Practicing in the holidays; hope for Chopin op. 25 no. 3; thoughts on venues and audiences; op. 25 no. 5 with holes; a plan for op. 25 no. 6; yet another edition of these etudes.
You can hear the singalong song I talk about here.
Archives for posts with tag: Chopin
Results of taking a break; putting my shoulders where they belong; progress in Chopin 25/5; run-throughs of 25/3 and 25/11, with some screaming; a vaguely contrapuntal improv.
Also, for those of you in DC thinking of coming to the show this Friday at 8, here’s info about my band, and here’s the venue, in Columbia Heights. I’d love to see you there!
Practicing in little bits, at tempo; why Chopin etudes are like yoga poses; memorized versions of most of 25/3, 25/5, and 25/11 (with some screaming); a slightly Halloweeny improvisation.
Why I can’t practice without my phone; strategies for Chopin 25/3; most of the left hand, and the first page, of 25/11; plans for 25/5; quotes about Liszt (look at him!); some great ideas from this terrific jazz pianist, leading to a plan that will surprise no one; an attempt at the blues.
Bits of a dozen etudes; some ruminating on art vs. craft, Apollo vs. Dionysus, and emoting vs. actually getting anything done. Plus an unapologetically (well, mostly unapologetic) cheezy improv.
Some nattering about work/life balance; 25/11 under tempo; a plan for 25/3; some improv.
A play-through of 10/4; some musings on death, love, literature, and living with purpose; a slightly-simplified version of 25/2; a few notes of 25/11; a homonym for 25/3.
In which:
A report on an informal house concert; why it’s hard to practice on vacation; last 10/7 before it goes on the shelf for a few weeks; early days in 10/11; the scariest measure in 10/10; beginning 10/8, and finding it strangely familiar.
Recorded March 19, 2011
In which:
Part of a “before” version of 10/10, including a momentary foray into theory geekdom; a slightly improved version of 10/11; just the sixteenths of 10/2; the danger in 25/12; a new strategy for 10/7; a quote from Schumann; why I find these etudes so challenging; cheating on Chopin with Mozart and Haydn.
Recorded March 5, 2011
In which:
The last 10/4 for a while; some good practice ideas for 10/2, and a realization about one reason I’ve been having trouble with it; finding out how well the Cortot exercise worked for 10/7; strange melodies in 25/12; some thoughts about memory and plateaus, which reminded me of a podcast I love; a reminder that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Recorded February 26, 2011
Play It Again Swig 