LESSON PAGE.  HURWITZ

JANUARY 14
Focusing on sight-reading and looking ahead at the music:
​
  1. Using easier pieces from the sight-reading portion, practice the system we discussed:
    1. Look and analyze the first measure
    2. Prepare your hands
    3. Look at the second measure
    4. Looking at the second measure, play the first measure
    5. Repeat with the next measure
  1. Technique and applied theory concepts
  2. Technical exercises: Scales, Hanon, Czerny
  3. Sightreading: Provided here
  4. Repertory:
    1. Satie: Gymnopédie Nr.1
    2. Beethoven: 1st mov of the Moonlight Sonata
    3. Albéniz: Tango

Scales.  Levine Curriculum Level THREE
(Keys: C, G, D, A, B, F Major.  A, E, D, G, C, F minor)

LEVEL 3 C MAJOR
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LEVEL 3 A MINOR
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NOVEMBER 26
When you practice your technical routine, Rather than doing a lot in one day and nothing on other days, it is better to practice a little bit every day that you set up the piano before you practice your regular pieces

Sight-reading exercises

bach--notenbuch-anna-magdalena.pdf
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JANUARY 14
Use these exercises for reading ahead sight-reading.
schäfer_sight_r._exercises_book-1.pdf
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schafer_sight_reading_book-2.pdf
File Size: 3039 kb
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schäfer_sight_reading_book-3.pdf
File Size: 1258 kb
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CZERNY-GERMER Etudes
CZERNY-GERMER exercises 1+2
File Size: 216 kb
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NOVEMBER 26
When you have a chance, please send me an audio or video recording of 1-2-3-4.

Examples for 1 and 2.  See visual examples on the right. --->

After 1 and 2, proceed with 3 and 4:  See visual examples on the right. --->
czerny-germer_vol_1.pdf
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BEETHOVEN.  Moonlight Sonata
​First movement (Adagio sostenuto)

JANUARY 14
After the recording, we played the piece at live at the lesson.
  • The recording: Some wrong notes are not that important. More important was lack of anticipation, and lack of reading ahead of what you were playing at that moment.
  • The tempo was also a factor.  too fast a tempo influenced your ability to think ahead.

Playing live at the lesson. Technical aspects:
  • ​We had to start over a few times.  Why do you think that was happening? 
    • ​Start slower to give yourself more time to think and anticipate what is coming at you
    • When you practice, avoid just playing from the beginning to the end. Play reading ahead to exercise your anticipation.
Playing live at today's lesson. Interpretation/musicality aspects:
If you are too worried about the notes, the musicality most likely will not be your first priority.  
The moment you were not as worried about he notes, your playing improved instantly.

I will keep below the notes on musicality we talked about on previous lessons:
  • Major key: optimist, hope. //. Minor key; introversion, nostalgia
  • Slow down a bit in the intersection between Major and minor
  • Diminished chords: Drama, urgency, gravity
Humanize your playing: incorporate your breathing in playing.
BEETHOVEN Moonlight 1st mov
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moonlight._urtext_barenreuter_2_id.pdf
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SATIE.  Gymnopédie Nr.1 and Nr.2

SEPTEMBER 17
​Send me a recording somewhere around Tuesday next week
Here is an example of labeling chords in the 1st Gymnopédie
SATIE with some labeled chords
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ALBENIZ.  Tango

SEPTEMBER 17
​Key signature: D Major. Two sharps:  F# and C#
Main chords in D Major:  I - IV - V  (D Major, G Major and A Major)
Organize your practice:
  1. Learn the most important notes, steady pulse and counting
  2. After it feels confident you can add the ornaments, grace notes, trills, etc.
ALBENIZ Tango
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