Fantasie Impromptu Project

[birba]

You're right! I'm quite ADDICTED to the piano, for the first time in my life!! Someone must have put a spell on me. I wonder who? Well, my piece is all a muddle when I try to speed up in the beginning. Very frustrating!     At this rate, it will be years before I can play this piece completely without muddling up. I have a feeling AJ and Birba would have bid me goodbye by that time.   
And I'll be the laughing stock of this forum!

I keep insisting on saying that speed does not enter a great deal into the success of an interpretation, but no one seems to listen to me!  If you've got it at a moderate tempo with the musical intentions ingrained into every note, it works!  Believe me.  Certainly not if you hammer out every 16th note like Hanon, but if you've got that micro crescendo and diminuendo in every two bars and the gemeral spirit of the piece, it works!!!!!  If you can do it at your tempo with the greatest care in tone and sonority levels, that's enough for now.  Leave it.  and start something else.  Your project here has been an inspiration for many.  And I admire you're stanima and musical integrity! 

[dire_tonic]

DT:  I'll bet you don't realize how funny you are! Muddle-free tempo! ROFL!!  62 - 63 is my muddle-free tempo. When I play without the metronome, I play faster, who knows what tempo, but bar 7-8 gets muddled up, especially on the descent. Also, bars 11- 12. Of course, I've only been working on them for two days. It's been at least 3 weeks since I played this passage HT. Yeah, I'll try the met using the 1/4 note instead. But it shouldn't make a difference, should it? Strangely, I go way over 62 when I'm playing the octave passage with the thumb accents. I was kidding about it taking me years. I really don't think it will and I feel quite confident that I will complete this piece in a few months time.  

EDIT: I tried the metronome using the quarter note and I can't do it. I'm too used to using the half note.  

MARG:  No to pain! Yes to gain! Except weight gain!!  LOL! And thank you for your constant and unwavering support and encouragement. I may have moments of doubt but deep inside, I know I'll get this piece done.

For sure,  7/8, 11/12 and any other tricky spot is going to make metronome discipline v difficult - I certainly can't maintain my initial comfort tempo, nothing like.  Other than as a progress marker, I'm not convinced of the usefulness of the metronome for this piece anyway, providing one has a reasonable sense of rhythm and can hold the 3-4 thing together (you can!).  If you look at Yundi Li's FI he's around 90 up until bar 13 when he falls back to 80-ish, then add in the rubatos and...time to turn the metronome off!

EDIT:  I hadn't moved onto page 9 in my browser before posting so I've only just spotted Birba's post - yes, you've hit the nail on the head!

[dire_tonic]

I don't agree with the consensus, if there was one in the first place. Candlelight will not take years to complete this piece. She learns really fast and she's highly motivated and determined. I have confidence in her. Pity you don't.

Sueyin, Ouch!  Of course I have confidence in Choo, but I hope she doesn't feel she's under pressure to meet a deadline or a performance target.
Regarding 'consensus'; I often see mentioned that this is an advanced piece normally tackled by students with many more years than Choo has under her belt.  I think you said so yourself.

In any case, whatever may be the 'norm' doesn't make her ineligible to take on FI or unable to achieve her goal with the piece - I'd be the first to concede that and I've never doubted her determination.

By the way, "string of takes";  a 'take' is a recording.  (take 1, take 2 etc etc...)

[candlelightpiano]

BIRBA: Thank you. You made my day.  Start something else? You mean another piece? But I am a long way from completing this piece. I want to complete it. Don't give up on me. I've only been working on it for less than two months. Plenty of stamina left!!

DT:  I don't feel under any pressure to meet any deadline. I've never had a deadline to complete this piece. I always figured that I would be working on this piece for the rest of my life after completing it, as a piece I would constantly be trying to improve upon. I undertook this piece as a challenge to myself that I could get past the first 8 bars!! And complete it. Regarding my piano education background, even though I only had lessons for 2 1/2 years, it was an accelerated program and by the time I quit (boredom), I was playing pieces at Gr 6 - 7 RSM level. But it's been 19 years since my last piano lesson so I've forgotten most everything I learned, if I learned anything at all!  I didn't have good teachers.

