Die Schwalbe - Friedrich Bergmüller

Seeker · 2025-01-08T03:29:43+00:00

I'm starting another playlist of pieces for students and advanced beginners through intermediate level players. I think I've hit the "sweet" spot on the micr...

Sophia

Seeker It's not just exercises.

I hear that! Very pretty indeed, doesn't sound like an exercise whatsoever. The second one you linked to is even prettier. Thanks for sharing - once I finish my Alfred book I now have even more options to choose from for further learning. Not sure if I should be grateful for having so many options, or frightened of having too many options (joking! joking!!!) 😃

Josephine

Gooseberry

I really like the pieces you mentioned, especially la cloche des matines. I do think you can try Op 109 by the way. Your recordings are always so good. And you have a very beautiful touch and tone.

Gooseberry

Josephine Thank you so much, you are too kind! 🥰
But I have already crushed and burned trying to play too difficult pieces several times, so at least for this year I have decided to stay in the more or less safe zone by tackling pieces that I know I can learn with a reasonable amount of effort, and only sometimes adjusting (i.e. slowing down) the indicated tempo to my own abilities and preferences (like in Burgmuller, where the original tempo seems sometimes quite crazy or even unpleasant to me).

Gooseberry

Seeker Yes, I believe Fausto Bongelli recorded the whole opus 100 and 109 by Burgmuller. I’m very much looking forward to listening to your interpretation of La cloche des matines! 😀

Seeker I would shake up your day by asking you to play it in 3 different keys... Do consider giving that sort of thing a try.

Thank you for the hint, I will try transposition at some point for sure. For now though it might be too big a shake-up for me – the mere process of learning the pieces as they are is sometimes quite overwhelming...

Seeker

Gooseberry I don't know how you learn new pieces, but... if you take a phrase, or a motif at a time, that can be helpful. And, e.g., if something is in C major, doing just one hand of that C major 2 or 4 bar section at a time in say, D, becomes possible. Keep the fingering the same. You'll get dividends from tactile awareness of the other key.

Gooseberry

Seeker Yes, transposing only a small section, such as one hand of a single phrase, of something simple, sounds much less overwhelming. I will try it this way. Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it 🙂

Seeker

Gooseberry ...and, over time, if you work regularly a little at a time, your ability to do longer phrases, go to more remote keys, will grow organically, and you will surprise yourself with how much more fluent you have become.

alex-plays

@Seeker, The audio is much improved. The microphone placement suits your room and instrument much better, now, IMHO.

Seeker

alex-plays Thanks. Mic is in the same place; the difference is in opening the lid of the piano about 1.5 inches. Everything else the same. Thanks for listening and commenting. More pieces coming now.

Seeker

Gooseberry Thank you for the recommendation!

Gooseberry

Seeker Thank you, that was lovely (and I like that you added the transposition, too)! After listening to you play it so beautifully I like the piece even more now, and think that maybe I can try to learn it. We'll see 🙂

Seeker

Gooseberry and I like that you added the transposition, too)!

It DOES sound different in F#, at least to my ears, even in equal temperament, and as I wrote, there is real benefit to being able to play on all those black keys without having to think about it (eventually).