C. Gurlitt- Dreaming (video)

[littletune]

Well... I haven't posted anything in the Audition room for a long time! (And I also have to start listening to recordings more again!!)... so I thought I would post this... especially because I posted recordings of my summer pieces in August (in the students corner) : https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=42631.0
and I played this piece "Dreaming" completely wrong!!!      When I listened to it today again I couldn't believe that I posted that!!!   
So I wanted to post a little better version now. I know it's not completely like it should be (and sometimes I play a little too fast and sometimes a little too slow... but I think it's better than in August (because then it wasn't anything really  )

Hope I'm not too annoying with my kiddie pieces! 

[kellyc]

Hi Littletune: What a delightful piece of music. Let me say that I did enjoy your playing and tell you that you connected with me your audience. My only negative statement I can make is your own opening description had me expecting something truly awful. It took you playing for 20 seconds or so, before I realized that was not the case. After you where done playing the melody was still in my head. I could see it branching off to so many  variations and left me filled with wonderful musical ideas. What more can you the player ask if not that.  Please post as you wish. After all you are the seasoned pro here and I just the newbie.

Thank you for a very nice song.

Kelly

[pianowolfi]

Hi Littletune, no you're not annoying at all

In my opinion it doesn't matter how easy or hard a piece is, if it's good music. And this is certainly good music and you play it very sensitively

To me it might be quite a bit faster though, as it says "Andantino grazioso" which is not really a slow tempo. In your interpretation it's already Adagio. It's actually a little dreamy waltz. I imagine a little girl in her room secretly dressed in a ballet costume, watching herself in the mirror and dreaming of a ballet performance. I'd try to play the second count of the measure much lighter than the first, which you do already, but it could be even a bit more.

Thank you for this little gem and please keep posting!

[littletune]

Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for your comment! You are really nice! And I really love the way you think about music and everything in your comments!!
And yes I guess I do that in my descriptions... I feel like I have to tell people about all the mistakes so they wouldn't expect too much and be disappointed then I guess. And I was really embarrassed when I heard that recording from August that was so wrong!   
I'm really glad you liked it!! Thank you!   

Hi Wolfi! Thank you so much too!! Do you know this piece?  Yes I was thinking that maybe it was a little too slow... I will try to play it a little faster... maybe I'll post that when my piano finally gets tuned!! (I think that would make it sound even nicer!)
Oh... that's really interesting about the little girl! It really reminds me of that little girl - angel (that picture that I posted on Facebook), you remember? She really loved wearing ballet dresses!    Thank you for your suggestions! 

[rachfan]

Hi littletune,

I'm glad you're posting some of your pieces again!    What you refer to as "kiddie pieces" are actually teaching pieces.  Gurlitt (1820-1901) was born in Germany and was a fine composer during the Romantic Age.  He was well-rounded but devoted considerable time to composing teaching pieces for the piano. These pieces have served generations of young pianists (yes, I played Gurlitt too).  Two other well-known composers who also contributed greatly to the teaching pieces genre were Heller and Burgmuller, whom you may have met already.  The reason Gurlitt's  music is still used by piano teachers today is because it's of very high quality and charming too. So when you play this piece, littletune, you're part of a great piano playing tradition!  

You have a good sense of "Dreaming" now.  Your playing is accurate, you have the pedal well under control, your phrasing is very good, you use appropriate touch as needed, you have good continuity, and you play with more expression than you did earlier on.  So I see much improvement.  

I do agree with wolfi's comments on your tempo.  Andantino grazioso means to be played a little faster then andante and in a graceful manner, but let me explain more about andantino.  Back in the Classical Era of music, in Italian the -ino ending, being diminuative form, meant less--that is, it was considered to be a bit slower than andante.  But starting at the dawn of the Romantic Age, composers began to think of it as being a little faster than andante.  It has caused confusion, even for Beethoven back in his time.  So because the Gurlitt piece is romantic, the latter meaning, a bit faster, would best apply to "Dreaming".  As you pick up the tempo, the important thing is not to overdo it such that your playing becomes error prone or ragged in any way.  So increase the tempo as best you can while preserving accuracy too.    

Keep up the good work!

David  
  

[m1469]

Hi Littletune-

Glad you posted!  Littletune, I wonder if you don't mind my asking if you could pinpoint where you feel your motion (any motion) at the piano begins for you physically?  Do you feel you have defined ideas on how you sit at the piano, or does that feel more exploratory for you at the time?  I ask because in viewing your hands, I feel you don't have a clear sense of them being centered and balanced at the piano, as well as there being much of your keyboard-to-physique focus there in your hands (almost solely in a sense).  Also, I could see your reflection in your fish aquarium, and I think that your physical sense of musical expression is focused in the back of your neck and on top of your shoulders (and in your upper back - and shoulder blades), as well as your physical "balance/center" being very high in that regard.

I apologize for going into this with you, but I feel it's too important not to!  As a teacher, I do not aim to, from the very beginning, seal my students in stone by making our lessons together 'about' posture and hand position and such more than them having a sense that our time together is about music first and foremost.  In fact, sometimes I'll let a student go quite awhile before we really start discussing this at all (though I'll bring things up selectively and as needed), as I believe that putting somebody in a physical box right away is just as bad a musical habit to develop as anything else.  

However, there are definitely principles to be learned and which must be developed, and they are important because having a handle on these principles are what allow a person to play bigger pieces and with greater ease, as well as truly opening the door to our deeper musical expression - which I believe you would like in your life.  The fact of it all is that most students just want something fun like a kind of toy and often don't end up sitting at the piano long enough to develop injuries or don't pursue it long enough to have a sense of what they are missing.  But, you are different - you are somebody I would be consciously exploring this with, at this point.  

If you feel this is more confusing than anything else for you, for me to post about, please do forgive - I feel I can't quite help myself, though!   

