 |
| This is my brain on piano. |
In my journey through the Learn New Repertoire Faster Challenge at Piano with Rebecca B, I’ve reached Day 26 of Jonny May’s stride arrangement of Ode to Joy. Today I began my Batch 4 revisit and introduced Batch 2 into my Phase 2 work. No video today, as I also focused on my ii-V-I progression exercise and videoed that instead (stay tuned for a blog post!).
Batch 4 Revisit, Day 1
Today I revisited the Very Red Batch 4 for the first time in a week ... and I can play it!
It’s slow and still needs a lot of work, but I can play it. My fingers know where to go!
This morning I drilled the left hand separately, then the right. Both need to become automatic, and the hands-separate work will help me eventually play this passage at tempo without having to stop and think. I did some hands-together work near the end, but the real value today was in isolating the hands.
Phase 2 Work
For Phase 2, Batch 1 is on Day 2 and Batch 2 is on Day 1.
Say that three times fast.
Batch 1
The Batch 1 revisit went well ... until I got to the transition ending the first run of the A theme. I’m playing Am7 in the left hand and what looks like a Cmaj7 arpeggio in the right ... but I think it’s really just an Am9.
Regardless, while I’m playing the Am7 boom-chick, my brain is watching the right hand and thinking:
Hmm. B to G to E ... that’s E minor.
Oh, now there’s a C, so that’s Cmaj7.
And now we’re playing a C-major triad, so clearly we’re in C major.
Meanwhile, the whole thing is just Am9: A, C, E, G, and B.
I have named my brain Albert, by the way, because sometimes I’m amazed at the things it can do. But sometimes I call him The Mule.
Did I just make my brain a boy?
Anyway, now I need to train Albert the Mule to think “Am9,” not “Em, Cmaj7, C.” Once Albert accepts that yes, this is in fact what we are doing, that section will get much smoother.
So this morning I literally closed my eyes and pictured myself playing Am9 arpeggios up and down the keyboard, willing The Mule to accept that there really can be a B natural in an A arpeggio.
Albert is a very stubborn mule of a brain, but I think we made progress.
Batch 2
I also started Batch 2 today. I only had about 15 minutes with it, and honestly, I think much of that time was wasted.
The plan was simply to refamiliarize myself with it after a few days away, so I played through it and made a few mistakes. Then I played through it again and made the same mistakes. Then again. Same mistakes.
I kept thinking, "This time I won’t make those mistakes." And then I would immediately make those mistakes.
At some point I thought, "Nina, you are wasting your time. You’re playing while Albert sits bored, smoking his pipe and gazing out the window at the silly mule prancing thoughtlessly across the keys. You need to stop playing and start mentally practicing."
And then my timer went off, and it was time to go to work.
So I’m planning to do some mental practice at the office today. Surely I can find a productive but mindless task for half an hour while Albert picks his way through the ledger lines, visiting the notes and laying down the patterns.
After that, he can go hang out with The Mule until evening practice.
Comments