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Thanks for the report Judy - sounds like you had a great time!

Bruce did the same thing at my lesson - immediately identifying the problem area and coming up with a way to practice it. That's one of the signs of a great teacher.

I have a love/hate relationship with playing in front of people too. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it's a disaster. I know I need to force myself to do it at every opportunity, it's just tough to face the anxiety.

Sam

Thank you for sharing your story Judy. I was amazed that SummerKeys has been going for 22 years with amateur (mostly) students coming and often year after year. So many of us have performance anxiety or tension that is a roadblock to sharing our music. Our performance class has one late beginner, two intermediates and one very advanced player. All were friendly and supportive.

Each student gets a schedule of practice time assigned to one of the many available spots in town. My schedule said 9:45 for Tuesday but they also said with fewer students (an advantage for the earlier week) there could be more available. I'm an earlier riser but on vacation I sleep in until 6 or so. :-). I asked if I could start at 7 but SummerKeys has a good relationship with the neighbors and wants to keep it that way. At 9 am I went over and looked for an urtext version of the Mozart Viennese sonatinas in the kitchen/library and found a 1945 edited version. There were many differences from my Palmer edited version. Hmmmm. It was tough not gathering up a great stack of music to explore. The practice time just goes so fast. Again, the day was rainy with heavy fog making the place seem surreal; foghorn sounding in the distance. My schedule assigned me to M1 for Tuesday practice on a Baldwin grand that feels much like my teacher's grand. I wish I could describe the touch like the pros do in comparing pianos. I started with scales and I played through a few simple pieces from a book from the library for brain warmup. Then my Grieg piece which I'm still studying section by section. The initial section by section work goes so slowly for me; I may never get to a long piece. Then I settled in on the Mozart trying to understand where the tension lurks in my body that shows itself when I play. I'm thinking I may need a music psychiatrist to uncover my fear of making mistakes in front of others. No lessons on Tuesday...just 3 hours of intimate time with the Baldwin. I might have played on for a few more hours but also wanted Jim to have some company. We drove over to Campobello island and had lunch at the golf course restaurant..my first crab roll was yummy. We drove to the East Quoddy Light but decided that our shoes wouldn't serve us well to walk across the slippery rocks and beach that are the trail to the lighthouse. It is only accessible during low tide so you can get stuck out there if you're not careful. In the evening, we drove to Machias (30-45 minutes) to enjoy a concert by a group called Four Strings and a Whistle (cello, violin, and flute). One of the pieces was composed by my teacher, John Newell a very contemporary piece that my husband said evoked Stephen King for him. I went to sleep last night with Mozart in my head in some chaotic order that may have been mixing some Debussy and Grieg in there.

I love reading these. It's much better for me to read about someone who loves having 3 hours to practice than to try to do it. I think I have ADHD or something - I don't think I could do three hours, even if I took some significant breaks to stretch, or something. I'll have to try it at home first

But what a wonderful opportunity. I liked it, Karen, when you said you were trying to find "where the tension lurks in my body" because that is so key for me, too. So much of the way you seem to problem solve resonates for me -

Thanks, Judy, for chiming in here, too - another perspective on Summerkeys just makes it sound all that much better.

Cathy

IIRC, you can sign up for shorter practice "chunks." I signed up for 3 hours because I love the thought of being able to practice that long. I wish I could at home, but it's nearly impossible.

Thank you for your reports! It seems like a nice experience, and I don't know if here in Italy there is something comparable, where even beginners are welcome.
Both my my children are at a music camp these week, I envy them and you!!

I don't know of anything like this here for adults either. It would be wonderful !

I haven't read the thread yet. I will. I have been busy with fire extinguishing. I mean I was out a week and just got back on last Saturday. Sounds like everyone is having great time at SummerKeys. I cannot wait for mine.

