Today is the day of difficulty. Genius Rachel forgot about her project all weekend and miraculously remembered this morning.
Practicing along with the music is proving to be more difficult than i would have expected. Yes, the beginning is slow and easy, and that was what a practiced last time. But the rest of the piece has a much quicker tempo which it is very difficult to keep up with. This section of the piece also has more sixteenth notes than the first section. Bar 31 is proving almost impossibe to play for me .. i cant move my arm fast enough for those four ascending sixteenth notes. I might have to alter this bar slightly when i play. The four sixteenth notes might become two eighth notes. Even still, i think i would find it difficult. Playing the higher notes in this piece still is hard for me, and i have never been able to play them fast. Also, upon practicing more carefully with the piano accompanyment today i noticed that in the last 3 bars of the piece the tempo slows down, even though it does not indicate so on the sheet music. I will have to watch out for this, and try to match my tempo with that of the accompanyment.
I am also finding it difficult today getting through the whole piece, including the repeat of bars 17-32, and still being able to push out the higher notes. I must make sure to take big breaths when possible.
Sorry this post isnt as long as the others, but i have a lot of work to do.
goodbye :)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Post Number Two !
I've been practicing my piece almost every day in music class up to this point, and its coming along much better than at first. I have the tune, the timing, and most of the positions memorized by now; i can work through the piece without sheet music if i have to. I even find myself humming the tune while performing other activities. I have also began practicing the piece along with the piano accompanyment at home. The tempo is slower than i would have expected, so i should not have any problems in this area. However, in bar 29, the is a rit. (ritenuto) on the first note of that bar (which is a dotted quarter note). When i was practicing before i added the accompanyment, playing this was easier because i got to decide how long the rit. was. When playing with the accompanyment though, i find it difficult to make sure that i hold this note for the proper amount of time and continue playing the piece at the right time. It is only held for three seconds or so longer than it should be, but i am still having difficulty with this.
Another thing to note about the piece is the tempo and time signature change at bar 17. I have to make sure i listen carefully to my accompanyment so that i am in time. The key signature change mainly just has an effect on the flow of that portion of the piece; it sounds less grand, and more bouncy.
I have begun working on the dynamics and articulation for this piece recently. For the first portion of the piece (bars 5 - 13) where the timing is 4/4, there is not much specified articulation. There are only a couple staccatos, found in the trend where there are four descending notes (a dotted eighth note, a sixteenth note, an eighth note, an eighth note), such as in bar 8 and bar 10. There are no slurs or ties in this portion of the piece. In the next portion of the piece (bars 16 - 47) where there is 2/4 timing, there are still no slurs or ties, but staccatos are more frequent, giving the music a different feel. There is a recurring trend found frequently in this portion, consisting of 2 sixteenth notes followed by a staccato eighth note. Staccatos are also used in the recurring sound of four eighth notes descending (bar 19, bar 23, bar 27), and are put on all of these eighth notes. Staccatos are also found on the only notes in the third last and second last bars of the piece, as these notes are isolated and short.
In terms of dynamics for this piece, there is a general trend of there being a crescendo to forte while playing higher notes, and a decrescendo to mezzo piano when playing lower notes.
I have been having some difficulty playing the notes in this piece above high C, in particular high E flat. There are a few sections with consecutive high notes, such as in bar 11 or bars 28- 29. Being allowed to play these notes forte makes things easier, however i still have difficulty with it. Apparently i need to get better at squeezing my butt :S
Also, i do not find "Turquoise" to be an appropriate name for this piece. The piece sounds too bouncy.
That is all for today.
Rachel :)
I've been practicing my piece almost every day in music class up to this point, and its coming along much better than at first. I have the tune, the timing, and most of the positions memorized by now; i can work through the piece without sheet music if i have to. I even find myself humming the tune while performing other activities. I have also began practicing the piece along with the piano accompanyment at home. The tempo is slower than i would have expected, so i should not have any problems in this area. However, in bar 29, the is a rit. (ritenuto) on the first note of that bar (which is a dotted quarter note). When i was practicing before i added the accompanyment, playing this was easier because i got to decide how long the rit. was. When playing with the accompanyment though, i find it difficult to make sure that i hold this note for the proper amount of time and continue playing the piece at the right time. It is only held for three seconds or so longer than it should be, but i am still having difficulty with this.
Another thing to note about the piece is the tempo and time signature change at bar 17. I have to make sure i listen carefully to my accompanyment so that i am in time. The key signature change mainly just has an effect on the flow of that portion of the piece; it sounds less grand, and more bouncy.
