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They're not together, but I suppose I need to make them even more not-together. (I've heard too many people play them too asynchronized, so I guess I over-compensated?)
I think it's over-compensated, yes. IMO it needs to be more than a "snap", it needs to be a full 16th note difference. Otherwise, it may be something you feel, but we'll never hear it.
Today, I pulled out Schnabel's edition of 31/1 and looked at an alternative redistribution for a tricky passage. I don't have the largest hands, so this passage is tricky for me. Do you all think I'll be okay using just one hand, or would I be better off cheating? I want to stick with just one hand and work hard to relax/avoid tension and stay even.
I think I had one of the best practices last night so far. One of those where you think "I can get somewhere if I continue this". And it was only a couple of hours.
Last night I am (not learning) dabbling in the middle section of etude 10-8 sunshine etude, and for the past few days have been using 123 5 or 234 5 432 1 , etc fingering (right hand) but not sure if this is correct. I was testing out 1 2 1 5 as well in some figurations but although easier at a slower tempo, i dont think that would work at the eventual suggested tempo? How did you who played it finger that middle section?
I started learning this etude a couple days ago, and I'm learning the middle section now. I'm using the fingering in the Henle edition, which seems to work well with my hands. I'm not exactly sure which measures you are referring to, can you be more specific?
I picked this etude to complement op. 10 no. 1, which is now in the polishing stage (may be stuck in this stage forever lol). Learning op. 10 no.1 has vastly strengthened my right 4th and 5th fingers, and no. 8 seems to focus on the 4th finger a lot (which is why I chose it). The middle section is a bit stretchy but not bad at all compared to no. 1. The outer sections fit my hands well and I have to resist playing at full tempo and make great efforts to slow down.
This week, I have dropped the Mozart sonata before I burned the score in frustration, and have added new repertoire which is not as lengthy. I was just at a point where I needed something finished so that I could get a sense of accomplishment.
Today worked on segments of several: Malaguena Piazzolla tangos: Oblivion and Libertango Mozart: (Requiem mass transcriptions) Aeterum and Lachrymosa Bach 943 second mvt
We'll see how this new plan works out. The positive thought is that my weekly lesson will now include multiple works in progress. I think this will deter me from chewing off my own hand in frustration. It's been a difficult summer so I'm working on a better fall.
Last night I am (not learning) dabbling in the middle section of etude 10-8 sunshine etude, and for the past few days have been using 123 5 or 234 5 432 1 , etc fingering (right hand) but not sure if this is correct. I was testing out 1 2 1 5 as well in some figurations but although easier at a slower tempo, i dont think that would work at the eventual suggested tempo? How did you who played it finger that middle section?
I started learning this etude a couple days ago, and I'm learning the middle section now. I'm using the fingering in the Henle edition, which seems to work well with my hands. I'm not exactly sure which measures you are referring to, can you be more specific?
I picked this etude to complement op. 10 no. 1, which is now in the polishing stage (may be stuck in this stage forever lol). Learning op. 10 no.1 has vastly strengthened my right 4th and 5th fingers, and no. 8 seems to focus on the 4th finger a lot (which is why I chose it). The middle section is a bit stretchy but not bad at all compared to no. 1. The outer sections fit my hands well and I have to resist playing at full tempo and make great efforts to slow down.
Like around measures 47-57 where each figurations ascend in the right hand. I thought it would be perhaps 1215 but now after delineating it out w more practice , 123 5 and so forth seems fine and doable w some stretch at slow tempo.
Yes if you can do 10-1 you should definitely be able to perform 10-8 I wish you luck. 10-1 was definitely a train wreck for me but I looked at it last year I may take it up again soon.
Brahms Intermezzo op. 116 no. 2 in A minor. Practiced yesterday, got closer to the phrasing and balance I liked, then went in for a lesson on it today and couldn't achieve any of what I wanted. Lesson was spent on how the phrasing & balance needed to be changed, and I left afterwards thinking how the lesson was wasted because I didn't tell my teacher that I knew already it was bad. Still struggling to get the piano to do what I hear in my head. Bleagh.
Yesterday I decided to really test my piano chops, so I just picked a hard page from near the end of Islamey and tried to learn it. Result: I can now play the page slowly and very messily. I impressed myself but I should still probably set it aside for a while.
Brahms Intermezzo op. 116 no. 2 in A minor. Practiced yesterday, got closer to the phrasing and balance I liked, then went in for a lesson on it today and couldn't achieve any of what I wanted. Lesson was spent on how the phrasing & balance needed to be changed, and I left afterwards thinking how the lesson was wasted because I didn't tell my teacher that I knew already it was bad. Still struggling to get the piano to do what I hear in my head. Bleagh.
