Constructing a practice outline. It is difficult. I got day 1 done and had to stop there so I could actually use the day 1 activities.
Working on endurance, as that was a problem during recording. And working on dynamics. Not enough time today. Added that question to survey.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Saturday, January 14, 2017
My hands still hurt. I wrapped them in the heating pad last night and that did nothing.
Playing (trying to play) Tambourin way faster, about 168, makes it seem like slo-mo at 116 and I'm able to get in clearer trills and hit my marks.
Need to practice Prelude 4 dynamically everywhere except the chords, which I'm still trying to get technically right.
Playing (trying to play) Tambourin way faster, about 168, makes it seem like slo-mo at 116 and I'm able to get in clearer trills and hit my marks.
Need to practice Prelude 4 dynamically everywhere except the chords, which I'm still trying to get technically right.
Friday, January 13, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Another snow day!
The amount of work I need to do on these pieces is feeling overwhelming today and my back has a stitch in it, so I only practiced 1 hour today. Worked mostly on Bells in the Snow. Still need to do everything mentioned yesterday. Or Monday. Will maybe have another practice sesh this afternoon.
The amount of work I need to do on these pieces is feeling overwhelming today and my back has a stitch in it, so I only practiced 1 hour today. Worked mostly on Bells in the Snow. Still need to do everything mentioned yesterday. Or Monday. Will maybe have another practice sesh this afternoon.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Late snow day - got two practices in.
Need to figure out how much prep time I need to get recording ready.
Prelude 4. 1.5 hours Today I drilled the chords, and got about half of them attached to the octaves.
Prelude 4. 1/2 hour? worked on single notes.
But this timing may be dependent on when I do them.
Memorizing both.
another 15 min working on Tambourin. Played/practiced it 4 clicks faster so 116 feels slow. Sort of worked, would need more time.
15 min playing Chaconne and Giga.
There is a buzz in my B below middle C. 4th octave B. The whole 4th octave was buzzing earlier. :(
Need to figure out how much prep time I need to get recording ready.
Prelude 4. 1.5 hours Today I drilled the chords, and got about half of them attached to the octaves.
Prelude 4. 1/2 hour? worked on single notes.
But this timing may be dependent on when I do them.
Memorizing both.
another 15 min working on Tambourin. Played/practiced it 4 clicks faster so 116 feels slow. Sort of worked, would need more time.
15 min playing Chaconne and Giga.
There is a buzz in my B below middle C. 4th octave B. The whole 4th octave was buzzing earlier. :(
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Prelude 4 is a workout! Attempting to record this weekend sucked all knowledge of this piece out of my head. I am going through and relearning it.
The chords need to be practiced flat and fast.
I need to memorize the octaves. And everything else.
The first gliss is 1 step above the 2nd.
Tambourin - need to memorize with dynamics.
2nd round of practicing: Prelude 4 chords flat. 1st 3.
The chords need to be practiced flat and fast.
I need to memorize the octaves. And everything else.
The first gliss is 1 step above the 2nd.
Tambourin - need to memorize with dynamics.
2nd round of practicing: Prelude 4 chords flat. 1st 3.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Things to note for recording
I didn't get any useful takes, but got a lot of useful take-aways.
One week is too soon to record after not playing for 10 days.
One week is too soon to record after not working out for 10 days.
I didn't get a nervous feeling in my stomach, but in my arms. They are like wet noodles now. I am wiped! I was able to use my force-my-arms-to-relax skill for about 2 seconds. Clearly need to practice that more.
I would probably do better in an 8-12 or 1-5 slot.
Cold weather is not the best for playing either for the harp or me. The harp went out of tune while I was tuning it. It also developed buzzes after being back in a warmer temp.
Really need to have protein as part of my snack.
Try not to knock off the wall and break the glass on the picture of a harp with your harp. The decision between picking up the glass and slicing my fingers and leaving the glass on the ground and slicing my feet was not appreciated.
One week is too soon to record after not playing for 10 days.
One week is too soon to record after not working out for 10 days.
I didn't get a nervous feeling in my stomach, but in my arms. They are like wet noodles now. I am wiped! I was able to use my force-my-arms-to-relax skill for about 2 seconds. Clearly need to practice that more.
I would probably do better in an 8-12 or 1-5 slot.
Cold weather is not the best for playing either for the harp or me. The harp went out of tune while I was tuning it. It also developed buzzes after being back in a warmer temp.
Really need to have protein as part of my snack.
Try not to knock off the wall and break the glass on the picture of a harp with your harp. The decision between picking up the glass and slicing my fingers and leaving the glass on the ground and slicing my feet was not appreciated.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
How to practice when you get back from vacation
This is a transcript of a phone call with Anne Sullivan. She has an abbreviated version on her blog, too.
Your first week back, don't play louder than mf. Practice as much as feels good, not burdensome.
Day 1: Play slowly. Use a beginner technique: all fingers on strings, place and hold. Don't practice.
Day 2: Refreshers again. Play quietly. Play your repertoire.
