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Tuesday, June 30th, 2020
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I
spent the
morning
sight-reading
the Russian
contemporary
piano music I
found
yesterday. It
was a little
underwhelming
but a little
interesting as
well. The
music did not
have distinct
melodies but
was rather
abstract in
the textures
and phrasings.
I found six
books of
Russian music
yesterday so I
have a lot to
work with in
the future. I
think I will
sight-read
more
traditional
music in the
tomorrow
because that
holds my
interest over
impressionistic
sounds.
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Monday, June
29, 2020
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I did not have much energy today so I only practiced sight-reading
for half an hour. I sight-read random pieces of music that did not
have any particularly memorable melodies, and after I was done I
felt like I needed to spend time finding more music. When I looked
online I found a lot of Russian piano sheet music which made me
excited. I will now have enough music for my next sight-reading
practice session.
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Wednesday,
June 24, 2020
-----------------
I did not get a chance to do much sight-reading practice today
because my back was giving me some problems and I could not sit at
the piano bench very long. I was still able to play for forty
minutes but I could not continue after that. I think I will try to
play using an office chair with a lot of pillows later today, but
for now I am resting so I do not aggravate my back any more. The
music I practiced was a continuation of yesterday's sight-reading
session which included many classic piano pieces. Unfortunately I
am not able to remember any of them at the moment and I did not
recognize the ones I played. I think I will take this resting time
to look up more music online so I can have some fresh material for
tomorrow.
After I rested my back and replaced my piano bench with an office
chair that had pillows against the back, I readied myself to
practice Rachmaninoff's Prelude 5. I remembered some tips I had
learned previously to play certain sections with more feeling, so
I applied those to the practice session. In my opinion I improved
a good amount the hour that I practiced and I hope to continue
that tomorrow. I will be playing this prelude for some retirement
homes this weekend so I would like to be as ready as possible.
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Tuesday, June
23, 2020
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My
sight-reading
practice
session was
not too
lengthy today
but I was
still able to
play some
classics by
Debussy and
other
composers. One
of them was
"Arabesque"
which is a
popular
Debussy piece,
while "The
Girl with the
Flaxen Hair"
(I am
translating
the title) was
another.
After my sight-reading practice session I reviewed Chopin's Polonaise Op. 40 No. 2. I was able to get through the entire piece without too much trouble, however I still want to review the second page a little more before I perform it for an audience. Even when I do perform it for an audience I expect to make some mistakes. I have to play a piece dozens of times publicly before I can play it well before an audience, which is not a favorite characteristic of my piano abilities. My personal growth in playing piano is strongly based in working on my performing skills since I do not consider myself a natural performer. I am not the type of pianist who is able to practice a piece in private to it's entirety and then play it in front of an audience soon after on a professional level. Regardless, I have made a lot of positive strides towards bettering my skills so I do not have to trudge through pieces twenty times in front of audiences before I can play it well enough.
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Monday, June
22, 2020
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I did not
sightread
anything in
particular
today. I
picked random
styles of
music
including
classical,
jazz, and
contemporary.
I played some
of Bach's
Inventions
well which was
surprising to
me since I
usually learn
them slowly.
Perhaps this
morning I was
in a good
mindset to
read and play
two voices at
once. The jazz
music I went
through was
also fun,
however it was
different than
what I am used
to so I was
not able to
sight-read it
as quickly. In
the future I
will
sight-read
jazz more
often since it
seems it will
be a nice
challenge
outside of
playing
classical and
rock all the
time. I think
for my
practicing
today I will
continue with
the Polonaise
I practiced
last week
along with
Rachmaninoff's
5th Prelude.
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Wednesday,
June 17, 2020
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I started out
my day by
practicing
from a book
that is a
little more
difficult than
the book I
have been
sight-reading
with. It was
not difficult
by much but I
was playing at
a much slower
tempo and
missing more
notes than I
usually
do. The
material was
mostly
forgettable
however some
of the pieces
had nice
melodies.
Thinking about
it there was
one piece that
stood out,
which was
"Yesterday" by
The Beatles. A
couple of
years ago I
was teaching
it to one of
my students so
the melody was
familiar and
more
interesting to
play.