[littletune]

Hi Rachfan/ David Thank you VERY much for your comment!!! You really know a lot about all this!  And it's really interesting!  I'm really glad you wrote about all that! (I feel kinda important now ) Thanks! 

Hi m1469! Thank you for your comment! I really quickly read it yesterday - the longer version of your comment  (cause it was late already) ... if you want to post it again or if you want to tell me about it in a message that would be cool! But if you don't want to then it's ok too. 

[m1469]

Okay, well, I put it back now.  I hesitate to say that it truly does take time and application, and at the same time you can start to feel it in your body right away if you are kinesthetically aware.  I feel I took to some of it as though I were drinking water and even though I've had students who are consciously thinking about some of it, I don't believe I've ever seen anybody become entirely obsessed with it in the same ways I did, especially when I first started to become aware.  The important part of that statement isn't actually about me, but rather about the fact that I believe if there is a gap between the passing of information to it becoming knowledge, it can only be filled with a kind of deep desire to feel it resonate in your body/being.  While I am getting feedback from my teachers at this point, I started this before I met them and while I wasn't actually working with anybody, and even then it was a great help.  

What I think is most important as a first step for you regarding it, is your base and physical foundation, which is not actually your feet in this case (though they obviously play a role) but rather your "sit bones."  We actually have two bones in our skeleton which make it possible for us to sit as we do.  If you imagine yourself holding in front of you both of your fists, each *full* with threads from a giant bouquet of balloons, and then sitting on those fists (one under each bun), when we are sitting on our sit bones, it feels something like that (though not quite as acute).  The first step is to connect with those bones and to really feel yourself sitting/balancing on them.  I even go so far sometimes so as to imagine myself as not having legs and having only from my sit bones and up, and my sit bones are my feet, and that I am "standing" on my sit bones on the piano bench.  

Here are some images I found on google:

The sit bones (notice this is a view from the front):


How we sit on them (notice this is a view from the back):




And then a next most important part is your spine/neck and head.  We want to become very familiar with the sensation of sitting aligned as with the person on the left, below:




And, I say "aligned" because it's not just a matter of "sitting up straight like a good girl" but rather of allowing our spine to stack upon itself as it is meant to do, which actually causes us to be erect.  When we are sitting on our sit bones, this kind of balance is possible, and the head sits on top of the spine, balancing there, as well.  

I would also recommend reading "What every pianist needs to know about the body" by Thomas Mark, where it goes into this:

https://www.amazon.com/What-Every-Pianist-Needs-About/dp/1579992064


So, you want to become familiar with this balanced way of sitting but, there are two things to know about doing this:  

1)  It's a major adjustment and everything else will need to adjust, as well.  Which means, it's possible that things might seem to get worse for awhile (and there is more to your motions, as well).  

2)  We don't actually stay in this precise position all the time while playing (and shouldn't/can't), but an obsessed approach to finding it and feeling it (I made it my "default" position for quite awhile and for quite awhile aimed to *always* be sitting this way without moving out (partly because I didn't know any better)), as well as an obsessed approach to knowing what it feels like when you're not in it, are very important factors in developing your motions from there in an efficient and helpful way.  

There is more to this all, but that is a very good place to start.

[littletune]

Thank you very much m1469 for explaining everything and all the pictures (that second one is funny  it reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean - when they were skeletons  ). I will read everything and think about it and try to sit the right way! You know why I think I started to sit (and walk and everything) the wrong way? Because I kinda feel embarrassed cause I'm so tall and I try to make myself a little smaller and I know that's stupid, so I'll try to accept that I'm tall and that that's cool  I'm really glad you're tall too m1469!     I hope i can do this right! Thanks! 

[m1469]

Yes, well, our posture (and probably our technique in general) can be very psychological - I developed some of my posture "habits" for very psychological reasons, as well (but especially because I didn't know any better).  Normally I don't post about technique, etc., but this is not a whole lot different than you reading it in a book, which is what I did and hope you'll do.  In this case, my teacher-self stepped through my forum personality.  

The main point though is not just in doing what somebody tells you to do, but to be grasping the principles in what is in fact natural for our bodies.  The book I recommended goes into greater detail and while I am not trying to direct your studies and how you are being taught, there is no reason to hide from your teacher what you are thinking about regarding these things, if in fact you do find yourself working with the ideas.  Especially if you get the book!  Ideally you'd be working with somebody along the way who can observe you in person.

[littletune]

Thanks again m1469! I have been thinking a lot about all that... and I tried to sit the right way and it feels a lot better that the way I was sitting before... I'm not sure if I'm doing everything right but... I hope....
Oh that link that you posted... it kinda doesn't want to work  it says it can't find that site... but I'll try to find it somehow! 

[pianowolfi]

Here we go

https://www.amazon.com/What-Every-Pianist-Needs-About/dp/1579992064

[littletune]

Thanks Wolfi! 

[m1469]

Thanks again m1469! I have been thinking a lot about all that... and I tried to sit the right way and it feels a lot better that the way I was sitting before... I'm not sure if I'm doing everything right but... I hope....
Oh that link that you posted... it kinda doesn't want to work  :- it says it can't find that site... but I'll try to find it somehow!  

Well, ever since I brought it up with you, and ever since my whole perspective has been changing on my studio, I'm being a better enforcer with each of my students.  Which has also meant that my own thoughts on it and how to "teach" it are becoming more clear.  Perhaps I can make a video for you sometime soon.  

[littletune]

Well, ever since I brought it up with you, and ever since my whole perspective has been changing on my studio, I'm being a better enforcer with each of my students.  Which has also meant that my own thoughts on it and how to "teach" it are becoming more clear.  Perhaps I can make a video for you sometime soon.  

That would be REALLY cool!!