last practice

Today I had my last practice before the final. I worked on Zelda's lullaby. It was a productive final session that allowed me to refine my final piece.

Hey everyone, so I definitely haven't posted in a while (my bad) but here's what i've been up to.  Most of the semester i worked on a duet piece with Brendan Hegarty.  We were going to perform a piano arrangement of the Zelda 25th Anniversary melody.  It's a pretty cool piece if you're into that kind of thing, but sounds awesome nonetheless.  Recently, we decided to drop that and do seperate pieces, so for the last two weeks i worked on a piano areangement of "He's a Pirate" in Pirates of the Caribbean (yeah i have nerdy picks).  Today, I got as far as i'm going to get with it and you'll all see how it goes it about a half hour.  Good luck to you all

Midterm Recording

Just found a recording I made of my midterm piece! https://goo.gl/photos/aRav6j5X3vJ2kJHj7

12/01 week

I've been practicing for the final almost everyday this week. I'm trying to slow it down a little since the second page isn't as strong as the first page. Some of the finger changes are difficult, but I think I can master it by Tuesday!

Week of December 1

Hey guys! So I was practicing my piece on Tuesday and for the most part I think I have it under control. My hand coordination is good, but I tend to stop before the next part of the piece. I need to slow down the piece in order to play it all together. I will continue to work on it today and for the rest of the weekend. Here is a clip of me playing on Tuesday. Good luck to everyone!

Practice Final

Well everybody knows I don't have a problem with my nerves, sitting up there joking with my audience in the middle of my piece. But the only reason I paused was to announce that I have yet to get down the second half of my piece. Fingering and timing with the left hand has been a constant struggle that I am attempting to overcome. The first part of my piece is, to say modestly, phenomenal. I am so glad to have that pretty much down, missed a key or two. Glad to hear every one's pieces,  I am excited for the final (well as much as I can be).

12/1/2015

Today before our practice recital I continued practicing Fur Elise trying to get past the first sheet and a half and still manage to have some amount of difficulty in playing it.  I am not sure if I will spend the remaining time trying to get more of it down or cut it to where I am at and continue to work on my tempo and notes.

First half of my final

November 20

Yesterday I was practicing my left and right hand together for the first couple of measures of my piece. I am able to perform the measures well at a slow pace, so hopefully next time I practice I will be able to play faster. My next task is to play the back page of my piece together next. My piece is very repetitive in the hand motion so I hope that once I get a couple of measures down I will be able to play the whole piece. Good luck to everyone and have a nice break!

11/20

Today I worked again on the legend of zelda 25th anniversary piece. I worked on timing of the intro and better hand movement. It is coming along nicely.

11/17/2015

Today from 6:30 until class I continued to work on Fur Elise.  I then found out in class that I play much better by myself than I do in front of other people.  Because of this, I got great feedback to slow it down and I found out that it really helped me to be more accurate.  I still am not sure if this is going to be my final piece, however, I am slowly inching towards it.

video

This is a video of my midterm piece that I taped a while ago.

11/17

I've gotten behind on posting, but the last few weeks I've been working on a new piece "Jackson Street Blues." I think I have most of the first page down, but I still need a lot of work on the second page. A lot of the second page is repeating what is on the first page so I don't think I will have too much trouble with it.

So of course I have done a terrible job of keeping up with this each week. I decided that I will post two videos and hopefully you will see the improvement (and humor) in my playing. I am doing pretty well with the left hand, its all a matter of timing and placement. But please enjoy these two videos of my progress, they were taken a week from each other.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByzBMd8QEhxUMG8wZlZldk93TVBHcXVKQ1o5RTMzdFJHVmNz/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByzBMd8QEhxURVp5czZ0SW11UEh3cHhQR2RSdkdHYzhOeHlN/view?usp=sharing

I finally decided on my final piece. I will be playing it tomorrow night, however only the right hand so far. I have some of it together with the left hand but i think i need some more time to work separately. I can't wait to hear what everyone will be playing for the final.

Good morning!

Our final is fast approaching! Here are some important dates and information:

Tuesday, November 17- last "real" lesson. Please be prepared to play the majority of your piece. Come with any questions you have. Please give me the name/composer of your piece.

