I told Sarah that I would in fact not be going back to the music school (more on that later), and so would really prefer to learn some hymns as well as the classical music I work on. I’d like to continue classical music because I enjoy it, and want to keep up my technique, but would like to focus just as much, if not more, on learning some Catholic hymns. I’d like to be able to play at a church, and also think learning such music would be fun and inspiring for me. I do want to keep music in my life of course.

So we selected this song, You are Mine, by David Haas. It is a beautiful song, though she says not technically a hymn. It is still great, though.

Here is a recording of what I learned of this song today. I should be able to finish it next week. I also hope to learn the words to it, so perhaps I can sing it.

I am really excited about this. I really do hope I will be able to play the piano at a church to help to support myself and take care of my expenses.Similar Posts:

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I will be posting about my piano lesson the other day, later, but first would like to announce my new forum. It is called the Creator Spiritus Forums.

I don’t like to write about religion here, because I’ve mostly written about programming and music, and don’t want to alienate any audience I might have. However, I am a very religious person, and enjoy writing about and discussing it.

For that reason, I started up CSF to have a place to discuss my religious journey, and attempts to live a Christ-centered life. Also to be a place to have engaging discussion with others, regardless if they have the same beliefs or not. I also want to write articles there, which will be featured on the front page.

It still needs some work, such as a logo, but I’m pretty happy with it as it is already. It was started last Friday, and already it has over 100 posts.

So that’s where I’ve been for the last week, trying to get this thing going. But now hopefully I can find some more time to write over here, too, on top of practice and everything else.

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Listen to the recording

We had quickly finished up the Debussy prelude the week before, so we reviewed that to begin with. Everything seemed pretty good with that.

Then we went into the Italian Concerto. I was pretty excited about this, but it turned out to be very boring for some reason. It wasn’t nearly as fun as the Debussy prelude.

It was fairly easy, too. I of course am probably missing some of the subtleties with voicing and such, but technically it feels very easy to me, even easier than the prelude.

However, I learned 22 measures, which was almost the entire first page. I was pretty happy with that.

I really haven’t the first idea about how it is supposed to sound, so I’ll have to find some good recordings.

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I had learned a lot of my Debussy prelude the other day, so wanted to have a lesson to make sure I had learned it accurately, and to learn more.

She said she was busy, but should be able to see me in the morning. So I had a lesson at 8:00.

We went over what I learned myself, and it was mostly accurate. There were a few things that needed fixed here and there, especially with staccatos and such since the notation I was using to learn it didn’t mark the staccatos, but overall it was pretty accurate.

I’m not sure exactly which measure I got up to, but it was around 41 or 42 probably. It was right after those Ab’s repeated.

We continued on though, well into the third page. I got through one of my favorite parts at measure 58 where it says quasi tambour or something like that.

Nothing was really very difficult, nor hard to memorize, so I was happy about that.

I’m not sure whether I’ll learn more this weekend or not. Either way, I have another lesson on Monday.Similar Posts:

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Session #218

218.1: Technique: Scales

I just worked on reviewing scales. I played them around the circle of fifths.

I am embarrassed to say I just recently learned what the circle of fifths is. I’m determined to try to commit it to memory, so that’s why I played them in this order.

Since in the music school, some people seem to play scales from F# and onward at a lower octave than the first six, I decided to play it by starting at C, then going down four, up five, and so on. That worked for the first six, until I landed on B, then I had to go down four again to F#, and continue the pattern from there.

With C and G, I played at mm=96, with four notes per beat, but then had to slow down to 92 for the rest of the scales.

I only did major scales today. I might introduce harmonic and melodic minor scales soon.

218.2: Technique: Scales

Next, I worked on a method that I found in a book, that I will post about soon.

Basically, you do each octave separately, but then add one note from the next octave, so that you can fit 8 notes in one beat, and land on the next beat. So for instance, with C major, you would go from C, to the D an octave above.

I started with Db, because that’s the scale it recommends that is the easiest. I started at mm=60, but that’s with 8 notes per beat instead of four, as I usually do.

I worked on each hand separately at first. Then after repeating 7 times perfectly, I would put them together a few times.