AJ: I've had my ups and downs with the new method you showed me for bar 13. On the first day, it worked really well, maybe because I had a week's break from piano. Yesterday, it was quite a mess. So I will record my practice today to show you how I've been working on it so that you can tell me if I'm doing it correctly or not.  I had a lot of trouble with the pinky accents yesterday.

EDIT: Thank you, Sueyin, for your confidence in me.

[sueyin]

Regarding 'consensus'; I often see mentioned that this is an advanced piece normally tackled by students with many more years than Choo has under her belt.  I think you said so yourself.

Yes, I said that, but this pc is recommended in the Fundamentals of Piano Practise for someone with two years of piano lessons so she qualifies! Reg her stamina, she has only been practising this pc since early Dec so it's not so long ago. For my exams, I play three pcs all year long. That's stamina! And sooooooo boring! But she has inspired me to begin this pc again and join you guys. I hope I can catch up.

[candlelightpiano]

I keep insisting on saying that speed does not enter a great deal into the success of an interpretation, but no one seems to listen to me!

Birba, I always listen to you!   I have the highest regard for your opinion.

[dire_tonic]

Yes, I said that, but this pc is recommended in the Fundamentals of Piano Practise for someone with two years of piano lessons so she qualifies!

I didn't know that!

Reg her stamina, she has only been practising this pc since early Dec so it's not so long ago. For my exams, I play three pcs all year long. That's stamina! And sooooooo boring! But she has inspired me to begin this pc again and join you guys. I hope I can catch up.

Good to have you along, I'm sure Choo will be delighted.  A few more participants and we can establish the University of Opus 66!

[candlelightpiano]

[quote author=dire_tonic link=topic=44068.msg490000#msg490000 date=1328439182
Good to have you along, I'm sure Choo will be delighted.  A few more participants and we can establish the University of Opus 66!
[/quote]

  You crack me up!

[candlelightpiano]

xx

[costicina]

Brava Choo!! You've made significant progresses!!!
What I appreciate most is how you are able to put in practice all the useful advices from Birba e AJ: great attention to the right fingers/hand/wrist movements, and to the musical intention. Really a great job, and a striking example for us... Keep on!!!!

[costicina]

You are sooo right, Birba (as always)

[candlelightpiano]

MARG: Thanks. There's still a lot of problems with that passage though. I noticed on the video how stiff my LH was and I have a tendency to forget the LH. Birba mentioned it on his first video for me, which is no more (the video, I mean) but I just remembered today so I'll practice hands separately and try and get a more rolling action in my LH for the whole piece. It should help!  That Prokofiev Scherzo is terrific. Evalina doesn't play it slowly, though. Isn't that the correct tempo? This is the first time I've heard it so I don't know what tempo it's supposed to be. You should include her in the Attractive Pianists thread.

AJ: Do you think my wrists should be higher off the keyboard? Yours look higher. I'll work on a rolling action for my LH too. I keep forgetting my LH until I see it on video.  Will also do the exercise for each group of 16th notes, maybe add the accents, too, while cycling through them? I'll make another video of same passage in a couple of days. This passage is my biggest problem for this piece.

[ajspiano]

AJ: Do you think my wrists should be higher off the keyboard? Yours look higher. I'll work on a rolling action for my LH too. I keep forgetting my LH until I see it on video.  Will also do the exercise for each group of 16th notes, maybe add the accents, too, while cycling through them? I'll make another video of same passage in a couple of days. This passage is my biggest problem for this piece.

There's an enormous amount I can add at here following mine and your video, but just to quickly answer your wrist question I'm going to say "maybe".

Thing is, while I effectively have a set of guidelines for finding an efficient motion, it is a ROUGH guide. The decision is made on 'feel'. Its hard for me to judge your motion because I'm not sitting in a lesson with you saying....

"try this, how does that feel? now try this, does that feel better? What if you did this? see how that one works better than that one because of the feeling it creates in your wrist (or other relevent place).."

...Which is how I would be talking to you if the purpose of the lesson was technique/motion as opposed to any of the other huge number of factors that go into playing the piano. Within a single lesson I would be aiming for you to have completely understood and be able to do this whole passage (say 13-24), which is absolutely a reasonable goal because you already know the notes backwards.

