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October 2024 Goals

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote down some general thoughts about my October piano plans. October did not start off the way I thought it would, thanks to Hurricane Helene! September also didn't end the way I thought it would. Yes, I went from Sept. 27 all the way to Oct. 6 with zero piano time! So I'm having to do some recalibrating and readjusting. Here are my percentage goals for October:

I'll break these up into categories and write a bit on each. 

New Pieces (35%)

Technically, I only have one new piece, Liszt's Liebestraume No. 3 (25%). I haven't started it yet -- not only did I just get piano access back last night, but my music shipment has been delayed. I could print it out, I suppose, but I wanted the Alfred edition. It should be here today or tomorrow.

Another new-ish piece is The Old Rugged Cross (10%), which is actually an arrangement I'm working on. I started on it at the beginning of September, but I set it aside for the rest of the month (mainly so I could focus on Chopin). Now it's time to return to it.

Ongoing Pieces (35%)

My primary ongoing pieces are Amazing Grace, Jingle Bells Rag, and Solace. I'd expected to have all three of these pieces to a pretty solid state by the end of September. They were close, and now I need to spend a few days reacquainting myself with them. Here's where I am on each:

Amazing Grace (5%): The actual song part sounds great. I need to get the intro and the outro solid, and I have work to do on the solo section. The intro and outro are not difficult, and it's just a matter of memorizing and playing on repeat until I have it. The solo will take more work. I plan to watch more of Jonny's solo in the course (and take notes of a few licks I like in particular) and also continue with the major blues scale course, which provides some good techniques that I'll want to incorporate.

Jingle Bells Rag (15%): I played this through a few times yesterday, and it really is not a difficult piece. The difficulty will be in getting it up to speed (as I think I've written about before). So I have a fun few weeks ahead of just playing this delightful arrangement over and over again, at increasing speeds, and drilling individual sections to that they come more automatically.

Solace (15%): When I last worked on this piece, I had Sections A, C, and D memorized (however tentatively), and I was working on memorizing Section B. I played it through this morning, and all four sections are just a little shakier than what they were before. I don't think it's going to take a lot of time to re-memorize. As with Jingle Bells Rag, I really just need to play it often, drill certain small sections, and get it to where it feels natural and I can play it without hesitation.

Technique and Theory (15%)

My main technique/theory focuses are as follows:

Technique (5%): These are the usual scales, arps, and inversions. I've fallen out of the habit of practicing these every day, other than doing some octave work. I need to come up with a system where I work on technique a little bit every day, focusing on a new key each day (or every few days).

Blues Theory & Practice (10%): These are the PWJ blues courses. They include ongoing review of the Blues Challenge, Endings, etc., as well as my current course on the major blues scale.

Maintenance Pieces (15%)

These include Maple Leaf Rag, Rondo alla Turca, Bare Necessities, and F minor nocturne. I've allotted 15% of my practice time to these. I wish I could allot more, but I have a lot on my plate for October. Maybe in 2025 I'll try to focus on fewer projects per month.

Possible Changes

All of these percentages may change before the end of the month. Both Amazing Grace and Solace are so close to being "done," so it's possible that I'll retire them to the Maintenance category soon.

I'm disappointed at losing 10 days of practice time, but things could have been worse. I'm excited to get back on the horse (or, I should say, the piano bench) and start working toward these goals!

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