Instrument Players - Come and chat (Part II)

[CoteDAzur]

Previous thread is here.

We filled one thread, so here’s another

My last pieces were Für Elise and the Mozart k545 (Facile) mvt 1. This was GCSE age. We moved the summer after I did GCSEs and my mother never got another piano.

I just spend 2 and a half hours practicing. I'm turning into Cote. G6 in 2 weeks and if I do that every day I might scrape a pass, but it's tough. I am in no way at g6 in reality. This is the last session I can do these pieces though.

If you play that much you should find that you have a breakthrough at some point - hopefully before the exam!

Use your piano time wisely, try using a metronome and also using rhythms if appropriate (especially useful in classical and baroque music where there are long passages of equal length notes).

I did about 4 hours on Sunday and can play the first theme of the Mozart piano sonata reasonably well now (and the second theme is a lot easier and will be quick to learn). I still find it disappointing how much time I have to spend to actually make progress.

I have a a Mendelssohn piece that is nearly finished but the difference between "nearly finished" and being able to play the sodding thing is going to be the end of me. And that's the easy one of the pair I'm doing - the other one is technically a lot harder (lots of holding one finger down and doing something complicated with other fingers, in both hands, at speed).

"I'm turning into Cote."

Broken I think channeling Cote is definitely the answer! That level of practice will surely make a difference - brilliant!

Thanks Mistigri for the looper pedal suggestion. I was thinking about buying some kind of recording device so I could layer flute parts on top of one another on my own (started getting back into flute now too...but I like harmony, not just a single melody line) but I didn't know what to google - very helpful to know the right term.

Accordion update - had a very interesting play around on my friend's accordion this weekend. It's basically like a piano so I could fairly easily do simple tunes with chords. Right hand does the melody on a little keyboard and the left hand works the buttons - one button for each chord (and then different buttons for minor, dominant 7th etc).

But what excited me most was finding that the chord buttons are organised...in the order of the circle of fifths! Which is totally logical because of course you're most likely to be using the I, IV and V chords together, so that configuration means that they are in easy reach for any key. I just found that so neat and pleasing - the first instrument I've come across that uses that particular bit of harmonic theory directly as part of the layout!

Looper pedal might be on the Christmas list for DC!

Tintini Thanks for the update on the accordion! Is it very loud?

Next: bagpipes.

Well, the accordion made my friend's baby wail when I tried to play it...but that might just have been me.

You can play loud or soft - depends on how much oomph you put into squeezing...if you see what I mean. I think it's preferable to bagpipes...or at least preferable to me trying to play bagpipes!

That's two hours tonight. Thanks for the encouragement all, I can do this I haven't been well recently hence lack of practice until now, and don't want to drive myself into being unwell again. Oh well, I can either pull out or go in and do my best.
Bagpipes remind me of Ross learning them in Friends

"I just spend 2 and a half hours practicing. I'm turning into Cote."

A fate to avoid but you will be amazed at the progress you make if you continue to play over 2 hours every day.

Mistigri - re "technically a lot harder (lots of holding one finger down and doing something complicated with other fingers, in both hands, at speed)."

Yes, the "weird hand technique" That's what we called it in the first Instrument Players thread. It's done for polyphony, to create 3, 4, or 5 separate melodies with just 2 hands. I love it.

We spoke at length about it on that thread, with examples, as Never & I were working on Rameau's Gavotte & 6 Doubles. You see it clearly in the 3rd Double that starts at 3:46 (see notes in picture) where 5th finger of the right plays the principal melody of the Gavotte.

The picture: 3rd Double in Rameau's Gavotte & 6 Doubles.

Cote Now I'm aspiring to play the Waldstein which has one hand playing a trill and a melody line at the same time.

Challenging!

I thought the crazy Fugue I'm working on from Bach's Toccata in E minor would be perfect for you, too. Did you listen to the Sokolov link I posted?

I did listen but it's not catching my fancy yet.

My head is full of Chopin and Beethoven at the moment. And the C minor partita. I've got one more part to go.

I love Bach's C minor partita. There's a fantastic interpretation by Gustav Leonhardt our there.

Sure it's not a fate yo avoid
Did 2.5-3h today in bits. A mere 40 mins yesterday though.
The Haydn I need to get up to literally twice the speed, and that's the challenge with a scherzo...sounds more difficult than it is, the other difficulty is 'repeated' bits with tiny differences, and my reading is so bad I basically memories so thats fun. Definitely Haydn being playful.

Valse Lente, so lovely, again can play just needs speeding up Dussek is almost there, although haven't mastered the ornaments. This performance is a bit too relaxed for my tastes...but couldn't find a better one, easy to lose the pulse but I've been using the metronome. So this piece might save the exsm.

My scales are fast good if I do say so myself. Aural I can do. So if I have a good day I might scrape a pass.
I do this to myself. Keep telling myself I only did grade 4 18 months ago. I'm taking like 2 years to do grade 7

Good luck Broken -I'm sure you'll be fine.
I made the mistake of listening to the Abrsm cd of the grade 5 pieces. The first one sounds like how I play it but much faster! I don't think I'll worry about playing faster until the Christmas holidays, though! Too many little annoying mistakes to sort out first.

Good luck Broken. I'm sure you'll do very well, especially if you keep practicing 2 hours every day until then

Never listen to the CD! They should really do genuine student performances, not professionals.
Haven't timed myself today, spent the afternoon practicing on and off, aaahh weekends. Was actually getting worse and aching so giving up for today. The Haydn is coming along. time.

"Dussek is almost there, although haven't mastered the ornaments"

Could you post a photo of the sheet music? I have a feeling that the person in the video is not doing them correctly.

Step away from the ornaments, cote.

Cote: yes I'm used to playing several voices with Bach but I'm finding it a bit harder with Mendelssohn - dunno why - it's not even that difficult though the fingering is a bit of a nightmare. I need to memorise it so I can look at my hands more, but I am not very good at learning music by heart.

I am finding the Mozart Bb major piano sonata (K333) much easier. I think I am just more comfortable with baroque and classical music! Plus I look at the pages and think "I can sight read that" whereas I look at the Mendelssohn (pic below) and go cross-eyed...

I've not played that Mendelssohn, but I would approach it as a quartet. If in doubt pretend it's a quartet.

I would probably find it easier to play if I had four hands