Piano Class [28-Jan-2012]

It felt great to attend class when you had had practice the week before... :D

I still played like a mess though... dunno why it always have to happen when Miss C is there :P

Miss C started on scales after the first piece was played. Panicked. I totally panicked hearing unfamiliar major scales... lol. When I actually tried all of them (only the major ones for now), I realised... "HEY. I kind of know this...," I felt like a fool! I've played pieces/songs with these key signatures before! Playing those songs - even though not perfect - REALLY HELPED A LOT! Though it was just recently (few months ago I think) that I could accept songs with 4-6 flats (Arashi's "Monster" is one of them & I LOVE this song)... I'm quite surprised how easy I get comfortable with those scary scales. XD

Now I'm back to worrying about my pieces. My problem is still the dynamics ... my second piece looks easy but is quite difficult on the expressing part (had to work more on the controlling the pedal - too noisy for now)... I've tried playing my third piece already, a jazz piece.. chosen through elimination method :P ....C1 was lengthy, need to play fast & need to change pages (yeah I think of petty things like this lol).. C3 was lengthy too & I'm not really in the mood to play marches :P.

My chosen pieces are A1, B1 & C2.

I've found someone who had played them on youtube so you can listen to how they sound like...

A1

B1

C2

It's decided. I'm taking Grade 5's piano exam (ABRSM) this year.

I shouldn't have been surprised... actually. 

I want this to happen.

I have wanted this to happen.

Since I skipped taking exams last year, I was like floating between grade 3 and 4. The time gap was big. It gave me enough time to study G3...& then G4's pieces. Which was what I was supposed to be taking this year. BUT. One day, I forgot to bring my G4 book to class. So my teacher lent me G5 book from the school shop (lol)... & I fell in love with the first song (A1). I got bored with the G4 pieces I had chosen to play. It was so apparent that I didn't feel like improving my playing anymore XD... When my piano teacher asked me to pick between these two numbers last Saturday, I was thinking that I'm not up to G5 level yet... but then another thought came.. I rather die than play the G4 pieces for exam. Okay, I'm exaggerating... but this made me agree to go along with my teacher's suggestion. 

So, I need to be serious this year. There are a lot to catch up... such as scales. I must know all my scales. 12 major scales and 12 minor scales. *cringes* ... I haven't even pick my B and C pieces yet...

The exam is at least six months away....

Honestly, I'm feeling a bit optimistic about this. If I fail, at least I will have the experience of taking a G5 practical exam... & the next attempt should be easier (& more relaxing).

2012

My first post in 2012! XD

My parents bought a new sofa set few weeks ago, so the piano was re-located... well not far from it's original place... but lol.. I just want to say it sounds really pretty now when I play it! I haven't check it online, but I think it has some effects to the acoustic of the room (or sth) when you put the piano too closely to the wall... Before, the sound was echo-ish and not as pleasant as now.. I don't know... psychological, maybe... lol

Anyway.. starting this year -following a somewhat big change in my father's church situation...- my piano classes will be on Saturdays..

I believe 2012 will be a great year.

Piano class [11-Dec-2011]

Didn't play the piano in piano class yesterday... music theory only hehe.. not that I'm complaining (didn't practised much again last week XD)

I've started reading the pink ABRSM music theory book I bought a couple years ago.. it was really enriching, really. The way it was written was unlike the usual rigid/strict kind of textbook, it was really easy to understand! I think I've become more appreciative towards music.. it suddenly makes sense to me now. XD 

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This part was cross-posted from my LJ post :D

I started trying to transcribe "Meikyuu Love Song" on the piano last Saturday... :P

This is the first time I really made to the end... well, only the melody part though for now..  XD


Just got curious of how people learnt to create the piano version of popular songs just by listening...& boy, my ears got a really good listening practice that day. And I practised singing too lol ... 'cos you cannot not sing along with the song.. that was good practice too for the "echo" part of ABRSM exam.


What a productive Saturday I had last week. <3

Progress on 5x10

I mentioned about playing 5x10 perfectly before the end of September in my main blog. It's far from perfect but I'm still happy that I could now play the two difficult bars in the beginning part. They looked easy really but I kept pressing the wrong keys. :P

For this year... supposedly my final year in university... I should be preparing my Final Year Project so that was why I told my teacher that I don't want any piano exams this year. But there were almost-four-month long semester holidays this year so I SHOULD'VE been able to do it. And then came the decision to extend my studies in university for another year, which means I can only start my FYP next year...

Now.. I DON'T CARE ANYMORE. I'll take those exams whenever I want to! 

Moving on. Since few weeks ago, my piano teacher had made me study the G5 pieces more seriously. Then last Sunday, she told me what I wanted initially but feared for it to happen now : Skipping G3 and G4, and take G5 exams. WHOA. In these few past months I felt my dynamics & mood-making (or whatever you call it) to bring the exam pieces to life were so lacking, I kind of doubt whether I CAN play the piano or not. It's like "I'm lost". G5 demands a lot of that...which I don't have now... Anyway. She was just suggesting. I have to study both grades' pieces before she decide whether G5 is a go or not. 

To me, taking piano exams is like acquiring the official points of the level of my playing skills. It may not reflect my REAL ability but it gives some kind of proof which I think is important to motivate someone who re-started playing piano again at an older age. I actually learnt a lot more from pieces that weren't assigned to me in class eg. I got used to 3-6 sharps/flats songs of my favourite artistes (like Arashi & Demi Lovato)... this self-study lessons complements my piano lessons... If you make efforts to attend music lessons every week, why not take the exams too, right? It was actually a childhood dream of mine really..to play piano like those who played since they were children..and have exams like such. Though... I think all the young students in my music school are taking ABRSM exams. It seems like most of them are taking GUILD ones [or not taking at all??? Will do so when they reach G5 level?]

Hmm.