Day 3: Focus on speed, etudes, and another repertoire piece.
Day 4: Play faster, you are almost ready to start working again.
Day 5: Focus on almost everything.
This is day 2 for me, and I played through all of my repertoire, mostly quietly and mostly slowly.
Your first week back, don't play louder than mf. Practice as much as feels good, not burdensome.
Day 1: Play slowly. Use a beginner technique: all fingers on strings, place and hold. Don't practice.
Day 2: Refreshers again. Play quietly. Play your repertoire.
Day 3: Focus on speed, etudes, and another repertoire piece.
Day 4: Play faster, you are almost ready to start working again.
Day 5: Focus on almost everything.
This is day 2 for me, and I played through all of my repertoire, mostly quietly and mostly slowly.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Monday, December 5, 2016
30 DtD Chaconne
30 DtD Giga. Had a thought playing lower on the strings might help the left hand in the fiddly bits. We'll see. And I can play it with the original recording that I thought was ridiculously fast.
Worked on Bells in the Snow again. I think the multiple harmonics touch off my tennis elbow.
30 DtD Giga. Had a thought playing lower on the strings might help the left hand in the fiddly bits. We'll see. And I can play it with the original recording that I thought was ridiculously fast.
Worked on Bells in the Snow again. I think the multiple harmonics touch off my tennis elbow.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Still not motivated to practice, so played around with Mortari's Gagliarda and Tournier's Cloches sous la Neige.
Friday, December 2, 2016
You say potato, I say portato
Portato - basically the opposite of ritardo. What I do with the falling notes in Zarabanda.
So not motivated to play today. Disappointing repertoire day.
So not motivated to play today. Disappointing repertoire day.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Marathon practice session today. Got everything done, though!
★ 30 DtD Giga. Finally finished the task I'd been working on for the past couple three days.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Played with recordings. Other people are playing way slower than me in some parts, and way faster in others.
I have tomorrow off with Chaconne, use the space to run through Tambourin and Prelude 4.
I think taking two weeks to work on dynamics and shading with recording is a good idea, and I think I'd like to revise or revamp the 30 Days to Done to include much more recording and analyzing.
★ 30 DtD Giga. Finally finished the task I'd been working on for the past couple three days.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Played with recordings. Other people are playing way slower than me in some parts, and way faster in others.
I have tomorrow off with Chaconne, use the space to run through Tambourin and Prelude 4.
I think taking two weeks to work on dynamics and shading with recording is a good idea, and I think I'd like to revise or revamp the 30 Days to Done to include much more recording and analyzing.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Steam-burned my thumb today. Awesome.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Made notes on how I want dynamics to sound. Listening to myself practice is excruciating.
★ 30 DtD Giga. Recorded my practice today. Hopefully not as excruciating to listen as above. It's choppy, but I can get my enthusiasm to come through in parts.
Repertoire day. I can play Tambourin once before it falls apart. Or so I think. I can pay attention to the first half of Prelude 4 and make a conscious effort to play, but the 2nd half becomes note reading.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Made notes on how I want dynamics to sound. Listening to myself practice is excruciating.
★ 30 DtD Giga. Recorded my practice today. Hopefully not as excruciating to listen as above. It's choppy, but I can get my enthusiasm to come through in parts.
Repertoire day. I can play Tambourin once before it falls apart. Or so I think. I can pay attention to the first half of Prelude 4 and make a conscious effort to play, but the 2nd half becomes note reading.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
30 DtD Giga. Research - The Giga I'm playing is from Opus 5, and it is Sonata no9. It was published in 1700 and Corelli was apparently key in developing the Sonata into the form it is today. This was a time of ornamentation in music, and there are different versions, one possibly written by Corelli himself. I have no idea what ornamentations are in the version I'm playing. I like this description from the CD description at Bridge Records: "often lavish and warm-hearted character of Corelli’s oeuvre".
30 DtD Chaconne. Couldn't get it together today.
It was also I good thing I wrote on my calendar that today is repertoire day. I played so much today my arms and hands are actually sore. That doesn't happen very often. Some of my repertoire needs work. Some of it sounds great.
30 DtD Chaconne. Couldn't get it together today.
It was also I good thing I wrote on my calendar that today is repertoire day. I played so much today my arms and hands are actually sore. That doesn't happen very often. Some of my repertoire needs work. Some of it sounds great.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Info on Chaconne - "This is a really excellent pastiche of French 'galant' 18th c style, and
is written with a light touch unusual in 19th c piano music. As such
the outer sections require little or no pedal. It was dedicated to one
Mlle. Hélène Montane.
----------------------------" Who was Hélène Montané?
More info about Durand at imslp.
"This example is dependent largely on the tonic and subdominant minor for its key feeling." - The Affective Character of the Major and Minor Modes in Music, Kate Hevner, The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Jan., 1935), pp. 103-118
More info about Durand at imslp.