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Tuesday, June
16, 2020
-----------------
I continued my sight-reading practice from yesterday
which included my film score book. There was not any memorable
music today but I did not mind so much. As long as I am getting
some sight-reading practice done I will be happy. I have written
before that I wished there was a test I could take to measure my
sight-reading ability. Today was another day I thought about that
since I was able to get through the music without too much
trouble. I have also learned to improvise where I miss notes and
that is a skill I know I have learned through years of
sight-reading practice.
After sight-reading I took a break to exercise a bit and then I
came back to the keyboard to practice the Polonaise from
yesterday. I went through most of the piece today but I think I
will go through it more thoroughly tomorrow so I know I have spent
a good amount of time practicing in time for my retirement home
performance on Thursday.
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Monday, June
15, 2020
-----------------
I started my day by sight-reading through my sheet music book that
has piano adaptations from popular films. There were a
couple of pieces that were fun to play, such as the Jurassic Park
theme and the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme. The Indiana Jones
music was nice because I have been watching the movies this year,
so it is fresh in my mind. However, that is not the best way to
sight-read since I already know the beats and how it's supposed to
sound like. I do not get to apply my theory skills as much if I am
familiar with the music. Later in the day I will choose a
Polonaise I am most familiar with and practice that, because on
Thursday I am playing for a retirement home and I would like
something new to introduce.
I am writing this after my second practice session, and I have
picked Polonaise Op. 40 No. 2 to perform. I was worried at first
because it was difficult for me to get the notes correct, but
after an hour I was able to get through the piece. I will try to
get the through it in one take during my next practice session
since nothing was particularly difficult besides not being able to
remember the notes.
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Thursday, June
11, 2020
-----------------
I just did
some
sight-reading
practice today
with more film
scores. I
think I found
the original
film score
book I was
happy with, so
I played
through it for
a little more
than an hour.
None of the
music stood
out to me as
being
memorable
except for the
American
Beauty score,
but it was
still fun to
play movie
music.
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Wednesday,
June 10, 2020
-----------------
I continued
working on
Chopin's
Polonaise Op.
71 No. 3 this
morning. I am
more familiar
with the notes
now and am
concentrating
on increasing
the tempo.
Other pianists
play it
quickly,
however it
still it
pleasing to
listen to at a
slower pace.
It feels like
a light
Polonaise with
it's small
trills and
thirty second
notes, which
is typical for
a Chopin
piece. I will
probably
continue
practicing
another
Polonaise
tomorrow, but
might come
back to this
one by the end
of the week.
After
practicing the
Polonaise, I
brought out
sheet music
from animated
films, such as
Beauty and the
Beast, and
Frozen. I
wanted to
practice my
sight-reading
with music
that I
recognized,
and usually
Disney music
is easier to
use for
practicing
since I have
heard most of
the melodies
before. I did
what I usually
do with these
pieces of
music, which
is playing
them steady at
an even pace.
Again I
finished my
practice
session with
Prelude 5.
Every
day I
practice the
middle section
I remember it
better, and
today I
noticed some
details in the
passages that
helped me
understand how
they are
structured. I
mostly focused
on the middle
section, but I
also took some
time to
practice the
octave and
chord jumps in
other various
sections of
the piece. I
am hoping that
will make my
playing more
consistent and
eliminate
missing chords
from time to
time.
-----------------
Tuesday, June
9, 2020
-----------------
I did not have
too much
energy today
so I focused
my piano
playing on
sight-reading
from a new
film score
book I found
online. It was
a little too
simple for me
but it was not
bad to play.
When I
sightread, I
prefer to
sightread more
complex pieces
at a slow,
even tempo
rather than
easier pieces
at full tempo.
It could be
because if
there are
fewer notes, I
spend a lot of
time thinking
about each
note
individually
and sometimes
I make
mistakes that
should not
have been
made. When I
am reading a
lot of notes
on the music I
am
multitasking
and it seems
like I am
better using
all my
abilities
rather than
sight-reading
simple pieces.
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Monday, June
8, 2020
-----------------
I started out
my practice
session by
sight-reading
from my four
hundred page
"Golden
Oldies" book.
I am not too
sure how
accurate that
title is since
they have
music from the
musical
"Grease," and
I do not
consider that
to be an
oldie. It is
not the most
difficult book
and I am still
on the search
for my
previous book
that had movie
scores and was
three hundred
pages long. I
think I like
that book
especially
because the
last piece I
played from it
was the E.T.
theme by John
Williams.
