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First Piano Lesson in Six Weeks

I had a piano lesson yesterday. It was my first lesson in six weeks, thanks to multiple planned and unplanned schedule changes.

Six weeks ago, I was still working on how to interpret the "Mad Chase" section of Chopin, and I hadn't put any serious work into the final page yet. I was still fine-turning "Misty" and was just noodling around with Bare Necessities. I was crawling through Maple Leaf Rag and working to memorize the D section. And my adventure into minor sevenths was still three weeks into the future.

A lot has happened in six weeks. Forty-five blog posts' worth of stuff!

We went a few minutes over at yesterday's lesson, which is supposed to last a half-hour. I was glad Eric could go over because I really wanted the opportunity to cover both Chopin and Maple Leaf.

Chopin and Piano-Lesson Piano Woes

I played Chopin first.

I'll begin by saying that I don't like the piano used in the lesson. It's a Kawai (I think) spinet, and it always sounds out of tune to me. This may just be that I'm so used to the perfection of the digital sound, and my hearing aid picks up all of the overtones of the acoustic, making the notes sound very "bendy." But then there is the issue of the room: It's about the size of a shoebox. Seriously--there is room for the piano, Eric's chair, and a small table. So the already-bendy sound is bouncing on the walls and swirling like thick fog with nowhere to go.

What sounds like a hint of sound in the LH of my Chopin at home sounds like a dark clunk on this piano ... a dark clunk that reverberates even without the help of the pedal. I have to play the RH at a near forte, just so I can hear it over the LH.

The Trills of Defeat

And so it went. It I made very few mistakes, other than in the trills (which was a little disappointing because I put a lot of work into them this weekend). When I finished, Eric looked visibly impressed and said he thought it sounded really good. So it must not have been too terrible.

He did tell me that I should plan my trills better. That I should actually know ahead of time how many times I'm going to do the trill, and exactly when I'm going to play the LH chord with it. He said that my trills sound disconnected: There is the trill, and then there is the turn at the end, plus the final note. He said that planning the trills exactly will help them to have a greater sense of continuity.

I thought that was good advice. I hate the idea of actually counting and planning my trills because that means I'll have to slow them down and be very methodical (rather than just playing them beautifully and hoping they line up with the LH, which they usually--but not always--do). But I think it'll be a good use of my time to do this. I've also started listening to a Tonebase course on trills, which has (so far) been helpful.

Maple Leaf Rag and My Runaway Tempos (Tempi?)

We were nearing the end of the lesson when we finally got to Maple Leaf Rag. I played it pretty well, but because of all the sound-reverberation in the room, I played it with almost no pedal. I also held back on some of the dynamics because, honestly, all I could hear while I played was sound, sound, sound.

He was seemed very impressed, and he had that big smile on his face that people always get when they hear Maple Leaf Rag -- so I consider that a win. He was very complimentary as well, though he did ask about my choice of no pedal, and he commented on the lack of dynamics. I explained why I made those choices (the room, the sound, etc.), so he didn't harp on them. (Though, realistically, I should be able to adjust my pedaling/dynamics to any piano/room situation.)

Those Tempo Woes

He did comment that I started out at a great tempo (around 88), but that I finished at a much faster tempo. He noted that it's in the first repeat of the A section that I speed up--which was a surprise to me, because I thought it was in the first episode of the B section. It's very possible that I'm speeding up at least twice--once in the A section, and again when I start the B section. Either way, by the time I get to the difficult C section, I'm racing, playing at a pace that is too fast even for my taste. (I tend to like Maple Leaf at about 100 bpm, so a little faster than 88. Though 88 is fine, too.)

So ... more metronome work. Eric also said to imagine I'm playing with a band, and that we have a very locked rhythm, with the drummer playing a steady beat that doesn't change throughout. I think imagining the drummer will be more effective than working with the metronome (though I'll do both). The truth is, I've been working with the metronome, but it doesn't seem to do me any good, other than to make me aware of when I'm speeding up. But when I turn it off, I end up speeding up anyway.

Looking Ahead

Since I'll soon be finishing up my focused work on both Chopin and Maple Leaf, I'm looking to start at least one new piece, and possibly two. On deck is Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca," but I also asked Eric to make suggestions (if he has any) on something else I might work on. I told him I want something that isn't too long (i.e., no full sonatas) but that will push me just a little beyond what I'm currently capable of. He said he would text me some ideas, and we'll probably discuss those in two weeks.

Yesterday's lesson was a good lesson. We made the most of the short amount of time that we have. If I have the money available, I may look at going every week for a half-hour rather than every other week.

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