You did it! Tell us.

Animisha

This is a new "Achievement of the week - what got you excited?" thread. (I can change the title if you don't like mine.)

I'll start. Yesterday I tried to learn to increase the tempo of a piece I am learning. I divided it into sections of eight measures each, played each section first very slow, then at 35 mm and 40 mm (which I already had mastered), and the goal was to play that section correctly at 45 mm twice in a row.

This went well enough, except for the last section. I kept making mistakes, and correcting them with a ten times in a row didn't help, because I can easily play each measure correctly - the problem was that I got confused about what to play when.

So instead, I played the last measure correctly ten times in a row, at 45 mm. I did something else, and then I played the two last measures correctly ten times in a row. I did something else, and then I played the three last measures correctly ten times in a row. You get it!
And, just now, I have played the final NINE measures correctly TEN times in a row! 🎆🤸‍♀️

Anything you feel excited about that you would like to share with us? 😊

BartK

Animisha
That great Animisha!

If you get confused by slight variations in different sections you can try juxtaposing them and practice them alternating 1st version, 2nd version, 1st version, etc. Then, do them at random. It helped me in such situations.

Great that you were able to do it finally! 👍

Animisha

BartK I actually wrote in my score, with big letters: "1st", and two measures later, "2nd", in order to be more aware of which one should be played when.

ShiroKuro

@Animisha and @Pallas way to go!!!

Player1

Animisha

Find something in each phrase that sets it apart from the other one. Emphasize that on the page and you'll see it and know which is which every time because you'll automatically look for it.

Animisha

Pallas So, I did it! I did it!

Great, so brave!

Player1

I'm able to play page 1 (of 3) of Legend of Madrid without mistakes.

Now it's on to page 2.

Nightowl

Player1 I listened to that piece recently - I like it! 🙂 The next recital opens in about 6 weeks - do you plan to submit this piece?

Animisha

Player1 It is the sequence within the last phrase that got me confused.

Player1

Nightowl I listened to that piece recently - I like it! 🙂 The next recital opens in about 6 weeks - do you plan to submit this piece?

It's very Spanish Guitar in feel which makes it exotic sounding. The cadenzas on page 2 are actually fun though they look daunting. I was surprised at how easy they were to learn. In an hour yesterday I'd gone from turning to page 2, to playing all of page 2 and half of page 3. It's terrible, because first attempt, but I was doing it.

Maybe I'll submit it. There's a lot more coming my way after the new year so I could end up submitting something else. But, it's also nice knowing that I have something already in the bag (so to speak) and that takes pressure off.

We shall have to see where life takes us.

Player1

Animisha It is the sequence within the last phrase that got me confused.

This is what I'm talking about. There's something different in the phrases. Look for that difference, not the entire phrase, and that will key which of the 2 passages you play. It speeds up your eyes since you look at a specific place on the sheet for that key to the phrase. Finding it means you don't have to spend time looking at each note, measure or phrase while playing. That frees up your eyes to look for the next phrase key.

Reading: Some people are fast readers. They don't read letters, or even words. They don't even read in sequence. Instead they read sentence fragments and connect it all together inside their minds.

Piano playing: I don't read notes except when I'm first learning a piece. My goal is to connect the individual notes into an entire measure (a "word") and then connect those into a sentence (a "phrase"). When that's done I don't read the entire phrase. Instead, I read the parts of it which are only necessary to know which phrase it is. I then translate that into playing. To make that easier, I look for something in the phrase which sets it apart from other almost identical phrases.

In your case that difference is an alternate sequence. All you have to do is look for that sequence on the page and you'll automatically know which phrase to play. Because, of course, you learned the sequence and can put your fingers on autopilot while you search for the key to the next phrase to play.

Simonb

I played at my Teachers Christmas Piano recital yesterday. Only a very small affair, but I was still nervous. I did a medley of 2 Xmas tunes: A Nikki Illes arrangement of Silent Night (a homage to Thad Jones) then my own version of Santa Claus is coming to Town. I was the last pupil to play.

After me, my Teacher's son (17 or 18 yrs old) played Bach's Partita no. 1 on a wonderful Harpsichord, which I helped move to their house last week. Then he played another piece of Bach on Piano. He obtained a diploma at least 2 years ago and is now studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Needless to say he's very very good (much better than his Mum in fact). I'm glad he went last!

Cheers

Simon

Animisha

Simonb How brave of you to perform! 👏

Nightowl

Player1 Yes, the piece does have guitar characteristics - do you know if it was originally written for guitar? It seems like page 3 might be mostly a repeat of page 1, so from what you say you're almost there.

Your advice to @Animisha was very sound. I followed exactly the same method with a couple of pieces recently, where some repeats had very slight differences I highlighted the different notes and wrote a couple of reminders in the margin nearby. I find that just the act of doing that somehow seems to reinforce the information in my memory and then a glimpse of those coloured marks is all it takes to focus my brain as I approach those measures.

Simonb Well done! I've never played for anyone except my husband, it's a hurdle I'm not sure I could ever jump.

Animisha

Player1 I don't get your method. The final phrase is not a repeat with some differences, it starts with a truly new structure, and yes, is then followed by motifs that have been played before, but with a different left hand, and then the motif is followed by another motif that has been played before, but these two motifs were not played after each other earlier in the piece. So I needed to remember, this new structure, then this motif, than that motif, then this motif again but a variation of it and then only new material, jump here, jump there, move there, finished.

However, my method worked fine in finally learning the sequence. Ah! Maybe my mistake was to use the word sequence. I mean the order of the motifs.

Player1

Nightowl Yes, the piece does have guitar characteristics - do you know if it was originally written for guitar? It seems like page 3 might be mostly a repeat of page 1, so from what you say you're almost there.

It was written by Nancy Faber herself so I would assume it was originally written for piano but influenced by the Spanish guitar.

The form is A,B,A,Coda so the bottom half of page 2 to the middle of page 3 is a repeat of A, with a small variation at the very end before the Coda.

Player1

Animisha I needed to remember, this new structure, then this motif, than that motif, then this motif again but a variation of it and then only new material, jump here, jump there, move there, finished.

If this is what works for you, then it's what works for you. I'm happy that you're happy that you managed to play the piece. Because in the end, that's all that matters.