Try this..  notice how comfortable the circular motion of the forarm/wrist is. With the arm/wrist slightly higher on the middle notes and lower on the octave. Try doing that in reverse..  higher on the octave, lower on the middle notes.. It feels AWFUL.

That is how to answer your wrist question - Don't worry about whether it looks like mine.. Does it FEEL better higher or lower.

[candlelightpiano]

I played the passage with higher wrists. It was more tiring but maybe looks better. I'll have to videotape and take a look.

[ajspiano]

I played the passage with higher wrists. It was more tiring but maybe looks better. I'll have to videotape and take a look.

Being more tiring is obviously a bad sign. I would stick to the way it was then since that feels better for you.

I think the challenge for you now is going to be about integrating the more fluid comfortable motion into playing HT.

[candlelightpiano]

The whole octave passage IS  a challenge! I have a feeling I'll be working hard on it for the rest of my life!! It's my biggest hurdle so far, and I haven't been able to hurdle over it well.    I'll work the fluid motion into the rest of the 16th note groups for a couple of days with the thumb and pinky accents, then put them HT and see how it goes. Will make another video in a couple of days. I think doing that will give you a better idea how it's working.

Well, I plan to continue putting the whole piece together (I began today) as well as I can in order to complete it. Once I've completed it, I'll put it on "vacation" and return to it after that.

Fink's video is excellent. I'm about a third of the way through. Need to make time for the daily exercises. I was hoping to watch the whole thing tonight but it was a lot more "involved" than I expected it to be. Thanks for recommending it, AJ and Marg.

[costicina]

I keep insisting on saying that speed does not enter a great deal into the success of an interpretation, but no one seems to listen to me!  If you've got it at a moderate tempo with the musical intentions ingrained into every note, it works!  Believe me.  Certainly not if you hammer out every 16th note like Hanon, but if you've got that micro crescendo and diminuendo in every two bars and the gemeral spirit of the piece, it works!!!!!  If you can do it at your tempo with the greatest care in tone and sonority levels, that's enough for now.

This stunning performance  is a perfect demonstration of Birba's point: you can play a piece much slower than it's supposed to be, and make a masterpiece out of your rendition:

I wish I could play Suggestion diabolique in this way 

[dire_tonic]

 - it's definitely comming along, I thought the poise of your hands looked so much better than before!

The pinkie-thumb section (bar 13 on) is one of several serious trouble spots for me also but something I've started to do when using the digital piano which I think is helping is to practise with both the reverb switched off and NO sustain pedal.

You'll probably hate it because nothing could sound less flattering but the advantage is that one hears much more starkly any bad timing/missing notes and blemishes in general.  As soon as I hit a weakness I try and run a looping exercise but making it as short as possible, just to cover the weak spot and a few notes either side.

There's an upside too. Once you allow yourself to restore the sustain and/or reverb, it immediately sounds like a million dollars by comparison. 

Give it a try, see what you think...

[candlelightpiano]

Sure, I'll give it a try w/o pedal and reverb. I'm sure any unevenness (in my case, there will be plenty!) will be apparent without the pedal to create the sustaining effect. Will let you know how it goes. Don't know if it will be any help in the pinkie accents of the octave passage though. That's a tension problem. I don't think you have any problems with this area at all. I think Birba said you fired it off like a machine gun or something to that effect!  LOL!  Another problem area is bars 33 - 34, esp 34 HT. Always messing up.  

EDIT:  OK. So I tried it without pedal and reverb. I actually kind of like it! Definitely the unevenness showed up. I also used the on board recorder to listen to the evenness. The accents on the octave passage sounded very choppy so working on them HS, then with the exercises, and HT. Haven't gone beyond the octave passage w/o pedal yet.

I notice this topic gets about 100 views a day. Who's watching and what's so fascinating about this project? Maybe it's like American Idol, you know, seeing a hopelessly untalented but hopeful contestant (me) trying to learn a very challenging piece and messing up all over the place! So I'm kind of like William Hung without the charm! LOL  Then, there are the talented ones (you!) making it to the finals! Ha ha ha!

[ajspiano]

AH HA! zoecalgary joins piano st.

I suspect a new thread follower.

Also, I clearly spend too much time trawling through PS.

