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Today I spent a lot of time practicing the Raindrop prelude by Chopin. that was my first try at it...was thinking I might learn it this year. I also practiced my Schumann recital pieces and tried out a couple of pieces that might work for the 40 piece challenge.

Now I'm watching the finals of the Chopin competition at chopin.org.:)

Last night, I did an environmentally-friendly-recycling-job out of the very 1st piano lesson that didn't seem to have anything of value for me in the intended role of a "student" in that lesson. It was only a micro composition of sustained whole-notes in 8 measures for a lone right hand.
But the teacher part was interesting and sounded very nice on one of my sampled Böesendorfers. A chordal type of accompaniment style and logically structured.
So instead the challenge became of memorizing it, singing the student part with it, and singing the scale to it, and really belting it out.
I also improvised on the playing style, changed it from 4/4 to 3/4, changed the playing style from classical to any style devoid of definition.
And I myself go totally crazy with it.
It was worth it, I had fun.

The structure quality of these tiny compositions continue to impress me, and I'm hoping to be able to analyse them in detail as I go along.
The 1st one is only 8 bars long (as are a few more of the following pieces) with minimal harmonies (I-V7-I-Imaj7 IV-I-V7-C) and no modulation.
But the composer/arranger still managed to make it interesting by making it into a pseudo AB structure by ending the A part on the major 7th with a top climactic note in the melody.
After that leading home on a descending scale in the B section.

1 march
And yes...there was time enough to play the organ......

Played three Preludia of Bach, my favorite Pastorale 3th part of Bach ..... some choralpartitas of Böhm and soms pieces from L' office catholique of Lefébure....

Nice afternoon......

Regards,
Johan B

Valencia....nice...Chopin.........Schumann.....pieces with character.....

Regards,
Johan B

Did the complete structural and harmonic analysis a couple of days ago of the 2nd piece.
A piece of cake so far.
Ran it into the ground today using at least 50 different patches in the synth. Works esp. great for a certain string patch.

2 & 3 march

These days played a lot of Etudes of Henri Bertini.....just for practicing technique.....nice to play...... Bertini

Today also had shockwave therapy for my Dupuytren disease(right hand).........painful but necessary.....couldn't play a full C-minorchord( c-e flat-g-c)....and my hands are already not that big....

Best regards,
Johan B

I wish you a speedy recovery, Johan.

Concluded my study of No2 yesterday.
It's main feature is a mid-piece modulation to the parallel minor key. Which turns out to be ephemeral and immediately turns into a vi-ii-(I-V7)-I progression.
Onto the next one later today.

So far, each little piece is masterfully put together and is it's own little microcosm of a musical world.

Memorised my next micro-piece.
Nothing spectacular with harmonies in this piece...just some I,V,V7.
Simple A-B structure.
will spend another day on getting the teacher part fluent,and singing the student part at the same time.
Another perfect candidate for trying out with some of the hundreds of sound patches on the synth.

RaggedKeyPresser,

Thanks for your support.......I think you're a hard working key presser....

4 & 5 March

Still working at Bertini's Etudes.........and today also playing Jazz Standards.......for today I had a bad day at work.....so I take the piano easier.....

Regards,
Johan B

6 March

3 pm.......weekend starts....after a horrible week of working....driving home.....visit the local market and buying fifty tulips for my beloved wife.......

Had a drink together......and played for one and a half hour Jazz standards.......cleaning my head.....pffffff.....relax.....

In the evening.......serious playing.......among others.....Six Fugues of Händel and Prealudium D minor and four Fugues of Pachelbel in harpsichord-modus......real baroque........mmmm Happy with my Kawai CA95.

Best regards,
Johan B

Always time for Chopin!

My teacher loves R-K, I've been half heartedly working on, Song of India. But, work and stuff presents those "otherwise engaged challenges."

7 March....early afternoon....

Lurking around in Grieg's Lyric pieces and playing.........mmmm....fits to my feelings at the moment.....fine melancholic and depressive music......

Best regards,
Johan B

Good to see that you are back into playing again, Johan!
And I hope the work situation improves.
Been repeating a small section with a hitch over time here. Should have it licked soon, I think.
Can hardly wait to get onto the next piece.

Hang in there Johan.. I don't know what shockwave therapy is but it sounds intense..
stay strong.

Thanks Agfinguy.......

Regards,
Johan B

Thanks RKP,........tonight worked on my 'old friends'..........

7 March Evening.....

Mozart, Fantasy D minor, Fantasy C minor and the Variations Dieu d' amour

Clementi, a lot of Sonatines...... He was called the 'London Mozart'......

Best regards,
Johan B

Finally playing fluently and being able to think a bar ahead through out the piece.
Also memorized the melody on both trumpet and MIDI wind controller with saxophone fingering,both Bb instruments. So thinking in numbers in the new key a whole tone up. Tonic-tonic-mediant-tonic-supertonic-mediant-subdominant-dominant, etc...then coming back down the scale.
Or just picturing the different steps in my mind...or even reading in my mind from an image of notes of the staff which simplifies the whole process, and is the most direct approach I find. It's reasonably simple to transpose to a new key this way.
These are simple pieces but it can all be expanded to more complicated material.
No worries..this works great and the ear is the conductor.
Finally time for the next piece!

8 March

Heard Daria van den Bercken playing Mozart Sonate kv280/2 on Radio Classic FM .....mmmm.....so nice.

In the afternoon and evening......playing Mozart kv280/2 and other Sonatas, Fantasie in D minor, Variations Dieu d'amour and all kind of other smaller Mozart-pieces. So, sunday was a nice piano-day....

Best regards,
Johan B