Using this method, I got through the first two sections, basically the first two octaves plus two notes.

Then I realized that with four notes per beat as we do at the music school, this is actually 120 BPM. Amazed that I had just blew by the goal of 112 required for jury, I set the metronome at 120 and tried it. It took a minute since there were more divisions than before, but then I was able to play it. Of course, it collapsed after the first two octaves since I have not worked on anymore yet.

I’m going to continue to work on this method, and see how it affects my other scales. It looks promising, though.

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to practice arpeggios, though. I wonder if there is something similar.

218.3: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

Just like in session #216.1, I worked on the first three measures.

It went a lot more easily this time. Again there was no problem in the first measure.

The second measure was also a lot easier. It felt much more even and clean.

In the third measure, again I had a slight problem with the second half of beat 4, but not nearly so often. Then, I noticed the movement my hand was making when it was even, and tried to replicate that. It seemed to work.

The left hand really had no problem in that section.

I do feel like this was better than yesterday. I am going to continue to use this method, and see how it is in a few days.

Statistics

• Time: 06:05:52 PM-06:59:20 PM
• Length: 0:53:32
• Average session: 0:25:11
• Session trend: 0:29:32

Session #219

219.1: Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22: 1. Andante sostenuto

Just like in session #217.1, I worked up through the run in the beginning.

The very beginning, up until the run, went very easily. I made maybe one or two mistakes, but nothing major (no pun intended, lol).

The run went a little bit better, but I did spend more time on it, especially in the left hand, and especially in that descending part down to the A, before it goes into that down-up pattern.

I used the same method as before, but also copied the right hand. I played each separate section along with the corresponding section in the right hand, and that helped to make it more even and fast.

I realized that the second section in the left hand, where there is D-C-Bb, was a bit uneven. The C was grouping together with the Bb, and the D was kind of left out. That’s why that sounded so wrong when I was trying to speed that entire scale up.

I then worked on connecting each section again, which went a little better, but there is still a lot of tension there, so I am having trouble going too fast yet.

I didn’t get far into the actual arpeggio pattern after that, within the run, but this is the hardest part so that is OK.

219.2: Rachmaninoff: Polichinelle in F-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 4

I figured it was about time to actually work on Polichinelle.

I just started at the beginning, like all of the other pieces I’m working on. I got through the first 10 measures.

I had trouble with those little grace notes or whatever they are in the very beginning, making it sharp and crisp enough in both hands, as well as being accurate.

But after a bit of practice, I was well-pleased with my progress.

Surprisingly, the hardest part was in measures 7-10. I’m not sure why, because that isn’t a particularly difficult section, but still I had trouble.

It started to get a little uncomfortable in the right hand. That part has to be legato between the G’s and F#’s, so I’ve been using 1 and 4 on the F#’s, but that requires a bit of twisting of the hand, which is uncomfortable. I’m not sure if I’ll change that or not. It got very frustrating though, so I should have stopped and took a break and it probably would have been easier, but it seemed like it should be easy to begin with, so I persisted.

219.3: Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E major, K.380/L.23/P.483: Andante comodo

I haven’t touched this piece in ages, so I figured I’d work on it for 10 minutes or so.

I got through the first 10 measures. The hardest part was probably measure 10, because I had trouble making the left hand very accurate there for some reason. I did get it though, and it seems to be better.

Those 32^nd notes in the beginning, especially in the left hand, are a little challenging, so I worked on making those consistent and even, too.

Overall, I am very happy with my progress.

Statistics

• Time: 07:34:42 PM-08:27:51 PM
• Length: 0:50:52
• Average session: 0:25:18
• Session trend: 0:31:40

Statistics

• Today:
  • Time practiced: 1:44:24
  • Sessions: 2
  • Average session: 0:52:12
  • Longest session: 0:53:32 in session #218
• Total:
  • Time practiced: 92:19:33
  • Average time per day: 0:37:57
  • Time per day trend: 0:46:43
  • Average sessions per day: 1.50
  • Sessions per day trend: 1.53
• Estimates:
  • This week (week #21):
    • Time: 6:13:56
    • Sessions: 13
  • This month (May):
    • Time: 21:37:24
    • Sessions: 45
  • This year (2009):
    • Time: 233:20:40
    • Sessions: 554

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Session #215

215.1: Technique: Scales

I decided to work mostly hands-separate on scales today.

