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 ...

Comments

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 ...

Dance of the Digits

Note: I've expanded significantly on this post over at my other blog, A Sort of Notebook . I am loving Liszt. I love the way my hands have to "share" the melody. I have so much to write on that, but I'm borrowing a computer and don't have enough time to do it justice. Suffice it to say that I've practiced three and a half wonderful hours today, and about two hours on Liszt alone. What I find wonderful about Liszt is that it pushes one hand hard, but not too hard. Then the other hand gets a turn to be pushed. But it's never both at the same time, and never one hand for too long. It's hard to explain. When I have more time to write, I'll word things rather more eloquently, I'm sure. All I can say now is that my fingers feel like they're dancing a wonderful, graceful dance. I've been trying to "play with my body," as my piano teacher says to do, so all of me is dancing. And Standchen, though it still need a lot of work (like, um...

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...

Picking Up the Pieces

Search This Blog