Pieces Prepared

• Gershwin: Prelude 1, all pages,
• Mozart: Sonata in C Minor, first movement, slow, but consistent speed
• Mussorgsky: Pictures as an Exhibition, Gnome, slow
• Queen: Somebody to Love, 2/3 speed
• Debussy: Prelude Suite Bergamasque, up to speed

Pieces Covered and Feedback

For Next Week

Same pieces,

• Get 1 page of the Mozart up to written 84 tempo
• Mussorgsky: left hand trills up to speed, metronome.  No pauses between the jumps on the first page.
• Gershwin: keep moving up to speed, especially the last section with octave section of the return to the main theme.

Pieces Prepared

A lot of new pieces this week

• Gershwin: Prelude 1, all pages, last 2 pages slow
• Mozart: Sonata in C Minor, first movement, all pages, last 3 pages, slow
• Mussorgsky: Pictures as an Exhibition, Gnome, slow
• Queen: Somebody to Love, 2/3 speed
• Debussy: Prelude Suite Bergamasque, up to speed

Pieces Covered and Feedback

No lesson this week! Spring Break fo the teachers.

For Next Week

Same pieces, closer to desired tempo

Pieces Prepared

• Gershwin: Prelude 1, first 2 pages
• Simon and Garfunkel: America
• Mozart: Sonata in C minor, first movement, first 3 pages
• Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, Prelude
• Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade

Pieces Covered and Feedback

All pieces covered

Gershwin:

• Work on the rhythm in the first two opening measures
• Accents

Mozart

• Bring out the main chord theme every time it appears
• Accent the leading notes that resolve, even if not accented

Mussorgsky

• Really use the right hand pinky to bring out the main note in the chords

Debussy

• For the 3 note staccato chords at the end of some of the phrases, make sure the third chord is staccato, instead of held.
• Decide on what is p, what if f, and hold those consistently for different sections.
• Meno p – a little less soft (so slightly louder) than the p in the previous phrase.

Simon and Garfunkel

• Pinky again – use the pinky in the chords to bring out the melody

For Next Week

Pieces Prepared

• Gershwin: 3rd prelude, all
• Liszt – Un Sospiro
• Telemann: Fantasy in F Major, complete
• Scales: all flat scales, A major, start playing in 3rds
• Liszt Techical Exercises: 1-5 (single finger playing, other fingers held down)
• Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody, started on Friday
• Debussy: Wine Gate prelude

Pieces Covered and Feedback

• Telemann: Fantasy in F major: mostly complete, played through.  Messed up the 3 sections that was messing up at home.  The middle Largo section went well.
• Gershwin: 3rd prelude, messed up a number of times, still rough performing in front of someone
• Debussy: played well, no major mistakes.
• Queen: played first 4 pages at tempo, next 4 pages slower.  Left out some of bass notes during triplet sections.  Rushed the quarter triplets, again…
• Liszt: played 2 times on the grand, from memory.  Things to work on:
  1. Third page, A major section, right hand pluck the main theme during the cross over section. Arm weight, hit the note, then up.
  2. Start of final section, main theme alternating in the thumbs, really bring out the first note starting the theme, arpeggio starts quieter in the next note.
  3. Second to last rolling chord at the end, keep quieter than the right hand, and the upper F repeated notes.

For Next Week

Business trip, no lesson.  Adult recital scheduled for the 27th.

Pieces Prepared

• Liszt: Un Sospiro, memorized, practicing from memory.  Worked on cadenza sections, speed of the runs, bringing out melody in the last part.
• Telemann: Fantasia in F major
• Gershwin: Prelude 2, memorized
• Gershwin: Prelude 1, slow speed first two pages
• Gershwin: Prelude 3, first section, up-to-speed
• Camelot: If I would ever leave you
• Debussy: The Wine Gate, memorized

Jan. 11, 2016

Pieces Prepared

• Liszt: Un Sospiro
• Chopin: Raindrop Prelude
• Bach: P&F in C Minor

Pieces Covered and Feedback

Started with the Raindrop Prelude, and played through technically better.

For Next Week

Pieces Prepared

• Un Sospiro, mostly memorized
• Bach: P and F C minor, mostly fugue
• Janacek: Virgin of Frydek, 2 days work
• Scales: Ab – F
• Chopin: Raindrop Prelude
• Gershwin: 2nd Prelude, memorizing
• Debussy: The Wine Gate

Pieces for Lesson

• Un Sospiro
• Janacek
• Raindrop Prelude

Pieces worked on

• Liszt: Un Sospiro, memorized
• Debussy: Wine Gate, memorized
• Bach: P&F in C Minor
• Janacek: Virgin of Frydek
• Scales: all major flat scales
• Gershwin: memorized second prelude
• Gershwin: 3rd prelude, first section (2 pages)
• Gershwin: 1st prelude, first page
• Chopin: 1st prelude, Raindrop prelude

For Lesson Tomorrow

• Un Sospiro
• Debussy