Tuesday, November 24- no class- night classes are cancelled because of Thanksgiving. (Happy Thanksgiving! Bring your music home and play for Aunt Sally and Grandpa Joe.)

Tuesday, December 1- 8:00pm- practice final. We will either be in the piano lab or in Fusco Hall. If we can't be in Fusco, please be sure that you have practiced on a real (not electric) piano before the final.

Tuesday, December 8 (This is a change from the syllabus) at 7:30pm- Piano Recital in Fusco Hall. Concert dress is business casual. If you have a conflict with this time, please let me know ASAP. Many professors will let you out for a bit to play in your recital.

Please email me with any questions, comments, or concerns. Please also remember to get caught up on the blog! Post your insights, comments, and videos ASAP! Everything is due by Tuesday, December 8th at 7:30pm.

See you all tomorrow,

Laura

Update- 11/15

Hey guys! I haven't been able to post in a while but for the past two weeks I have been trying to incorporating the left hand of my piece. So far I have been able to play two measures with the left and right hand. My piece has the same repetitive hand movements so once I get a couple of measures down I should be able to play the whole thing. Hope you are all doing well with your pieces!

11/14 Video

 

This week I tried a more classical piece.  I am probably going to use this piece for my final and I hope to learn the rest of it before then.  Since it is a relatively short piece I believe I will be able to do this.  A difficulty I had when learning the first part of this piece was when I had to read the sheet music.  Usually I just grab a video tutorial, but since I need sheet music and I have been reading the book I was able to find this online for free.  Specifically, I had an issue reading the dotted notes as well as the beam notes.

11/6

This week I practiced the opening to gravity falls.  When reviewing the sheet music, I had no issue playing the parts I remember hearing by ear, yet when it came the parts I did not remember, the sheet music became more difficult to read. Overall, I believe that I can play this piece, but it definitely needs more development.

11/5

Today I worked on a small part of my four hand piece with mike shea to work on our timing. It is going well. The section starts slow and progressively speeds up to match the tempo of the rest of the piece.

11/4/15

Today, I began messing around with a few different pieces trying to finalize which one I was going to focus on for my final piece.  I was not able to decide which one I was going to focus on, however, it was nice to try my hand at a few different pieces that I was not accustomed to.

I just went to the piano room and played around with a few pieces. Still trying to pick my final piece, but i have a few good ideas! i am excited to get back and practice some more and see what my favorite is.

Oct 14, 21, 28

I realized i had forgotten to post in a while so here are my last few weeks of practice.

Oct 14
Worked on a short piece i played for my midterm called midna's theme. Its a short somber piece.

Oct 21
Worked on a duet with Mike Shea that we are working on as a final piece. We establish parts and worked on timing.

Oct 28
Worked on a new piece called Zelda's Lullaby. It's a piece from the legend of zelda.

October 27

I was able to play O Come O Come Emmanuel with both hands today at practice today. I have picked a recital piece, Comptine d'un autre ete- L'apres-midi, and will be practicing that for now. Pretty excited for it. I think it will be fun to play. Hope everyone is well and have a good week!

October 27

I have not been able to make it to the piano lab in the past couple of days due to me being sick, however, I was able to make it in today and continue practicing Fur Elise.  I also decided that I would try to find another piece other than The Sound of Silence due to lack of good sheet music.

Week 8

This week I practiced the opening song to steven universe.  I had difficulties switching the order of keys from the first line to the second due to the similarity of the notes.  I guess my ability to play it was what went well.

October 20

Hello everyone! Today at practice I was able to play the right hand of O Come O Come Emmanuel. The left hand is tricky for me, so I will be practicing playing both hands this week. I think I might play Comptine d'un autre ete, l'apres midi for my final piece. I'll try to practice that and see how it goes.
Have a good week everyone!

Week 7

I practiced a new piece called Asymmetry by Yui Horie this week, but it was very difficult compared to the other pieces I have tried in the past.  What went well was my tempo when playing it, however my inability to read sheet music and having to rely on midi files messes up my notes.

Week 5

Hey guys, last night I kept practicing Fur Elise and have gotten the intro down pretty well.  I began to move on to the harder parts that involves more difficult chords as well as harder left and right hand combinations.  Along with that, I found sheet music to "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel and began playing around with that.  It is a little more difficult than I had originally anticipated.

