30 min
Oy, it's been a longer break than I thought, though I did miss recording a couple of very short practices since my last log. The last time I played was at Sunday morning services before Christmas, 12/20. No, I had one of those short practices before my lesson on 12/21, but didn't play at all during that lesson. We discussed the musical map of Breval C in detail and discussed memorization strategies.
Anyway, I'm returning to practicing after a needed holiday layoff, but next week I spring back into a full schedule, including new orchestra music. Today was 30 minutes of relaxed, musical playing, with no work to speak of.
D MAJ, 4 octaves, linked halfs
Then I read through most of Suzuki Bk 4, since I wanted to run through Breval and it was convenient. That would include
Breval Sonata in C, Allegro and Rondo grazioso
Marcello Sonata in e, Adagio and Allegro
Bach Suite I Minuets
Tchaikovsky Chanson Triste
Suzuki Etude for changing strings
Scale in C, commonly used notes in tenor clef
Major scales in 2 octaves, fast half notes, C,G,D,A,E,Ab,Eb,Bb,F
It was a good half hour - I think I'll be ready to play some more tomorrow, and maybe even start working.
Wednesday, December 30
Monday, December 14
50 min
Time for post-recital regrouping. Warmed up with once through the Breval Sonata in C 1st mvmt. Then Tarantella at a fast tempo, followed by Popper #9 twice with as gritty, near-the-bridge physically free bowing as I could stand. ~15 min
Pulled out Haydn C and reviewed the first half of the exposition. It sounds better than the last time I looked at it - thanks Popper and Squire. I'm going to suggest that we do just a phrase or two at a time in lessons, making sure that my technical approach is good and discussing practice, and most importantly going on to the next phrase rather than continuing to start at the beginning. We'll see if that flies.
Alternated Haydn with Breval. I am also going to suggest I memorize and perform the Breval again with my new skill set.
Time for post-recital regrouping. Warmed up with once through the Breval Sonata in C 1st mvmt. Then Tarantella at a fast tempo, followed by Popper #9 twice with as gritty, near-the-bridge physically free bowing as I could stand. ~15 min
Pulled out Haydn C and reviewed the first half of the exposition. It sounds better than the last time I looked at it - thanks Popper and Squire. I'm going to suggest that we do just a phrase or two at a time in lessons, making sure that my technical approach is good and discussing practice, and most importantly going on to the next phrase rather than continuing to start at the beginning. We'll see if that flies.
Alternated Haydn with Breval. I am also going to suggest I memorize and perform the Breval again with my new skill set.
Sunday, December 13
17 min
Working backwards, hit the exposed divisi parts of the 4th mvmt then trouble spots in 4th, 3d, and 2nd mvmts. These aren't as complicated in the practice room, but we will be in a new configuration for the concert. It involves violas outside and cellos inside, which we've done before. However, because of extra equipment brought in (I'm not sure why) cellos may be sitting with a block of 4 in front, 2 on a riser to the side, and 2 behind the basses. Could be pretty bizarre, and will make the multiple divisi parts more tenuous. But here goes.
Working backwards, hit the exposed divisi parts of the 4th mvmt then trouble spots in 4th, 3d, and 2nd mvmts. These aren't as complicated in the practice room, but we will be in a new configuration for the concert. It involves violas outside and cellos inside, which we've done before. However, because of extra equipment brought in (I'm not sure why) cellos may be sitting with a block of 4 in front, 2 on a riser to the side, and 2 behind the basses. Could be pretty bizarre, and will make the multiple divisi parts more tenuous. But here goes.
45 min
Concert starts at 4pm. I'm trying to run the whole piece (Vaughan Williams Symphony #2 "London") just to refresh my memory beforehand, but there were lots of spots in the 1st mvmt where I needed to mark shifts still. Yes, I've been avoiding it until it's too late. Took 45 min to get through the very long first mvmt. We'll see if it proves to have been time well spent later.
Concert starts at 4pm. I'm trying to run the whole piece (Vaughan Williams Symphony #2 "London") just to refresh my memory beforehand, but there were lots of spots in the 1st mvmt where I needed to mark shifts still. Yes, I've been avoiding it until it's too late. Took 45 min to get through the very long first mvmt. We'll see if it proves to have been time well spent later.
25 min
Started with Popper #9, slowly, bow near bridge, exaggerating motions. Found myself noticing the string crossings, and more specifically, where there were NO string crossings. I have a tendency to move the level of the bow at bigger intervals even if they don't result in string change. Played through, omitting second staccato note throughout to hear the skeleton of the etude differently. Spent a few minutes memorizing the first phrase. This is tricky for me, as it involves skips within scale patterns instead of just scales. Started to feel the implied chords by playing double stops wherever it made sense. Relaxing warm up, ~20 min.