"This example is dependent largely on the tonic and subdominant minor for its key feeling." - The Affective Character of the Major and Minor Modes in Music, Kate Hevner, The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Jan., 1935), pp. 103-118
Monday, November 7, 2016
Great job today! I pushed through being fatigued and got everything done.
★ 30 DtD Giga. The practice combo worked really well today - cleaned up some trouble spots.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Worked through trouble spots. This quickly coming back into my fingers.
★ Played through Tambourin and Prelude 4 well.
Need to do research on Chaconne.
★ 30 DtD Giga. The practice combo worked really well today - cleaned up some trouble spots.
★ 30 DtD Chaconne. Worked through trouble spots. This quickly coming back into my fingers.
★ Played through Tambourin and Prelude 4 well.
Need to do research on Chaconne.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Despite having massive headache, I managed to get all my practicing mostly done. Then I remembered I'm supposed to go through my repertoire once a week. Oh well.
★ Chaconne - Seems to be infusing my hands again.
☆ Giga - almost made it to the end, but ran out of steam. Practiced the things that are different in the 2nd ending in the 2nd half.
★ Chaconne - Seems to be infusing my hands again.
☆ Giga - almost made it to the end, but ran out of steam. Practiced the things that are different in the 2nd ending in the 2nd half.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
I think the 30 days to done is more like 45 for me. The pieces I'm trying to do are too long to get the initial stages of practicing under one practice session each. This is ok!
It definitely made more sense to split Giga into two pages. Also, I am a sloppy player. Or I was when I learned this.
Chaconne is also sloppy.
It definitely made more sense to split Giga into two pages. Also, I am a sloppy player. Or I was when I learned this.
Chaconne is also sloppy.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Started 30 DtD on Giga and Chaconne. Reviewed Tambourin and Prelude 4. Need to do that on a regular basis. Every other day?
Chaconne is loooong. I worked hard on it.
Not sure how to structure the practicing for Giga as I'm doing a lot of variations. Maybe I need to split it in half since it basically is two parts? Good thing I marked it in pencil. And then treat it as basically 4 parts?
Chaconne is loooong. I worked hard on it.
Not sure how to structure the practicing for Giga as I'm doing a lot of variations. Maybe I need to split it in half since it basically is two parts? Good thing I marked it in pencil. And then treat it as basically 4 parts?
Friday, October 28, 2016
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Monday, October 24, 2016
For some reason, doing the work to make things sound good (polishing) is a struggle for me. Not the technical work, but the work I do to convince my brain this is necessary work. Today was a struggle.
★ 30 DtD. Tambourin. This actually sounded pretty good today. Something about the combo of yesterday's and today's work clicked.
★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. Really had to convince myself that I really did need to do today's assignment. It did not sound as great as I thought.
★ 30 DtD. Tambourin. This actually sounded pretty good today. Something about the combo of yesterday's and today's work clicked.
★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. Really had to convince myself that I really did need to do today's assignment. It did not sound as great as I thought.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
★ 30 DtD Tambourin. Really resistant to practicing, but got through it. The LH is slowly, slowly coming along. The dynamics need more work, which is coming up in larger sections, I hope.
★★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. Find an image: http://imgur.com/PnR77 Or this. The music strikes me as cold, forlorn, beautiful and a little dangerous. Or urgent. Slovenia sure is pretty! It was a huge struggle to keep going - so tired - so two stars!
★★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. Find an image: http://imgur.com/PnR77 Or this. The music strikes me as cold, forlorn, beautiful and a little dangerous. Or urgent. Slovenia sure is pretty! It was a huge struggle to keep going - so tired - so two stars!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Monday, October 10, 2016
2nd octave D was broken this afternoon! Thank you, humidity.
Yesterday took a day off as scheduled, even though I had already had days off. I just couldn't work on what I wanted to due to finger blister soreness.
★ 30 DtD Tambourin. On track. Still need to work on LH.
★★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. I had a wonderful 'aha' moment during Prelude 4 in regards to how to muffle one of the giant chords. Worth it for that alone!
Yesterday took a day off as scheduled, even though I had already had days off. I just couldn't work on what I wanted to due to finger blister soreness.
★ 30 DtD Tambourin. On track. Still need to work on LH.
★★ 30 DtD Prelude 4. I had a wonderful 'aha' moment during Prelude 4 in regards to how to muffle one of the giant chords. Worth it for that alone!
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Friday, October 7, 2016
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Friday, September 23, 2016
I forgot to practice today. I guess my brain decided all the research this morning was practice. And as soon as I went outside for a walk, I started yawning like Pez dispenser. I guess I will be practicing tomorrow, if I remember, and spending the rest of the evening trying not to fall asleep.
More research on Srebotnjak:
Yugoslavia / Die neue Musik in Jugoslawien by Dragotin Cvetko from The World of Music, Vol. 4, No. 3 (JUNE 1962), pp. 52-53: Srebotnjak used "pointillist technique"? "Serial pointillist technique"?
