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Yes, I should be more aware of other peoples levels and difficulties.

My perspective is that the further along the path one is to being fluent with a piece the harder it is to stop and pay attention to every note. But each phrase must have a melodic line and a volume line and each note has a starting point, a velocity, and a discrete finishing point, whether it's a point in time or in relation to the next note and in some pieces this last is critical e.g. in a Bach fugue or where the pedal is not being used.

It's hard to focus enough attention to these details when the whole phrase is already in the fingers. It takes several times longer to get a piece performance ready if it's left that long but would add barely a few minutes to the overall learning time if considered from the outset when you're spending time on each note anyway.

It's a bit like memorising a piece. Memorising takes slow repetitions of short phrases or part phrases. Exactly the same process as accurate finger memory. So why not do the two things together? Once you can play the piece fluently from the score it is drudgery to repeat it slowly in short units.

Trying to memorise a piece a line or two at time seems to take an age to sink in and yet is forgotten again in the blink of an eye.

Finally going back to Beethoven Moonlight Sonata (1st movement,) and now that I am reading the score there are a few more problems then I thought. The work has been engrained in my memory, incorrectly, for years. Trying to fix these issues now is not insurmountable, but is certainly more difficult then I thought it was going to be.

Will take a listen to Schubert now and get back on the beam. I'm totally stressed by work at the moment and need to step away from it. I'm thankful though to have this forum and a piano directly behind me, for a much needed escape.

Again we're running into the fact that there are different ways of doing things. Ever since I discovered that I've been going hog wild finding them, because there may be something better than what I know.

It does not necessarily have to be every note. It can be a group of notes, a specific movement in order to not make it awkward. In chunking you work on what is difficult, and spend little time on what comes easy for the first stage. This is part of what I've learned.

Among others. To my surprise, focusing on each of these individually seems to make it come together faster than focusing on all of them at the same time. It's not what I expected or did in the past.

That is assuming that the first stage takes a long time. What if it doesn't?

That is what I found was not true for me. Since I cannot focus on more than one new thing at a time, all of it stays at a given level, and even weeks later that level doesn't improve much. If I work on one layer at a time, then in the same number of weeks it sounds better and improves steadily. Again, it may be depend on the person playing, their level, and even the nature of the piece. I'm working on a piece now where I'm going backward from how I usually work.

That is one approach to memorizing music. Depending on the piece, you may also be aware of patterns. I think it also depends on how you are relating to the music. I tend to hear it in my head as if it's unfolding. If you have a simple ternary piece then you're almost predicting that the melody will repeat in the dominant or relative major key and maybe predicting the chord progressions as well.

I find it fascinating - like a treasure hunt - to keep seeing different sides of the music. It's like getting a new pet canary. What shades of feathers does it have? How does it fly? How does it chirp? What is its song like? When does it like to sing? How about its personality? I see the different aspects of a piece in this way.

Schubert, Op. 94/6, Allegretto

Not sure how interested in these we all are, but since I just worked on them for the last hour, I am going to post them. Plus it helps me understand better and learn the piece. So here is;

Theme 1 Chords, key of Ab Major;
-1) Ab
1) Dbmaj7
2) Db6, Bbm6/Db
3) Fm/C
4) Fm7/C, Ab
5) Eb7/Bb, Ab
6) Eb/C, Bb7/F
7) Ebmaj7sus4
8) Eb, Ab7
9) Dbmaj7
10) Db6, G7/Db
11) Csus4
12) C
13) Eb7/Bb, Ab
14) Bbm/Db, Eb7
15) Eb7/Ab
16) Ab

Just a tiny point, Jeff, and I know you have it but, for those following you might want to edit the chord in M14.

I'm quite happy this is all you are pointing out. Actually, I struggled a bit with this one. It is the Bm/Db you are not so keen on? OK, have changed to Db6. I hope this is the one you mean.

