Piano Lesson January 9, 2006

The first piano lesson of 2006 was a good one. We began the lesson by discussing this semester’s repertoire, a strategy for practicing, performance opportunities, etc. I told Dr. N that 2005 was not a good year for me, in terms of my practice, due to certain ‘distractions’.

But 2006 is an opportunity for me to start fresh. Dr. N recommended that I practice at least an hour daily (but not to overdo it early on) and to learn maybe 4 pieces at a time–alternating 2 pieces every other day. So may Bach and Beethoven on Monday, Wed, and Fri. Chopin and Brahms on Tues, Thurs, Sat. Sunday could be my ‘free’ day to play anything I want. That way, you can feel the relationships between pieces from different genres or eras, allows sufficient time to focus on a particular section of a piece without having too much of time lapse between practices (1-2 days). It’ll make my practice more exciting too.

So Monday, Wed, and Friday will be devoted to practicing Bach (Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier Part I) and Brahms’s Rhapsody in G minor. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays will be devoted to re-polishing the Chopin Etude in C minor Op. 25, No. 12 and Mozart’s Sonata in C major K545.

As for performance opportunities, Dr. N encouraged me to play the Chopin Etude and possibly the Brahms Rhapsody for Rebecca Penneys, a concert pianist, Steinway artist, and Professor at Eastman School of Music, in mid-March at her masterclass. Dr. N mentioned that Rebecca Penneys is very frank about what’s wrong with the interpretation of a piece and is a stickler for rhythmic/tempo consistency. She’ll catch someone taking too much liberty (unconscious) in some of the rhythms/tempo. So it should be a valuable learning experience for me.

I’m also going to attend more piano recitals and masterclasses this semester. This Friday evening, there’s a piano recital by Jody Graves. She’ll also be giving a masterclass on Saturday morning. I plan to attend both events.

For the second half of the lesson, I sight-read the Brahms Rhapsody in G minor at a moderato tempo. There were a couple sections where I goofed on the right-hand and left-hand rhythms (the two against three), that I need to work on. Dr. N emphasized slow, metronomic practicing (less than 60) and playing through the entire piece. She advised that the practice needed to be ‘agonizing slow’. Also, watch the pedaling and making sure all the notes are pressed down and played clearly. Bring out the melodic notes in the main motives and pay more attention to the sotto voce and mezzo voce. Much of the melody’s in the bass register, which gives the piece a ‘dark, yet gorgeous’ character. That’s the main idea of this piece.

Dr. N isn’t the type to sugarcoat, but she’s also very encouraging and believed that ‘the sky’s the limit’ for me if I just invest more time and patience in my practices.

Next lesson will be two week’s from now (MLK day’s a holiday). We’ll review the Bach Prelude in B-flat Major and the Brahms’ Rhapsody in G minor.