I started on C major, and at mm=92, with four notes per beat. I did it hands separate at first, and then hands together after I did the scale with each hand a few times without mistakes.

I slowly increased the metronome, playing hands-separate at each speed, all the way up to 108. I’m surprised I could go that fast, since that was about the speed I was at a few months ago, before I stopped practicing them.

I still wasn’t sure whether it was better to work on speeding up one scale, or to try to get several scales to one speed. I opted to try the former, though.

Statistics

• Time: 07:13:55 PM-07:30:29 PM
• Length: 0:16:35
• Average session: 0:25:02
• Session trend: 0:27:04

Session #216

216.1: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I worked on the first three measures. I thought I’d get through all four, but I did not.

I worked on each measure separately, trying to play it 7 times perfectly before moving on.

Of course the first measure really gave me no problems. I did each hand separately though before putting them together.

The second measure wasn’t too bad, but I wanted to make sure all the notes were even. It is hard to tell when both hands are together and going rather fast, so I separated them and slowed down. That seemed to help a lot.

The third measure was probably the hardest. The second half of beat 4 in the right hand has D#-F#-A#-B (I don’t know if any of those are flats or not, but I’ll go with sharps). For some reason I sometimes play that unevenly.

To try to fix it, I started out playing it very slowly. Then I sped it up, just a few notes at a time. I played D#-F# in succession very fast at first. Then I added the A#, and finally the B. It was going too fast at this point, so I slowed it down a bit. That seemed a lot better.

I had a similar problem in the left hand, in the first half of beat 4. It has D#-F#-A-B. The problem wasn’t as pronounced, but it still was a little uneven. I used the exact same method as in the right hand, and it helped.

After each measure, I played through that measure from the beginning, to put it in context.

This was a very intense practice, but I feel like this method really is helping. It can be frustrating because it points out exactly where you are having trouble. This is the first time in a while I have used this method of playing a part 7 times perfectly.

The trick is to take a passage, and split into sections that you can repeat 7 times perfectly without trouble. You should be able to complete the passage in 15-20 minutes.

I will report how it goes as time continues, but so far I feel pretty good about it.

Statistics

• Time: 07:33:58 PM-07:58:42 PM
• Length: 0:24:45
• Average session: 0:25:02
• Session trend: 0:26:50

Session #217

In the recording, I got confused and say session #216 instead of #217. I lose count sometimes.

217.1: Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22: 1. Andante sostenuto

So, following the example of session #216, I again chose a passage and worked on it part-by-part. I was going to go by measure, but well this section really doesn’t have measures.

I started at the beginning, and worked first until the next time the left hand plays the octave G’s. It plays that three times, so that gave me two small sections to work on. The third section was from the third octave G’s in the left hand, up to the top where the run begins.

That all went very well. I hardly made any mistakes at all, except maybe one. It was strange to do, though, because I had never split this up like that before.

It was useful though, I think. Usually I can only start at certain spots that I have concrete in memory, but not at other parts, because once I start somewhere, my fingers just know where to go but I don’t necessarily remember which notes it is. However, this forced me to remember different sections at a more granular level.

Then I went into that descending run, which was a lot harder. I worked hands separate on that, since they don’t interlace together like they do in the beginning.

In the first section of this run, I played down to the F# in the right hand, before it starts that descending pattern of down-up-down-up, etc. The right hand can go very fast, which is great, and I made very few mistakes.

The left hand is a different story. I moved up the bench for this one, since I knew I’d be up there for a while.

The left hand is nowhere nearly as fast, which disappoints me. So I split it up, by its natural seams, so to speak, where the thumb has to cross under.

The first part was just F# and Eb (I seriously have no idea which is a sharp or flat, but that makes the most sense in terms of a harmonic minor). Then it crosses under to D-C-Bb. So I played both parts separately, then gradually put them together. I played the F#-Eb part, then D-C-Bb. I made the transition faster and faster. It still is not very fast, but is a little better.

Then I worked on the D-C-Bb, and A-G-F#-Eb, using the same method.

