master the piano

Bach-Recital went well. I stumbled a tiny bit at the end, but finished the piece successfully with all of the phrasing and styling elements that were planned.

Barber-Haven’t worked on this piece in a little while.

Beethoven-I now am working on Piano Sonata 6. This is my new stretch of the year.

A new year, a new repitoure.

I got Bach’s first 3-part invention and owned it. I have it memorized already (recital is in December) and just have to polish up the phrasing and dynamics.

I got Beethoven’s Piano Sonata number 20 and had it memorized in a week then self-polished in a few weeks after that (since my first lesson this year, I have run though both movements with my teacher and have some minor things to work out yet). I may or may not be moving on to Beethoven’s 19th Piano Sonata.

I got a Barber Excursion. It has owned me so far—I can play it but not well, not from memory, and lacking any sort of stable beat, dynamics, or relaxed technique. Its my stretch of the year.

Ah well—first recital is in December (playing the Back Sinfonia) then the competitions are partway into next year. More than enough time.

I got both Chopin’s Valse No. 69 and Bach’s 15th Invention (2 part) memorized and polished…now I have a Hyden (SP?) movement of some Sonata which is slow, really cool, but ungodly hard…

I’m looking forward to it.

-Asmithar

I am doing well…

I have learned Chopin’s Valse No. 69 and Bach’s Invention 15 on my own (and memorized the first) in the past 3 weeks (of which only the last week was spent on Invention 15). Once I go to my first piano lesson of the new school year on the 16th, though, I’m sure my teacher will find many faults with the songs…

At least I proved to myself that if I really wanted to I could learn the piano a lot faster than I currently am (read: instead of practicing 0 minutes a day, 45 minutes is favorable)...

-Asmithar