Music in Slovenia by Niall O'Loughlin from The Musical Times, Vol. 134, No. 1801 (Mar., 1993), pp. 130-133: He had come to London to study with Peter Racine Fricker in 1959-60. Preludes was written in 60. He also used "12 note technique". (Except in Harp Concerto where he used 8-note to facilitate pedaling.)
Contemporary Trends in Yugoslav Music by Zija Kučukalić from International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Dec., 1971), pp. 271-273: "the Slovenian folk music tradition is attached to the folk music of the Alps region and that is one of musical communication and closeness with other nations."
Music in Slovenia. In the First of Two Articles, Niall O'Loughlin Introduces the Rich Musical Heritage of One of Europe's Most Newly Independent Countries by Niall O'Loughlin from The Musical Times, Vol. 134, No. 1800 (Feb., 1993), pp. 74-77[Journal]: "Hindemith served as the model for many other younger composers in the 1950s,"
Music in Yugoslavia by Everett Helm from The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 1, Special Fiftieth Anniversary Issue: Contemporary Music in Europe: A Comprehensive Survey (Jan., 1965), pp. 215-224: Srebotnjak's early works were Expressionist.
Oxford Music Online
Among composers of his generation, Srebotnjak had the most distinctively expressionist style, despite the diversity of his techniques, which ranged from 12-note composition (Invenzione variata) and serialism (Serenata, Monologi, Šest skladb, Antifona) to aleatory works and graphic scores. He often integrated folklore elements (Slovene and Macedonian) into his works and used expanded variations of the themes of other composers (Kogoj, Osterc, Tartini, Škerjanc).
Yugoslavia / Die neue Musik in Jugoslawien by Dragotin Cvetko from The World of Music, Vol. 4, No. 3 (JUNE 1962), pp. 52-53: Srebotnjak used "pointillist technique"? "Serial pointillist technique"?
Music in Slovenia by Niall O'Loughlin from The Musical Times, Vol. 134, No. 1801 (Mar., 1993), pp. 130-133: He had come to London to study with Peter Racine Fricker in 1959-60. Preludes was written in 60. He also used "12 note technique". (Except in Harp Concerto where he used 8-note to facilitate pedaling.)
Contemporary Trends in Yugoslav Music by Zija Kučukalić from International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Dec., 1971), pp. 271-273: "the Slovenian folk music tradition is attached to the folk music of the Alps region and that is one of musical communication and closeness with other nations."
Music in Slovenia. In the First of Two Articles, Niall O'Loughlin Introduces the Rich Musical Heritage of One of Europe's Most Newly Independent Countries by Niall O'Loughlin from The Musical Times, Vol. 134, No. 1800 (Feb., 1993), pp. 74-77[Journal]: "Hindemith served as the model for many other younger composers in the 1950s,"
Music in Yugoslavia by Everett Helm from The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 1, Special Fiftieth Anniversary Issue: Contemporary Music in Europe: A Comprehensive Survey (Jan., 1965), pp. 215-224: Srebotnjak's early works were Expressionist.
Oxford Music Online
Among composers of his generation, Srebotnjak had the most distinctively expressionist style, despite the diversity of his techniques, which ranged from 12-note composition (Invenzione variata) and serialism (Serenata, Monologi, Šest skladb, Antifona) to aleatory works and graphic scores. He often integrated folklore elements (Slovene and Macedonian) into his works and used expanded variations of the themes of other composers (Kogoj, Osterc, Tartini, Škerjanc).
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
★ 30DtD Prelude 4. Research - From two sources: In 1944, the Society of Slovene Composers was founded and seemed to be instrumental (HA!) in promoting Slovene composers to the greater music world. Alozj Srebotnjak is considered one of the most respected and renowned Slovene composers because of his prolificness. In the early 60s, music in Slovenia took a huge leap forward due to citizens being allowed to travel and composers studying in other countries. Avant-garde was the style of choice for that music scene and "Over the next two decades, it thrived with a large body of high quality, adventurous music that in quantity was far more than might have been expected from such a small group of composers." Niall O’Loughlin Srebotnjak didn't embrace the new postmodern style of the next generation of composers as much as his contemporaries, but continued as he had, incorporating ideas from folk music. Classical compositions with nods to folk music were prevalent right after WWII. Interesting!
☆ 30DtD Tambourin. Couldn't quite get the E pedal change. Need to practice it slowly - change on beat 2 before single note, and change back ON the chord. Only got through page 1.
☆ 30DtD Tambourin. Couldn't quite get the E pedal change. Need to practice it slowly - change on beat 2 before single note, and change back ON the chord. Only got through page 1.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
30 DtD Prelude 4.
30 DtD Tambourin. Doing research on this piece. I found out that a Tambourin is a Provençal dance, and that it imitates a drum in the left hand/bass clef and possible a flute in the right. There is a combination of tambour and galoubet or flaviol, called pipe and tabor in many other cultures, that are played at the same time by one person - the flute only having 3 holes. This piece might need a lighter touch than the f that's marked in the music I have.
Here's Patrick Rougeot talking about the combo en français!