[zoecalgary]

Hi everybody! Yes I have been following along with Choo's (and all you others) journey with the FI piece! I first heard of it through piano world but have been following this thread as much as that one.

I'm afraid I am no way near capable in attempting this piece (yes, even with Choo's encouragement) but I have found the journey enjoyable and motivating to follow! For fun I showed this to my teacher and she told me it may be approaching a grade 10 RCM level. Well to give you
Some context about me. I took organ lessons for about 5 years as a teenager and then stopped. Last spring I decided to go back to music and decided to learn piano (something I always wished I could do!) I started lessons in May and am currently working towards my RCM grade 4 And my exam is going to be in April. I guess those organ lessons helped but I very much struggle with appropriate touch and dynamics. In organ those things were done quite differently.

Anyway I am loving lessons, am totally addicted to playing, and learning as much as I can. I have about 1 -1.5 hours practice per day (sneaked in between family and children responsibilities). I love these forums and have learned so much. It is great to cOme to a place like this and share in this passion for piano.

Anyway, thanks to all of you I look forward to seeing more of your lessons and progress with this piece! All the best to you!

[candlelightpiano]

ZOE: Welcome! I'm so glad you're on board with us for our joyride! If I can do this, so can you!! I'm not saying I CAN do this but I've almost completed this piece though it will take a long while before I can make it sound fairly good, like Dire Tonic's. Well, of course I will someday be able to play as well as DT ......NOT!! Ha ha ha!  But I'm trying.  Again, welcome!

AJ: I'm glad you spend a lot of time "trawling" PS!  Zoe is my friend. She's not learning FI but she's spent so much time reading about it from my project that by the time she feels she can tackle it, she'll be able to do it blindfolded!!

Question:  I'm working on the last page of FI and I'm having difficulty with the RH of measures 127 - 134. The repeated groups of 16th notes drive my RH nuts! Any suggestions? I wondered if very slow practice would help?

[dire_tonic]

Zoe, welcome to the party! - it's a lot more interesting here than at the 'other place'.

Choo, are you doing cycling practice on 34?  It's a good candidate for it because its start and end points are close.

I also had a problem with this bar so looped it round and round starting at a playable speed and just edging up gradually.  Do it over weeks if necessary.  

Incidentally, I'm still easily tripped up by 7/8; I played those 2 bars at least a dozen times today before I played it error-free, and even then I can't say it was smooth.  I think these things need to be practised to death over the very long term.

Yes, 127 causes me grief too.  It seems I can play it, speed it up, play it fine for a couple of beats then it falls apart!  I'm sure slow practise is key but if AJ or Birba have any tips, I'm all ears...

[costicina]

Welcome in the Op 66 University, Zoe!!!
I'm sure this forum will be for you, too, a precious resource, and a lot of fun!!!
Marg

[candlelightpiano]

DT:  I'm still trying to put the whole piece together but it's a big mess. Well, I only try it once a day and find that I keep stopping at these areas:  bars 30 (transition and this is because I haven't been working on the transition), 33-34 (this gets messier the more I work it. First time it's usually ok), 35-40 (working on accelerando as Birba suggested but it's difficult to do without messing up) - and I haven't played beyond the middle section because of all the messes. Plus the octave passage is still a difficulty.

[zoecalgary]

Hi everybody and thanks for your very warm welcome.  I've been browsing around the large music library available here. I'm impressed! But this is still my favorite thread!

[candlelightpiano]

xx

[costicina]

Is not that  terrible, Choo!!
Just one thing: maybe I'm wrong but I see still some tension, especially in LH. Try to use more the rotation movement, to "bring" the fingers with the hand/wrist instead of trying to reach the keys with them, keeping you hand still...
But sure, more competent members, Birba, AJ, Dire in first line, can adive you better!!
BTW: do you realize that you are arrived at  the LAST page? So cheer up!!!

[candlelightpiano]

MARG:  You're right!  I was definitely tense and Birba talked about that a lot in his video. So I need to work on it hands separately and to loosen up or this last page will be impossible for me to play! 

