Week 1: Choose your piece!
Welcome to the latest Community Challenge!
For this challenge "A Fresh Start" the goal is to pick a BRAND-NEW piece to work on this month.
This is the time to finally open that score that you have been thinking about and get to work!
What are we doing in week 1?
- Select your New piece to work on, and share it below! Let's see what everyone is choosing!
- Submit one video of your practice this week, perhaps featuring your favorite passage of the opening bars!
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Since I have a big, gaping hole in my pianistic background it is time to fill it in. Believe it or not, I have never played any Debussy except for my attempt at "Claire de Lune" at Christmas last year.
So, I downloaded "La Cathedrale Engloutie" last week and even spoke to Jarred about it, with the intention of starting it for this new challenge.
However, the imagery it evokes is just too scary for me. I even had a nightmare about being stuck under water, trying to swim out of the cathedral last night. Crazy, right?
I'll pick a new Prelude. Something more lighthearted.
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Alexander Weymann I am getting SO excited to explore Debussy!
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Gail Starr A wonderful choice, Gail! Lively Debussy!
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Marc M I love this piece! Thank you for sharing!
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I have been looking for "what next?" and I today landed on Scriabin Etude Op. 8 No. 8. I learn at geologic time so would be a big deal to have playable in relatively short time. I also just started another Phillip Glass Etude. No. 5. May double up as that is easier for me. Maybe another PG as well.
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Jack vreeland PG is so great! I loved your #6.
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I've been intending for awhile to learn Les cloches de Genève (Liszt-Années de pèlerinage, vol. 1/9), but keep putting it off, so this seems like a great way to get into it. The biggest challenge will be its many octaves-I want to avoid reawakening a lingering RH forearm tendonitis. (I really wanted to tackle Vallée d'Obermann, but it's nonstop octaves, so definitely a non-starter for now!)
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No 3 (The Man I Love) from the Earl Wild -Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes
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I'll be starting on the second movement of Mozart's Sonata in C major. I guess now I really will be starting it. Thanks for the push. :)
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Dear all,
I will learn another John Field’s Nocturne this year, his second nocturne in C minor this time. I hope you like it.
Best wishes,
Aaron
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I'm inspired by Marc M to try learning a work by Scriabin! His Op. 8 No. 12 etude is probably overly ambitious for the duration of this challenge and as an initial foray into his works, but I love it and know I won't regret giving it a try.
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Judy Kuan ooooooo very cool…That one is incredibly dramatic!
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Judy Kuan You will totally crush this (in a good way)!
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Gail Starr Thanks Gail! My teacher is on tour this month, so we'll see how it goes
Looking forward to hearing and learning from your Debussy(s)! -
Marc M Have you worked on this one before? I've been watching YouTube videos (nothing on it on Tonebase yet!) to "strategerize" how to approach it.
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Judy Kuan I remember looking at it years ago, and then I got scared away by the left hand pattern. Something about those 10ths, which I presume are rolled, spooked me!
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Judy Kuan it’s such an iconic piece; I have picked it up and looked at it every now and again over the last 30 years. You are inspiring me to learn it for real one of these days, and maybe record it for Marc’s Scriabin Stage!
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Judy Kuan Do you study with Jarred? He's away right now! But, my TB buddies always give me great advice, so I don't mind. In fact, we sometimes just Zoom each other to play passages that are a challenge. My friend Natalie and I are working on the same Beethoven right now, so I always like to see what HER teacher has to say about the tricky parts.
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Gail Starr I love the idea of having practise buddies
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Priya Viseskul We can organise our practice on Tonic together! What's your practice schedule tomorrow?
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Marc M I felt the same way! But it's pretty short and I now have more Chopin etudes under my belt, so we'll see... Yes, there are some 11ths too, definitely a lot of rolling involved.
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Alexander Weymann I hope you do! Based on my readthru today, I think you and Marc M would play it very well. Maybe we should group request it as a "live" on Tonebase :)
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Gail Starr I guess it's concert season! No, I haven't studied with Jarred... I take lessons from Assaff Weisman here in NYC. I agree with Priya Viseskul - having practice buddies would be fun and helpful!
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Judy Kuan You're so fortunate that you have a local teacher. Now that we've moved to Orlando, the level of pianistic excellence is a bit...lacking. Even Atlanta was better! Thank goodness for Tonebase and Zoom!
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I will work on Björken (The Birch) Op. 75 No. 4 by Jean Sibelius. I'm hoping to learn all of The Trees at some point and this piece is one of my favourites. It'll be fun to work on it while waiting for spring when the birches finally sprout leaves.
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maijahildur that’s great! I had been completely unaware of Sibelius’ lovely piano music until Leif Ove Andsnes’ amazing album came out a few years ago. Can’t wait to hear you play this piece!
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