30 DtD Tambourin. Doing research on this piece. I found out that a Tambourin is a Provençal dance, and that it imitates a drum in the left hand/bass clef and possible a flute in the right. There is a combination of tambour and galoubet or flaviol, called pipe and tabor in many other cultures, that are played at the same time by one person - the flute only having 3 holes. This piece might need a lighter touch than the f that's marked in the music I have.
Here's Patrick Rougeot talking about the combo en français!
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
I'm back to working on album material after working on a couple other projects - editing a harp part and doing... whatever the music version of ADR is.
30 Days to Done page by page on Tambourin. It's going surprisingly well, although I haven't listened to a recording of myself, so that may be inaccurate.
Started 30 Days to Done on Prelude 4 and ran out of steam. It also sounded horrible, like I'd never seen the music before.
30 Days to Done page by page on Tambourin. It's going surprisingly well, although I haven't listened to a recording of myself, so that may be inaccurate.
Started 30 Days to Done on Prelude 4 and ran out of steam. It also sounded horrible, like I'd never seen the music before.
Friday, August 5, 2016
Friday, July 29, 2016
Took it "easy" today to rest my poor hands.
Goals:
☆ Play through Pachelbel.
☆ Play through Wander. My work on this paid off.
Only giving myself partial stars for both of these because I didn't just play through them, I had to stop and fix things. And I played through them several times, therefore NOT GIVING MY HANDS A REST. Was actually able to mostly keep up with recordings of both of these.
Goals:
☆ Play through Pachelbel.
☆ Play through Wander. My work on this paid off.
Only giving myself partial stars for both of these because I didn't just play through them, I had to stop and fix things. And I played through them several times, therefore NOT GIVING MY HANDS A REST. Was actually able to mostly keep up with recordings of both of these.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
Played along with Bear McCreary to see where work was needed. Did some detail work, then elbows started hurting, so I knocked off early. Need to relax!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Practice performance notes:
My speed work on Satie paid off, but I still need CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
I cannot fake my way through Wander. I need to learn this inside and out.
If nothing else, practice even tone. Sheesh.
Move harp to different spots to practice?
Take strobe tuner?
Dress rehearsals are important because you need to know if your zipper unzips itself while you're playing (it does).
Do not try to eat away your feelings of nervousness.
My speed work on Satie paid off, but I still need CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
I cannot fake my way through Wander. I need to learn this inside and out.
If nothing else, practice even tone. Sheesh.
Move harp to different spots to practice?
Take strobe tuner?
Dress rehearsals are important because you need to know if your zipper unzips itself while you're playing (it does).
Do not try to eat away your feelings of nervousness.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Monday, July 11, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Friday, July 8, 2016
Goals:
Reply to email
★ Order BSG music
★ Run through Pachelbel's Canon
Plan out Roslin and Adama and Wander My Friends
★ Run through Scottish music
★ Run through Satie
Find Tir Na Nog sheet music? Doesn't seem to exist except for full scores.
☆ test other sheet music: Evanescence, Elder Scrolls, Rebecca Sugar
Reply to email
★ Order BSG music
★ Run through Pachelbel's Canon
Plan out Roslin and Adama and Wander My Friends
★ Run through Scottish music
★ Run through Satie
Find Tir Na Nog sheet music? Doesn't seem to exist except for full scores.
☆ test other sheet music: Evanescence, Elder Scrolls, Rebecca Sugar
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Goals:
★ Conditioning Exercises
★★ Goldfish. I don't know if I'm just better at memorizing in general, or this is really easy to memorize. Things seem to be clicking into place much more easily.
☆ 30DtD Tambourin. Got halfway done on the first half of today. Think I gave myself a blister, or stopped right before I got one. Need to stop this and switch over to wedding music.
Automne.
Need to do quick repertoire work on wedding music. Print it out again?
★ Conditioning Exercises
★★ Goldfish. I don't know if I'm just better at memorizing in general, or this is really easy to memorize. Things seem to be clicking into place much more easily.
☆ 30DtD Tambourin. Got halfway done on the first half of today. Think I gave myself a blister, or stopped right before I got one. Need to stop this and switch over to wedding music.
Automne.
Need to do quick repertoire work on wedding music. Print it out again?
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
Goals:
At least look at a calendar.
★ Listen to prog rock
★ Conditioning exercises. These are getting easier.
★ Goldfish. I've got most of this memorized. I think maybe I should try to build up my repertoire of easy songs.
Look at other Tiny Tales.
★ Do detail work on Windy Nights. It might be easier than Looking Glass River.
★ Pick next piece for 30DtD. Ugh. Tambourin is the winner.
Start 30DtD.
One of two remaining Automne sections.
Set up repertoire refresher schedule.
Do last repertoire activity.
Order Mortari's music?
At least look at a calendar.
★ Listen to prog rock
★ Conditioning exercises. These are getting easier.
★ Goldfish. I've got most of this memorized. I think maybe I should try to build up my repertoire of easy songs.
Look at other Tiny Tales.
★ Do detail work on Windy Nights. It might be easier than Looking Glass River.
