Fri 10 more min
Bonus 10 min after a couple hours break, just because I felt like it (yay!). Revisited the Squire Tarantella. I started last year with this - would be fun to run at at my first lesson next week. Still need work on the fast scales, but my bow control feels so much better.
Showing posts with label squire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squire. Show all posts
Friday, September 10
Wednesday, February 3
45 min
Had a nice, long warmup, playing through Breval, Squire, and Chanson Triste. Tchaikovsky turned out to be a good segue into Shosty 5 mvmt 3. Spent 20 min or so reviewing, then turned to Khachaturian 1st mvmt, the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia. Worked on fingering through reh 10. Lots of chromatic scale patterns.
Had a nice, long warmup, playing through Breval, Squire, and Chanson Triste. Tchaikovsky turned out to be a good segue into Shosty 5 mvmt 3. Spent 20 min or so reviewing, then turned to Khachaturian 1st mvmt, the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia. Worked on fingering through reh 10. Lots of chromatic scale patterns.
That's all for today. I'm off to take a ukulele lesson. An evening excursion to the observatory will fill the rest of the day.
Friday, January 22
30 min
Day 5. A busy day, and I didn't have time to practice before I left the house. Then in the afternoon I needed a nap more than I had a desire to practice. So it got left to the last thing, and I wouldn't exactly call it practice, but I did play for a half hour, and i did work on a couple of things.
I was going to jump right in to Bach, but Pi was sitting on my music stack, so instead I began with a D MAJ scale, then a d min scale. Played the first section of Prelude #2, but not from my marked part. Frustratingly bad since I last played it months and months ago, so played Prelude #3 instead. I can get through it now, but it's certainly not something I would want anyone else to hear.
Switched to current work, played Breval C followed by Squire Tarantella from memory. Worked a few minutes on the bow distribution of the opening phrases of the Squire with mm dq=84. Discovered that out, tip, in works for the first couple of phrases, then balance point for the next section. My previous tendency was to keep everything mid bow. We'll see if that flies next time it gets evaluated.
Last minutes spent on the opening thumb position in Handel. I really could use some tone production work in thumb position. I wish I knew what to do, as it all "looks OK," but just sounds bad.
So blah, but at least I played. I expect the next 2 days to be problematic as well, as I have stuff booked in the mornings. We'll see what happens.
Day 5. A busy day, and I didn't have time to practice before I left the house. Then in the afternoon I needed a nap more than I had a desire to practice. So it got left to the last thing, and I wouldn't exactly call it practice, but I did play for a half hour, and i did work on a couple of things.
I was going to jump right in to Bach, but Pi was sitting on my music stack, so instead I began with a D MAJ scale, then a d min scale. Played the first section of Prelude #2, but not from my marked part. Frustratingly bad since I last played it months and months ago, so played Prelude #3 instead. I can get through it now, but it's certainly not something I would want anyone else to hear.
Switched to current work, played Breval C followed by Squire Tarantella from memory. Worked a few minutes on the bow distribution of the opening phrases of the Squire with mm dq=84. Discovered that out, tip, in works for the first couple of phrases, then balance point for the next section. My previous tendency was to keep everything mid bow. We'll see if that flies next time it gets evaluated.
Last minutes spent on the opening thumb position in Handel. I really could use some tone production work in thumb position. I wish I knew what to do, as it all "looks OK," but just sounds bad.
So blah, but at least I played. I expect the next 2 days to be problematic as well, as I have stuff booked in the mornings. We'll see what happens.
Thursday, January 14
30 min
Day 7. Warmed up with run throughs of both Tarantella and Breval, slightly under tempo. ~10 min
Short focus on chords, then new scale trill exercise, much better after review at lesson. Did a few trills in context, where they don't seem to work as well. The timing is killing me. ~10 min
Spent the last 10 minutes on Offenbach, freshening up for rehearsal tonight. I'm remembering it more and more, so less screwing up over the fingerings, but the phrasing is still kinda wonky with the awkward shifts.