I'm quite liking this piece now, the chords are fun. I think I'll learn it. It is pretty straight forward and great for my reading practice.

I was thinking more along the lines of adding a flat sign to B minor!

There I go again, over thinking things. Yes, I like this better. Fixed.

I am mulling over your post on memorising and learning methodology, keystring. I'll come back to it when I've had more thinking time but many of the differences I suspect are due to differences in the system as a whole and the psychology/attitude to learning rather than the individual points.

Much of it also may be affected by time.

I always used to learn HS before even considering HT when approaching a piece for the first time. Much of it was to do with my sight-reading ability (or lack thereof) but shortly after joining this wonderful forum I discussed the point here and following interaction with Brian Lucas and CarlosCC, among others, I experimented both with sight reading and starting HT.

In my short time here my sight-reading has blossomed like never before and, especially since starting these analysis threads, I find myself sight-reading grade six and seven material without major upsets. I still work most passages HS as well as HT because I find it helps to memorise the material better in cognisant memory whereas memorising with only HT practise develops finger memory better but cognisant memory hardly at all and finger memory is unreliable in performance and unhelpful working away from the piano.

So I still memorise HS before HT but they're both done at the one time (not simultaneously, obviously, but RH, LH, HT, RH, LH, HT etc.). It's a big change in system but outwardly only in the time factor.

But it's good to have another viewpoint in the thread.

Schubert, Op. 94/6, Allegretto

Continuing right along then;

-) Fb7
17) Fb7
18) Abm/Eb, Dbm7
19) Dbm7
20) Abm/Cb
21) Dbm6
22) Dbm6/Bb, Fb add 11, Bbdim
23) Cb/Eb
24) Eb, Fb7
25) Fb7
26) Abm/Eb, Dbm7
27) Dbm7
28) Abm/Cb, Fb/Cb
29) E/B
30) Emaj7/B
31) C#/B
32) F#m add 11, E/G#, B7/A
33) E

Schubert, Op. 94/6, Allegretto


I'll let you give this a morning proof-read before I step in.

My eldest is in his final school year before university and I've been helping him a little with his maths. In algebra he gets the method right but slips up with his signs. He sees the number as important and the sign as trivial and I've been trying to make him see the sign as an integral part of the number. (Incidentally, just the way I see velocity as much a part of the note as it's pitch.) Clearly he hasn't experienced debt yet; he knows the amount but doesn't know if he owes or is owed!

You seem to be having a similar problem. It's clear you're understanding the harmony and those following without attempting to work the stuff out themselves won't be inconvenienced but those checking their findings with yours might get confused.

Double check M21-25 for mode and number. M22 may be another matter entirely but I'll wait first.

I could see where this was leading immediately, and it wasn't sounding good for me .

Fixed now. But I got rid of the Fbmaj7/Db which I thought was so cool. Perhaps the names aren't as cool now, but the chords are still very nice.

Hopefully this is better but I don't think completely correct yet. I'm not sure what to do about beat 2 in M22 and now need to run for a bit.

On my walk up to the bank I was thinking more about this and realize I am WAY OFF again with a couple of things.

Please leave with me for a bit longer. I need to rethink and still have couple more errands, before I get to it.

I'd just typed up my response but will leave it for now!

OK, I'll take my scolding now. I wasn't as far off as I was thinking, but went back to the Fb7 as E7/Fb is clearly not right.

And another thought ...

How about Abm9/Cb for beat 2 of M22. Using nines makes me nervous though. You will see in my chart I am bypassing this now, but likely needs to be mentioned. I'm stumped.

Lights are coming on ... is F natural in first beat of M22? That would give me a whole new perspective ...

hold on ...

Schubert, Op. 94/6, Allegretto


<sharpens knife>

22. From the Db m6 in M21, Db moves to Bb in the bass and Eb in the melody. Effectively, the notes are Bb-Fb-Ab-Eb. I'd rather not give this chord a name, especially not in polite society, but I'd rather think of it as a continuation of a Db chord without the root but with a flat 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th than a move to a Bb chord with a dim 5th, flat 7th and a 4th. It still sounds cool though!