★ Pick next piece for 30DtD. Ugh. Tambourin is the winner.
Start 30DtD.
One of two remaining Automne sections.
Set up repertoire refresher schedule.
Do last repertoire activity.
Order Mortari's music?
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Friday, July 1, 2016
Goals:
★ Write and send 2 wedding summary/contract
Reply to recording email
★ Put clips online
★ Conditioning Exercises
★ Goldfish - played at 50 need to listen to recording. It's not bad!
☆ 30DtD LGR - Did 2nd to last day. I still seriously mess this up.
☆ Listen to LGR recording - didn't concentrate on whether there were consistent errors.
☆ 30Dtd LGR - last day. It is just a mess. Summary of 30DtD process: It's really hard to know that after all the work I put in it still sounds like crap. Working on the dynamic details was helpful - it helped get me over that hump in my normal learning process. This might have worked better doing one piece at a time.
★ Automne - finished a section and got the 1st large section to the point where I can keep playing if I mess up.
Pick days for practice perf
Read through/research Prog book
★ Write and send 2 wedding summary/contract
Reply to recording email
★ Put clips online
★ Conditioning Exercises
★ Goldfish - played at 50 need to listen to recording. It's not bad!
☆ 30DtD LGR - Did 2nd to last day. I still seriously mess this up.
☆ Listen to LGR recording - didn't concentrate on whether there were consistent errors.
☆ 30Dtd LGR - last day. It is just a mess. Summary of 30DtD process: It's really hard to know that after all the work I put in it still sounds like crap. Working on the dynamic details was helpful - it helped get me over that hump in my normal learning process. This might have worked better doing one piece at a time.
★ Automne - finished a section and got the 1st large section to the point where I can keep playing if I mess up.
Pick days for practice perf
Read through/research Prog book
Over the past few days:
★ Did Conditioning Exercises
★ 30 DtD LGR - figured out I'm still too thumk-y in the first part. played around with making that go away. Need to record and mark spots again.
★ Automne - got more sections done. Almost done with it!
★ Booked a wedding
Yesterday was a long day and I skipped any practicing.
★ Did Conditioning Exercises
★ 30 DtD LGR - figured out I'm still too thumk-y in the first part. played around with making that go away. Need to record and mark spots again.
★ Automne - got more sections done. Almost done with it!
★ Booked a wedding
Yesterday was a long day and I skipped any practicing.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Still having weird memory problems today. We'll see how this goes.
Goals:
★ Scales are done!!!
★ Finger mechanics - break out Conditioning Exercises?
★ Work on memorizing Goldfish? Need to set up a practice chart like 30DtD
★ 30DtD LGR (final week!) - record, listen and mark. That was a lot of work. First take was awful. In general the 1st section needs to be smoother like the 3rd section. It sounds thumpy. The waveforms are also smoother in the 3rd section than the 1st. In the middle, the right hand needs to be brought out more. Also, really emphasis dynamics. There are a lot of gasps that need to be smoothed out by more confidence.
30DtD Danza? Not sure I want to continue with this.
★ Automne - got a few more sections sort of memorized
☆ Look through wedding music
Set up another practice performance
1. Set list
2. Practice set list - memorized
Goals:
★ Scales are done!!!
★ Finger mechanics - break out Conditioning Exercises?
★ Work on memorizing Goldfish? Need to set up a practice chart like 30DtD
★ 30DtD LGR (final week!) - record, listen and mark. That was a lot of work. First take was awful. In general the 1st section needs to be smoother like the 3rd section. It sounds thumpy. The waveforms are also smoother in the 3rd section than the 1st. In the middle, the right hand needs to be brought out more. Also, really emphasis dynamics. There are a lot of gasps that need to be smoothed out by more confidence.
30DtD Danza? Not sure I want to continue with this.
★ Automne - got a few more sections sort of memorized
☆ Look through wedding music
Set up another practice performance
1. Set list
2. Practice set list - memorized
Friday, June 24, 2016
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Goals:
★ Listen to Marcel Tabuteau's Lessons. Listened partway through 3B. I'm having a hard time hearing the differences. I also think voice lessons may help my playing.
Sort music.
Read Sound in Motion
★ Scales
★ Finger mechanics
★ 30DtD LGR. I made notes in my head and now have forgotten them.
30DtD Danza
Another section of Automne
★ Listen to Marcel Tabuteau's Lessons. Listened partway through 3B. I'm having a hard time hearing the differences. I also think voice lessons may help my playing.
Sort music.
Read Sound in Motion
★ Scales
★ Finger mechanics
★ 30DtD LGR. I made notes in my head and now have forgotten them.
30DtD Danza
Another section of Automne
Monday, June 20, 2016
Goals:
★ Scales. Yep.
★ Finger mechanics. Yep.
★ 30DtD Danza. Worked on small sections. Section that still needs work: the 4-bar 8th notes. There are some jumps that will take some more work. Also, it's hard not to play this loud.
30DtD LGR. Holy crap my fingers still hurt. I better be building excellent calluses.
