My grade 3 exam pieces

[littletune]

Well... I started thinking that there's not that much time anymore till my exam!!!  And I got REALLY worried!!! Because there's less than 2 months till then!!!  And I feel like I haven't learned the pieces at all yet! So I decided I will start posting them now, even though I'm not at all happy about how they sound! 

Today I will post two pieces that I have been practicing the longest but they are (maybe  ) the most difficult or at least they're the longest 
Well The first one is Sonatina (op.214 no.2) by C. Gurlitt (both movements are on the same recording). And the second movement should be piano most of the time, but it's just really difficult to play it quietly 

The second piece is from Flower Song by Gustave Lange (arr.) and I just started playing it with the pedal yesterday (we haven't even talked about dynamics with my teacher) and I was playing it with the quiet pedal (because I don't wanna bother the neighbours too much  ).

Well I will post this two pieces now cause I'm getting really nervous that I don't have enough time to learn all the pieces really well, and I also feel like I'm not allowed enough time to practice on my piano (cause of the neighbours) and that I'm having more problems because I'm practicing more on my keyboard than on my piano    (I mean does it sound like that?  ) oh well...
So if anyone has any advice or comment that would be great and if not I'll probably post again really soon anyway! 

EDIT: Bach's Menuet and Slovenian folksong (Kaj mi nuca planinca) are in the reply #5
F.Le Coupey, Etude op. 24/3 and Flower Song (without quiet pedal) second time in the reply #15

Recital from May 27 2011 in reply #16
Final recital from June 19 2011 in reply #17

[thinkgreenlovepiano]

Well as usual I can't really give you any good advice, I've never even heard your pieces before, but it sounds like you're doing well! Two months is a lot of time to polish everything! Don't panic! Hopefully someone else can post of better comment with real advice...

 

[perfect_pitch]

Greetings Littletune...

My impression of the Gurlitt was pretty good. All I'd say (since I don't know the piece) is that the quavers seem to sound a little too accented in pairs... You hear the left hand going

Loud, weak, Loud, weak

Try to think of the quavers as a bigger smoother lot approaching the end of the passage instead of in pairs. Also, the left hand loud notes do seem a little loud compared to the melody - try to soften the left hand a little more than the right, which should help the listener hear the melody.

Also - due to the grouping and accenting of the notes, it can be hard for the listener to hear the end d minor section time signature - for the first part, I thought it was 3/4, but then later the melody seemed to convince me it was 6/8. Is it 6/8? If so - ensure that there is a strong 1st quaver beat and only a weaker 4th quaver beat.



Lange - Flower song. The first note 'A' seemed just a tad too short. Try to connect it more to the B flat. It may not be slurred to the B flat, but I think it was just too short (unless it does have a staccato on it - but again - I don't know the music).

Also - sometimes you don't quite capture the C in the left hand pedal when you play. Pause after playing the first beat of every bar and listen to see if you've captured all the notes in the pedal you're supposed to.

Make sure the Left hand in the d minor section is softer and that after the little A Major cadenza like arpeggio - take a little more time before returning to the main theme.



Hope it helps you in your exam.   

[littletune]

Thank you Thinkgreenlovepiano!  Yes I guess it's not that little time... although it's less than a month now... but I guess 1 month and a half should be kinda enough if i practice a lot   

Greetings Perfect pitch! Thank you very much for all your advice!!   
Yes you're right I hear that about "loud week loud week" too I just don't know yet how to make it sound better... but I hope I'll figure it out!

Oh... do you mean the second movement? I didn't even know it was in d minor... I thought it was all in F major.  (we haven't been learning minor scales yet... just major ones  ), but yes the second movement is 6/8 time signature 

No the A isn't staccato, and I think it's really too short.

Yes I felt like I started playing the main theme too fast too, when I started playing after the cadenca I thought: Oh I should have waited a little longer! 
Thank you very much for all the advice!   

[perfect_pitch]

No problem... Glad I could help. I have a number of students entering exams - so whatever I can do to help.   

 

[littletune]

Well I decided to post two other pieces today. 

The first one is really easy, it's the easiest of all my exam pieces, so even though it was the last piece I started practicing I learned it really fast. But I haven't played it for my teacher yet (because on thursday when I had my piano lesson I forgot sheet music). So I'm not sure if I'm doing everything ok, but cause it's really easy I'll post it anyway. It's Slovenian folk song: Kaj mi nuca planinca (which would kinda mean: what do I need mountains for...  or something like that  it's kinda a funny song).