We move on the second beat to Cb-Ab-Bb-Fb or Fb add 11 if I HAD to give it a name. The third beat is Bb dim that you had before. Perhaps I should mention the ones I agree with as well as those that raise suspicions.

The whole bar closes the bass progression from Bb to Eb in M24 and the melodic progression from Eb down to G.

23. I would want to see G natural before I suspected Ab minor and that doesn't appear before M34.

24/5 Fb Ab Cb = Fb major. D nat is a sharped sixth but is enharmonically Ebb thus Fb 7. E7/Fb doesn't sit right with me but you've fixed that now. I'm not sure what you had there before.

26-29. Yes, it's just an enharmonic change from Fb to E for notational convenience not a key change.

32 F#m/B reads uncomfortably as B isn't in F# min. B is the added 11th. Purely a notational awkwardness. The kind that makes me consider the appropriateness of this slash notation. Personally I'm not marking it in my scores as I can see from the music what the bass is and I'm not going to playing this like a fake book. For me F#m add 11 works better and I can see immediately that the 11th is in the bass. The /B makes me think there's a misprint somewhere.

Don't get hung up on this stuff, Jeff. Look how far you've come in a few scant months! Not just in writing out the chords names, and the fairly flawless ease with which your managing regular chords, but your thinking process too looking at minor key transitions (albeit erroneous in this particular instance) and the thinking behind dim. or rootless 7b9 debate you were pondering.

And how you can consider it all en route to the bank.

Well, I do tend to over think things sometimes, so this might help. In this case, I was just getting sloppy.

"23. I would want to see G natural before I suspected Ab minor and that doesn't appear before M34."

I've changed now to Cb/Eb



Thanks, Richard. I quite enjoy it as you may have presumed by now. But, you are right that I need to move along from this section. I have been looking at it too long now and starting to make silly mistakes. Would you mind taking one last quick gander and correct me of anything so I can update for the flock?

I will continue with chords up to the trio. This may take a bit of more time now though. Having fun with it and want to get them noted at least this far.

On the proviso that M22 is being worked on that looks fine, Jeff.

List out the notes for each chord (where you're having difficulty) and give each note a number based on the possible roots. Then choose the one with the best selection of uneven numbers in the first octave. Try to be aware of enharmonics such as the D nat/Ebb in the Fb7 above. If it's still not plain sailing just list all the notes with the bass as the root and add a question mark!

Composers add notes, they may not be concerned about fake books, theory or naming conventions.

OK, any better with the final selection for M22 now? This is the best I could come up with (I tried to follow direction in your first note re; this set of chord analysis) and my list has reached the edit maximum.

22) Dbm6/Bb, Fb add 11, Bbdim

I'm off to London (Ontario - my home town) today for a Birthday party, and can not check in again until tomorrow, but would like to fix this section before moving along. These chords, work for me and I suppose the middle one could be noted as being over Cb and the Diminished over Db.

Question on notation: When we have a tie as in M21-M22 the notes in the tie often change (example M17-M18). In this case though Fb is in M21 and is tied to M22. The flat sign though is not denoted in M22 and would otherwise be natural now based on the key signature. I believe it stays flat and they would have written natural if they wanted it. I'm a bit confused as sometimes the notes in a tie change, so shouldn't they have written in the flat again? Or, they don't need to do this, because of the tie?

This would throw another wrench of course, into my chord selection if I have the notes wrong in M22. But, I believe you have already confirmed the correct notes for M22, and indeed Fb. Nevertheless, I am still a bit confused on how it is notated.

In a tie, the accidental persists from the first note to the second note of the tie, even if the tie crosses a bar line, unless something is explicitly written to cancel the accidental.