★ Scales. Yep.
★ Finger mechanics. Yep.
★ 30DtD Danza. Worked on small sections. Section that still needs work: the 4-bar 8th notes. There are some jumps that will take some more work. Also, it's hard not to play this loud.
30DtD LGR. Holy crap my fingers still hurt. I better be building excellent calluses.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Goals:
Get as much done before going out to see Suuns!
Scales. Emphasized different beats - very difficult. Probably should try this at different speeds before the week is up.
Finger mechanics. Yes.
30DtD LGR. Worked on small sections, with dynamics, slowly, and I think it was a big help. Didn't play through with hands apart, because 1) Suuns, and 2) I don't see the benefit since this is a lot of switching between hands, and 3) my fingers were killing me at this point.
30DtD Danza. See above re: fingers killing me. And going out.
Get as much done before going out to see Suuns!
Scales. Emphasized different beats - very difficult. Probably should try this at different speeds before the week is up.
Finger mechanics. Yes.
30DtD LGR. Worked on small sections, with dynamics, slowly, and I think it was a big help. Didn't play through with hands apart, because 1) Suuns, and 2) I don't see the benefit since this is a lot of switching between hands, and 3) my fingers were killing me at this point.
30DtD Danza. See above re: fingers killing me. And going out.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Goals:
★ Go through music. I made a spreadsheet. I may add or take away things.
★ Scales week 3. It's hard emphasizing off beats.
★ finger Mechanic. I think my fingers are gradually getting more flexible and independent.
★ 30DtD LGR. This seems to be surprisingly coming together. I need to listen to my recording and mark spots.
☆ 30DtD Danza. I'm not sure what dynamics I want. And I still need to figure out exactly what I'm doing with the left hand.
★ Automne. The parts I'm comfortable with sound great. Got another section marked off.
★ Go through music. I made a spreadsheet. I may add or take away things.
★ Scales week 3. It's hard emphasizing off beats.
★ finger Mechanic. I think my fingers are gradually getting more flexible and independent.
★ 30DtD LGR. This seems to be surprisingly coming together. I need to listen to my recording and mark spots.
☆ 30DtD Danza. I'm not sure what dynamics I want. And I still need to figure out exactly what I'm doing with the left hand.
★ Automne. The parts I'm comfortable with sound great. Got another section marked off.
Friday, June 17, 2016
★ Start scales week 3
★ Finger mechanics
Finish up week 1 of 30DtD with Danza and LGR and start week 2. Even though there was a rest day built in, I needed more than one, apparently.
★ LGR - I re-read the intro for Solos for the Harp Player, and learned (again?) that LGR was "suggested" by the Robert Louis Stevenson poem. I'm interpreting the loud part in the middle as the disruption of the water, but maybe something more profoundly darker and terrifying. Worked on smaller sections with dynamics.
★ Danza - Found the wiki article about Ernesto Halffter as well as a little info about the ballet (Sonatina, 1928) Danza is from. I can't find any info about Danza de la Pastora itself. I'm going to try to make it as light as possible. Tried working on small sections, and wasn't really able to pay attention. Went back to this and worked a little harder. It's really repetitive and I managed to get some patterns in my hands.
★ Try to get to one section of Automne. Got two sections done.
★ Decide what to do with Grey Donkeys. I think I just need to set this aside for a while.
Sort through music. May need to make a list, since most everything is in one book.
★ Finger mechanics
Finish up week 1 of 30DtD with Danza and LGR and start week 2. Even though there was a rest day built in, I needed more than one, apparently.
★ LGR - I re-read the intro for Solos for the Harp Player, and learned (again?) that LGR was "suggested" by the Robert Louis Stevenson poem. I'm interpreting the loud part in the middle as the disruption of the water, but maybe something more profoundly darker and terrifying. Worked on smaller sections with dynamics.
★ Danza - Found the wiki article about Ernesto Halffter as well as a little info about the ballet (Sonatina, 1928) Danza is from. I can't find any info about Danza de la Pastora itself. I'm going to try to make it as light as possible. Tried working on small sections, and wasn't really able to pay attention. Went back to this and worked a little harder. It's really repetitive and I managed to get some patterns in my hands.
★ Try to get to one section of Automne. Got two sections done.
★ Decide what to do with Grey Donkeys. I think I just need to set this aside for a while.
Sort through music. May need to make a list, since most everything is in one book.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Goals:
★ Scales week 2. Bumped metronome up 4 clicks. Left hand had a little problem in the 6ths at the end turn around into 8ths.
★ Finger mechanics. Stretching still feels good.
☆ 30DtD LGR. Worked on one measure. I don't know why it's so difficult. I'd like to go more slowly to work on dynamics, but also want to really try to follow the schedule. Didn't get to do research in the morning, asked a ref question at work. The just isn't a lot of readily available information on Forst.
☆ 30DtD Danza. Only got to play it slowly with hands together, not separate.
Automne. I've already forgotten this. Geez.