ZOE: This is definitely the place to be for all things piano! Here are two interesting topics for you, as a new member. Both are Margherita's topics. We shared photos of ourselves in the first one and talked a bit about ourselves in the next one:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=44631.0

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=44677.0

If you post there, let us know so that we can go and take a look!

[candlelightpiano]

In the past week, I have been feeling very stressed about things. Playing the piano is supposed to be relaxing, an enjoyable past time. But the stress has taken the enjoyment out of it. I'm an amateur who is just trying to learn a piece I've always wanted to play for the enjoyment of it. However, the stress of improving has taken the joy away from playing the piano.

While I'm incredibly grateful for all the support I have received, I think it's best I take a vacation from the piano.

Thank you for understanding.

[zoecalgary]

Hi Choo, take all the time you need! Yes, we will miss you but it's important to take a break too and put things into perspective. My husband and I often joke about making sure that hobbies stay hobbies so that they stay fun! (We often wonder if professional athletes, or concert pianists, etc., or others we admire their skills for feel their daily work of practicing is tedious, boring, or stressful! I don't doubt that it often can be even for the best of the best). But the good news for YOU is you can take a break whenever you want! YOU decide and nobody else!

Take Care...looking forward to your return.

[costicina]

Choo,
it’s a common  experience for people like you (and me) who invest an inordinate amount of time, efforts and passion in their golas. You feel “feed up”, almost nauseous for a couple of days...but then you’ll start again: it’s a kind of compulsion...Zoe is right, take a short break, then come back working at small  chuncks,  or at a single problem of your FI.  Believe me, it’s a normal, and temporary, moment of discouragement, but  it’s bound to  pass!!!!

[birba]

I think this happens when we get fixated on a particular thing.  In this case, a piece of music.  It's not just the "writer's block", it's a type of just getting full of the same thing.  There is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  much music around that you could play and get enjoyment and satisfaction from while giving the FI a rest.  Mendelssohn songs without words.  There are so many of them that your present technique will allow you to do. 
I would take a vacation from the impromptu, but not from the piano.  I would take a vacation from this incessant practising on groups of 4 and half-measures and broaden my musical horizons by exposing myself to other music.  It can only benefit your further endeavors with the FI!!!

[costicina]

Maybe it's off the topic,
but if really Choo wants to start a new piece ALONG with her beloved FI, why not op 53 n 3, Presto agitato? Is the same piece Costanza is tackling at the moment: you'll "kill two birds with one stone", since I'm going to bother you for help with this piece, too 

[dire_tonic]

In the past week, I have been feeling very stressed about things. Playing the piano is supposed to be relaxing, an enjoyable past time. But the stress has taken the enjoyment out of it. I'm an amateur who is just trying to learn a piece I've always wanted to play for the enjoyment of it. However, the stress of improving has taken the joy away from playing the piano.

While I'm incredibly grateful for all the support I have received, I think it's best I take a vacation from the piano.

Thank you for understanding.

Well the thread will still be here awaiting your return so a break makes a lot of sense if you’re feeling pressed.  “FI or bust” is not conducive to a good learning experience! lol!

Just in case you decide to do some quiet and relaxed practice during your break (and why not?), you asked about the cycling. I meant only looping, repeating small sections, even tiny ones, in a loop and doing so ad-nauseum at a fixed tempo.  Only raise the tempo if you can do it without undermining the performance.  It’s practice 101, but it needs to be focused and super-critical.  As soon as it becomes boring or mechanical - take a break.

Bar 34 is a mystery. So similar to 33 which I find manageable yet 34 poses a problem for me too, it’s bizarre.  And by the way, *every* one of the other trouble spots you cite are problematic for me too.   

Choo, I’m nowhere near finishing FI.  I haven’t even touched the moderato section and won’t do so until I’m reasonably satisfied with the rest of the piece. It could be months yet.  You’ve spoken before about diminishing returns and that’s a perennial problem as one reaches the limit of ability, any further improvement is hard-won and as we’ve all noted, there are oftentimes days of regression.

I’ve started looking at the last page but only in fragments while I’m learning the notes.  I think you too should practice it piecemeal – it’s a hard section to pull together in one blast at this stage as you’ve attempted with your video.
 
Will be checking up on your thread periodically….take it easy!!   

[candlelightpiano]

Thanks, all of you, for your continued support and for understanding.

