October 2018

The last month of piano has had significant ups and downs. It has been hard to get back into the routine of playing piano more often, and I realized I had to do a lot of relearning of songs. However, I think I am past the discouraging part, and I am able to make forward progress. I recently had a recital last week (26 October 2018) and it was encouraging and successful. My brother and I played a duet, and I was also able to play a few of my songs from La La Land, which I enjoy very much for their jazzy and showy components.

I have also begun to plan out what questions to ask for my CAS project, a piano recital at a local retirement home called Valle Verde.

May 2018

Piano has been going slowly, and it is difficult to find the time to practice. I have, however, since January made great progress with La La Land. I have almost finished "Another Day of Sun" and am starting "Mia and Sebastian's Theme". Through learning "Another Day of Sun" I have gained confidence in my ability to transfer between keys, and between flats and sharps especially. "Mia and Sebastian's Theme" has helped me to learn complex fingering techniques. Even though I haven't mastered some of the octave sequences in this song yet, it definitely has me thinking about the benefits of choosing challenging songs, and what areas I can improve in next. I have also picked up "Grande Valse Brillante in E-flat Major (Op. 18)" by Chopin. Instead of practicing through and just seeing how I do, my instructor introduced me to a new-to-me technique. Essentially, the idea is that I select just a few lines at a time (usually 8 to 10 measures) and practice this until I can get it up to tempo, including all technical aspects.

January 2018

As part of a Christmas gift I received the original, un-arranged piano music from the movie La La Land. I decided to work through this book sequentially, with the help of my piano instructor. However, this music is so beautiful I could not help playing around through some of the songs later in the book. As I was doing this, I noticed several pieces that were in flat keys, which made it difficult to find the correct fingering. It has been a while since I have practiced and of the flat keys, so I chose to work with my teacher on practicing the flat scales, two hands, two octaves. By the end of the month I was able to do all of the flat keys with both hands, two octaves without stumbling. I was also more easily able to identify the flat keys in music, which made me much more confident in approaching the material in my new book of music.

I have also been practicing using a book of Clementi's sonatinas, one of which my father actually played when he took lessons as a child.

December 17, 2017

Because we all knew the songs already, this choir session was spent focusing on details: breathing, crescendos, and annunciation. I enjoyed this much more than our last rehearsal because the pieces sounded more finished, and we could complete the entirety of a song. After an hour, Brett Mutinelli had a pianist come to practice the music with us. This very much increased my appreciation for the piece, because I was able to hear the harmony between the singers and the piano accompaniment

December 9, 2017

I performed the songs I had been working on for the Christmas holiday: Winter Wonderland, Snows of Kazakhstan, and Home for the Holidays. This event took place with several other student of my piano teacher also performing. I was nervous to perform in front of people, and it was challenging to adjust to the keys and pedal of a piano I am not well acquainted with. However, when talking to the residents of the retirement home afterwards, it was clear that it did not matter that I had stumbled across a few notes because it meant so much to them that I could come and visit them. This was my second time playing at the Vista Del Monte retirement community.

December 3, 2017

I spent 90 minutes with roughly twenty other adults practicing Christmas choral music to perform for Santa Barbara Community Church. Brett Mutinelli, a local children’s choir director, led us in learning two songs, both with SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Base) parts. I have always enjoyed being able to participate in choirs, because I can collaborate with others using my specific skills (alto harmonies) to create a larger piece that is beyond my ability. It is difficult sometimes to focus on my own part, while there are three other parts happening simultaneously.

October, 2017

I have recently begun to practice Christmas music again, including “Home for the Holidays,” “Winter Wonderland,” and a duet I am playing with my brother titled, “Snows of Kazakhstan.” I have been practicing one to three hours a week.

During recent family events, piano has been especially enjoyable, as it releases so much tension. However, with adjusting back into the school year, it has been difficult to reach the ideal forty to sixty minutes a day. The duet piece I am currently practicing is proving challenging because I have played this piece in years past, while my brother has not. Despite this, the duet is very enjoyable when we can play it correctly, as it imitates the calm and beautiful sounds of winter.