🧗 The piece just out of reach
Most of us are carrying a piece we are not quite ready for, the one that sits a level or two above where we are and keeps pulling us forward. Some chip away at it in private for years, some wait until the technique catches up, some dive in and let the piece itself do the teaching. And sometimes the hardest part is a piece we learned long ago with mistakes baked in, now asking to be taken apart and rebuilt.
💬 What is the piece you are reaching for, and how do you handle it?
- Do you work on a stretch piece before you are ready, or hold off until the fundamentals are in place?
- When the music is above your level, what do you actually do, learn it in fragments, simplify it, or shelve it for later?
- Has a piece that once felt impossible ever come within reach, and what got you there?
Reaching pieces are where ambition meets patience, and no two players negotiate that the same way. Let's trade the ones we are chasing.
4 replies
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Historically I become infatuated with a piece, buy the music, try to play it, give up in frustration. I have had a hard time with compound meter and rhythm. So I find the music of Bogdanovic particularly attractive and frustrating.
Bought "Mysterious Habitats" probably 25 years ago, tried playing it and gave up in disgust. I recently dusted it off and started working on it with my teacher. I'm determined to NOT give up, and it's coming along.
It's clear I could benefit a lot by becoming more patient. -
I have loved Duartes English Suite since I was 14. I have long used it to pick out issues with both my technique and musicality. It is a source of perfect joy when I listen to vinyl Segovia and remember why I struggle with this wonderful instrument. Now I’m approaching 75 I’ve decided that it’s too late to wait until I’m good enough or at the right stage for a technicality difficult piece.
I try to identify the key phrases and target those wherever they appear in the work. I never expect nor particularly want to play for anyone other than those I love… just hope they are honest when they say I play well.
Just love the music and play whatever while time is still on your side.
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One that comes to mind for me is Sor’s Variations on a Theme of Mozart. I love Sor so much, but the last variation and coda of this beloved piece are simply beyond me. If I’m being honest, the penultimate variation is a bit too fast for me, but I might be able to eke it out a little slower than tempo.
Oh, and another one would be Bach’s Prelude in E major BWV 1006a. The little part from the beginning to the end is just too difficult! 😄
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I try and avoid pieces that are out of reach I have baked in too many bad habits chasing them years back. I am working on my tremolo and do want to play Recuerdos which is currently out of reach so aiming to do regular tremolo practice plus some separate practice on the recuerdos melody.