Instrument Players - Come and chat (Part II)

[CoteDAzur]

Previous thread is here.

We filled one thread, so here’s another

Ooh I love Summertime!

Meanwhile, I've been working on Bach's . It's mind-blowing. Especially the 2nd movement (from 0:35 onwards) has obsessed me for the past two weeks. It is a Fugue in 4 voices - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass - which means that the same melody that starts in Bass with the left hand at the beginning moves to Tenor, Soprano, etc as if you are playing a complex choral work with just two hands It's amazing. It took me many hours every day but I can finally play it well.

Now on to the Fugue that starts at 3:50. It's devilish but not as difficult as the earlier, slower one.

Can you believe that Bach was a teenager when he wrote this?

Well done Fluke!

I played at a concert on Sunday - I was happy that I played the pieces as well as could be expected. My Scarlatti sonata was pretty much perfect, the Bach prelude and fugue had the odd error but I don't think I have ever played the fugue without at least one mistake. I was probably 1-2 weeks away from being completely ready.

Compare with the other adults who played, I think I I was less nervous (lots of experience of public speaking helps) and more prepared. Preparing pieces for exams and other performances is hard for adult learners ...

I need to book a lesson to talk about what next. I quite fancy a Schubert impromptu and I think I will do one of the easier Chopin nocturnes. I also have another Scarlatti sonata to finish, it got abandoned due to frustration and dodgy technique but think I will find it easier now. Compared to the fugue anyway lol.

Misti, Schubert's impromptus are nice but how about the first Drei Klavierstücke - D. 946

This morning I heard the finale of Chopin's Sonata No 3 in B minor.
I may have to learn it at some point, though in general I don't have enough patience for Chopin.

Can I join you. I am adult learner - playing flute 8 yrs now and piano for a couple years. Slow progress as previously no experience.
My teacher is pushing for flute exam grade 3 to start which is probably a bit below my ability but she says I should get a good mark and that will give me confidence - still nervous though and I hate playing in front of people.
I do love my flute though but with my job struggle with time to practice.
Any other adult learners with any advice ?

Welcome Luna!

I have not done music exams since before 1988.

Post more tomorrow ...

Welcome Luna! Good luck with your exam. It really is a good idea to aim low in the beginning to build confidence.

Luna Hello! I think the teacher is right - you'll feel amazing once you've done the exam! Also remember you're doing it just for you so it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks! My only advice points for exams are remember to eat carbs beforehand and make sure you know the scales!
I've done 2 piano exams. I got exactly the same mark overall on both. However on grade 4 the marks for the pieces were better but I threw that improvement away on badly prepared scales. This was really useful because I realised I had to pull myself together and do them properly.
It's exciting you're doing flute. I'm really tempted to go back to it as I played as a child and we have a flute. I'm going to play some over the summer and see how I feel in the Autumn!

Explanation - Carbs help absorb nerves according to my piano teacher! It does sort of work for me.

Well done Fluke!
Welcome Luna
Loose interesting, I don't usually feel like eating when nervous personally.

Question about practice... I am an adult learner - flute for 8 years and more recently piano.
I work 4 days a week - long 10 hour plus days.
I try to practice but often after work my mind has gone so it is often useless!
How does everyone else find learning an instrument as adult fits in with work, trying to exercise, eat and everything else. I know if I. Outdoor practice daily I would improve quicker but is a struggle,

Luna: i find that it takes a lot more practice as an adult. But I suspect it depends on your age and your level. As a 50-something getting back to where I was as a teenager (grade 7/8) I find it takes a lot of work to really see a difference - I try to do an hour a day though I don't always have time. I often practice in short bursts - I work from home a lot which helps.

If you are a beginner at piano with a good standard on another instrument then you may find that initially you can progress without hours of practice especially if you are a younger adult.

I also find it's much harder to practise enough now that the level of the pieces is trickier. What I'm meant to do is pick small sections and work on them rather than keep playing the whole piece - you may find that works in terms of lots of short focused practice rather than trying to do an hour in one go. It will take longer, though.

I try to do 20 minutes a day but don't always manage. I agree with practising short sections.

I had been practicing for about 2 hours per day for most of this year but now I'm on holiday with no piano or harpsichord. It's hard

For adults there is a very strong correlation between practice time and results (Côte is evidence for this!). Younger learners and especially teenage beginners can often progress with surprisingly little practice - my dd got beyond grade 8 standard in less than 3 years on perhaps 20-30 mins 3-4 times a week - but I don't think an older adult learner would get away with this.

I would never have been able to play a prelude and fugue well enough for a concert performance if I played for 20 mins a day. It took several weeks of pretty serious application, sometimes 2-3 hours a day (not every day - there are weeks when I just don't have time) and also some additional technical exercises to help me overcome technical difficulties.

I can sight read a lot of things but not Bach ...

Never - I'm sure that you can sight read most of Anna Magdalena Bach's Notebook

Mistigri - Yes, it's amazing how quickly one progresses with +2 hours of practice per day

Yes, I'm never going to manage 2 hours a day and DS2 needs nowhere near as much to sound a lot better than me - proving Mistigri's point! I could give him a bit more of a run for his money on an hour a day, though.
I think as an adult you do what you can and accept more practice will bring greater rewards if you can manage it!

I had this discussion with my teacher. It depends on what you want to achieve ...

Loose I've gone from very rusty to a decent grade 7 standard in a year, which I am pleased with, but I've worked hard for it.

Whereas my 15 year old started messing about on the piano earlier this year, but didn't start playing regularly until this month, and is already tackling Chopin nocturnes - before he has his first formal lesson. I try not to let it discourage me (he did the same to me on guitar last summer hols).

Mistigri

DS1 has started asking for music that I've been learning. Harrumph. The upside is that there is now nice music being played.

Mistigri guitar's another one! DH plays but dcs are at least as good as he is and it's their fun instrument!
Your DS is seriously impressive with the Chopin, though!!

"I had this discussion with my teacher. It depends on what you want to achieve ..."

As I told my teacher, all I want to do is play the music I love

Unfortunately, that music happens to be almost exclusively Bach, Handel, and Rameau