Week of Mid-Semester Break

Hey guys, sorry I've been slacking with posting, had a huge Plant Bio test but now thats outta the way I've been trying this new song called Chamber of Reflection by Mac DeMarco, great song and retro vibe you should check him out if you can. See you guys tonight!

Hey Guys,
I just got another piece of music that I have been practicing. Its the end title to the movie Cloud Altas. The melody of the song is pretty simple, but some of the chords are difficult to play. I am really enjoying playing it though

Week 6

After the midterm, I decided that it would probably be a good idea to use two hands when playing on the piano (duh).  So I stared with a more simple piece to practice my left hand on.  My choice was jingle bells, and I practiced this twice, once on Sunday and again today, Monday.  It is hard to keep my mind and hands on multiple keys for each hand but I'm  making headway!

Hey Guys!

Hey! So I hope everyone's midterm went well! I finally was able to play Minuet in G which I am super happy about. Not sure what piece to play next, maybe a popular song. If anyone has suggestions please let me know!
Have a great week!

I started a new song this week that i have been excited to learn! also i have been looking up a few modern songs that i am interested in possibly doing for the final. Cant wait to here what everyone else chooses!

Week 3-5

Totally realized I forgot about posting the last few weeks.  For week three, I decided to play my old final piece from last year.  The piece is "Davy Jones" from Pirates from the Caribbean.  If any of you are interested here's a link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V49AxkFMhw

For week 4, I picked a mid-term piece.  I tried to do a jazz style of the Family Guy theme song, but it ended up being a little passed my level.  It kinda of felt like a wasted day, but I guess I gained some dexterity and some practice with form.

This week, week 5, I changed my piece to "Drops of Jupiter" by train.  It's fairly easy, and I have it down for the most part after a few hours of practice.  Hopefully by the time the midterm comes, I feel comfortable singing along to it.  Although, I've never been good at that, even when I play guitar which I'm fairly good at.  Only time will tell.

Week 4 and Midterm practice

On Monday I practiced my piece, Lavender's Blue for about an hour and a half getting the timing down as well as some of the melodic difficulties I was having with it.  Then on Tuesday before the Midterm, I practiced for an hour getting everything perfect for the midterm.  I believe it came out very well.

Midterm practice

Sunday and Monday before the Midterm practiced for an hour on my Midterm piece. I worked mostly on getting the crescendos.

Week 4 and Midterm Practice

I have successfully read the notes and adjusted my hand placement on the piano to suit the piece I am playing. One problem, however, is my timing. My metronome has been downloaded and so I am hoping to fix that problem. Cannot wait to hear everyone's stuff!

Week 5

Well, in regards to the midterm today, I remembered to make this post.  I had practiced last week a couple of times, none which times I specifically remember.  I practiced for my midterm piece and only was able to play with my right hand again.  I tried to play with my left and it keeps messing up my rhythm.  I will try however to use two hand tonight.  Wish me luck!

Hey guys!
Over the course of the weekend I was able to practice for probably a total of 3 hours. The piece I have been practicing is Nuvole Bianche. It is a long song, about 8 pages, so I do not have the whole thing down yet. I have about 3 pages of it down pretty well. I plan on practicing more today.
-William Ryan

Midterm Practice

This weekend i went home and was able to have the convenience of a piano right in my house. Therefore, I was able to practice a lot and hopefully mastered my midterm piece. I'm excited to hear everyones final products tomorrow night!

Midterm Piece

Hey guys! Yesterday I was practicing my midterm piece, Minuet in G. I learned this in high school but totally forgot the second half of the piece. I practiced the right hand and I am starting to remember it! Tomorrow I will practice the left hand, so hopefully all goes well. Good luck to everyone with their piece!

Week5

Hey guys sorry about the lack of posting, I just keep forgetting. Anyway I've been working on learning House of the Rising Sun, just the main tune for now though, and when I get that down I'll try my luck on the organ solo. See you guys tonight!

- Matt K.

Weeks 2 and 3.

I forgot to post last week, but last week i spent about two hours in one of rhe practice rooms reminding myself how to read sheet music again while practing my midterm and final pieces.  Today, i spent about an hour and 45 minutes focusing on my mid term piece, Lavender's Blue.