Day 7. Warmed up with run throughs of both Tarantella and Breval, slightly under tempo. ~10 min
Short focus on chords, then new scale trill exercise, much better after review at lesson. Did a few trills in context, where they don't seem to work as well. The timing is killing me. ~10 min
Spent the last 10 minutes on Offenbach, freshening up for rehearsal tonight. I'm remembering it more and more, so less screwing up over the fingerings, but the phrasing is still kinda wonky with the awkward shifts.
Saturday, January 9
30 min
Day 2. Didn't feel like it, but practiced anyway. Spent the first 10 min on a variety of warmups, including a trouble spot in the Offenbach Adagio, then ran Tarantella. After running Breval, started working.
Spent the last 20 min again on phrase-by-phrase repetition, culminating in a run through. I am still not getting the timing on the trills quite right, and am afraid I am going to have to address those again next lesson. I think I may record a video for a spot check before that lesson on Monday.
Day 2. Didn't feel like it, but practiced anyway. Spent the first 10 min on a variety of warmups, including a trouble spot in the Offenbach Adagio, then ran Tarantella. After running Breval, started working.
Spent the last 20 min again on phrase-by-phrase repetition, culminating in a run through. I am still not getting the timing on the trills quite right, and am afraid I am going to have to address those again next lesson. I think I may record a video for a spot check before that lesson on Monday.
Tuesday, January 5
30 min
Day 5. Not my best effort, as I was getting short of time before orchestra rehearsal, and still needed to feed kitties and humans. Plus I was interrupted with phone calls. I ignore those when I am practicing earlier in the day, but at that time need to take them. However, I was using my 30 minute countdown timer, and stopped it for calls. This 30 minutes didn't take more than 50 to complete, I bet.
Anyway, started again with Tarantella. Better memory than yesterday, but I still need to do some detail work on the scales and INTONATION.
Started working on the 1st phrase of the Breval, doing some phrase shaping, when I remembered I hadn't worked on the timing of the trills, so I switched to the scale exercise with turns/trills. Drat. I can't remember exactly what that is supposed to sound like, and the timing of the shift vs. bow change is not working at all. Getting a bit of the hand roll, though.
Back to Breval. Worked the trills by going back and forth between notes without trill, and with trill added. Also, playing much more slowly than usual so I can work in the shakes without tension.
Since I'm on a slow roll, played the whole thing slowly and in a more romantic mode to try to feel where the natural heavy and light notes might be. I think that was somewhat successful. I'll play around more with the timing tomorrow. Maybe I'll set a slow metronome and play it musically from memory at a slow tempo, alternating with air playing the phrase. That should be a good memory workout.
Day 5. Not my best effort, as I was getting short of time before orchestra rehearsal, and still needed to feed kitties and humans. Plus I was interrupted with phone calls. I ignore those when I am practicing earlier in the day, but at that time need to take them. However, I was using my 30 minute countdown timer, and stopped it for calls. This 30 minutes didn't take more than 50 to complete, I bet.
Anyway, started again with Tarantella. Better memory than yesterday, but I still need to do some detail work on the scales and INTONATION.
Started working on the 1st phrase of the Breval, doing some phrase shaping, when I remembered I hadn't worked on the timing of the trills, so I switched to the scale exercise with turns/trills. Drat. I can't remember exactly what that is supposed to sound like, and the timing of the shift vs. bow change is not working at all. Getting a bit of the hand roll, though.
Back to Breval. Worked the trills by going back and forth between notes without trill, and with trill added. Also, playing much more slowly than usual so I can work in the shakes without tension.
Since I'm on a slow roll, played the whole thing slowly and in a more romantic mode to try to feel where the natural heavy and light notes might be. I think that was somewhat successful. I'll play around more with the timing tomorrow. Maybe I'll set a slow metronome and play it musically from memory at a slow tempo, alternating with air playing the phrase. That should be a good memory workout.
Monday, January 4
30 min
Day 4. Started with a quick run through Tarantella from memory. Oops, memory #fail. I need to spend 10 or 15 minutes this week patching some places, then get back into the routine of daily running it for awhile.
