WEEK 2: What we've experienced!!!
WELCOME TO THE MAIN THREAD FOR THE SECOND WEEK OF "END OF THE YEAR" PRACTICE CHALLENGE!
- Select Your Piece(s): Choose one or more pieces that you've learned this year. It could be something you've practiced through our live streams, a personal favorite, or a challenging piece you've conquered.
- Record Your Performance: Film yourself playing your selected piece(s). Quality doesn't have to be professional – it's all about sharing your progress and passion.
- Share Your Journey: Post your video in our community forum under the "End of the Year Challenge" thread. Include a brief write-up about your experience learning the piece – what challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and what this piece means to you. If you don't want to record yourself, show us a video of a piece you plan to take on in the next year!
- Engage with Others: Watch, comment, and encourage your fellow community members. Share your feedback, experiences, and celebrate each other's progress.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Here is the piece I am just finishing up: "By the Seaside" by Jean Louis Gobbaerts (or Streabbog - he spelled his name backwards sometimes for some reason....). This is the piece in which I began learning how to use pedal. The challenge was connecting the sound from left hand to right hand and to keep the flow going from beginning to end. I did a fair bit of slow practice, listening to the change in sound from left to right and recording often until I was satisfied that the seam between left hand and right hand wasn't too noticeable. I want to increase tempo just a little bit, still, and find/express some more dynamic variety, but all in all, I'm happy and satisfied with the final product in the video below. Yay!
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Gail Starr Thank you, Gail. A wonderful teacher, beautiful piano, and lots of work really do make such a difference!
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Michelle R Really beautiful! I love how you take such care and play each note so thoughtfully.
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Vidhya Bashyam Thanks, Vidhya! Much appreciated.
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Michelle R you definitely added the pedal nicely and it was played beautifully. Well done.
I want was craving the audio to be louder. I am sure you know this and I wanted to offer help with sound technical issues if you need it. Please reach out to me if you would like that. -
Michael Bruce Thanks so much, Michael!
I was trying a new microphone with my iPad - I usually lug my laptop downstairs and record with the USB mic set-up that we use for remote piano lessons (and the Community Concerts). I was disappointed with the sound from the new mic, but didn't want to re-record as it took me awhile to get the recording I wanted (albeit quieter than I expected it to be!). I always appreciate help with sound technical issues, so if you can help with that, I'd be grateful.
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Michelle R So this is the new Rode mic that you WON ( yaayyyy!)?
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Gail Starr No, this is a different mic - since I didn't know I was going to win a Rode mic, I had purchased a new mic for my birthday. When the mic I won arrives, I'll have to see which one does a better job of recording! :-)
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Michelle R Did you win the challenge on tonic? Amazing and big congrats!
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Vidhya Bashyam thanks, yes - it was mere luck of the draw!
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Vidhya Bashyam She DID win!
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My name is Michael Bruce and I am loving studying classical piano and learning to read music.
Chopin Waltz 64 no 2
I started this piece when it was out of my league. And got a bit of training in started back up and learned the rest toward the end of this year.- I am very aware of the mistakes.
- I feel very nervous when I record.
- Listening to it again I feel a bit of cringe lol - but this is the point. I need to hear where I make mistakes, where I lease the time feeling, what parts do I mess up on the most.
- If I waited until this was perfect, I would not have done anything at all.
- One thing I am doing now is working on lower grade music so that I can aim towards higher quality learning that I can handle without huge overwhelm. I have a great piano teacher.
- I am also working on a Grieg Nocturne that I might post if I can get it down a bit more. It is nice with compound meter and it is also much more approachable than this particular one.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this. I am excited to share music and hear other people and their progress.
progress #1 (previous video)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52uN-O4aDKU
progress #2 (current video below) more relaxed second take.-
Michael Bruce This was quite enjoyable to listen to. I'm a little too self-conscious to post recordings which feature the self-conversations which often occur while playing, so I smiled to see your openness!
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Michelle R I appreciate the kind words. I went ahead and recorded another one, more relaxed, still has mistakes, but I was feeling it much more in this one.
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Michael Bruce Very lovely playing! I loved how it felt so relaxed while maintaining a nice tempo.
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Michael Bruce Well, I totally felt the love in the second recording!
Your playing put a big smile on my face, so thank you for that. -
Michael Bruce What a great job! The fact that you like this piece REALLY does come through and you are making amazing progress. Thank you for sharing.
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Gail Starr Thanks Gail. I look forward to hearing some chamber music as well.
I am very close on this piece, I need to go through this piece and find where my weakness is and fix them.
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Hello,
here is Étude op.10, no.9 of Chopin and Rêverie of Claude Debussy, which I learned in last few weeks for Christmas recital of my mum’s students…
https://youtu.be/2zHbyy2vUlE?si=HlfKeNxIe1w-vtkO
I memorised them in a short time, a few mistakes are still there though…
Thanks!
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Gayaneh Lustermann this is Debussy Reverie, which is stunning. Wow. You might have linked the wrong video. Also, there is a video addition button at the bottom that you can paste your video link in to and it will make it show up like others you see above.
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Gayaneh Lustermann it looks like you fixed it. Beautiful etude by Chopin!
I look forward to the day I can attempt my first Etude. What was your first Chopin Etude that you learned? -
Gayaneh Lustermann So lovely! I enjoyed your lightness and sparkle.
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Gayaneh Lustermann Love this etude! Thanks for sharing.
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Michael Bruce Yes, thanks for your help! My first Chopin Etude was op. 25, no. 2. Then op. 10, no. 12 Revolutionary.
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Gayaneh Lustermann Great job on this challenging piece!
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Gayaneh Lustermann the Debussy is very beautiful. Such as sense of peace and serenity; so unhurried and quietly breathing. Well done!
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