Wednesday came quickly because I couldn't sleep well and by 9AM I wanted to play piano (my schedule said 11:00). I found the Yamaha grand in the shed was open and sat down to work on the Gm scale for John. No sunshine yet; just the sounds of some beautiful music from the next room. The scale cannot go fast until and unless the thumb comes under the 2nd finger immediately as you play the 2nd finger. By slowing way down I could see that my thumb isn't coming under until the 3rd finger plays. We have some work to do to retrain my lazy thumb. The opening notes of the Mozart are clues to the relaxation issue. Half note octave chord; half note octave chord; half note octave chord; followed by staccato notes. Must move INTO the keys and then relax. Hmmmm. Multiple trys leave me frustrated. I closed my eyes and imagine the waves coming INTO the shore and then receding. Press; relax. That's better and I can feel it throughout my body. The two hours were evanescent...just gone before I knew it but I'd worked on Grieg; Debussy and a lot on Mozart. Time for group class in the Summer Street kitchen. Richard played a 21st century kind of dissonant piece for us and he is very talented. When asked my reaction I had to admit that I don't "understand" that genre of music and it doesn't connect well with my brain. That led to a fascinating dissection of the genre and specific piece of music which opened the listening experience for me. We learned finger stretching exercises to do before we start playing and listened to Bernito play his Sater piece...no time signature to the piece which led to another interesting discussion. Now time to go to the church parsonage for practice up the hill up the hill. The door is locked so I recheck my schedule and yup I'm in the right place at the right time but locked door. I start down the hill down the hill to the office and realize I'm starving and fortunately Jim is at the house. Choice here: play piano or eat lunch with husband. The fish sandwich was excellent and I felt much more ready to play again. There are no lunch breaks built in so sometimes one must make the priority decision. Jim and I found the back door to the parsonage open and I set up to play on a Mason Hamlin with lovely sound. John arrived an hour later (moving teachers rather than students is the procedure here) and listened to my progress on Mozart. LOVE the encouraging style here with small manageable steps to noticeable improvements. I move my fingers too far off the keys...we're talking small differences here but huge improvement when I capture what he means. I depress the keys crisply but don't release quickly so I must figure that out and I think it's related to tension. On Friday I'll play this allegro piece slowly to capture the articulation we're practicing. The last hour of practice was spent slowly reinforcing what John and I worked on.
The sun is out!! The sun is out!!! Jim and I enjoyed a walk down by the waterfront looking in the shops and reading the history.
At 5 I met up with a few of the other students and we played for one another. I played a River Rhapsody by Melody Bober that I really like but don't plan to perform here. I wasn't nervous because I had low expectations of myself on that piece...hmmm...learning more.
Dinner at the Wharf for fresh salmon. Another couple who are here at SummerKeys were staying at the Wharf Inn so we shared a table and lots of stories enjoying the social time before the Wednesday concert at the church. Gregory Biss played Beethoven and Chopin before intermission (I don't ask Jim to sit through the entire concert so we stay until intermission). Sleep sounds really good.

Sounds like another great day Wisebuff. I never, even in July, had a problem finding a piano to practice on outside of my assigned hours. There's another practice shed behind the house next door to the main Summerkeys house with a Chickering grand in it too.

And I usually made a sandwich and took it with me for a quick lunch during a practice break.

Interesting fact about Gregory Biss - he is the uncle of concert pianist Jonathon Biss. He's been my teacher the last two times at Summerkeys in July.

If you sit down at the Jetty, and are lucky, you'll see the bald eagles nesting on that island between Lubec and Eastport. I've also seen harbor seals fishing at the jetty during tide changes.

Sam

Thursday and Friday the sun came out, the water glistened and the chilly practice rooms from earlier in the week suffered in the heat. And yet the piano time was still amazing. No interruptions. No thoughts of work. Just focus on the music. Each piano offered something to learn from. Thursday I had the concert grand Steinway in the church and it resonated in that big room built in early 1800s. Friday I had the Yamaha in the Summer Street house set in a room with a bay window and a view of the water. White lacey curtains floating from the breeze of the fan. Friday morning we had tragic news from home. Our dog, Della, died. No apparent cause and she was only 9. We are heartbroken and so is the rest of the family. The group was so supportive and that helped. Again in group lesson we talked about how to build sure fingers and speed with scales done with different rhythms and arpeggios. Don't stop on the technique...it becomes even more important as the music becomes more difficult. I played the Mozart Viennese sonatina movement 1 for the group but the errors and stops were significant. Still we focused on analyzing the piece and how to improve it. EVERYTHING is a work in progress is the motto here. We had lobster rolls for dinner at the Water Street Inn where two guitars and voices were adding life and song to the little place. I discovered that the husband of another SummerKey participant and I have some overlap in our scholarship interests. We shared emails for further conversation. At 730 the student recital began with the cellos alternating with piano performance. My piece went tolerably well (more right notes than wrong and many nice spots) and was given smiles and applause. Everyone's performance was appreciated and accepted. A reception with wine and snacks followed at the SummerStreet house. A whirlwind week all in all and I can see why people come for several weeks to absorb more from the attentive teachers and the remote environment that supports true concentration. Time to pack and head back west with a new list of music to try. I promised John email updates on any progress.

