Hello, hello- today’s post is for a recording from May 28. Haven’t had a chance to get a decent recording more recently, and at this rate, I feel like the next recording will be the last for this piece.. just more progress on the piece from the prelude to the main theme’s first appearance, and this time we go to the end for the first time (on camera, at least).

Detailed Breakdown

We start at the point from which I’ve practiced the most- I definitely need to clean up the earlier phrases, but.. we’ll do that later. I think my touch has improved a bit from the previous recording for this section, especially for the echo that goes from LH to RH at 0:16.

From 0:31, there is much clearer improvement. I’m much more comfortable with the notes after several days of practice, but at this point I was still more focused on hitting all the notes with less space in my brain for musicality. The chord in the RH at 0:36 flams/is uneven and it’s something I’m still working on.. I’m trying to bring out the top note in my pinky but that’s compromising the timing of the other notes, especially when compounded with the bigger chord shape. The jump in the LH at 0:43 is fantastic to see on camera, always satisfying to see my hands land an octave farther down the keyboard and snap back up to position for the next notes. And similarly at 0:48!! Much smaller jump, but it’s also a lot faster and more complex for hand shapes. I got lucky with the broken chord in the RH at 1:08; I’ve had to put in work since this recording to make it more consistently clean. It’s too big to comfortably roll loosely, so I have to swing my hand down to the left slightly.. good practice for other bigger broken chords.

1:14 brings us to the starry sky part, and I finally learned it properly!! Was still focused on note accuracy rather than dynamics; I’ve been working on playing this part as quietly as I can while not sacrificing tone. The syncopation is really fun throughout this section, and while it does feel pretty organic, the challenge is to play quietly with accurate rhythm.. This section played me, I really thought it’d be the easy part of the piece, but I was wrong. It’s got a whole host of challenges to tackle. I’m learning a lot through it, though. I’m also still working on general flow and tempo for this section; you can hear the urgency grow in this recording as I near the end of the phrase and I don’t like it. Yes, it’s easier to play faster since I don’t have to worry as much about the space in between the notes, but I want this section to feel more mellow and relaxed. Space between notes. Still working on that.

The main theme makes a reappearance from 2:00 for the last time, and it is the loudest appearance. I do not do it justice in this recording, given that I think I was still learning the notes and I don’t think I had the muscle memory locked in yet. The chord at 2:05 in the RH is ROUGH; it’s a D octave with 3 and 4 blocked in, too. At the end of an octave phrase, Lord give me strength.. working on bringing out the octave rather than the supporting middle notes, which I tend to emphasize instead on accident. Definitely a weird chord shape that I’m not used to yet. The phrase from 2:13 is my favorite in this section- the way the arpeggio shifts seamlessly from LH to RH at 2:15 (PLUS the spicy rhythm in the RH) is FANTASTIC, and that same small but fast jump makes a reappearance at 2:18 (but slightly simpler this time). My pause at 2:20 makes the RH chord look deceivingly normal, but the jump up to the A minor chord is Hard at tempo. My RH needs to shift from one all-white chord to the next quickly while my LH is maneuvering an odd fingering in the name of ergonomics..

From 2:26 we have a TON of fuller chords for the final part of the main theme. I gotta appreciate that this arrangement has unique permutations for each time this theme appears. It prevents the learning from being too repetitive. There’s another full chord in the middle of an octave phrase at 2:31 which sounds better here than it feels.. I don’t know how to feel about that..

2:51 kicks off the final phrase of the piece. I basically was playing by ear and had just learned this section.. I’ve been working on the voicing at 2:57 since this recording. The broken chord at 3:03 is a bit big for my hands as I’d anticipated before, but it’s manageable. The descending phrase needs to be sped up a lot, but it’s pretty neat as a phrase.

I’m pretty sure y’all already know which octaves are my fave. That’s right, the three chords from 3:18. Weirdly enough, the Ab octave at the end is the hardest to hit LOL. While it’s black keys so it should be easier, it’s hard to nail the single octave with the same intensity as the previous fuller chords (which also use both hands). And then we have a simple ascending arpeggio and we end with a broken chord.

Current Thoughts

This recording was taken over a week ago, and honestly, I don’t really know if I’ve made any substantial improvement since aside from getting way more comfortable with all the notes in the last half of the piece. Still got a ways to go on musicality and flow for the piece. I think I have a better grip on tempo now, but this recording still has traces of rushing for whatever reason.

I’m most worried about the first couple of pages now, since those are the ones I’ve played the least. I’ve memorized the portion in this recording, but I still rely on the sheet music for the first few phrases. Plus, the opening has so much space and demands so much control (arguably even more than the starry night section).. I find myself practicing the same chord over and over and over again to get comfortable with the physical sensation of the specific keys. This is the price I pay for mostly tackling bombastic pieces before this, I guess. It’s fair.

I’m at the point where I’m starting to lose drive for this piece; as of today, I’d say I’m about 90% there to the point where I’d be satisfied with my progress. Hopefully I can close this piece out even at this 90% and then move on to the next piece. I try to avoid dwelling on the same piece for too long.. it makes me complacent and it becomes a lot easier to pick up bad habits.