Breaks

[in_love_with_liszt]

Well yesterday, and it looks like today as well, I've had alot of projects and homework to do, and haven't been able to touch a piano. I have been trying to convince myself, but I think I won't beleive it unless i hear someone tell it to me-not practicing for a few days won't ruin your playing. I think it's a result of 10 years of my teacher pounding a practice every day schedule into my head.

[donjuan]

not practicing for a few days won't ruin your playing.

-there, I said it.  Feel better?

Perhaps you know the quote of Liszt:
-------------
If I miss one day of practice, I notice.
If I miss two days of practice, my wife notices.
If I miss three days of practice, the public notices.
-------------

yeah, that probably didnt make you feel any better....
If you dont mind my asking, what are the projects and homework you had to do?
donjuan

[in_love_with_liszt]

Ack my projects: My website and US history summer homework  

[donjuan]

obviously US history is very important to you, so you have your priorities set out.  Usually, a few days break from the piano will do one of two things: Ruin your whole repertoire, so you will have to spend an afternoon getting it all back; or refresh your mind and give you a brand new form of enthusiasm.

oh, I visited your website...I dont really know what to think- What is it all about?  I just left a comment to the post about phobias..
donjuan

[in_love_with_liszt]

It's a blog website....but I also am going to post art and scans of clippits of my compositions, and sample mp3s of me playing stuff. Yeah and I might eventually be working on an online cartoon with a friend, if all goes well....yeah I still have some basic formatting stuf to do too....thanks for going though...although I followed the link to what you put down as your website....that was pretty darn sketchy...do you really have a thing for Hillary Duff? I was quite confused...

[donjuan]

what the hell???!!! I didnt put anything down as my website,- I left that blank, well, blank.

Somehow your links messed up something....There must be a problem on your end or mine, I dont know- one of us has viruses or something.
I did not put down any hilary duff porn thing...

what the hell is going on??!!

donjuan

[in_love_with_liszt]

Yeah I was pretty darn confused....well if you're hiding something you should just say it! I'm just kidding...if you really diddnt' put down that porn site that's really creepy....I don't know how that even happened then...

[donjuan]

I am really not lying to you.  Although right now, I am typing on my sister's laptop.  Maybe her computer is messed up.  hmm...maybe another day, I'll leave another comment, but use the other computer.

man...that really sucks.  Can you find a way to delete my comment, or something?
donjuan (aka oreo)

[in_love_with_liszt]

I don't want to delete you comment, but I'll try to remove or at least block the link....sorry for the sarcasm, I beleive you....anyways yeah i'll go try that

[in_love_with_liszt]

k, I did it, no more.....risky websites being promoted...lol I should have some music posted soon on the bright side....

[donjuan]

ok, now I am on my other computer.  Should I try to leave another comment?- see if the other site pops up?

[donjuan]

k, I just checked it out.  Seems like you have it working now. -turned it into an emailing link.

[in_love_with_liszt]

lol do it! this is a mystery......

[in_love_with_liszt]

ok...glad we got that one sorted out....lol.....now the real creepy thing is how did that get there when you were using your sisters computer....? creepy....

[donjuan]

yeah, it didnt happen again! whew..
no more hilary duff porn!
Hey, lots of luck with the site!  I bet it will be really interesting.  Please let me know when you get music up on it.  
Thanks,
donjuan

[donjuan]

ok...glad we got that one sorted out....lol.....now the real creepy thing is how did that get there when you were using your sisters computer....? creepy....

I go to pianoforum on my sister's laptop while watching TV.

[in_love_with_liszt]

Ahhh TV...I wish there was something on there that I liked...although I do enjoy randomly some comedy shows...friends...Raymond....

[donjuan]

Well, youve mentioned you like Star Trek.  Do you watch Voyageur?
and I bet you like the simpsons...

[in_love_with_liszt]

lol I grew up with the Starship Enterprise, and captain Jean-Luc Picard.....and yes later on I fell in love with Voyager as well....although true I've seen some Sipson episodes and I think it looks like a really funny show, I never was really able to get into it when I was young and everyone else was watching it because my parents forbid me to watch it.....so I never really developed a fondness, but yeah I have seen some episodes and it's funny.