The second one is Bach's Menuet. I'm still not completely sure about the dynamics. And in the sheet music it says that the second part is mf, but my teacher said she likes it better if it's mp. And I thought that at first too, but now I can't decide which one would be better 

Well I'll post these two pieces now...   

[pianisten1989]

I want to make a video response like Birba, but my printer doesn't work, so I can't get the score! I'll try again tomorrow! Though, I will only make an audio respons. My video camera suuuuucks

[perfect_pitch]

Greetings Littletune...

Well... it's good to hear another few pieces from you.

First of all... I'd like to say that from a performance aspect - these pieces sound a lot more polished.

I really don't have much to say on them except for really, really tiny things.

For the Kaj mi nuca planinca... If I'm not mistaken (since I haven't seen the sheet music)... you have the dotted quaver and semiquaver rhythms. To me they don't seem rhythmically secure enough. They sound a bit like swung quavers. Ensure that in each of them the first dotted quaver is three times longer than the semiquaver.

As for the Minuet in G by Bach... the only thing I though was missing was maybe an ornamentation or something, especially on the first C# in the second half of the piece (RH). I thought it could do with a mordent or something.

As for the second section dynamics. I like having the second part a little louder than the first. The melody sounds so much more uplifting than the first part, so I think it needs to reflect that.

[littletune]

I want to make a video response like Birba, but my printer doesn't work, so I can't get the score! I'll try again tomorrow! Though, I will only make an audio respons. My video camera suuuuucks

That would be really cool!!  I hope your printer starts working!   

Greetings Littletune...

Well... it's good to hear another few pieces from you.

First of all... I'd like to say that from a performance aspect - these pieces sound a lot more polished.

I really don't have much to say on them except for really, really tiny things.

For the Kaj mi nuca planinca... If I'm not mistaken (since I haven't seen the sheet music)... you have the dotted quaver and semiquaver rhythms. To me they don't seem rhythmically secure enough. They sound a bit like swung quavers. Ensure that in each of them the first dotted quaver is three times longer than the semiquaver.

As for the Minuet in G by Bach... the only thing I though was missing was maybe an ornamentation or something, especially on the first C# in the second half of the piece (RH). I thought it could do with a mordent or something.

As for the second section dynamics. I like having the second part a little louder than the first. The melody sounds so much more uplifting than the first part, so I think it needs to reflect that.

Greetings again!   And thank you very much! 

Yes you're right about the dotted quavers! I guess I did make them a little too short, I'll try to make them longer! 

Well I've heard some people on youtube play this Minuet with ornamentation, but my teacher hasn't said anything about it and it's not in the sheet music either... I don't know maybe I'll ask my teacher about it.
And for the dynamics in the second part I guess we'll still have to decide with my teacher how I'll be playing... she said it sounded kinda nicer to her if it was quieter... and I can't decide  I guess it depends how you imagine it... like if you imagine it like you do, as uplifting then it should be louder and if you imagine it like my teacher does, as nice and gentle then it should be a little quieter... I guess  And I can imagine it as both and that's why I can't decide 
Thank you very much again for your advice!!   

[rachfan]

Hi littletune,

I believe that your playing has improved since they last time I heard you play.  I do agree with perfect_pitch on balancing of the hands.  This is something that you need to continue to work on.  

In the Sonatina, remember that the RH is melody (in the foreground), while the LH is accompaniment (only background).  The way to improve this is not to play the RH louder in an attempt to drown out the LH; rather, the trick is to lower the volume of the LH so that the RH melody naturally sings above it without competition.  Your ears will tell you when you succeed with that task.  

The Sonatina is written in a neo-classical way, that is, Gurlitt is writing in a musical style similar to that of the 18th century era of Haydn  and early Beethoven.  I don't have the music here, but it sounds nonlegato as you play it.  Are there legato phrase markings over the notes in the piece?  If yes, I think you could use a bit more pedal than you are right now.  It sounds very dry.  There are indeed a lot of what we call neighboring and passing tones which call for less and more careful pedal to avoid creating blurs from clashes of tones that are not harmonic.  But I think you could use some careful pedaling in places.  Think light touches.  You might want to ask your teacher about this possibility. But if the notation is clear that it be nonlegato, or if your teacher wants you to cultivate finger rather than pedal legato in this piece,  then forget the pedal idea and just follow your teacher's instructions.

In the Flower Song, the balancing of the hands is better except in the middle section.  There again practice using the above technique to get the LH more subdued.

You're doing well.  Keep practicing!  