After that I
practiced the
last Polonaise
I have decided
to work on,
Op. 71 No. 3.
It is a
pleasing
Polonaise, and
to me, without
listening to
any
interpretations
of it first,
it seems like
a slow and
beautiful. I
was able to
sight-read
through it at
a slow tempo
and never got
lost anywhere,
so I am
confident I
will be able
to perform it
sooner than
later.
When I was
finished
practicing
Polonaise Op.
71 No. 3, I
decided to
start working
on Prelude 5
again. Like my
last practice
session I
focused on the
slower middle
section,
trying to
remember the
order in which
the passages
were organized
in. I was more
successful
compared to
last week, so
I think the
next time I
look at it I
will have
found that my
practice
strategies
were
worthwhile.
-----------------
Wednesday,
June 3, 2020
-----------------
I wanted to
have an easy
morning
practicing so
I again
started with
sight-reading.
I was a little
more excited
because I
found a
sight-reading
book online
that is around
four hundred
pages
featuring
music from
musicals,
films, and
other forms of
media.
Sometimes I
wish there was
a test I could
take to see if
my
sight-reading
skills have
improved
substantially
since I
started
practicing it
daily. I know
that I am less
intimidated
sight-reading
music than I
used to be, so
that probably
means I can
play it at a
quicker pace
with new
confidence,
but I also
know that I am
still not able
to sight-read
at a regular
tempo. This
makes me wish
I practiced
sight-reading
when I was
younger,
however I did
not have
access to an
enormous
library such
as we do with
the internet
these days. My
piano teacher
I took lessons
from during
high school
gave me about
fifty pounds
of sheet music
five years
ago, so if I
did not have
the internet I
could use
that, but it's
much easier
carrying
around a
tablet to
practice than
thumbing
through paper.
Thinking about
it though,
it's nice
knowing I have
a backup in
case I get
tired of my
online
resources.
Again I
practiced
Rachmaninoff's
5th Prelude,
however the
slower middle
section gave
me some
memorization
issues today.
I do not know
how to explain
it too well
but the
section is
split up into
two main
parts, and I
suppose I am
not as
familiar with
them as I
thought
because they
get confused
in my mind too
often. At that
point I
started
reading the
sheet music to
get my muscle
memory back
quicker than
by going by
previous
memory and
repeating the
incorrect
passage orders
again and
again. I feel
like my
fingers are
more agile
when playing
the jumping
chords though,
and I have
stopped
missing as
many notes as
I used to.
Tomorrow when
I play for
Vista del
Monte I will
get to hear if
I have an
easier time
playing those
chords.
Later today I
might try
another
recording
session to see
if I can
record my
videogame
piece without
too much
trouble.
Yesterday I
recorded for
an hour and
felt like I
made a lot of
progress since
a lot of my
usual mistakes
apparently
disappeared. I
felt a lot
more confident
with the
notes,
especially
during the
page turns. I
am not sure
what is taking
me so long to
bring this
piece to
recording
quality, but
it has been a
process that I
have not
experienced in
a while. I do
not
particularly
enjoy it
because of how
much of a
perfectionist
I am, but I
have to do it.
-----------------
Tuesday, June
2, 2020
-----------------
I started out
the day by
sight-reading
some movie
scores. I was
a little
frustrated
because I
could not find
the film score
book I had
been playing
from for the
past week, so
I had to find
another film
score book. I
settled with
one that had
90s film songs
such as "My
Heart Will Go
On" from
Titanic, but
personally it
was not as
fulfilling as
reading from
the other
book. I had an
OK time
reading from
this book but
I am going to
continue to
look for the
book I was
reading from
last week. It
was a
challenging
difficulty
level, had
good
arrangements,
and was around
three hundred
pages total.
I also worked
on
Rachmaninoff's
5th Prelude
because all
the seniors
love it. Like
a lot of
Rachmaninoff's
pieces there
are many big
sounds, from
the chords to
octaves, and
overall it
feels quite
powerful. I am
still
remembering
all the notes
but today I
felt I got a
good handle on
those I did
not get to the
last time I
practiced this
piece. That
includes the
ending, which
came back to
me quickly. I
am looking
forward to
adding more
phrasing now
that I am
revisiting
this piece, so
I think I will
listen to
several
interpretations
to determine
my favorite
way of
expression.