I need to take a complete break from piano for a little while until I feel more relaxed and until the piano calls me back. The last week, I had been practicing with so much tension that my wrists , arms, and even my back aches.

I think I'll complete the Fink video during my break and perhaps some of the Taubman videos as well. Those can only be beneficial for me. Perhaps there's a segment there on tension!

Pieces I'm considering when I begin again: Chopin's Funeral March 3rd mvmt (began in Nov but incomplete), Liszt's Consolation No 3, Chopin's Etude in E major,  Venetian Boat Song, Schubert's Impromptu No 4 in A flat, Op 90, Liszt Libestraume, continue with FI, of course. Birba, if you're reading this post, which piece would you suggest?

Bye for now and thanks once again. Feel free to post on this thread. I will be checking it periodically and .........I will be back!

PS: Marg:  I think I need a break from another presto agitato piece of music!!  Agitato may not be the best thing for someone with tension problems! That's why my list are pieces that are more relaxing.

[costicina]

Of course, Choo, I understand...
Go then for Venetian boat song, it's easy (it'll be a relief to be albe to master a piece in week or so), but so nice and enchanting!!! It was the first (for her) challenging piece my daughter learned.
Or still better, you can try Debussy 1 Arabesque, a masterpiece everybody is in love with: the main difficulty here is the cross rhythm, but you're and expert now in this field!!
It doesn't mean you have to give up FI, all the contrary!!! Just restore you mind and your self-confidence tackling not very demanding, but very rewarding pieces.
Here are the Boat song and the Arabesue played by Costanza: of course, you'll find much better performances of both.. Don't be upset, we'll wait for you!!!!

[starstruck5]

I've been where you are now Choo -and I think a small break is a good thing -

I had the same passion a while back for the Appassionata -and even though I practised it like a maniac -I could never play it anything like I wanted to. If I am honest I wasn't ready for it then.  Now maybe -

I think also  this thread has helped you, but has also created pressure as well -

I would suggest after your break -learning a few mazurkas and waltzes of Chopin -as well as just playing occasionally through the FI -but just for yourself -I agree with others about Mendelssohn as well.  You are so right when you say you should play for enjoyment -without that there is no point. 

Mastering the FI is not a sprint -I am certain you WILL get there - but you must develop as a musician and that takes time -

[birba]

I think I'll complete the Fink video during my break and perhaps some of the Taubman videos as well. Those can only be beneficial for me. Perhaps there's a segment there on tension!


PS: Marg:  I think I need a break from another presto agitato piece of music!!  Agitato may not be the best thing for someone with tension problems! That's why my list are pieces that are more relaxing.

YESSSSSSSSSS!  Right on, girl!!!!!!!   I would go for the schubert, the liszt consolation and the venetian boat song.  Oh, and the funeral march.  But maybe not at this moment...    
But there's a lot more out there that you could do.
If you want to know, tonight I cut my thumb in a really BAD way.  I've got 3 band-aids on it, and I've changed them 5 times.  Right on the part that hits the key...crap.  But I'm looking on the bright side.  I need a little rest.

[costicina]

I'm sorry for your thumb, Birba   
But I confess that sometimes, when I experienced bad moment of crisis in my piano playing, I secretly hoped to injure my hands, so to be rescued from practicing, PRACTICING PRACTICING a damned impossibile piece 

[zoecalgary]

Choo, I just went and listened to all your possible next pieces and they are all wonderful. But the Liszt Consolation sounds so wonderful and peaceful. Choo, I vote for this for you right now!

Birba - I hope your finger is okay! Sounds painful. Can you still play? Anyway, wanted to say in person that I've really enjoyed your videos and all the instruction you've given to Choo along her journey. They are very educational and well presented!

[zoecalgary]

Costincina - Hi. Your daughters playing is wonderful! Thanks for posting those!

[candlelightpiano]

MARG: Costanza plays beautifully. I'm sure you're proud of her. I love both those pieces.

STARSTRUCK: You're right. FI is not a sprint. And this thread, while it has helped me tremendously and made me a lot of friends, has caused pressure as well. It's the good and the bad of things in life. It's rarely all good or all bad. Well, once I get back to it after vacationing it, I will play it for myself and if I feel that it sounds and looks good, I'll post it on the thread again. I absolutely love the Appasionata. I hope to hear you play it one day.