[in_love_with_liszt]

oh and btw I did have a chance to post some new stuff one my site, including a pdf file of the first page of one of my "Fundamental Studies." It's a fairly simplistic concept, both hands do basically the same thing for alot of the etude, but the difficulty lies in getting the chords up to the speed I expect them to be, so it is really an effective etude. It's a little sloppy, and the scan job wasn't that great, but when you're composing your mind tends to get ahead of you and you make mistakes...so yeah. I'll go back and redo it sometime, right now I'm trying to sort out the flash file crisis I'm encountering for my about me page though. Yeah anyways I plan to post snippits of some of my compositions, and later some samples of me playing them for download and play....

[donjuan]

cheers! It's great you got it up there.  I just printed it out!  Yeah, I can definately see the Alkan-Liszt influence in the style you chose!  What did you use to write it?  A grease pencil?  or a pen? it sure doesnt look like pencil..

anyways, Ill take a look at it-maybe even sightread some of it..I like your notation style- very neat and organized.  I can easily understand the rhythm as soon as I saw it.

donjuan

[donjuan]

Ok, I had a look at it and I have a few comments..

are you sure you dont mean "tarantella" instead of tarentella?

I played through it slowly- It was easy to learn the notes, but playing it at any speed is difficult, especially in those five note diminished chords with the F#.

I like your work!  It reminds me so much of Liszt.  The only change I would do are dynamics markings, and maybe a staccatissimo marking at the beginning to suggest the chords should have a great deal of bite to them.

just a thought..

[Stolzing]

So can I get that Hillary Duff porn link?

[donjuan]

Stolzing, you forgot the (j/k) sign at the end of your post.

[Stolzing]

[in_love_with_liszt]

Hey Donjuan, sorry I haven't replied to anything for a few days, my family decided to go on a random vacation...so I haven't gotten a chance to play piano for like 6 days now...I'm a little afraid to go down and touch it....anyways thank you, yes I did mean "Tarantella" ...I honestly thought that was how it was spelled or something...thank you though, it is meant to be "alla Tarantelle." Well I'm not sure what you concider fast or slow, but I think the best speed is somewhere around quarter note=105-130 depending on the variation. The first variation should be up there close to 130 and later ones (with some crazy-ass chord jumping) down more on the 105 end. What was giving you trouble, just the diminished 7 chords (ii7, vi7, vii7)?

[in_love_with_liszt]

oh and if you were wondering (I think you were) I use a felt tip, 90% grey Prismacolor marker, the semi-fine tip side for notes, and the thick side for the numbers of the etude (it says "2" very boldly at the top of the page, that's my second "Fundamental study"...the first one should come soon, along with the third, "Sous La Pluie" (in the rain)) Oh and I'm doing transcriptions of the Transcendental Etudes....that should turn out interesting, so far I've only done the first part of "Chasse Neige" transcribing the piece for the left hand alone.

[donjuan]

geez, you are REALLY busy!

Please excuse my ignorance, but I dont know what "(ii7, vi7, vii7)" means.  I know you are using roman numerals (2-7, 6-7, 7-7) but what does it mean?

I am most interested to see what you will do to the Transcendental etudes!

Sorry you are getting behind in practicing.
donjuan

[in_love_with_liszt]

hmmm have you taken a music theory class? then you should know what a ii chord is and what a vi chord is, and what a vii chord is....and the "7" means it's a seventh chord...in otherwords has five notes...the extremes being a seventh away from each other...if you don't understand I can try to explain it...but yeah, in the first theme sequence the chord progression is a i chord in the key of G minor...the second chord is a ii7 (A, C, Eb, F#) yeah that's what a diminished 7th chord is...A and F# are a diminished seventh apart...yeah this would be hard to understand if you didn't take a theory class or the theory class was poor and somehow didn't cover this.....yeah I've been busy...not doing things I wish I was though. Vacations,  shmaycations....who needs em?  

[donjuan]

Yeah, my theory is really not where it need to be.  I have some huge gaps in my technique and theory- the main reason why I will never pursue a musical career.  I really should take a music theory class, but I have too much other stuff going on right now.  Sometimes I can recognize the chords from the way they are on the page, but I dont know too much of the terminology..

[in_love_with_liszt]

if you take a theory class just be sure to find a good teacher, it makes all the difference.