt like a dramatic turning point in my musical journey. It seems a bit silly trying to express it now, but I just wanted to acknowledge this "gift" in the hope that it isn't just a fleeting visitor!
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Jenny So wonderful that you have discovered the joys of putting a story to your music! I love to do this and really feel it helps with every aspect of my playing. Looking forward to hearing it!
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I'm still continuing Ravel's Pavane.....hoping to have it memorized and performance ready by July. Not much practice time yet this week, so thought I would record the entire piece, so I can see where my trouble spots are. It's funny.....when I record myself, new trouble spots always seem to reveal themselves, just like playing for others! It's in a rondo form: A - B - A1 - C - A2.
Piece I worked on: Ravel's Pavane
Things that went well: I feel I have the A and B sections in pretty good shape. The B section requires the sound to be very distant, and I feel I have achieved that.
Things I need to work on: The A1 and A2 sections continue to give me trouble with the rolled chords and making those sections flow. The C section has some bumpy spots as well.
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Amy I think you are doing a great job here with the piece. I had looked into it but found the mix of required articulations very difficult. Love hearing your progress. Are you doing a recital or something in July, or are you just setting that as the goal for yourself?
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Amy Lovely performance! I am working on the same piece for this challenge, so inspiring to listen to you :) Yes, recording does seem to reveal some trouble spots, so it鈥檚 really helpful. Thank you for posting. I hope to record it myself within the next week :)
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Amy Great job, Amy. It sounds beautiful, with such a suitable atmosphere to the piece.
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Amy Sounds beautiful . Thanks for sharing. Love the mood you have captured.
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Amy that sounds really great, such a fantastic piece to learn. Beautiful melody.
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