Passacaglia
I worked on this piece for quite a long time, about 5-6 months as a technical exercise. I liked the piece and wanted to be able to play it, but was unable to just piece it all together. From Sep-Oct I had a plan to work on it with "stepping stones" and a final goal of a slow tempo, and not completely polished, but able to play musically and with ease. I met the goal!
I did work on it diligently for 2 months, working on it every practice session and ironing out all the issues then slowly putting the piece together as a whole. And, its memorized!
WEEK 1 REFLECTION
What surprised me most this week?
How easy it was to get the desired result when I broke things down and only focused on what I was supposed to be doing. I am ahead of schedule at this point.
What was easier than expected?
Getting up to tempo.
What challenged me?
Trying to play too fast, too early.
How do I feel about my progress so far?
I feel like I will be able to play this whole piece by the deadline.
WEEK 2 REFLECTION
What's working best in my practice routine?
Working on this piece first thing in my practice session. This way I got to it every day and made progress.
Where do I see the most improvement?
Having a grasp of the sections and where I am in the piece while playing through.
What needs adjustment?
I need to stay slow until the section is very solid before working on tempo goal.
WEEK 3 REFLECTION
How has my confidence changed?
I am now playing one of the difficult sections at tempo with ZERO tension and it feels flowing and … FUN!
What skills are feeling more solid?
Playing the hands 3 octaves apart from each other. I figured out which hand and when I need to glance to make a leap.
What am I most proud of so far?
I can play through 88% of the piece now at minimum goal tempo.
WEEK 4 REFLECTION
How close am I to achieving my goal?
I played through the entire piece today to record progress!!! I have never, ever played through the entire piece before.
What would I do differently if starting over?
I would start by finding the most difficult section and work on that one first, doing 10x repetitions at a slow speed and paying attention to how and when I need to move arm/wrist/fingers to play well and in time.
What goal should I focus on next month?
Christmas pieces!!!
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