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Weekend Goals, Sept. 13-15

It's been a while since I've written down my weekend goals. So I'll do that now.

My main goal is to get myself back on track with my percentages--I wrote about this a few days ago. I've created a new column in my spreadsheet that makes it easy to see which pieces/skills need the most attention. The three that are the furthest under the goal percentage are the first three pieces I'll work on in my next practice session. It's easy to see which ones they are because the lowest numbers turn red automatically!

Isn't that neat?

As I enter my practice time each day, I'll let the spreadsheet prioritize what's next. (Click here to see how I did on this goal using my new spreadsheet method.)

Here are some more specific goals, given in the order listed in the image above.

Technique

As I wrote previously, I've started focusing on blues scales in addition to the usual major and minor scales in my warm-ups. I'll keep working on the exercise I wrote about, but there are also a few PWJ exercises on the major blues scale that I want to start. So my technique goal is to start doing those exercises.

Solace

Poor Solace. I did such a good job starting it a few weeks ago, but it's received almost no attention since then. I've worked on it a couple of times lately, but I'm really having to re-learn that first section, and I'll need to re-memorize a few parts of Sections C and D. This weekend's goal is to memorize Section A and have it sound smooth, and to re-memorize the other two sections. Next week I'll start on Section B.

Blues/Amazing Grace

I've been doing a lot of improvising on the 12-bar blues form, ending it with one of the blues endings I've been learning. I want to keep doing more of that, but to do so, I need to start reviewing the licks, riffs, rolls, runs, etc., that I learned in the 10-lesson challenge. I haven't forgotten them, but they need review. So my goal there is to continue integrating everything I've learned into improvisation.

As for Amazing Grace ... I can play it, but I have a lot of starts and stops. I need to focus on playing through this one slowly, and speeding up slowly. I also need to keep practicing improvisation on the major blues scale in F with this piece. So that's the weekend goal: Slow practice, and work on improvising.

Lagniappe/Old Rugged Cross

I'm taking a break from this one. My only real goal for this weekend is to play through it a few times so that it continues to feel comfortable under my hands. I want to work on a more interesting arrangement, but I think I'm going to wait until the masterclass is over.

Jingle Bells

Like Solace, Jingle Bells has gotten very little attention this month. Also as with Solace, I have the feeling that diving back into it will require quite a bit of re-learning. So my weekend goal for this one is to sight-read it a few times (as if it's brand-new), and then work on the most challenging sections (the ending and the first part).

Bare Necessities (Maintenance Piece)

This is a maintenance piece, even though I never quite got it to my desired tempo. I'm not going to be too demanding on myself with this one. My weekend goal will be to play through it a few times, either all the way through, or in sections, not too fast, focusing on accuracy more than speed.

Maple Leaf Rag (Maintenance Piece)

My goal for Maple Leaf is similar to my goal for Bare Necessities--play it a few times, enough that it still feels fresh. Address any small problems that come up. Don't spend too much time on it, but have fun with it.

Rondo alla Turca (Maintenance Piece)

Same goal as for my other two maintenance pieces. I may try to spend a little more time on the broken octaves and coda sections, since they're still not as clean as I'd like them to be.

Chopin

Since I'm working on this one for the masterclass, I'm not treating it as a maintenance piece this month. I particularly need to drill the final page. My weekend goal is to play this piece (either all the way through or in sections) 8 or 10 times a day. That's about an hour each day, which seems like a lot, particularly considering all of my other goals. The good news? I have nothing planned for this weekend, other than general house work, taking the kid shopping for homecoming shoes, etc. So I should be able to put 3-4 hours in each day. I can't wait!

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