Group 2
Let Your Fingers Fly with Claire Huangci!
First step, scales, second step, arpeggios! As a young student, I found myself struggling to deal with arpeggios due to the flexibility needed in so many parts of the body, fingers, wrists, arms and even shoulders. Playing piano suddenly became a much more physical activity! However, after finding the right way to ‘lock in’ to each key, and letting your motoric memory take over, I found arpeggios one of the most enjoyable technical aspects of piano playing! Dazzle yourself with the rolling waves under your fingers!
Improve your Arpeggios in Two Weeks with Claire Huangci!
- Sign-Up Period: August 11 - 14
- Course Period: August 15 - 26
- Class Size: 4 Groups á 10 Participants
- Optional check-In via Zoom: August 18, 10am PST
Assignments
Submit a video containing the following assignments:
1. Try out the pattern of arpeggios going up, contrary, up, down, contrary, down in all the major and minor keys and take a video of the keys that caused the most difficulties. And ask any fingering questions you might have!
2. In the Joseffy exercises, it’s a very extensive collection of various arpeggio exercises. Try to read through and transpose some of them during your practice session. And then pick one specific pattern which you found the most effective and record it for us to have an open dialog where we exchange ideas and comments.
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Dear friends, here is the link for Claire's Zoom Check-In. Please note that the meeting is 1h earlier at 10am PST!
Zoom-Meeting beitreten
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82951000522Meeting-ID: 829 5100 0522
arpeggio group 2
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Important message from Claire:
I was very happy to have had the chance to briefly meet you and discuss practicing arpeggios!
I would like to first off thank you for the enthusiasm which is inspiring, and secondly, apologize for my delays in responding within the forum your personal questions or videos that you had uploaded.
I unexpectedly gave early birth to a baby girl on Sunday evening and have been in the hospital and will remain here until Friday. This was a bit out of schedule of course, but one never knows in such a case.. and all has been well so far!
I would like to offer one further zoom session, like the one from last time, where I answer questions more personally, from whoever would like to ask. In this session, I might not be able to demonstrate so well:), but I will do my best!
This zoom should take place within the week of August 29th, so we will be in touch to schedule the exact time very soon. I look forward to meeting you all again and working together!
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martin Claire Huangci
What wonderful news!
Congratulations, Claire! So thrilled to hear this 
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martin Claire Huangci
Congratulation and best wishes!
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Hello all
As I am taking lessens since November, I have not learned all scales.
After work I will check out the assignments and take a video.
wish you all fun
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Mike Peter Klotz hi Mike! Have fun with the arpeggios!
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When I click on that VIDEO, it says something to the effect it's "being processed. Check back later"
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Tim Caldwell I read on the other thread that the video will be up around 10 am PST
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Natalie Peh Tim Caldwell Yes, I re-upload this at the moment and notify everybody once it is back up! Sorry for the inconvenience.
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Dear friends, the assignment video should now play back correctly!
arpeggio group 2
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martin thanks, the video works!
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Wow .. just watched that video. Definitely not a "beginners" lesson, imho.. And the Joseffy PDF says "advanced"... I look to something less advanced than this one. I'd like to really understand and learn arpeggios, slowly though. Maybe I'll just look at and attempt the start of page 18 of that PDF .. or I'm gonna hurt myself ... lol. (Side note -- the Piano sound is very loud, but Claire is hard to hear on my laptop - and I have the sound all the way up.)
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Claire Huangci - how much time should we plan to spend on this every day during this intensive? It seems like it would be easy to overdo it and hurt something.
(Does anyone else think the Joseffy exercises sound like Phillip Glass - or vice versa, I guess?)
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Hi everyone
How are you doing? I am lying in my tears under the piano. What is the latest I can post my videos? I want to give it some more practice.
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Mike Peter Klotz I feel your pain. I don’t think I’ll ever complain about Hanon exercises ever again.
Hazel (escapee from group 3!) -
Mike Peter Klotz Hazel I've just figured out the pattern for the arpeggios, and as for Joseffy, I've decided to just concentrate on the first 12 bars. Now I'm wondering if I can even get those 12 bars done within these 2 weeks
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Claire Huangci (or anyone), in the Joseffy exercises on the second page where the broken arpeggios start, what fingerings should we use? There are a few written in but the others aren’t obvious (to me, anyway). Thanks!
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Hi! I'm Ben and live in Seattle.
My recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ECFp3k_vc
I recorded the broken arpeggios from the Joseffy exercises. I noticed a lot of unwanted accents in the recording basically every time my hand shifts position, but I suspect those will become less accented as these exercises become more familiar. I haven't played any pieces with broken arpeggios in quite a while, so this has been refreshing!
I also recorded a few of the contrary motion arpeggios.
- The arpeggios which start on a white keys all feel comfortable to me. The arpeggios which start on the black keys are considerably more challenging for me. Bb major is definitely the hardest for me due to the fingering in the LH. Having to shift my LH just to get the top Bb is awkward, especially given how many times the LH changes direction - it feels a little unstable.
- I also recorded my attempt at a C7 arpeggio in contrary motion. This was significantly more challenging in the LH than a typical triad due to the spread of the fingers. I used 5,4,3,2,1 on C,E,G,Bb,C respectively. The spread between my 4th and 3rd fingers on the E and G felt awkward at best. Do you have a specific LH fingering you recommend for a C7 arpeggio?
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Ben Katt great idea... the C7 arpeggios in contrary motion :)
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Sorry I couldn't check in live, working days still. I will go through the threads later this evening and check in on my progress with the group
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Hi Claire and and Group 2 friends,
I am putting up my progress video of the arpeggio exercises in E major, A minor and B major.
The Joseffy exercises are not yet recordable, I am currently practising the 1st 12 bars. Still trying to get the hang of those, and make them sound nice :) I will also start working on the next dozen bars or so…..
What is everyone doing for the Joseffy exercises? Reading through the entire exercise each day, pick different sections to practise, or begin from the top and take up sections in sequence to practise, moving on once that section is ready, like I have.
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Hi team Group 2,
Hope everyone is progressing well. These Joseffy exercises grow on me, so I’ll probably continue to go through them half a page or 1 page at a time.
This is the fastest I can get the first 12 bars of the Joseffy exercise., I’m not sure if I have time for another video in the next few days, so here goes…..
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Hi all,
the 2 week intensiv comes to an end. It was fun and hard.
It was much harder as I expected. In my lessons I had a much easer version of arpeggios. Instead of thumb crossing for the octave, I played the pinkie and the thumb started a third up. C E G C - E G C E - G C E G....
So I started practicing and after a long recording session I have the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gf6XEEERrdk
I skipped the video for Joseffy. I just playing both hands separatly. For me the left hand is hard. The first week I had to take many breaks due to stretching pain. It got a lot better and I am more relaxed. But both hands together is a struggle. Playing both hands togehter the right thumb refuses to cooperate and wont hold down the key :-)
I hope the Zoom meeting fits into my schedule tomorrow.
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Mike Peter Klotz the arpeggios look good! Thanks for posting your video
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Yea, this was waaay to hard for my level. I'm 3 years in - Grade 4-5 books. I gave up 1st day. I really wish they'd/he would do another BEGGINER level Arpeggio class.