Finally, I worked on the transition between A-G-F#-Eb, to D-C-Bb-A.

I did not try to put them all together very much because I just want to work on one transition at a time for now. However I did play the hands together slowly.

Then I worked on the descending pattern after that, hands-separate. The right hand had no problem at all, so that was great.

The left hand had a little more trouble. Though it was accurate most of the time at first, I felt like it was being held together by a thread. So I slowed it down, and tried to get it perfectly. I was then starting to make mistakes, and get frustrated, so I slowed down a lot just to get it right at least a few times.

Then I played hands together, and did the ascending diminished arpeggio, just so as to finish the passage, then resolved with those four chords afterwards, resolving with the G-minor.

I think that if I stick with this method for mastering a passage, it should work. I think it really started to help me today, so I will try it over the next week or so and see how it works.

Statistics

• Time: 08:00:01 PM-08:27:05 PM
• Length: 0:27:06
• Average session: 0:25:03
• Session trend: 0:26:51

Statistics

• Today:
  • Time practiced: 1:08:26
  • Sessions: 3
  • Average session: 0:22:49
  • Longest session: 0:27:06 in session #217
• Total:
  • Time practiced: 90:35:09
  • Average time per day: 0:37:29
  • Time per day trend: 0:40:18
  • Average sessions per day: 1.50
  • Sessions per day trend: 1.48
• Estimates:
  • This week (week #21):
    • Time: 5:02:34
    • Sessions: 13
  • This month (May):
    • Time: 20:05:04
    • Sessions: 44
  • This year (2009):
    • Time: 230:31:32
    • Sessions: 552

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Session #214

214.1: Technique: Scales

I’m still trying to figure out how to practice scales. I tried doing two octaves at a time, hands-separate. If I made a mistake, I just repeated that part of the scale.

I think I just tried 80 and 84, and then jumped to 92 because it was incredibly slow.

I’m still kind of clueless about practicing, but hopefully I start to figure it out.

214.2: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I wanted to split this into sections, which I would then practice using the 7-times-perfectly method.

So I did so. I played through the prelude, and then focused on the first measure for a while. I think I got that up to 88.

Then, I figured it’d be best to start the second measure slower, so I started at mm=60. I practiced that for a bit.

Then my mom came home, and we were going to leave for dinner since both of us were starving, so I stopped.

Statistics

• Time: 03:23:16 PM-03:51:05 PM
• Length: 0:27:50
• Average session: 0:25:05
• Session trend: 0:28:14

Statistics

• Today:
  • Time practiced: 0:27:50
  • Sessions: 1
  • Average session: 0:27:50
  • Longest session: 0:27:50 in session #214
• Total:
  • Time practiced: 89:26:43
  • Average time per day: 0:37:16
  • Time per day trend: 0:37:10
  • Average sessions per day: 1.49
  • Sessions per day trend: 1.31
• Estimates:
  • This week (week #21):
    • Time: 4:18:27
    • Sessions: 11
  • This month (May):
    • Time: 19:19:15
    • Sessions: 42
  • This year (2009):
    • Time: 229:12:14
    • Sessions: 548

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Session #210

210.1: Technique: Scales

I worked on some scales, finally. I have been trying to figure out the best way to practice them, but I figured that practicing them any way at all was better than not at all.

I started with C major. I set the metronome at 80 BPM, but that was far too slow, so I increased it to 92. I tried hands separate for a while, and then played hands together.

The left hand is noticeably slower than the right hand, at their respective comfortable speeds. Hopefully that will change. It has been a while since I’ve done any technique at all.

Then I went to C#. I noticed that it was a lot easier for my right hand, since the black keys better put the thumb in place for the white keys it plays. However, the left hand had a bit of trouble.

I split up the entire scales into sections, so as to try to isolate any problems. I did one or two octaves at a time, or sometimes only a few notes.

Altogether, though scales are never very enjoyable, I think it went pretty well. We’ll see how it goes, I guess. I have a lot of time to figure out the best way to do this.

Statistics

• Time: 04:20:18 PM-04:41:27 PM
• Length: 0:19:05
• Average session: 0:25:01
• Session trend: 0:28:13

Session #211

211.1: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I worked on the new part I learned at my lesson.

