OTJ, Day 15: Pedal Point, Mental Practice, and More Fun to Come

In my journey through the Learn New Repertoire Faster Challenge at Piano with Rebecca B, I’ve reached Day 15 of Jonny May’s stride arrangement of Ode to Joy. Today’s assignment was to continue reviewing Batch 3 (measures 48–63) and continue learning Batch 5 (measures 72–95).

Day 15

This morning’s practice focused on measures 88–95 (Passage 3 of Batch 5).

The first four measures feature a pedal point: the chords change (Am7 to D7 to G6), but the left-hand octave stays on D. It’s not technically difficult, but it does make my brain work harder because it breaks the usual pattern.

D under Am7 feels strange. D under D7 feels normal (ahh). Then D under G6 feels strange again, especially since the G6 is in second inversion (D–E–G–B), which looks more like a third-inversion Em7 to me.

Enough theory. If you’re interested, I demonstrate it in the video.

I also spent a good chunk of time on the last four measures of Passage 3. In measures 92–93, the right hand is familiar, but the left hand changes. Measures 94–95 mix familiar and new material. So again, not technically hard, but enough of a change to keep my brain busy.

Mental Practice

That brings me to Rebecca’s focus for Day 15 (and the coming week): mental practice.

Mental practice is exactly what it sounds like: practicing in your mind.

I use it all the time, often right at the piano. I’ll close my eyes and visualize the passage I’m working on. For sections I’m struggling with, I often can’t “see” the keys clearly at first. So I open my eyes, review the music, close them again, and try again. Eventually the picture sharpens. Once I can see it clearly, I can usually play it.

I also do a lot of mental practice away from the piano, especially when traveling. That looks similar: study the music, visualize the hands, think through the harmony. I’ve accidentally memorized quite a bit of music this way.

Where I Am Now

I worked hard on Batch 3 yesterday, and I’m looking forward to one last review tonight before setting it aside for a week.

I’ll also put more work into Passages 1 and 2 of Batch 5 (the easy section). This morning I tackled the two trickiest measures there, and I’ll share more about them tomorrow.

Hint: it’s a really fun bit of music!

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