Weissenborn Wednesday Etude #6

I had a lot of fun working on this etude. There is a ton of potential within this piece to really dig in and work on fluidity of phrasing and decide how you want to make this your own. 

Approaching the opening section I wanted the figure itself to give it all the lift that it would need rather than actively creating a slurred staccato. It would be very easy to make these staccatos too short, so by not trying to do them, I got the effect I wanted without working too hard. 

The B section is my favorite! I wouldn't want my younger students to follow the same approach I did until I knew they had solid rhythm and could play it straight with a metronome and without before making any changes (I'm pretty sure I did that a few times at least in the first few days of practice). I decided that in this section my goal would be the fourth bar of each phrase. I could play with time a little bit as long as I always found my anchor in that measure and didn't deposit or withdraw too much from the bank on any given phrase. 

This etude does provide some interesting teaching moments in the B section as well as you do the slurred dances over the brake. This is another favorite etude of mine (I know, totally dorky thing to say) and I hope whether you are just listening or you are playing, it becomes a favorite of yours as well.

Weissenborn Wednesday Etude #2

What to say about this etude? For me the biggest issue that has to be decided is once again, tempo. There are plenty of instructions on the tempo for this piece, but when I see music in 3/8 boy do I just want to go fast. Even though it is marked allegretto and further marked to play resolutely. As I listen back I can hear moments when my resolution weakens a bit, but on the whole I wanted to create a steady pacing with a few alterations of pace for musical emphasis. 

The other difficult thing to focus on and something I notice particularly at the end of the second line in my final run through is that I played some of the secondary chords out of tune in relation to the chord they supported. I should have done a quick chord analysis to make sure I knew where I should be placing every note, but I allowed myself to fall into the trap of "easy" music once again only to be reminded on the playback that technically easy music reveals every lapse in concentration and preparation.

Weissenborn Wednesdays! Etude #1

For starters I am using the etude scans available on IMSLP so that anyone interested in following along with the etudes performed can have easy access to them. While I am allowing myself multiple attempts at recording each etude, I am trying to limit myself to three recordings and posting the best of the three, mistakes and all. 

Weissenborn Etudes

I still haven't decided what format I want to use with these blog posts, but for now I will start by saying that these first 10 or so weeks are the recordings that make me the most nervous. They strip down the performer to the basic elements of music and reveal any fundamental flaws that may have crept in over time when you feel like you are practicing more "important" things.

I spent a fair amount of time trying to decide if I was going to play the repeats on this and following etudes, but spirit of brevity for the listener as the etudes get longer, I decided to forgo the repeated sections. 

My primary goal with this etude was to channel the fluidity of a Bach prelude. There were two things that I spent a lot of time debating, the final tempo and the measures in which I would put more emphasis on the downbeat. I also struggled with my choice of breathing location in the first section. I was hesitant to break up the V-I motion between mm. 8 and 9, but decided that for consistency through the whole etude this was the best place to breath.

I think this is a good place to close for now. I don't want these to be attempts at some large educational discourse, but I hope that it does bring a little insight into what I was thinking as I prepared for this week.