It went pretty well, though it still requires a lot more work to become as easy as the part of the piece I already know. It is not very difficult, though. I actually really enjoy it.

I think I might try to get a recording though. I might have to buy it off of Amazon, so that I can listen to how it is supposed to sound.

Statistics

• Time: 05:13:46 PM-05:40:56 PM
• Length: 0:27:12
• Average session: 0:25:02
• Session trend: 0:28:07

Session #212

212.1: Mendelssohn: Prelude in E minor, Op. 35, No. 1

I worked on the new part again.

I had the idea of splitting it into several sections, and working on each one separately, until it was more secure. So, I started with measures 13-15. Measure 15 was the only new part, but I wanted to overlap.

I wanted to play it seven times perfectly consecutively. I made a few mistakes, but I eventually got it.

And then, it clicked, and I tried playing it quickly. It was beautiful, and I was able to play it very quickly without any mistakes at all. It is very clean, so that makes me happy.

Then I worked on measure 16, and a little of measure 17. That wasn’t too hard, honestly, because the pattern is very similar to measures 2, 6, and 7.

I really love this part though because there’s a lot of bass. It is nice and low on the piano.

It is very easy for me to remember measure 17 now because my piano teacher told me what kind of chord that is in the right hand. It is a B diminished chord, with the A in the left hand adding a 7th.

I do have trouble in measures 18 and 19, but I will work on that tomorrow.

Statistics

• Time: 07:20:10 PM-07:53:44 PM
• Length: 0:33:36
• Average session: 0:25:04
• Session trend: 0:28:39

Session #213

213.1: Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22: 1. Andante sostenuto

I worked on the beginning a bit. The run was pretty good now that I got that F# fixed on my piano. It was a little messy the first time though, but then it was very clean and fast. I was happy with it.

The first time I did the arpeggio was also messy, but then the second and third times were clean and fast.

I had to slow down through the jumps. I’ll really have to devote some time to only those, because I am not happy with those.

Nonetheless, I continued on into the melodic section after that. I repeated it once since I made a couple of mistakes.

The arpeggios right after those grace note chords were very good.

I worked up to the 32^nd notes around page 9 and onward. I didn’t have too much trouble with that, so I continued onto the section where the hands share the octaves, starting on the G’s, etc.

They were better than before. The second part of them, starting on Bb’s, was better than session #206.1.

So then I worked on the third part, starting on the D’s, and where the left hand actually has a full octave. That is tough because the hands interlace a lot more, and sometimes they trip over each other a bit. I learned a bit though how to shift my body to allow them more room.

The trickiest part of that is at the top, when the left hand jumps back down to octave D’s. It is such a far jump to begin with, and also I have trouble with the chord in the right hand. But I worked on it a bit, and I think I improved a bit.

Then just for the fun of it, I played all the way through up through part of the cadenza.

I need to choose a few sections to work on consistently for a while, so that I can actually make consistent progress. I’m not sure which sections I will choose yet.

Statistics

• Time: 08:00:51 PM-08:25:37 PM
• Length: 0:24:47
• Average session: 0:25:04
• Session trend: 0:28:16

Statistics

• Today:
  • Time practiced: 1:44:40
  • Sessions: 4
  • Average session: 0:26:10
  • Longest session: 0:33:36 in session #212
• Total:
  • Time practiced: 88:58:53
  • Average time per day: 0:37:20
  • Time per day trend: 0:38:13
  • Average sessions per day: 1.49
  • Sessions per day trend: 1.35
• Estimates:
  • This week (week #21):
    • Time: 4:39:39
    • Sessions: 12
  • This month (May):
    • Time: 19:34:51
    • Sessions: 42
  • This year (2009):
    • Time: 229:36:35
    • Sessions: 550

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It is such a huge place. Apparently it is 12,000 acres. The hotel is huge, too. I have no measurement on it, but I got tired just walking from the restaurant, down to the game room and swimming pool, and back to the room. I could almost compare it to a campus, except all inside, obviously. it has restaurants, a game room, swimming pools, bars, and rooms for guests, and that’s just the hotel itself. The entire resort has a lot more, obviously, since it is primarily used for skiing.