  

[littletune]

Hi Rachfan! Thank you very much for your comment! 
Yes I know I still have to practice that left and right hand a lot! I know I'm still playing a lot too lound with my left hand a lot of times! But it's like if I start playing as quietly as I can with the left hand then my teacher usually says it's too quiet and that I don't press the keys to the bottom but just playing on top of the keys (or something like that, I don't know exactly how you say that in English). So I'm still having some problems with that, but I'm really trying to get better at it!! 

And yes the Sonatina is legato... so it's not ok if it sounds nonlegato... but there are no markings for the pedal and my teacher hasn't said anything about it... but I'll ask...

Yes I don't like the way I played that middle part in the Flower Song, I think I'm getting a little better at it now, but I still have to practice it a lot!  

Thank you very much for your comment and advice!!   

[emill]

Hi Littletune,

Niece pieces you play ... and you seem to handle it better than
before.  As I always tell Enzo, the journey must always start with
the 1st few and often small steps.  I think you are well on your way.

best wishes,

emill

[littletune]

Hi Emill Thank you very much for your comment!   
Well I'm still playing very easy pieces but I don't really mind... I know Enzo was playing a lot more difficult pieces when he was learning piano for as long as I am now. I mean I know some people only like playing more difficult pieces and they don't like easy pieces at all but I do I don't know why. I'm weird 

(Oh and I am thinking of posting a video of me playing at my recital in March... I even uploaded it on Youtube already - unlisted, but I'm still deciding ... cause I look so weird    ) 
Thank you for commenting! 

[ongaku_oniko]

I think you should listen to difficult pieces more.

I was the same as you; I always thought that my grade 4 pieces sound good, but the grade 10 pieces are so boring.

But as time passed, and as I listend more, I came to appreciate the harder pieces as well. Even more so than the simple pieces, now.

[littletune]

Oh but I didn't say I don't want to listen to difficult pieces! Cause I do! And I don't think they're boring. it's just that I like playing the easy pieces that I'm playing now... I'm not like some people who would rather not play at all than play easy pieces. I think all the pieces are great in their own way (the easy and the difficult ones). 
But I should really listen more to different more difficult pieces, cause I don't listen to them enough cause I guess I don't have enough time  ! But I will 

[littletune]

Now I will post the last piece that I still haven't posted: Etude op.24/3 F. Le Couppey, I think I should play it with more dynamics and I'm not sure if it should be faster or not... and I think maybe sometimes I play a little faster and sometimes a little slower...

And then I'll also post Flower Song again because the first time I played it with the quiet pedal and I hope I play it a little better already now 

And my birds, specially the little one is singing all the time  (She is not singing that much otherwise, but when I play she loves to sing)  and she stops singing when I stop playing and starts to sing when I start playing again 
And in the Flower Song you can also hear my cat because my mum didn't know she went to my room and she was looking for her and she got afraid that she jumped out the wndow... so she was calling her and offering her treats, but I didn't hear anything, but I guess my cat did, but the door was closed so she couldn't get out. Cause my cat comes into my room a lot of times when I start playing piano  

[littletune]

I'll post a recording of my recital from yesterday... I wasn't playing as well as I could  cause my hands were shaking so much... and in the first piece I made a mistake (that sounds kinda bad) and I was playing faster and faster and faster  And I also played the second movement of Sonatina kinda fast and in the beginning my fingers of the left hand got a little lost... but well I'll post it anyway (maybe I'll post a video too, later)...
I played Etude op.24/3 F. Le Couppey and Sonatina op. 214/2, C. Gurlitt. Just in case anyone wants to hear 

[littletune]

Well today I finally put things from the camera onto my computer and listened to the recording from my final (third grade) recital that was on June 19th 2011  So I decided to post the recording today before I go on vacation (tomorrow for 11 days!  ). I will probably post the video too (and all the videos from all my recitals  ) when I come back, but this video is turned on the side cause my mum was holding the camera wrong  ).

But well this is the recording 
(I don't know why I started to play faster at the end of the first part, and I stopped for a little too long once towards the end of the second part, cause I got a little confused, and I completely messed up the beginning of cadenza  but well my mum said she didn't notice any mistakes at all  )

Oh that sound someone made when I stopped playing (I didn't hear it then, I heard it today for the first time), was that because someone was suffering so much while I was playing, or because someone liked my playing?     

Oh I played Flower Song (G. Lange).

[pianowolfi]

Hi littletune, this is very beautiful! I think you are making a lot of progress!
I like that piece! And you're on a very good path at exploring the romantic style!
That sound of a listener at the end sounds entirely positive to me!

[littletune]

Thank you very much Wolfi!    Yes I was hoping that sound was positive too but I wasn't completely sure  And I really like this piece too and it was my mum's favorite of all my exam pieces.    Thank you Wolfi!!!