Ah, it took me a LONG time to get that one to sound how I wanted - I'm not kidding.. It probably took the most time out of all 7...... (LOVE that set, btw!)
Speaking of which, I should really start practicing that set again soon..
"The eyes can mislead, the smile can lie, but the shoes always tell the truth."
Brahms Intermezzo op. 116 no. 2 in A minor. Practiced yesterday, got closer to the phrasing and balance I liked, then went in for a lesson on it today and couldn't achieve any of what I wanted. Lesson was spent on how the phrasing & balance needed to be changed, and I left afterwards thinking how the lesson was wasted because I didn't tell my teacher that I knew already it was bad. Still struggling to get the piano to do what I hear in my head. Bleagh.
I had this problem in a different Brahms pieces, and the exact thing actually happened to me for a couple lessons... I then started recording myself a lot more, even with smaller segments/passages, and analyzing my own playing. That helped me some, maybe you could try?
I had this problem in a different Brahms pieces, and the exact thing actually happened to me for a couple lessons... I then started recording myself a lot more, even with smaller segments/passages, and analyzing my own playing. That helped me some, maybe you could try?
This helps me a lot too.
Sometimes I feel/think that I am playing it in a way that I hear in my head, only to find out when I record it that I didn't play anything like I thought!
It's been happening a lot with my work on Debussy's first Arabesque, I thought I've sped up a lot in the mosso sections but when I heard it, I've barely even noticeably sped up. Listening to myself really helps me with the flow of the piece and what I actually want.
I have been learning Mozart d minor concerto with Beethoven cadenzas.
I went with Urtext edition, with Christian Zacharias as editor. It's interesting because his fingering is rather unorthodox. The fingering is intentionally awkward so as to bring out the particular nuances of the instruments that the piano is mimicking in the orchestra. The opposite would be jeu pearle, where the fingering makes sense from a pianistic point of view and everything flows nicely. The benefit of Zacharias' fingering is that it makes more sense musically, but it is harder to play fast. Hopefully it will have been worth the effort.
Brahms Intermezzo op. 116 no. 2 in A minor. Practiced yesterday, got closer to the phrasing and balance I liked, then went in for a lesson on it today and couldn't achieve any of what I wanted. Lesson was spent on how the phrasing & balance needed to be changed, and I left afterwards thinking how the lesson was wasted because I didn't tell my teacher that I knew already it was bad. Still struggling to get the piano to do what I hear in my head. Bleagh.
Ah, it took me a LONG time to get that one to sound how I wanted - I'm not kidding.. It probably took the most time out of all 7...... (LOVE that set, btw!)
Speaking of which, I should really start practicing that set again soon..
I love the whole set too. If I can get this piece to come out ok, I think I'll be using it as one of my piano shopping test pieces.
It's amazing how much work just one measure can take. To get the crescendo and decrescendo in the first measure to work out right, without the second of the two repeated notes sound like it is going to the second beat without sounding accented, not letting the decay of the piano sound interfere with the continuation of the melodic line, not falling back into my bad habit of trying to play softer than the piano can, along with an expansive feeling... I *think* the key for me is more in the shaping of the LH triplets to support the melody, but I'm not positive yet.
I should really record myself again, so that I can analyze what happened after the fact instead of during the playing itself. I've done recordings during practicing before to make sure that I'm getting the sounds I think I'm getting, although this time I'm pretty sure I'm not achieving what I want anyways and the recording will just reinforce what I already know.
Hmmm...today I went through the Rachmaninoff Corelli Variations at a very slow pace; his op. 32 a minor prelude, too, and did some real practice on that section about half-way through where he writes one his more "stretchy" and odd fingerings in the left hand - I can do it, slowly, but it's taking a little while to get it to feel natural; Prokofiev's op. 12 Scherzo - every time I look at it I wonder how others finger the double-note stuff; Prokofiev's op. 32 Gavotte, just reading for fun; Bach A maj. and a min. P&F from WTC I; Bach a min. and G maj. duets; Moscheles' "Terpsichore" etude - with the metronome bumped up one notch from my previous speed, without major disaster - yay!!; and an etude each by Toch, Friedman, and Moszkowski (why is it I can never remember whether it's "sz" or "zs" in Moszkowski? I had to google it right now....again).
Mercy, I didn't realize I'd done all that until I typed it out!! It didn't seem like so much when I was doing it.
