Thoughts While Listening to a YAMS Dry Run

This morning, a few minutes before leaving for work, I sat down at the piano and played You Are My Sunshine start to finish without stopping (other than for a few minor flubs). It’s not perfect, but overall it sounds pretty solid. At this point the work is mostly polishing.

So now I’m going to listen back to the recording and jot down my observations as I prepare for recital week.

0:21 – Sounds pretty good so far. I should do more metronome work with the click on the off-beat. That will help tighten the rhythm.

0:34 – Those slides sound nice! I really love this section.

0:55 – Interlude 1 sounds good.

1:07 – The first ragtime section sounds muddy. I need to work on articulation and maybe ease up on the pedal.

1:30 – The stride section is sounding better but still needs work.

1:45 – The C9 in Interlude 2 sounds better than I expected. But I should vary the rhythm when switching back to the F6—right now it feels a bit repetitive.

2:00 – The first crossed-hands section feels ponderous. The left hand is too loud. It should feel light, bouncy, and playful, not heavy and plodding. It should contrast, not complete, with the deeper melody.

2:22 – I made it through the second crossed-hands section without mistakes! But each time I jump from bass to treble (or back again), I rush the last note before the jump. I know why I’m doing it—I’m buying myself time—but it makes this section sound hurried and unpolished.

2:34 – Stay with even time. Don’t rush.

2:46 – The transition into the solo section still needs work. The left hand is also much too heavy at the beginning of the solo, though it lightens up eventually.

3:11 – I need to work on the transition into the high ragtime section. I'm pausing before I start, and I don't think I realize I'm doing that.

3:24 – The right hand struggles to keep up when the octave walk-up comes in. That figure repeats several times, so it needs to sparkle and stay clean at tempo.

3:41 – The chromatic walk-ups could be more legato—almost slightly slurred, like a trombone slide.

Entire finale – It just sounds muddy to me. Maybe with so many notes (five-finger chords, octave walkups), I should lighten up more on the pedal?

So yes… still plenty of work to do.

I’ve also shared the video with the Piano With Rebecca B group, and I may share it with a few of the PWJ group musicians whose playing and opinions I respect. I hope people will offer some feedback on articulation, pedaling, and dynamics. More importantly, I’m hoping they’ll point out problems I’m not hearing myself. It’s surprisingly difficult to be objective when you’ve lived inside a piece for months.

Comments

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Picking Up the Pieces: A Piano Practice Journal

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