Greetings from your long-absent piano blogger! Have my three regular readers been wondering what happened to me? Well, in this case, infrequent blogging does not translate to infrequent practice. What it does translate to is a lot of life-stress, particularly related to work, and I haven't had the time or desire to be at the computer any more than necessary. So no blogging.
I do want to write a quick update, though, for myself as much as for anyone who is reading this. The main reason I started this blog was so I could track my own progress, so I want to start doing that again. Below is a quick update on my progress in everything.
Scales
Slow and steady is the rule here. I'm slowly, very slowly, working my way up the metronome. I'm still not playing anything fast (72 for major scales, 52 for minor), but I'm working on playing everything perfectly--smoothly, with total control. I now have near-total confidence in being able to play all the notes of a given scales; for those pesky black-key harmonic minors (C#, G#, and Eb minor, I'm looking at y'all), I no longer feel like I'm re-learning the scales every time I play then. I know them. I know what's coming next, and I don't need to much time to think about it. I don't know if I've ever known the harmonic minors (including contrary motion) as well as I do now. Perhaps I did, but I don't remember.
Arpeggios
Arpeggios seem really easy. I've always thought they were hard, but they are so ... well, they just seem so easy. Have I changed somehow? I don't know. I'm going through all of them (major keys) at 80 (or something), and not having a problem.
Hanon
Oh, Hanon, how I love you! I have had too many piano teachers who didn't require, or even assign, Hanon. But I do love it. I have been playing the first dozen or so exercises just about every day, and I can tell that my finger-independence has improved. My hands are also less tired at the end than they used to be, so I think I'm building endurance too!
Schubert
I can play the whole thing! It's taken forever (such is the life of the adult piano student), but I have all the fingering down and can play through the piece just about perfectly, albeit at a slow tempo. Now I'm taking them in short sections and working up the speed for each short section. a few more weeks of this, and I'll be playing it the way I've always imagined!
Bach
As with the Schubert, I can play the whole thing(s)! I have the prelude at a pretty good speed, though my left hand 4th and 5th fingers aren't always behaving. To help with that, I've been doing a lot of rhythms. I also think the Hanon exercises are helping. The fugue is at a similar place as the impromptu: I can play it perfectly (at least in terms of hitting the right notes) as long as I don't play it too fast, so now I'm working up the speed in short sections. Also as with the impromptu, I imagine that, in just a few weeks, I will have this down and will really get to focus on bringing out the different melodies/themes.
Chopin
I think I'm playing the Chopin as well as I've ever played it. I still have a few areas to work on, but I feel like I am so close with this one.
What's Next?
I'm still pretty deep into these pieces, so I'm not consciously thinking of what I want to play next. I've also been mulling over some general music goals recently, so I'll likely be writing more about those as we get into the new year.
That's about it! I'm in North Carolina for several days with no access to a piano for practicing. So I'm counting the days (3) until I am reunited with Henry the Grand!
I do want to write a quick update, though, for myself as much as for anyone who is reading this. The main reason I started this blog was so I could track my own progress, so I want to start doing that again. Below is a quick update on my progress in everything.
Scales
Slow and steady is the rule here. I'm slowly, very slowly, working my way up the metronome. I'm still not playing anything fast (72 for major scales, 52 for minor), but I'm working on playing everything perfectly--smoothly, with total control. I now have near-total confidence in being able to play all the notes of a given scales; for those pesky black-key harmonic minors (C#, G#, and Eb minor, I'm looking at y'all), I no longer feel like I'm re-learning the scales every time I play then. I know them. I know what's coming next, and I don't need to much time to think about it. I don't know if I've ever known the harmonic minors (including contrary motion) as well as I do now. Perhaps I did, but I don't remember.
Arpeggios
Arpeggios seem really easy. I've always thought they were hard, but they are so ... well, they just seem so easy. Have I changed somehow? I don't know. I'm going through all of them (major keys) at 80 (or something), and not having a problem.
Hanon
Oh, Hanon, how I love you! I have had too many piano teachers who didn't require, or even assign, Hanon. But I do love it. I have been playing the first dozen or so exercises just about every day, and I can tell that my finger-independence has improved. My hands are also less tired at the end than they used to be, so I think I'm building endurance too!
Schubert
I can play the whole thing! It's taken forever (such is the life of the adult piano student), but I have all the fingering down and can play through the piece just about perfectly, albeit at a slow tempo. Now I'm taking them in short sections and working up the speed for each short section. a few more weeks of this, and I'll be playing it the way I've always imagined!
Bach
As with the Schubert, I can play the whole thing(s)! I have the prelude at a pretty good speed, though my left hand 4th and 5th fingers aren't always behaving. To help with that, I've been doing a lot of rhythms. I also think the Hanon exercises are helping. The fugue is at a similar place as the impromptu: I can play it perfectly (at least in terms of hitting the right notes) as long as I don't play it too fast, so now I'm working up the speed in short sections. Also as with the impromptu, I imagine that, in just a few weeks, I will have this down and will really get to focus on bringing out the different melodies/themes.
Chopin
I think I'm playing the Chopin as well as I've ever played it. I still have a few areas to work on, but I feel like I am so close with this one.
What's Next?
I'm still pretty deep into these pieces, so I'm not consciously thinking of what I want to play next. I've also been mulling over some general music goals recently, so I'll likely be writing more about those as we get into the new year.
That's about it! I'm in North Carolina for several days with no access to a piano for practicing. So I'm counting the days (3) until I am reunited with Henry the Grand!
Comments