ZOE:  I love Liszt's Consolation No 3. I'll start a new thread for it when I'm ready to drive you guys crazy again. You should be able to play this piece. You can join me!

BIRBA: I'm so sorry to hear about your accident. OUCH!    That sounds very painful. I hope you're cleaning and dressing it well. Thanks for selecting the pieces for me. Thanks also for your unwavering support and encouragement. I hope you'll be feeling better soon.  Oh, well, at least I'm not the only one on piano vacation!

[zoecalgary]

OK Choo, so you've intrigued me! I am going looking for music for this. I missed this in your original note somehow? I didn't realize this was 'the' funeral march! I am going looking for music now. Once I find some music I will let you know what I think (if I don't have a heart attack like when I saw the score for FI!)

[ajspiano]

(if I don't have a heart attack like when I saw the score for FI!)

I remember feeling like that when I looked at some of the godowsky studies. - first time it had happened in a very long time.

[candlelightpiano]

ZOE:  It won't be good to have a heart attack while looking at the score for the Funeral March!!!!!!!!      You don't want that piece to be played before you get to learn it!!  Just kidding!  I'll think I'll begin with the Consolation No 3,  instead. You should be able to play that piece, too. In my Anthology of Romantic Piano Music, it is listed as an Intermediate to early advanced work.

AJ: I have the Godowsky studies on CD. Gosh, they're so difficult! Chopin etudes are already difficult and Godowsky makes them even more so.

[zoecalgary]

Choo I died laughing when I saw your note! I just read the last few posts to my husband and he enjoyed a good laugh too! Well I will tell you I had my heart attack with this anyway! So Perhaps there is some hope for me on this other piece! I'm going lookin again! Keep the ambulance in standby mode because I may need it!

Intermediate seems to have levels...I am baby intermediate level. I'm guessing that to keep up I'd need to get to late intermediate/early advanced levels first. But I will check the music either way because I enjoyed the music.

So AJ I'm glad I'm not the only one who experiences these things! I wonder if that feeling will ever pass! Im guessing not with all the great music out there.

AJ - I also wanted to tell you I really enjoyed your videos too! Very informative and well done.

[candlelightpiano]

ZOE: You had a heart attack with the Funeral March?    That piece and heart attacks go very well together, believe me!      That and Consolation are probably just a tad above your level. I think it's good for you to play something above your level every now and then. Otherwise, it gets dull. It's good to shoot for something higher. Then, when you get to that level, you can play something even higher!!  Aren't I the best example of that??  Just kidding! I think I set a very bad example for anyone. DON'T listen to me. Listen to Birba. Listen to AJ. NOT me!

I've been busy watching Fink's video tonight (Mastering Piano Technique). The more I watch it, the better I like it. I think I will add Chopin's Prelude in E min to my list. It's such a plaintive little piece and will be such a wonderful addition to my soon-to-be melancholy repertoire of the Funeral March and the Consolation! The three pieces will be such a happy family.

[dire_tonic]

I love that Consolation 3.   It must have drifted into my subconscious sometime in the past; I didn’t know it, but it sounded oddly familiar.  I youtubed it and watched Horowitz playing it first. Not knowing the tune well enough I thought initially he was brushing a dead fly off the keyboard when he first passed his RH over the LH…

At the risk of seeming to become your musical stalker, Choo, I’m tempted to have a go at this myself.  No videos from me though.

Birba, sorry to hear about your thumb. I’ve suffered hand injuries in the past so I know how frustrating they can be. Hope yours heals quickly.

Costanza – lovely playing!

[zoecalgary]

Dire-tonic - when I saw this I was wondering what he was doing too just because of the way he was striking that bass note!! Funny what you said about the fly! Can you imagine!! Haha

Choo, this piece is so peaceful to listen to. I am really coming to like it. It appears to be more within my reach than the other one so I shall see. I have to find the music still and fiddle around with it. It would be awesome to be able to join you and dire-tonic and others who take this on! You're right it's good to get out of our comfort zone once in awhile. It's just that my zone is relatively small compared to all of you! Haha!!