Group 2
Welcome to the latest TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
For the next two weeks either start learning OR take a Chopin mazurka in your repertoire to the next level through guidance and assignments from Jarred Dunn! Learn about stylistic advice, aspects of the dance and more!
Pianists of all levels are welcome.
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Assignment #1: Seeing the Mazurka
1) Watch Mazurka Dance Lessons 1, 2, and 3:
http://www.tance.edu.pl/en/lessons/show/dance/720
-Pay close attention to Lesson 3: the lesson builds rhythms from what we hear as a Waltz into a clear accent on 2nd beat, 3rd beat, and both 2nd/3rd beats
2) Learn one Mazurka
Choose one from the following suggested opuses for the whole TWI.
Week 1: Practice the LH:
-Op. 6 nr. 1, nr. 2
-Op. 7 nr. 1, nr. 2
-Op. 24 nr. 1 or 2
-Op. 30 nr. 1 or 2
-Op. 67 any
- or a different mazurka
Practice Activities:
a) Identify/mark all articulation in LH parts.
b) Clap the rhythm, emphasize accents and count aloud (speak louder for accented beats, eg. "one, Two, THREE" or "one, TWO, Three" etc.)
c) Identify/mark any unknown harmonic shifts or chords.
d) Find all cadences and notice unfamiliar accents (beat 2).
e) Voice tops of chords in LH or find a moving line (could be the middle notes of a chord that change).
f) Use RH for chords and LH for bass lines.
g) Circle any rests/pauses - they need to be heard.
Upload videos of your LH practicing/playing.
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ASSIGNMENT 2
Second Assignment: Continue your new Mazurka
Week 2: Practice the RH:
Listen to instruments, timbres, and moods in the following:
Kujawiak: https://youtu.be/RjV1bpxi0bc
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego: https://youtu.be/mTx45S-dQmQ?t=4
Chopin Mazurkas/Folk Mazurkas: https://youtu.be/n8OyddwnVbE
Look For/Listen For:
a) Learn the soprano part (melody), always sing/scream with it when you play. Think of dancers in this video: https://youtu.be/p6svoYBEWCs?t=10
b) Add ornaments after you learned the rhythms of the melody.
c) Dotted rhythms and triplets must sound distinctly different (no slackened dotted-eighth/sixteenths).
d) Accents on beats two and three can be subtle: try different levels of pressure/weight on the keys, to create at least four different accent types: sudden accent, leaning/swaying accent, light accent, heavy accent.
e) Remember that recording yourself is the best way to find out if you're actually doing what you intend. Record your melodic playing/singing/screaming whenever you practice.
Upload videos of your RH practicing/playing.
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- Sign-Up : starting July 14
- Course Period: July 17-31
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: July 27th 9am PT
CHECK IN VIDEO!
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Hi Everyone! As we come to the end of our Mazurkas TWI, I want to say dziekuję bardzo to everyone who joined and made this a positive, enriching experience. I have enjoyed seeing your playing, replying to your questions, and sharing my love of this repertoire with you. Feel free to send me a message if you have further questions!
Pozdrawiam i wszystkiego najlepszego!
JD-
Jarred Dunn Thank you Jarred, appreciate all of you input, I have really enjoyed the challenge. And very much appreciate all of the time you have put in.
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Hi Jarred,
Thank you so much for your feedback and resources you’ve shared during this TWI. I’ve worked on your suggestions from the beginning of the week and if you have a minute please I’d really appreciate any feedback you can give on the recording I’ve attached. Some of the accents are hard to hear in the recording or weren’t well-executed on my part so I’ve attached a copy of the first two pages of the piece where I’ve marked the accents I’m trying to do. I’m also wondering, if a similar motif is repeated twice in a piece should the same beats be accented both times? Also should every bar have an accent on either beat 2, 3 or 2 and 3? Thank you.
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Clare Dobre pytanie (good question). For similar motifs, the mazurka accent can shift, this is a dance poem allowing you to use discretion in repetitions, provided everything aligns with the dance style. Some details to address include your pedal for the opening chords: let it be one pedal discretely per chord, each harmony and its internal melodic voice need to be clear and delicate: the melody is a variant on the internal voice (B-C-D). For pulse, you are right on the metronomic pulses but the LH sounds always the same dynamics, this needs softness (miękko) in touch and variety in sounds (różnorodność). At m. 18 and all analogous bars, check bass harmony. The main rhythm of the melody cannot be a triplet: dotted rhythms need to be more precise. Second phrase is much softer as well, and some of the more chromatic notes need to be included (m. 40), but I'm sure you know already about these few slips. At m. 43, use poco ritenuto (= suddenly a little slower) to show the phrase has reticent view of returning to tempo. In general I'd like to hear more colour choices in sound and melodic gestures. Your accents can be more varied if you develop LH greater sensitivity to sound and timing, nevertheless keeping the rhythmic sense secure. Do roboty!
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Jarred Dunn thank you so much for your feedback! I’ve really enjoyed this TWI and learned a lot.
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