Turning to Breval C, I also started by running it from memory. Still some hesitations, but no major snafus. Tried numbering in the phrases from the end as we discussed at last lesson, but I think my first pass was too granular. Will try again with bigger chunks, maybe 6 or 8 total. Worked backward again, and started noting the potential detour spots, which for some reason didn't seem as obvious just reading the music.
Day 4. Started with a quick run through Tarantella from memory. Oops, memory #fail. I need to spend 10 or 15 minutes this week patching some places, then get back into the routine of daily running it for awhile.
Turning to Breval C, I also started by running it from memory. Still some hesitations, but no major snafus. Tried numbering in the phrases from the end as we discussed at last lesson, but I think my first pass was too granular. Will try again with bigger chunks, maybe 6 or 8 total. Worked backward again, and started noting the potential detour spots, which for some reason didn't seem as obvious just reading the music.
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
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.
Monday, November 23
Friday, November 20
60 min
wu ~5 min Feuillard #33, Popper #9
~5 min D MAJ thru 1/8
~20 min Tarantella working on trouble spots. Also read once thumb position exercise in Suzuki 6 just before Squire. Not sure what the purpose of having it there is, but it's useful for other things. Practiced timing of upward shifts on old bow, rolling on and pulling off with LH fingers.
~30 min Handel Chamber Suite in D, read Adagio and fingered Allegro. Adagio will need work at a future session. Preparing Vc1 part to read at next quartet rehearsal in 2 weeks.
wu ~5 min Feuillard #33, Popper #9
~5 min D MAJ thru 1/8
~20 min Tarantella working on trouble spots. Also read once thumb position exercise in Suzuki 6 just before Squire. Not sure what the purpose of having it there is, but it's useful for other things. Practiced timing of upward shifts on old bow, rolling on and pulling off with LH fingers.
~30 min Handel Chamber Suite in D, read Adagio and fingered Allegro. Adagio will need work at a future session. Preparing Vc1 part to read at next quartet rehearsal in 2 weeks.
Saturday, November 14
30 min
Warmup 5 min playing through Popper #9 slowly. Concentrating on keeping th eweight the same on staccato strong crossings. Thinking of the second staccato note leading into the slur.
Bach prelude #3 10 min. Really just playing around. Trying varying amounts of rubato, slurs in the opening. Just the first half of the page.
Squire Tarantella 15 min. Started with the Presto, working on the hand balance in the fast notes under the slur, then the elbow opening in the fast down bow. Experimanted a bit with putting them both together, then moved on the the B section. Passage work in a loop, paying attention to finger patterns. Then playing from memory, again focusing on hand balance and good quality of sound.
Moved on to the A secion, working the 2 scale passages that give me the most difficulty in gestures. Finally trying the entire A section from memory.
Warmup 5 min playing through Popper #9 slowly. Concentrating on keeping th eweight the same on staccato strong crossings. Thinking of the second staccato note leading into the slur.
Bach prelude #3 10 min. Really just playing around. Trying varying amounts of rubato, slurs in the opening. Just the first half of the page.
Squire Tarantella 15 min. Started with the Presto, working on the hand balance in the fast notes under the slur, then the elbow opening in the fast down bow. Experimanted a bit with putting them both together, then moved on the the B section. Passage work in a loop, paying attention to finger patterns. Then playing from memory, again focusing on hand balance and good quality of sound.
Moved on to the A secion, working the 2 scale passages that give me the most difficulty in gestures. Finally trying the entire A section from memory.
Monday, November 9
10 min
Tarantella
Mostly a refresher, with some time spent on the presto. I don't feel like I'm making any progress. Yes, partially because I've been avoiding practicing it, but also partially because I have no idea what to practice to make it better at this point. Just running through it isn't changing anything.
Tarantella
Mostly a refresher, with some time spent on the presto. I don't feel like I'm making any progress. Yes, partially because I've been avoiding practicing it, but also partially because I have no idea what to practice to make it better at this point. Just running through it isn't changing anything.
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