Organize music - maybe if I hadn't started practicing an hour late, I could have gotten to this.
☆ Tried some Bear McCreary BSG music. It didn't work too well.
★ Scales week 2. Bumped metronome up 4 clicks. Left hand had a little problem in the 6ths at the end turn around into 8ths.
★ Finger mechanics. Stretching still feels good.
☆ 30DtD LGR. Worked on one measure. I don't know why it's so difficult. I'd like to go more slowly to work on dynamics, but also want to really try to follow the schedule. Didn't get to do research in the morning, asked a ref question at work. The just isn't a lot of readily available information on Forst.
☆ 30DtD Danza. Only got to play it slowly with hands together, not separate.
Automne. I've already forgotten this. Geez.
Organize music - maybe if I hadn't started practicing an hour late, I could have gotten to this.
☆ Tried some Bear McCreary BSG music. It didn't work too well.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Goals:
★ Scales week 2. I was having a lot of problems with the different rhythms, but then my counting and playing clicked and I kind of got it. I was able to play through the whole thing. I did sections CDE yesterday and AB today.
★ Finger mechanics. Did a couple repeats and stretched.
★ 30DtD LGR. Did this one first and it seems to be coming together. It's difficult not to do detail work, but kind of a relief at the same time.
★ 30DtD Danza. This was easier today. I played hands separately at 3/4 speed, which I had judged to be ♪=176, so 132, and was surprised by how well I did.
This all took about an hour. Not sure what I was doing the past couple days that it took 3.
★ Scales week 2. I was having a lot of problems with the different rhythms, but then my counting and playing clicked and I kind of got it. I was able to play through the whole thing. I did sections CDE yesterday and AB today.
★ Finger mechanics. Did a couple repeats and stretched.
★ 30DtD LGR. Did this one first and it seems to be coming together. It's difficult not to do detail work, but kind of a relief at the same time.
★ 30DtD Danza. This was easier today. I played hands separately at 3/4 speed, which I had judged to be ♪=176, so 132, and was surprised by how well I did.
This all took about an hour. Not sure what I was doing the past couple days that it took 3.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Goals:
★ Speed up scales. Um... these need work.
★ Finger mechanics. I've forgotten over the years how good it feels to stretch my fingers like this. I need to do this ALL THE TIME.
★ 30DtD Danza. I think I got all the arrangements done as far as replacing the alternating 10ths. Difficult on harp, how do they even play this on the piano.
☆ 30DtD LGR. This is a really hard freakin' piece. Worked hard on two small sections and ran out of energy. Need to do this one first tomorrow!
☆ Section of Automne. Sort of got one?
_______________________________________________
This was another 3 hours! There is not enough time to do what I want. Also, my stamina was shot.
Section of Grey Donkeys. Didn't even get to this.
★ Speed up scales. Um... these need work.
★ Finger mechanics. I've forgotten over the years how good it feels to stretch my fingers like this. I need to do this ALL THE TIME.
★ 30DtD Danza. I think I got all the arrangements done as far as replacing the alternating 10ths. Difficult on harp, how do they even play this on the piano.
☆ 30DtD LGR. This is a really hard freakin' piece. Worked hard on two small sections and ran out of energy. Need to do this one first tomorrow!
☆ Section of Automne. Sort of got one?
_______________________________________________
This was another 3 hours! There is not enough time to do what I want. Also, my stamina was shot.
Section of Grey Donkeys. Didn't even get to this.
Friday, June 10, 2016
★ Start scales week 2. I was a little disappointed by how slowly I'm playing, however I have all week to speed up. My right thumb still gets my bicep in on the action.
★ Finger mechanics
☆ Day 3 of 30DtD with LGR. I'm not sure this is the best way of reviving this. I am getting a little more familiar with it again. It's just really hard to play this one hands apart. Although maybe it'd be a really good counting exercise. Also trying numbering my dynamics. I also have problems playing separate dynamics in each hand.
★ Day 2 of 30DtD with Danza. I did the first and last sections. Thank goodness for music that repeats.
★ Work on memorizing Automne with dynamics. I went through my chart and figured out what I need to work on. Dynamics were suspiciously easy to play around with.
☆ Work on one section of Grey Donkeys. At this point I had been practicing for almost 3 hours. And I worked on three chords instead of the six measures in that section.
All this with a headache, too.
★ Finger mechanics
☆ Day 3 of 30DtD with LGR. I'm not sure this is the best way of reviving this. I am getting a little more familiar with it again. It's just really hard to play this one hands apart. Although maybe it'd be a really good counting exercise. Also trying numbering my dynamics. I also have problems playing separate dynamics in each hand.
★ Day 2 of 30DtD with Danza. I did the first and last sections. Thank goodness for music that repeats.
★ Work on memorizing Automne with dynamics. I went through my chart and figured out what I need to work on. Dynamics were suspiciously easy to play around with.
☆ Work on one section of Grey Donkeys. At this point I had been practicing for almost 3 hours. And I worked on three chords instead of the six measures in that section.
All this with a headache, too.
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