Week 3: Expression over Perfection
At this point in the challenge, you've likely become more comfortable with the notes and structure of your piece. Now it's time to shift focus toward interpretation and emotional depth. This week is about exploring what the music means to you and how you can communicate that meaning through sound.
Assignment:
Define the Emotional Landscape
Take a moment to reflect: what is the emotional world of your piece? Is it reflective, playful, tragic, or unsettled? Write a short reflection (1â2 sentences) describing the feeling you want to convey and how that shapes your approach.Record a Passage with Intention
Select 8â16 measures that feel emotionally significant. Focus on tone, voicing, and timingânot technical perfection. Record and share your performance, along with a brief note on what you aimed to express and why you chose that section.Engage with the Community
Watch another participantâs video and leave a thoughtful comment. Offer one observation about what worked well!
Guidance:
Schubert's music often blurs the line between clarity and ambiguity, joy and sorrow. Rather than striving for a âcorrectâ interpretation, embrace the nuance and let the music unfold naturally. Sometimes the most moving performances are the ones that feel the most personal.
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Hi everyone, just posting a very short excerpt this week. I think these 8/9 bars represent a turning point in the piece with the turmoil in the preceding section giving way to a more generally more calm and accepting mood for the remainder of the piece. I'm still working on the voicing for this section as some of the chords are a little awkward to play. Derek
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Dominic Cheli Thanks for the tips on this!
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Derek McConville Enjoying the clarity of your playing and the balance between the voices!
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First, Iâd like to echo Michelleâs thanks for the inclusive spirit of Domenic and the tonebase community. I too have only been playing for a few years and agree it can be very intimidating to participate after hearing the advanced performances of others.
Iâve been working on the Kupelwieser Waltz, primarily the A section. It may be too advanced for me, but I do love it. Iâve had a few notable challenges. First, I had just upgraded my piano from a Yamaha digital Clavinova to a Kawai K200 and second, having never played in G flat, I found staying on the black keys difficult, making fluid playing even more challenging for me. I did practice exaggerating the melody, but need to do more of that.
Regarding the emotional intent, the tone of the A section is very lyrical and flowing. The listener is meant to imagine two lovers waltzing around the room, with such grace they appear to be floating, completely and delightfully absorbed in each other. Needless to say, I do not achieve that intent ;)
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Dora Burak Youâve made a good start with this, especially upgrading the piano, with a totally different touch. Keep with it! It will be worth it and will make your playing so much more enjoyable. I could hear the melody in this. Keep going, youâre doing great!
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Jennifer Mehta thank you so much for the encouragement!
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Dora Burak Hi there and welcome! We are all in this together, so I really appreciate you sharing with us!
I completely resonate with your experience; the Kupelwieser Waltz is such a beautiful yet challenging piece, and itâs great to see you diving into it! Transitioning to a new piano can indeed feel daunting, but it sounds like youâre embracing the change wonderfully. Practicing the melody and exaggerating the phrasing is a fantastic way to develop your interpretationâdonât hesitate to keep exploring that! Remember, every musician struggles with similar hurdles, especially when it comes to voicing and fluidity, so you're not alone in this journey. The imagery you paint of the two lovers waltzing is so poetic; Keep up the great work!
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Dominic Cheli Thank you!
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Dora Burak Great job Dora! This piece is well worth the effort. Looking forward to hearing more.
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Schubertâs Moment. Musicaux, Op 94 No 4 is filled with tension seen in the contrast of staccato in the left hand and legato in the right. This tension carries even during the times when both hands are legato. The center section is more mellow, but there is still an underlying tension seen in the accents on the âandâ of the first beat, and the multiple accidentals.
But there are surprising areas of peace and beauty in the midst of the tension. The portion I have recorded here is in the middle section, 12measures beginning at the repeat. It is filled with accidentals, and subtle accents, and subtle staccato various places. Then, at measure 12, it resolves to this beautiful D flat major chord. The beauty at this particular moment really resonates with me.
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Jennifer Mehta
What an insightful reflection on Schubertâs Moment! I completely agree about the tension being so palpable throughout the piece, even in the more mellow sections. The way you've described the contrasting elements really highlights the emotional depth Schubert achieves. I also appreciate how you've pointed out those moments of beauty amidst the tension, particularly the resolution to that D flat major chord â it really does evoke a sense of peace. Thank you!
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Dominic Cheli thank you so much for the encouragement!!!! Now I keep practicing to try to bring all this out in my playing. Thank you!
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Jennifer Mehta Nice playing! There is so much beauty in these musical moments.
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All the best laid plans...
We are living on the Isle of Wight, which is a small island off the south coast of the UK.
We had a buyer for our house on the mainland but the sale has fallen through so it looks as if we will have to return to the mainland in October, so lots of packing to do.
This and other issues has meant that we have had three trips back and forth over the last fortnight but I have tried to engage with this challenge despite the travelling.
I have been working on the Liszt transcription of Schubert's Standchen in addition to working through all the Tonebase lessons on Schubert. Henry Kramer on the Wanderer Fantasy is a must for everyone!
My edition says to use the sustain pedal on each detached chord but I have decided to experiment with the sostenuto pedal instead.
I have been trying to use the 'una corda' pedal and the sostenuto pedal simultaneously in some passages, but this seems to cause a problem in the mechanism, as the dampers are then lifted other chord notes as well as the bass note. This may be a 'regulation' issue. Does anyone know whether it should be possible to use these two pedals together?
