Home » Piano Practice Diary: Week of 28 Aug 2022

Piano Practice Diary: Week of 28 Aug 2022

Overview

After a two-week hiatus, I am back at the piano. Yay!

I continued working on Chopin’s Waltz in A minor Op 34 No 2. In addition, I started three new pieces at the beginning of the week:

  • Clark – Tarantella in C major
  • Purcell – Minuet in A minor (finished on Thursday)
  • Le Couppey – Melody in C No 21 from ABC for the Piano (finished on Thursday)

After finishing two pieces on Thursday, I started another two pieces:

  • Mozart L – Burleske from Notebook for Wolfgang
  • anon – Old English Air (which I finished on the same day)

I started one more piece on Friday:

  • Schubert – Ecossaise in C major D 299 No 8

Sessions

At My Desk

SMTuWThFS

At the Piano

SMTuWThFS

Technique

Warm-up patterns in C (from Exploring Piano Classics – Technique Level 2)

Repertoire

New Clark – Tarantella in C major

28 Aug — read through and worked on accompanying studies in the technique book

30 Aug — I pretty much have the notes under my fingers. Now I need to work on speed.

2 Sep — working on velocity mm (2 beats/bar) = 130; aiming for 156 (slowest vivace)

New Purcell – Minuet in A minor

28 Aug — read through

30 Aug — starting to come together; on the first day, I thought this piece would take longer. Playing with ornaments.

1 Sep — finished and recorded; I’m pretty satisfied with my performance

New Le Couppey – Melody in C No 21 from ABC for the Piano

28 Aug — read through and worked on accompanying studies in the technique book

30 Aug — starting to come together, but I’m not sure how much I like this piece. I think I could make it sound better if I was a better player, but it’s a little boring. I don’t do well with broken chords (triplet) LH accompaniments. And I can’t figure out how to fix it.

1 Sep — finished and recorded; this is as good as it gets

New Mozart L – Burleske from Notebook for Wolfgang

1 Sep — read through

2 Sep — mm=70 (target = 88-104)

New anon – Old English Air

1 Sep — read through, finished and recorded

New Schubert – Ecossaise in C major D 299 No 8

2 Sep — read through; mm=80 (HT); mm=120 (RH only); target=104-120

Chopin – Waltz in A minor Op 34 No 2

28 Aug — Started working on Section A and B. Continued working on Section C. I find Section C much harder than A and B. My fingers need to dance. That isn’t happening yet.

30 Aug — All of a sudden, the notes are coming easier. Section C still needs a lot of work, but I think A and B will ready to start polishing in another week or so. Wow!

2 Sep — Continuing to work on A-C; no break-throughs

Posting Videos

I posted five videos to YouTube this week.

Link to VideoLink to Study Notes
Pastorale by Félix Le Couppey (1811-1887) – PerformanceStudy Notes
Hungarian Folk Song by István Bartalus (1821-1899) – PerformanceStudy Notes
Romance for Children by Daniel Gottlob Türk (1750-1813) – PerformanceStudy Notes
Minuet in F major K2 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – PerformanceStudy Notes
A Deserted Garden Op 82 No 35 by Cornelius Gurlitt (1820-1901) – PerformanceStudy Notes

Disclaimer. I am an amateur, fumbling her way back to the piano.  This is my hobby and I do it for fun. I am happy to share my process, but, please keep in mind… I am not a teacher.  If something I am doing doesn’t work for you, or doesn’t feel right, or outright hurts, stop!  Everybody is different.  Playing the piano is not a one-size-fits-all activity.  Have fun with it.

Last Updated on September 3, 2022


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