28 December 2014
My piano teacher commented that I have improved - my wrists and elbows were more relaxed now. The irony is by putting our arms and body in a relaxed position, the notes come out fuller and rounder. This is perhaps the greatest and most important lesson of my piano journey. I regretted not knowing it earlier, and I feel myself chasing time now.
It brought to my mind a book by Victor Wooten "A Music Lesson", in which he mentioned that a teacher cannot teach, he/she cannot put knowledge into our brains. A teacher can only show/demonstrate how something is done, and it is up to the understanding/perception of a student to receive it and make it his/her own. This is also in line with Socrates who was quoted - “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” My teacher is excellent in that she makes me think of the musical direction and structure of a piece/study on top of my technical skills. This makes me understand fuller what I am actually playing and what to look out for when practising.
Well, at the end of the lesson, my bf added that I wanted more homework and to see her every day. To my ?horror, I got more than what I wished for. She gave me 2 Czerny studies, Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Beethoven sonata op13 (Pathetique) and Eb major and minor scales for homework. And an appointment to see her on New Year's Day which was 4 days later, with the parting words "do as much as you can".
I was, of course, overwhelmed.
29 December 2014
Overwhelmed. I managed to play through Prelude and all the exercises, promising to face the Fugue the next day.
30 December 2013
Overwhelmed. Upon the advice of my bf, I skipped Fugue and started instead with Beethoven sonata which my teacher stressed to practise the opening chords well. The first page looked intimidating at first with many heavy chords, but after observing the patterns it was manageable. At this point, I realised the importance of knowledge of chord progression which I lacked and need to know sooner.
Coincidentally. or not, my previous piano teacher called me out of the blue to ask if my bf wanted to teach at her friend's new music school where they were "urgently" looking for a violin teacher. She knew him when we attended theory lessons last year. We chatted and I updated her about my life and situation (that I am looking for piano students) and she gave my contacts to her friend. I marveled the timeliness and randomness of it.
31 December 2013
I did not touch the piano at all due to complacency/laziness/1000 excuses and 2 dinners to attend.
1 January 2014
Piano lesson! We went through the 2 Czerny studies where my teacher reinforced on relaxation of wrists which would better bring out the subsequent notes played by the third, fourth and fifth fingers, instead of clumping them into a muddy mess. We also worked on rhythm where she wanted me to have my own internal pulse rather than to rely on a metronome. It was unfortunate that we ran out of time for Beethoven sonata, due to the analysis of Bach prelude. She opened my mind to the changes of keys within the prelude and the purpose of the accidentals, which previously were just "notes I had to play". As mentioned, this gave me a fuller understanding of what I am playing and drew me further and further away from what I thought I knew.
But good news: I have now a week to prepare before my next lesson.
Bf and I met our prospective boss at her music school, and we got a position there! Yay to being employed in my first music school after nearly 4 months of unemployment, but nay to the meager salary. But but but... It is a good start to get the ball rolling!
I look forward to what 2014 has in store for us - the challenges, discoveries and timely "coincidences" (aka opportunities). :)