I have begun working on the dynamics and articulation for this piece recently. For the first portion of the piece (bars 5 - 13) where the timing is 4/4, there is not much specified articulation. There are only a couple staccatos, found in the trend where there are four descending notes (a dotted eighth note, a sixteenth note, an eighth note, an eighth note), such as in bar 8 and bar 10. There are no slurs or ties in this portion of the piece. In the next portion of the piece (bars 16 - 47) where there is 2/4 timing, there are still no slurs or ties, but staccatos are more frequent, giving the music a different feel. There is a recurring trend found frequently in this portion, consisting of 2 sixteenth notes followed by a staccato eighth note. Staccatos are also used in the recurring sound of four eighth notes descending (bar 19, bar 23, bar 27), and are put on all of these eighth notes. Staccatos are also found on the only notes in the third last and second last bars of the piece, as these notes are isolated and short.
In terms of dynamics for this piece, there is a general trend of there being a crescendo to forte while playing higher notes, and a decrescendo to mezzo piano when playing lower notes.
I have been having some difficulty playing the notes in this piece above high C, in particular high E flat. There are a few sections with consecutive high notes, such as in bar 11 or bars 28- 29. Being allowed to play these notes forte makes things easier, however i still have difficulty with it. Apparently i need to get better at squeezing my butt :S
Also, i do not find "Turquoise" to be an appropriate name for this piece. The piece sounds too bouncy.
That is all for today.
Rachel :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
first day of the music project
We got our sheet music for the culminating project today, and also got a chance to practice the piece for the first time. The piece me and my MOST FAVOURITE trombone buddy Jake were assigned is called "Turquoise". My first reaction was that it was really confusing, overwhelming, and overall difficult. At a first glance, the notes seemed to jump all over the place, and the rythms threw me off. However, as with most pieces, after I got through it a couple times, got an idea in my head of how it was supposed to sound, and generally got a feel for the piece, I found it much easier and more enjoyable to play. Things also became alot easier once I finally made the distinction between a dotted quarter note and a dotted eighth note ... I knew that they were both worth 3 of something, however I wasnt quite sure what that something was. Luckily I now have that sorted out; a dotted quarter note is worth 3 eighth notes, and a dotted eight note is worth 3 sixteenth notes. For rythmic purposes, I usually break down the piece into sixteenth notes in my head while I play.
I'm not very good at sight reading, as you might have guessed. (usually I just memorize how the song goes ASAP, and use the music as more of guidelines to jog my memory)
There are a few sections within the piece during which the piano accompanyment takes over, and I must rest for a few bars. I will need to make sure that I count these bars properly, so that I enter again at the appropriate time. This will not be difficult for me; after 9 years of dance classes I have a very good sense of counting and timing. But I still must remember to pay attention !
I have glanced briefly at the dynamics in my piece, but haven't yet applied these dynamics to my practicing and playing. I plan to do this once I can play the proper notes and rythyms without struggle.
Which reminds me, that I am having difficulty with some of the notes in the second half of the piece. I find them a little too high for me to play comfortably. I can play these notes fine by themselves, but when I have been playing for a few minutes, my lips are tired, and I'm running low on air, they are not as successful. I've played the piece a few times and gotten them in, however. It's more a matter of luck for me in this case. Nonetheless, I'm sure that I can get it if I try hard and, as Mr. Stevenson would say, "Squeeze your butt!".
That is all for now :)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm not very good at sight reading, as you might have guessed. (usually I just memorize how the song goes ASAP, and use the music as more of guidelines to jog my memory)
There are a few sections within the piece during which the piano accompanyment takes over, and I must rest for a few bars. I will need to make sure that I count these bars properly, so that I enter again at the appropriate time. This will not be difficult for me; after 9 years of dance classes I have a very good sense of counting and timing. But I still must remember to pay attention !
I have glanced briefly at the dynamics in my piece, but haven't yet applied these dynamics to my practicing and playing. I plan to do this once I can play the proper notes and rythyms without struggle.
Which reminds me, that I am having difficulty with some of the notes in the second half of the piece. I find them a little too high for me to play comfortably. I can play these notes fine by themselves, but when I have been playing for a few minutes, my lips are tired, and I'm running low on air, they are not as successful. I've played the piece a few times and gotten them in, however. It's more a matter of luck for me in this case. Nonetheless, I'm sure that I can get it if I try hard and, as Mr. Stevenson would say, "Squeeze your butt!".
That is all for now :)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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