Week 2: Getting into the Practice!
Week 1 was about choosing your piece and getting your bearings.
This week, we settle in and actually live with the music a bit.
As you practice, start paying attention to your first honest reactions.
A few prompts to get you thinking (and sharing below!)
- What feels easier than you expected?
- What’s proving more difficult or stubborn?
- Are there any spots that keep pulling your attention?
- What’s one clear goal you want to focus on this week?
No need for polished thoughts or solutions. Early observations are incredibly valuable, and chances are others are noticing the same things.
Share a few lines below about how it’s going so far. If you want, feel free to post a short clip or a marked-up score too.
Happy Practicing!
27 replies
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Brahms Intermezzo Op118 no 2
A piece more difficult than it appears (stretching my technical skill, with its complex inner voicing and polyrhythms). I found Garrick Ohlsson‘s tutorial insightful for overall understanding, but far too premature, since it contains no hints on fingering or rhythm. So, I’m doing my own fingering and find it a bit difficult to decide in some places whether to allow something more comfortable or something that allows better legato. For example, I’m working through mm 34-37. Is it common for the left hand to take some notes?
I appreciate this challenge to force me to dedicate to a piece, to return to measure by measure basics, fingering and slow practice, which have neglected for 25 years since my training as a teen.
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Schumann's Von fremden ländern und menschen.
Easier than expected: letting the top voice/melody distinct and be louder than the rest.
Difficulty/stubborn parts: Making sure the base line is consistently there and the middle voices stay quiet. I also hope to be able to play with a more singing quality. I think I'm doing that in my head when I'm playing, but feel that it's not as flowing and singing when I record and listen to myself.
Spots that pull my attention: Bars 13-14, part that transitions back into the melody of the beginning of the piece.
Clear goal for this week: Think carefully about how I want to play on repeats and not just do the same thing.