Week 4

I practiced 3 times this week, once Sunday, and twice on Monday.  I spent the time practicing the beginning of Welcome to the Black Parade, as well as the first CALM notes of etude opus 25 no.11 (winter wind).  I found out that my left hand is too slow and messes up with the decisions my right hand makes, and I also discovered that there is no easy way to hit 3 notes with one hand especially if they are G C and E.

I just had my last practice before the practice midterm tomorrow. I worked on a new piece that i had learned a few years ago but hadn't touched in a while. Its not perfected but sounds pretty good. Hopefully it will sound even better by the time of the actual midterm.

Extra Credit/Makeup Lesson Opportunity!

Good morning, all!

I wanted to make you aware of an event occurring next Thursday in Fusco Hall. If you attend this event (and check in with me) you will receive extra credit, or it can count as a make-up lesson. I hope to see many of you there!

Music at Marist:  “Words with Friends”Charles Anthony Silvestri, poet/lyricist & Tracy Resseguie, guest conductor
Thursday, October 8, 2015 -8:00pm
Fusco Recital Hall
Performances of the texts of Charles Anthony Silvestri, who has worked with famed choral composers Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest and Ola Gjeilo and many others.  Guest conductor Tracy Resseguie, of Staley High School (Kansas City, MO), visits to work with the Marist Singers in this musical lecture and presentation.

Laura

Week of 9/21

After spending the first couple weeks learning notes (which I am still focusing on), I decided it was time to try and get both hands on the piano. My left is obviously a little weaker, and cannot play simulaniously with the right, but I am making some progress. Hopefully I will have a piece ready for the midterm.

Finally getting there

Hey guys! I have been guilty of neglecting posting on the blog, but here I go! I have finally mastered Ode to Joy but I'm struggling with keeping the rhythm of the song 'nsync ( I had to =) ) with both hands. My hands like to jump up when I add my left hand, so that's something I have to work on. And I have bendy finger syndrome, so that's a work in progress too. For my midterm, I think I am going to to Minuet in G. I learned it in high school, but forgot most of it. I tried to find it online, but I am having trouble finding the exact version. If anyone has suggestions of what websites are good, please let me know! Hope you are all doing well!

Important Midterm Info

Hi all,

Here is some important midterm info for you all.

We will rehearse for the midterm THIS TUESDAY, October 6th at 8:00pm in the piano lab (I know, it jumped up on me too!). The rehearsal is so you have a chance to play in front of your peers and get your nerves out. It doesn't have to be perfect at this point, but it should be pretty close.

The midterm will be next Tuesday, October 13th in either Fusco hall or the piano lab. You don't have to get dressed up for the midterm.

For those students I'm meeting at 4:30pm, we'll do the midterm during your usual time. You don't have to come to the 8:00pm midterm, but you will need to be at the final (either Tuesday, December 8 or Thursday December 10 between 6 and 8 pm.

Choose a piece to play that is not the same as your final piece (if you've already picked that out- if not- no worries, you have tons of time). Your midterm piece can be as long or short as you're comfortable playing right now. Wherever you are in the book or supplemental music is great. Play something you will enjoy playing for the group. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.

See you all on Tuesday,
Laura

Hi all-

Since a few of you are working on remembering the notes on the staff and the placement of the notes on the keyboard, here are two websites that can be helpful.

The first one is intended for mallet percussion instruments, so the black keys aren't colored black, but the placement is correct. The notes discussed here are all in the treble clef, or right hand of the piano.

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/keyboard/speednotereading.html

The second site is intended for upright bass players, but the notes are the same as the bass clef, or the left hand of the piano.

http://www.studybass.com/tools/bass-clef-notes/

If anyone has any other suggestions, please post them here!

Week 3

My practice session was this previous Sunday around noon.  I practiced welcome to the black parade and learned to use my left hand in the book. I kept missing the e note in my song and replaced it with an f.  Hopefully I will learn to NOT do that.

First, Second, and a Little of the third week

Been going to the piano room frequently. Started the song "Little Talks" by Of Mice and Men. Not too difficult to play. Having trouble keeping left and right hands in sync. Have learned each part (L and R) independently. Will try and combine throughout the week.