I was so excited to get there. I really wanted to swim that night, since I haven’t been swimming for so long.

However, unfortunately the trip didn’t get started on the right foot. The restaurant was very fancy, and unfortunately fancy just isn’t my thing. I hate vegetables, and almost everything had vegetables.

I finally settled on some crab cakes, though, and even ventured to have a salad from the salad bar, which was actually pretty good. they also had some crab salad that I liked.

The dinner itself was OK, but the crab got old pretty quickly for me.

Dessert came free with the salad bar, so I got some of that, and that was probably the best of everything. I had some kind of chocolate mousse thing with chocolate chips, as well as some crème brûlée, which I had never tried before, but it was quite good.

I went down to check out the game room and indoor swimming pool, to see how crowded it was, and then went back up to the room. Unfortunately, by the time I got back to the room, I was exhausted because I hadn’t slept that well the night before. I took an hour nap around 7:30, and then really didn’t feel like swimming.

So the next day, my mom went to her meeting, and I just hung out in the hotel in the morning. For lunch, they had someone take me to that same restaurant for lunch, and luckily there were more choices I liked.

Everyone was so nice throughout this whole thing, even if I didn’t like the food so much the first day. The lady who took me to lunch stayed with me to keep me company, which was very nice. Also, the host read the menu to me so that I knew what there was to eat.

The lady who took me to lunch told me that they had horse and buggy rides all day. That sounded pretty interesting, so I told my mom about it when she got back at about 1:00, and said I would like to do that. So we checked out of the hotel, packed the car, and headed over to the stables.

The guy there was incredibly nice. There was a cute little cocker spaniel there, that reminded me a lot of a dog I had several years ago, that was one of my favorites.

So the horse and buggy came, and my mom and I got in. Unfortunately my mom didn’t think to take pictures before this, but now she was taking a lot of them, so fortunately I am able to post some of them here.

The buggy driver wanted to give the horses a rest after about 25 minutes in, so my mom got out and took a picture of me in the buggy.

Also, she got a picture of the horses in front, and the guy who was driving the buggy.

As we were going along, we saw some geese, which she took a picture of.

She missed the view from the mountain the first time, but took a picture the second time around.

Also, she took a picture of the hotel from the buggy on the mountain.

When we got back, the goat was laying underneath the buggy. My mom had me lean down and pet it. His name was Billy. I didn’t know how he would react at first, since I thought most goats were mean, but he was incredibly tame and nice. He was like a little dog, with horns.

Here’s a picture of me with the goat.

I loved that goat! I had never seen one before. I just pet him for a while.

Then, we got a picture of me with one of the horses that pulled the buggy.

After that, we left, because there was really no beating that experience. The buggy ride was amazing, and I just loved that goat.

So, I think the trip ended on a positive note. I wish we would have taken more pictures so I could post them, but I think the buggy ride was the best part of the trip. I really want to go back sometime, even just to see the goat!

It sounds even more fun in the winter. They have slay rides, pulled by the horses, and snow tubing. Unfortunately I don’t think I can ski.

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The lesson was on Tuesday instead of Monday, because I was at Seven Springs yesterday.

We got a bit of a late start, because we were talking about my Seven Springs trip, the goat, possibly returning to Duquesne, and my lesson next Monday, which will be at a different time, since it is Memorial Day. If you want to skip past all of the friendly conversation in the recording, I actually start playing around 7:20.

I learned 9 measures today. Not as much as last week, but still pretty good.

I wasn’t happy with how I played the prelude on her piano. It was very hard to voice and bring out the melody, and to play softly when required. Hopefully I can work on phrasing and such more this week. Still she said it seemed fast enough, so that’s very good news.

I was a bit confused with measure 15, but then we got back into the melody, albeit transposed, in measure 16. I did have to review a lot to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I can probably stop doing that so much, since I will now have a recording of each lesson.

I really love measures 21-23, but I’m not really sure how to play measures 22-23, as far as dynamics are concerned. I know there’s a crescendo around those measures, but then measure 23 pretty much repeats measure 22. I’ll have to find a recording.

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