Skip to main content

Goals Recap for February

Here is my goals recap for February. I didn't really start February with discernible goals, so I'll just list the accomplishments.

  1. I have learned "Misty." It's still a little shaky in places and I don't think I'll get to the soloing element of the challenge, but I will have it solid and ready to perform/video for the PWJ Facebook group by the end of this weekend.

  2. I can play through the nocturne. Now it is time to memorize anything I haven't memorized, and really work on getting the difficult sections feeling smooth and natural.

  3. I can play through Maple Leaf Rag. As with the nocturne, it's now just a matter of memorizing anything that isn't memorized (i.e., the transistion sections and the D section), getting things up to speed, and working in any stylistic touches I want to include.

  4. I've gotten pretty good at major sevenths, both playing them and understanding them. I enjoy doing the exercises, and they will now be part of my standard warmup.

  5. The 2-5-1 progressions with color tones have come along as well. I'll keep doing those regularly, but I'm also ready to branch out into using them in lead sheets. This is a major thing I want to talk about with Quentin at the jazz lesson tomorrow night.

  6. According to my PWJ practice log, I have practiced 34 hours and 14 minutes in the past month. I still have two more days, so that will be 36 or so hours by the time February comes to an end. I've been practicing every morning before work, anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes, depending on when I can get started. In the evenings, I'll usually practice another 30 minutes to an hour if there's time. All in all, I averaged a little over an hour a day of practice in February.

I'll be posting my March goals soon. Life outside of piano feels like a train wreck, but in the world of piano? Things are humming. I'm excited about developing my March goals and beginning work toward them this weekend.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rusty Lock and Key

I'm in a room. There's a door in front of me. On the other side of that door is a whole world of adventure and imagination and joy and delight, but for the moment, I'm locked in this gray little room. The door itself has a lock that is all rusted. I've tried to open it in the past, but I've never gotten very far. Sometimes I try to scrape the rust off the lock. I also have a rusty old key that I occasionally try to polish. Each time, after I've made a little progress, I'll put it into the keyhole in hopes of opening the door. It turns a half a millimeter or so, but the brief excitement at my progress dies quickly when I realize, once again, the lock isn't opening. I set the old key aside, and from there I can forget about the door, the lock, and the world outside, for months—years, even. But then something happens—I hear birdsong, or I catch a glimpse of color—and I pick up the key and start picking away at the stubborn rust. That dark little room is my ...
Post a Comment
Read more

March Goals Recap/Looking Ahead to April

It's April 1, and time to revisit the goals I set for last month. I practiced a total of 50.45 hours in March, averaging 1.62 hours (or just over an hour and a half) per day. Realistically, I practice about 45 minutes to an hour a day on weekdays, and I usually get at least one longer practice (or multiple shorter practices) in on one or both days of the weekend to bring the average up. CLASSICAL GOALS Chopin, F Minor Nocturne March Goal: Have entire piece by memory and performance-ready. I have about 90% of the piece by memory, but I still have some work to do before it's performance-ready. The only two sections that I don't quite have are "The Agitation" and the "stretto" section with the seventh chords. I'll work on both this week and will have them both memorized before the weekend. April Goal: Finish memorizing, and polish, polish, polish! My focus now is really on phrasing and dynamics. I have the notes down, even in the difficult passages. Fro...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Amazing Practice Tracker 2.0: Leveling Up My Piano Game

(Apologies for the cheesy clip art. I needed to come up with something, or the Blogger template would show a fuzzy, overly-enlarged snippet of the first chart below.) When I showed my husband my piano practice tracker, he said I should market and sell it. Ha. It’s not for sale, but I’m excited to share how this tool has transformed my practice—and why it might inspire all three of my readers. Since my last post about the Amazing Practice Tracker, I’ve made it even better. Here’s a peek at how it works, using my June data. All The Pretty Colors, All the Pretty Winners My tracker now sparkles with color: darker shades for active pieces, lighter ones for maintenance, technique, and sight-reading. Each day, the piece I practice most gets a bright yellow highlight—a little “gold medal,” if you will. (Click image for a slightly larger view.) A leaderboard automatically shows the day’s top piece and time. And if that isn't enough, I keep track of the month's leaders--specifically, ho...
Post a Comment
Read more