Tarantella. Run through from memory with some finger watching. My 2nd finger still collapses on fast passages on 4th position. ~5 min
Started with Popper #9, slowly, bow near bridge, exaggerating motions. Found myself noticing the string crossings, and more specifically, where there were NO string crossings. I have a tendency to move the level of the bow at bigger intervals even if they don't result in string change. Played through, omitting second staccato note throughout to hear the skeleton of the etude differently. Spent a few minutes memorizing the first phrase. This is tricky for me, as it involves skips within scale patterns instead of just scales. Started to feel the implied chords by playing double stops wherever it made sense. Relaxing warm up, ~20 min.
Tarantella. Run through from memory with some finger watching. My 2nd finger still collapses on fast passages on 4th position. ~5 min
Thursday, December 10
33 min
First, I spent 2-3 minutes tuning, as all of Emma's pegs had slipped and they don't stick very well once loosened.
Warmed up, as planned in lesson, with a run through of Tarantella. It's pretty ragged when played off first thing. Spent a little time exploring the desc scale from Bb. ~7 min
Offenbach 4tet Adagio. Changed my fingers for the Vc1 melody yet again. Stopped trying to do the double extension from C#1 to F#4 to B1 all on I. Instead, C#1 shift to F#3 on I over to B# on II, then down from there. We'll see how it sounds in ensemble.
Worked the high treble part. First, the timing trick D- showed me last week in rehearsal works great for geting the first G after the rest. In sum, I move from c chord to G4-I on first beat to G2-I an octave higher on the next beat. The shift is then just an octave shift from 4th finger to 2nd finger, and the beats keep everything organized.
Next I played the 4 patterns on the piano, got it in my ear, noted the intervals, and worked out fingering. It feels much more secure now.
Worked out the little transitional scale G Ab Bb C D and the little fancy 1/16th note flourish near the end.
Stopped when my attention started flagging and took a break to write down what I did.
First, I spent 2-3 minutes tuning, as all of Emma's pegs had slipped and they don't stick very well once loosened.
Warmed up, as planned in lesson, with a run through of Tarantella. It's pretty ragged when played off first thing. Spent a little time exploring the desc scale from Bb. ~7 min
Offenbach 4tet Adagio. Changed my fingers for the Vc1 melody yet again. Stopped trying to do the double extension from C#1 to F#4 to B1 all on I. Instead, C#1 shift to F#3 on I over to B# on II, then down from there. We'll see how it sounds in ensemble.
Worked the high treble part. First, the timing trick D- showed me last week in rehearsal works great for geting the first G after the rest. In sum, I move from c chord to G4-I on first beat to G2-I an octave higher on the next beat. The shift is then just an octave shift from 4th finger to 2nd finger, and the beats keep everything organized.
Next I played the 4 patterns on the piano, got it in my ear, noted the intervals, and worked out fingering. It feels much more secure now.
Worked out the little transitional scale G Ab Bb C D and the little fancy 1/16th note flourish near the end.
Stopped when my attention started flagging and took a break to write down what I did.
Sunday, December 6
20 min
Played in church this morning, but only one service and it didn't seem like we played much. So came home and did a 20 min warmup/refresher in preparation for the recital in a couple of hours.
~5 min Popper #9 twice through, first at moderate dancing tempo and then fast. There are still 2 somewhat chromatic passages that fall apart when I play it fast. Another round of slow work for tomorrow.
~15 min Tarantella. First at slightly faster than I should play it in performance (based on a couple of memory slips and really ragged ascending scale passages). Worked on gesture for the asc. scale, again, in yet another way. This time I did the finger patterns in first position until they became balanced - 1 half 2, 1 whole 2, 1whole 2 3. Then tried the scale focusing on keeping the finger feeling while moving my arm upward as a separate component. Worth spending some more time on after the recital, as I think it's too late to help for today, but useful.
Interesting how every time I play it through something else seems to jump out to become a problem. Nature of the beast, I guess.
Concentrate.
Played in church this morning, but only one service and it didn't seem like we played much. So came home and did a 20 min warmup/refresher in preparation for the recital in a couple of hours.
~5 min Popper #9 twice through, first at moderate dancing tempo and then fast. There are still 2 somewhat chromatic passages that fall apart when I play it fast. Another round of slow work for tomorrow.
