Major 7ths, Keeping Me Sane

I am about three weeks into my month-long deep-dive into major seventh chords. I have learned so much, and I was thinking I was ready to move on to dominant sevenths ... but then I discovered all of these exercises on PWJ that I could (sort of) play through but that didn't feel natural or automatic. So, I've decided to finish out the month by really concentrating on becoming better at these exercises.

They include block and broken chords from the root position, going both ways around the circle of fifths and moving up and down chromatically; broken chords up and down the keyboard; block and broken-chord inversions; and movement from the I to the IV. I've mostly practiced the broken inversions and the chromatic movement (see video for an example), so I want to become better at moving around the circle of fifths. I can do those exercises slowly (with the metronome at 40 or 44), but the goal is to get them up to 60/120.

As I was working on making the short video above this morning, I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this?" Why am I spending so much time becoming intimately familiar with major sevenths? Why am I doing this "Misty" challenge? Why did I spend 30 minutes last night memorizing the "Mad Chase" section of the Chopin? What's the point of it all?

Friends, I am not sure what the point of it all is. All I know is that I love music, and if I didn't have piano in my life right now, I would probably be suicidal. Music is what is pulling me through.

So I work on major seventh chords and look forward to starting dominant sevenths in another week or so. I focus on small things and rejoice in meeting piano goals, like memorizing the "Misty" LH or playing the "D" section of "Maple Leaf Rag" perfectly with the metronome at 40. I feel like that is all I can manage right now, and so I'm managing it. As it has in the past, piano is keeping me sane.

For my next video, I'm hoping to record the C and/or D sections of "Maple Leaf Rag." It's nowhere near the desired tempo, but I'm just tickled that I can play them at all! More later ...

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Picking Up the Pieces

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