Week 2

Last week i went to practice my song Let It Be. I worked on the second page of the song. Its slow but i have the hands together. Also before playing the song i worked on my finger strength with a technique the teacher explained. I would tap one finger at a time without allowing my knuckles to collapse. Overall, felt like a very productive practice.

Week One and Two....oops

Sorry I'm late to the party! Week one was rocky for me, learning how to read the music. I am still plunking vocal notes, but I am getting better at reading music and am finding piano pieces to begin on! Everybody sounds great by the way!

Thank you for all your posts about your practicing experience! Please also remember to post a  video once during the semester, and also to respond to your peers' posts.

Practice Week 2

Practiced for about an hour and fifteen minutes today.  Spent about 15-20 minutes on finger exercises, trying to keep my fingers from flattening out while playing.  Afterwards, did some dexterity exercises (while at the same time brushing up on some theory) by playing some scales up and down including blues scale, major/minor scales, and minor harmonic scales.  It was pretty tedious, so I plan on starting a piece sometime next week.

2nd week practice

Started working on the left hand. I really love this piece of music and can't wait to be able to play it all together!!

Practice 2

Practiced some of the intro exercises in the book on Sunday around 2:00 for about an hour.  During this session, I was able to master ode to joy with my right hand like the book taught me.  Not being able to refrain from hitting more than one key was pretty tricky, but I learned how to keep my fingers on one key and not on others.

First Practice

Yesterday i went to the piano room and practiced for a bit. i just fiddled around with a few pieces that i have. Even though i already know how to play, they aren't perfected yet. I am excited to get them to the full pace. Also today i went and bought a piano book to hopefully choose a piece for the final recital. there are a few songs i am excited to learn.

Week 2 practice

I practiced some songs I have played before for an hour last night. I focused on Canon in D. It had been awhile since I last played it. I kept pausing, not really sure if I was playing the right notes. I need to keep practicing, but I was able to play it a little smoother by the time I left.

First Practice

Went to the practice room in between my 8AM and my 11.   Played my solo piece from last semester's recital ("DavyJones" - Hans Zimmer from Pirates of the Caribbean).  Then I messed around with the blues scale, but I can't improvise while also using my other hand for a rhythm.  Maybe a goal for the end of the semester?

1st Practice Session

Today I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes beginning to get my bearings on "Für Elise" by Beethoven.  I started out a little rocky, however, after taking some time and working on both hands individually, I was able to get the beginning of it down pretty good.  Here I am uploading a video of how far I was able to get today.  I did not have anybody to video tape for me so it is just audio, however, any constructive criticism would still be greatly appreciated.

Week 2

Good morning piano class!

Now that everyone is getting accustomed to the set-up of this class, please remember to post about your experience each week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tonight!

Laura

1st Practice Blog Post

Went to the bookstore to pick up the book for class.  They didn't carry it.  I walked into practice room around 8:30 pm today after not having the book for class, and met Brian.  Turns out he was in BG Piano 1 last year and still had the book.  Got my hands on it and did some basic reading/ stretching.  Got some basics down, but still cant play anything resembling music.

Piano Practice Post

I started practicing a piece called "Liz on top of the world" by Dario Marianelli yesterday ( 8:30-9:20 pm). I've almost gotten the right hand down for the first page and a half so that I can play it smoothly but the left hand I'm still having trouble with and I have yet to begin playing with both hands together. I'm also not sure if I am playing at the correct tempo. Besides that I'm really enjoying learning the piece and look forward to being able to play it completely.

Bass & Treble Clef notes

Flash cards and matching games to help memorize notes. See if anyone can set a new high score on the matching game. 

https://quizlet.com/15206618/lwc-piano-bass-clef-notes-flash-cards/

https://quizlet.com/15206659/lwc-piano-treble-clef-flash-cards/

Welcome to Lab Piano at Marist! We will use this blog to communicate with each other each week. Remember to post at least once a week and to respond to at least three other people's posts.

Your post should include the following items:
1. Day/time of practice session
2. What you practiced
3. What went well/what was tricky
4. etc!

You should also include video or audio of what you're working on at least once during the semester. This recording can be anywhere from a small section of a piece to a whole piece.

We'll talk more about this during our meeting tonight. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!
Laura