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Practice Recap

Thanks to my new schedule, I'm not able to make random recordings like I could earlier this year. I hate that because it really helps me to record and listen to myself. So instead of playing something for you, I'll write an update on where I am, now that I am a couple of days back into my practice routine.

Ridiculously, I have nine projects going on. I'll list/write about them in order of how much time I'm spending on them, from most to least.


Blues

I really have three blues sub-projects: blues endings, reviewing the 10-Lesson Challenge material, and Amazing Grace in the slow blues gospel style. I've begun memorizing the endings so that they're easier to play, and I'm practicing playing them after improvising for several rounds of the 12-bar blues using what I've learned in the 10-Lesson Challenge. That seems to work pretty well. I started Amazing Grace after my last visit to my dad, and I've memorized most of it as well, so I expect to have it ready to video soon. It will probably be next week because I'll be back with my dad this weekend.

Bare Necessities

I'm averaging about 15 minutes per practice session on this one. Each time, I focus on one area that I think needs a little work. And, usually, I will play through the whole thing a couple of times, at different speeds. It sounds quite good, and I'm getting better at playing it faster. For now, the main goal is to play the entire piece often so that, like Maple Leaf Rag, it's in my blood.

Solace

I've memorized the second half (which, as I've mentioned before, I learned to play many years ago). The next goal is to begin learning the first half. I may start with the B section because it seems a little harder than the A section. Before I start any of it, I want to go through and write in all of the chords and get a sense of what's going on harmonically. I'll probably do that this weekend when I don't have access to a piano.

Chopin, Nocturne in F minor

As you know, I graduated from this piece several months ago. Since I'll be playing it for a masterclass in late September, however, I've had to pick it up again. It doesn't sound terrible right now, but I definitely need to brush up on several areas. My goal for the rest of the month is to focus on one problem area each time I practice, and then I'll spend most of September playing it through, similar to how I'm doing with Bare Necessities.

CISE (Composition, Improvisation, Sight Reading, Ear Training)

CISE is mostly what I do when I only have a few minutes to play--for instance, when I'm waiting for Anne to be ready so I can take her to school. Most of it involves playing through one of the chord progressions from the PWJ Lead Sheets course, usually in a new-age piano style. Not my favorite kind of music, but it sure is pretty.

Mozart, Rondo alla Turca

I'm trying to play through this one several times a week. Like the nocturne and Maple Leaf Rag (and now Bare Necessities), it's a maintenance piece, so I go back and forth between addressing small problem areas and playing the piece all the way through.

Maple Leaf Rag

I've already addressed this one a few times in this post, so I won't write much more. I can play it darn near perfectly at 100. I prefer a little faster, even though such a tempo will invite the wrath of ragtime purists. Oh well.

Technical Exercises

I have not done a lot of technical work (scales, arpeggios, etc.) this month, mainly because I've had so little time to practice. If I know I only have 15 minutes, I'm not going to spend my usual 5 or 10 of them going through technical warmups. I'll do scales for maybe 30 seconds, but that's not even enough to record in my practice journal.

Jingle Bells Rag

I've started it! It's at the bottom of the list because I just started learning it yesterday. I don't want to spend too much time on it just yet, though. I started it early because I thought it was going to be really hard, but I'm seeing that the only truly challenging part is going to be the section leading up to the outro. Everything else is just garden-variety ragtime.

And that's it! I'll try to get some videos made soon. And I'll try to practice more, though the reality is that my schedule is going to be very inconsistent for the next few months.

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