~15 min Tarantella. First at slightly faster than I should play it in performance (based on a couple of memory slips and really ragged ascending scale passages). Worked on gesture for the asc. scale, again, in yet another way. This time I did the finger patterns in first position until they became balanced - 1 half 2, 1 whole 2, 1whole 2 3. Then tried the scale focusing on keeping the finger feeling while moving my arm upward as a separate component. Worth spending some more time on after the recital, as I think it's too late to help for today, but useful.
Interesting how every time I play it through something else seems to jump out to become a problem. Nature of the beast, I guess.
Concentrate.
Saturday, December 5
45 min
Last practice before recital.
Warmed up with Popper #9, just a run through. The work on trouble spots is starting to bear fruit. I may be ready to "pass" this at my next lesson. ~5 min.
Tarantella, ~40 min.
Started with a cold performance. A couple of memory trouble spots, bowing in the first phrase. Yikes. Repeated once throughs at the following tempos: dq=60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and finally with the Suzuki recording. Fun, DH had turned off the TV and was listening. His opinion was that it was better fast, but the recording was too fast. Really lost the impact of the melodic B section. Validation! It was very useful to review the bowings at a very slow tempo. The scales are still a little scrambly at performance speeds, but not enough to detract from the overall positive impression, so I plan to go for it tomorrow. I'm feeling confident.
Last practice before recital.
Warmed up with Popper #9, just a run through. The work on trouble spots is starting to bear fruit. I may be ready to "pass" this at my next lesson. ~5 min.
Tarantella, ~40 min.
Started with a cold performance. A couple of memory trouble spots, bowing in the first phrase. Yikes. Repeated once throughs at the following tempos: dq=60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and finally with the Suzuki recording. Fun, DH had turned off the TV and was listening. His opinion was that it was better fast, but the recording was too fast. Really lost the impact of the melodic B section. Validation! It was very useful to review the bowings at a very slow tempo. The scales are still a little scrambly at performance speeds, but not enough to detract from the overall positive impression, so I plan to go for it tomorrow. I'm feeling confident.
Friday, December 4
50 min
Warmed up wth Popper #9. Tried my Squire tactic of alternating playing too slow and too fast, with special attention to m13-16. Also checked intonation on many measures using double stops, open strings, and harmonic check notes. About 10 min.
The remainder (40 min) on Tarantella. Started playing a "performance" cold from memory. Went well. Some work on trouble spots, then with metronome dq=80. Special focus on gestures of scales in slow motion. Next from memory at dq=120. More trouble spots, especially presto at varying tempi. Finally, another run through with the Suzuki CD which is ~dq=220. See, I told you it was ridiculous. Had one memory lapse at that tempo in the B section and lost one of the phrases. At that tempo it's hard to recover more quickly.
Warmed up wth Popper #9. Tried my Squire tactic of alternating playing too slow and too fast, with special attention to m13-16. Also checked intonation on many measures using double stops, open strings, and harmonic check notes. About 10 min.
The remainder (40 min) on Tarantella. Started playing a "performance" cold from memory. Went well. Some work on trouble spots, then with metronome dq=80. Special focus on gestures of scales in slow motion. Next from memory at dq=120. More trouble spots, especially presto at varying tempi. Finally, another run through with the Suzuki CD which is ~dq=220. See, I told you it was ridiculous. Had one memory lapse at that tempo in the B section and lost one of the phrases. At that tempo it's hard to recover more quickly.
Thursday, December 3
Wednesday, December 2
60 min
Start with 11 min of Popper #9, warming up and playing with the patterns. Checking in with right elbow and pinky, left elbow and curved fingers.
Remainder on Tarantella.
Played from memory with metronome dq=100.
Worked the troublesome scales. I think I need to bring my thumb up with the first shift instead of the second.
Played from memory at performance tempo, or slightly faster.
More troublespots.
Played from memory with metronome at dq=80.
Finally, played from memory with the Suzuki accompaniment track. That blistering tempo is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I did keep up, though, or at least didn't fall apart. I'm starting to feel confident that I can actually perform this from memory.
Start with 11 min of Popper #9, warming up and playing with the patterns. Checking in with right elbow and pinky, left elbow and curved fingers.
Remainder on Tarantella.
Played from memory with metronome dq=100.
Worked the troublesome scales. I think I need to bring my thumb up with the first shift instead of the second.
Played from memory at performance tempo, or slightly faster.
More troublespots.
Played from memory with metronome at dq=80.
Finally, played from memory with the Suzuki accompaniment track. That blistering tempo is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I did keep up, though, or at least didn't fall apart. I'm starting to feel confident that I can actually perform this from memory.
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