Christmas music time is here

Those who work in retail may cringe at today's topic (trust me, I've been there) but I am so happy to be playing Christmas music again. Brian puts a ban on anything Christmas until December, so for my own peace of mind I just play it when he isn't home. I had such a headache when I started piano practice today but by the time I got through Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World and O Come all ye Faithful, my headache had just about disappeared. I don't like most of the Christmas pop songs, like Santa Baby and Blue Christmas etc., but I love the carols. On Christmas Eve we usually get together at Sally's; Clare and I trade off on piano duty while we all sing carols. I'm already looking forward to it! I'm also learning 2 pieces from Charlie Brown Christmas. It's all good!

Online journal

There is a journal for piano teachers called Keyboard Companion and some of its articles are freely available online. I discovered it last month and the articles are very interesting. The current editorial is about motivation and piano practice. The editor, Pete Jutras, says "ultimately, I loved the sound of some pieces so much that I would work for hours, weeks, and even months to teach my fingers how to recreate these sounds." He talks about giving students exercises that will let them experience the sound of a piece even when it is too difficult to learn all at once. This article resonated with me because I think it sums up the reason I play too quickly when I've just started a piece; many things just don't sound right at a slower tempo (except Bach, which always sounds good)! Also, it explains why I hated practicing scales; I am not one of those people who enjoys the sound of a scale, although I didn't mind the contrary motion scale exercise.

New music bliss

I have "finished" one Nocturne so Peter got me started on another one, in C#minor. I am very happy with it; I could play it all day long. It seems to suit November somehow. It is quite a contrast to the piece I'm learning in the Connections book which is a jazz waltz! With the accompanying band, I feel like I should be on a cruise ship! I also find myself singing it on the way to work, walking upstairs, while cooking supper... at least it is cheery, so perhaps it improves my mood!

Ensemble work (and shopping!)

Yesterday I went shopping with Helen and Sally so that Sally could buy herself a full-size violin. It was fun listening to her play different instruments within her price range and helping her to pick the one that sounded best. I think she bought a beautiful violin (and bow and case... sorry about your bank account Sally!). We then went to Music Plus and they picked up some new music. After that we came back to my house and played together. Helen and I had our first shaky run-through of the Pink Panther (we're really good at the opening page!) and Sally and I played through Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring. We also did some sight reading of Ashoran Farewell (violin and piano) and of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus (saxophone and piano). Sally also picked up a collection of classical pieces for violin and piano but she will have to let me know which ones she likes because they are beyond my sight reading ability. The collection has a version of the Chopin that I've just memorized, but in a different key! A very fun day.

Weekend practice

I find it difficult to practice on the weekend but I made myself sit down at the piano after watching Skate Canada and I actually had a really good practice. Perhaps I was inspired by those hard-working skaters. Peter listened to my Chopin again on Friday (played from memory) and he said I need to be careful because my left hand isn't very accurate. I'm determined to fix the problem and so spent a lot of time just going over the left hand part. The part is generally a base note and then 2 chords (usually 2 patterns per bar) and Peter says I falter on the 2nd chord quite often. He suggested playing it through using the right hand for the second chord. This forces you to actually read the notes rather than relying on physical memory of where your hand is positioned. I played it through once that way and then just left hand alone. I think it is sounding better. I'm not very good at repetition, I get bored very quickly, but sometimes it needs to be done!

Tangled up

Some days my fingers just don't work. I wonder if it is better to keep on practicing even though it sounds awful and sloppy or if on days like that you should just stop before you make things worse! Today I decided to stop; I guess it just isn't a Schubert day. I did manage to practice some other pieces before my fingers became too stubborn. Maybe a bad practice today will mean a good lesson tomorrow (because good practices sometimes have resulted in terrible playing at my lessons!).