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I love cole porter…this piece looks doable, but I can’t get distracted 🤣. I often play pieces ‘cold’ and see where they land. I am not memorizing, but it focuses on bars to quarantine later for practice. I am also adopting new practice know.edge from the Art of Practicing, which blends nicely with my yoga practice… play with relaxed body. Often, I get tense when I get frustrated with practicing quarantined bars…and now I am going in with ‘joy’ and relaxed mind. I have mental block with playing fast tempo pieces, and this is what I am working on for rest of the year…allowing my body to get to that speed rather than forcing it with unrealistic expectations/timeline.

Hal Leanard publishes a note for note transcriptions of Billy Joel’s music including NY State of Mind.

Wayne, I played the Gillock piece. This is my first Gillock as well. Very beautiful piece with a coda like section. A friend of mine loves his music. Now I know why.

Jethro, you read my mind. I was wondering if there is a score for New York State of mind. Thank you.

I practiced Bach, Mendelssohn and Mozart pieces for tomorrow - my studio class.
Staring at Bach piece gave me headache. I was trying to bring out different voices. I go to bed now. You all have a wonderful weekend.

Today was my studio class as the community college. I made a few mistakes in the Mozart piece. I mixed up the first and second movement for very similar runs. I focused on too much on Bach. Compared with b flat minor Bach prelude, Mozart one is much easier piece. I cannot believe I screwed up. I worked hard at nit. I did backward practice with those runs with metronome. Anyway that’s why studio is good for us. They force us to perform pieces when we are still learning to get up used to performance and identify weak spots. I love Mendelssohn variations but they are hard. I would like to play some of it for Piano club Christmas party.

Nicely done Farmgirl. Brave too imho. I thought of joining a local piano meet then chickened out. That said, the exams are keeping me on my toes. Love Mendelssohn.. I have tackled song without words opus 19 No6.

I was assigned Bach’s Prelude in C minor [BWV 999], as part of my fast tempo regiment. My teacher loves Bach and has had me working through the inventions, never got to the required speed, looking more for tempo and musicality. However, this time - we are working up to nail the speed.

I am nervous, but silently confident as passing the various exams have given me an inner confidence of ‘yes you can, if you stay the course without rushing it’. Here’s to day 2.

A Bach chorale…

Thepianoplayer416, Bach corals is beautiful. Fitting for Sunday.

I worked on Mozart since I will be playing this on this coming Thursday.
Many people said the same but I repeat it again. Mozart pieces are pain in the butt. It’s easy to approach but not easy to execute it decently.
Everything has to be perfect. In order to create bell like beauty and sense of rest and grace, we struggle. It must be nearly perfect. It’s a bugger. But I had a couple of successes today. My effort to play it in front of others on Saturday paid off.

If I play poorly in my lesson on Wednesday, my teacher may tell me to hold off. So, would I give it up? I worked hard at it. No Way!!!! I will get it done by Thursday.
I fortunately developed thick skins over the years.

I went to Monday studio class (studio’s are on Mon and Sat). My teacher said that Mozart got a lot better. I asked her if I should hold off playing at our monthly piano class event. She said “no” and “I will teach you some quick trick to overcome the issue on Wednesday. Until then continue to work with metronome”. Well, in that case , I will just do that.

We had interesting discussions on Mozart pieces. His pieces appears to be very approachable but it is very hard to play well. It has to be strict in time, execution and shows all the finesse the pianist may or may not have. She mentioned that the newly hired (very famous) professor of the largest state university here make students play mozart first. Yeah, I’m feeling it every day.😢😢😂. Cannot wait to go back to Beethoven.

I'm slowly going gaining fluidity in left hand of Schumann's Praeludium from Bunte Blätter, Op.99. This is a great piece, getting slightly out of my comfort zone in several aspects.

Here's how Maria João Pires plays it (I'm of course nowhere near, and my target tempo is also quite below hers):

Mati
What a great piece!
It moved my heart.
The effort you have to put in this piece to execute difficult passages will be totally worth it.

I hope so! :-) It was really intimidating at first, but after a while it happens to be very comfortable to play, even though I have relatively small hands and there are several stretches and jumps. It's by no means easy, but very pianistic and rather not awkward. Maybe I'll be able to have it ready for the next recital, let's see.

Today I made some good progress on Schubert's Moment Musical No 3 in F Minor. It's been a good piece for me -- attainable, but also pushing me on a few weak areas. Getting better at the left hand jumps without staring at my hands, some awkward (for me) thirds, and figuring out workarounds for a chord that's a bit out of reach.

Also brushed off John Field's Nocturne in Eb Major, which I played for a recital just before stopping lessons due to covid. A nice dreamy, flowing piece!

DPC - Moments musical pieces are beautiful, I love #3. I have to listen to the John Field’s nocturne.

Mati, next recital! I cannot wait to hear it.

I found a really beautiful music. It sounds fabulous and not so bad to play. I mean it’s not like Rachmaninoff (so many notes!). Faure’s op 84 number 5. Improvisation. According to youtube it’s an ABRSM grade 7. Lovely piece.

Started playing Christmas music again. Rudolph song (with deer?)
and Christmas tree. I got piano music for Christmas. Fun!

Today, I played "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" in the arrangement by Dan Coates. I can recommend, it is the best piano transcription of this song I have found so far.

Mozart Sonata v 280 in F major. Medium level difficulty. My first Mozart really, after a lot of Bach. Composed when he was les than 20. The middle movement in F minor is on par with the best of his late works IMO.

"Jingle around the clock... Mix and a mingle in the jingling feet, that's the Jingle Bell Rock..."

The holidays is just around the corner, have fun...

This is great fun- on YT if you want to listen first