Stand Your Ground #3
Short update today- brushed up older sections and worked on the next few, but still work in progress. I took a break the past couple of days so I’m a little rusty but I wanted to update this week before I learn any more of this.. and didn’t have access to the usual setup today, so just phone audio. Volume warning!! Also not sure if it’s just me, but a few sections look super laggy on video, so.. sorry for the janky quality all around lol.
Detailed Analysis
I actually ended up playing the first couple of sections until 1:03 slower than I did in the last recording.. I have this problem where I’ll polish a section and then be really comfortable with it for a while, and then as I progress through the rest of the piece, I lose my touch like immediately LOL. Lack of practice, I guess. But I did work on bringing out the top notes/voicing for the first couple of sections and I think some progress has been made, so there’s that.
1:03 is where I spent a lot of time with a met for those pesky sixteenths. The voicing is super uneven in the LH and the middle notes need to come out more, but I can at least somewhat physically eke my way through, miraculously.. I used the crossover fingering at 1:11 because it’s just waaay easier on the hand and wrist at tempo. There’s still some imbalance due to the crossovers, but not too bad. The biggest challenge is smoothly transitioning to this new hand position. Overall, this is a section where I prioritized physical capability over quality because it was probably the least feasible section upfront, so now that I’ve somewhat built the muscle needed, I can focus on the musicality and details. My LH basically just takes off at whatever tempo it wants to go despite my brain setting a very deliberate tempo.. I can’t really reliably play any in-between tempos. My brain registers “fast” and my LH just says “ok go”.
The downwards scale at 1:15 is not the best I’ve played it, but I’m also really surprised I’m even able to play this as fast as I did here. It was one of the most intimidating parts of the piece since I have no technical foundation and it’s ISOLATED, meaning that the LH is highlighted and any weaknesses will be more obvious. I have to take extra care with my 3 4 5 fingers to make sure I articulate, otherwise they end up smushing together.. but the stretch up to the next descending scale at 1:17 is actually really smooth!! And I didn’t have to do anything fancy with the fingerings.
(WOW these phrases are seriously SO FAST LOL) 1:18 takes us to THE LH ARPEGGIOS.. which.. in all honesty.. were not as bad as I expected? I did expect them to be more difficult than the LH sixteenths at 1:03, but these were actually more manageable. This is partially likely due to the fact that I already knew these notes, and also the fact that the hand shapes required are more natural than the ones at 1:03. I got started on the wrong foot here so the first arpeggios are rickety, but I clamber back on track by the half of the second one. The RH octaves at 1:23 are something I watch for, since the jump is kind of big at this tempo and my middle finger has to shift slightly for the second octave, all while the LH is going absolutely nuts LOL. I also tend to miss some notes in the LH at 1:25 for that lower arpeggio (usually hit A instead of G base), but I got lucky in this take. I fudged the sync a bit between my hands for the final arpeggios at 1:25.. I guess that first run was okay, but I could feel the disconnect so I tried again. I have to sometimes push to get through to 1:36- I can definitely feel my strength run out, and if I’m not careful then that final ending is uneven..
A minor octave at 1:38 missed the mark a bit and then we hit the staggered octaves. This is the fastest I’ve played this part, ever; I’ve been working on note accuracy because while it is relatively simple, it’s actually pretty difficult to monitor both hands rapidly while moving up and down the keyboard. RH obviously is less troublesome than LH.. the chords that break up the octaves are supposed to be accented, but I don’t think that really came through because I could feel my hands being tired lol. ALSO, definitely need to work on EVEN SIXTEENTHS.. it almost sounds like just pure octaves that weren’t played at the same time properly until the final phrase.
1:53 is theoretically the easiest phrase, but honestly, it is SO hard to keep the LH bass notes quiet, and quieter than the mezzo piano RH. I also get tempted to rest my LH on the piano because my hand is SO TIRED by this point lol. Sixteenth notes in the RH at 1:59 aren’t always in sync.. (SHOUT OUT TO MY ECZEMA AT THE PAGE TURN AT 1:56!!)
Finally, just the RH for the last phrase of the recording from 2:28. I haven’t formally practiced this, but I kept reading it while practicing for fun and I’ve ended up somewhat learning it. I do want to modify some fingerings to rely less on repeated alternating fingerings (e.g., 1 2 1 2 1 2), but I think I already have a pretty good grasp on the voicing, thankfully. Now just need to learn the LH (EIGHTH NOTES) and put this polyrhythm together slowly. These arrangers always have this polyrhythm.. difficult at first, but so rewarding once it’s learned.
Current Thoughts
This video is pretty low qual, I don’t know why the video weirdly lags.. I did run out of storage space while recording so that might be why? I dunno. But anyway, once I learn the polyrhythm, there’s the bombastic chords section, and then back to the wild LH arpeggios.. and then there’s one ending phrase before the conclusion.
I haven’t really made that much progress in terms of learning notes from the last post, but at the same time, I did dial in some troublesome spots and issues a bit, so at least there’s that. The sixteenth notes in the LH in general have just been a challenge physically.. I do think I have made some progress, though, so that is encouraging! I honestly thought I’d have to play this piece way slower than what’s written which was kind of a bummer (but understandable), but it looks like I might be able to keep closer to the og tempo, luckily. I need to go back and polish those first few phrases and also keep working on the sixteenth notes. I have the sheer brute force necessary now, just need to learn how to harness that chaotic energy lol.