Extra Blog: February Post

This month, I have started an easier Beethoven piece, of which I am doing for my second independent component. For my answers to my essential question, I am going to have each answer just focus on one aspect of performance, and how it relates to succeeding at learning classical music. These answers are going to be based on theory, pitch, interpretation, and rhythm, and will go into detail about each and how important they are to classical music endeavors. I should have this piece finished in a month or less as I have already played this before, and I simply need to review it. My research from here on out will be focusing on the importance of theory, rhythm, pitch and interpretation, and I hope to find good sources soon with my research. I'm hoping to find books on each, or will ask assistance of my mentor.

Blog 16

EQ

Answer #2 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

Learning different genres help a musician test their capabilities by forcing them to think about a piece and learn how to approach music differently, whether it be by listening to how music is played by a technical standpoint or by playing something in sections slowly until they have each section fully memorized after utilizing what they already know from past experiences and apply that knowledge to playing that specific piece.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

• For example, if I were being given a piece that I had never seen before and was an intermediate classical piece or so, I would have most likely looked at the entire score before I even decided to attempt playing it myself without practice. Most often it is helpful to scan the score and mark in places that prove more difficult or demanding of technique, such as sudden jumps from octave to octave or ornamentation.
• I would listen to a recording of it to better understand the rhythm of the piece, then I would proceed to begin using a metronome to work on it. Most often, listening helps also with interpretation and understanding the emotion of the piece itself.
• I would play through it until I got better, starting out slow then going gradually faster. Most of the time, this forces a pianist to look at approaching score differently, and if needed, learning how to shift their hands in a different way whether written in the score by numbered fingerings indicated on page. 

Conclusion

Through listening to recordings, taking a piece apart after scanning it and changing the way you play certain notes, you are in a sense challenged to improve your skills and therefore become a better musician in doing so.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my thirty hours, I want to explore learning another piece, and maybe incorporate what I learn from it into another music performance or so. I'm hoping by doing this, I will be able to find another answer as to why learning different genres and styles can help a pianist become better, even if it means incorporating that into something not necessarily classical, but yet heavily influenced by classical, or at least as demanding of a musician in all aspects as classical music is of a performer. I do know I'm going to be doing this to also help me prepare for talent show.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will have better technology to be able to record my progress through video, in a final product. And maybe some pictures and visuals as well as a log of these hours.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

What I will be doing will have me take what I know and learn something new while still being able to put that learned experience back into what my original goal is of finding just what can prepare me for a demanding performance.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your other logs and call it the independent component 2 log.

Will be done soon.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

LITERAL 

(a) I, Alyssa Casey, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) My mentor Stacey Ulmer has helped me complete my independent component. Other books that have helped are The Library of Piano Classics 2 published by Hal Leonard, which includes my Beethoven piece and other pieces I have had to learn to build up my technique.


(c) Independent Component Log (Can't seem to put it up on the blog itself. Link is here.)

(d) I completed a Beethoven piece, specifically Sonata Pathetique, Mvt. 1, of which took a significant amount of practice to fully master.

INTERPRETIVE

The significant parts of my component were mostly me practicing nearly every day for at least two hours, mostly with breaking up the piece by playing sections at a time until I memorized it fully, slowly at first, then gradually picking up speed.

A part in the piece that has me cross my right hand over to play low notes and mordents, which are trill like notes.

This Beethoven piece requires a lot of fast notes, as depicted above.

Proper playing requires a pianist to sit forward, rather than sit back and try to reach out to the keyboard. The way a pianist sits can affect how they play.

A page from Sonata Pathetique.

Music is my life, or at least takes up a lot of it, if not my free time. Then again, it is more than just a hobby for me.

The Steinway Metronome app I have been using for the entirety of my senior project.

Hanon (yellow book) next to my book with Beethoven and other composers.

APPLIED

 The component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better because it made me take a look at everything that goes into learning classical music, the method of learning it by breaking up measures to memorize, the exercises in Hanon that help build precision, and the constant rhythmic changes that are often heard from Jazz and other forms of music. It also made me, in a sense, really understand just how important time management really is, especially when it comes to classical music. You just simply cannot rush any piece of music whenever it comes to classical music.