Sam - thanks for the report - highly literate & informative - glad you had an even more enjoyable experience this year...

As one who has vacationed in Maine on several occasions I can appreciate the rugged beauty of the landscape there - did you hike to "trail's (north) end" at Mt. Katadin?

Thanks for your informative and descriptive reports WiseBuff. This is the first thread I read each day and it never disappoints. Thanks for your report too Judy. The narratives are not as good as being there but they do give a good feeling of what it's like. Can't wait to see pics.

WiseBuff I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved Della. It's so hard to lose them, especially when we can't be there with them. My deepest sympathy.

It's been interesting and informative to read this thread.
I'm headed to Summerkeys for the first time this year, going for both weeks of the Jazz Piano Workshop (last two weeks in July). Very much looking forward to it.

EP

Thanks Wisebuff for your daily reports. It sounds like you had a wondefule week. I'm so sorry about your dog.
Judy

Wisebuff - I'm drinking in your descriptive passages about your time at SummerKeys - your writing is poetic! I feel that I'm there with you sharing the experience.


I'm very sorry about your loss - what a shock to lose your much-loved Della -- and even harder and more shocking when you are far away.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss of Della. Hard enough to begin with but all the more with the distance.

I love these reports. It's like reading a good book you just want to slip into and experience yourself.

Enjoying these reports tremendously. Many thanks to the posters. Very sorry to hear of the death of your dog, Della Wisebuff. We have friends who also lost their Leonberger while they were away on vacation. Just tragic. We are away right now in Colorado with a house sitter taking care of our dog. I haven't worried about our house or how much the grass is growing. I worry about our dog. Anyway, so sorry for your loss.

WiseBuff, so sorry to hear about your dog. I lost my favorite dog ever a bit over a year ago, and I still miss her like crazy. They become part of the family, don't they?

I'm looking for advice from you Summerkeys vets as I approach my first visit at the end of the month.

My teacher thinks I should focus a lot of my energy on the Friday night recital and spend a lot of time polishing and memorizing some pieces I already know pretty well. I like and respect her a lot, but my inclination is more to spend most of my time and effort on pieces I don't know that well (or at all), and use my 20 or so hours of practicing/lesson time doing something different from what I do in my "routine" approach to piano.

What do you think, and what did you do?

Is the Friday recital a big deal? How about the other occasions when you play for fellow "campers"?

I'd like to think of this more as learning than being on stage, though I suppose there's nothing wrong with a bit of both.

All responses welcome!

No, I didn't climb Katahdin. I'm saving that for when I do my thru-hike - Maine to Georgia. (I really sound confident, don't I?).

Sam

I always take a lot of music with me, intending to get a lot done, and I always end up polishing one or two things and never look at the big stack of music. Last year I had five pieces that I could play in the lesson and get feedback on, and that was too many. This year I only played 2 pieces (the Arabeske and a Chopin Nocturne) and that was about perfect.

It's amazing how quickly that 3 hours of daily practice time goes by.



The Friday "recital" is very informal. In fact, they avoid calling it a recital, instead it is a "Performance Class", to relieve some of the pressure associated with the name "recital".

There will be people of all skill levels at the recital, especially if there are other instruments there that week.

The student only (no faculty allowed) get togethers are called "performance practice", with the intent being that you play for each other without the pressure of a faculty person in attendance.

I really think it is a very good thing to play for the other students at every opportunity - it's one of the best things about the program - sharing your music with others.

Sam