DAILY UPDATES (Click Me!) Main Thread - Where the magic happens!
Welcome, one and all, to the Main Thread for this challenge!
This is where the magic happens - the thread where we'll all be posting our daily updates.
Make sure you've read the rules before replying (<- click)
Every day between December 6th and 19th, we are hoping to read your daily updates in this very thread right here!
Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!):
- Landslag you worked on:
- One thing you found easy:
- One thing you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
Sample daily update:
- Landslag you worked on: Landslag no. 1: dark sand dunes with some moss
- One thing you found easy: The first bar was the hardest one for me to learn, although it looked easy enough on my first try.
- One thing you found difficult: I liked that it was a single line; it allowed me to focus on every note and it was much easier to read than most pieces I play.
Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!
Download the full score (click ↓):
Gulli's Lessons for each individual Landslag:
- Landslag no. 1, Landslag no. 2, Landslag no. 3, Landslag no. 4, Landslag no. 5, Landslag no. 6, Landslag no. 7, Landslag no. 8, Landslag no. 9, Landslag no. 10, Landslag no. 11.
Dedicated discussion threads for each Landslag:
- Landslag 1: dark sand dunes with some moss (<- click)
(More dedicated threads will be created as we progress throughout the challenge)
↓ Let's do this! Post your daily updates below ↓
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- Landslag you worked on: Landslag 5
- One thing you found easy: As with all the pieces, the general mood and feeling unique but clear somehow. Perhaps it's my dreams of going to see and Icelandic landscape.
- One thing you found difficult: Not having the earworm "A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam..." every time I read the composers name. Seriously. That and remaining absolutely silent with the changes.
Here's a video of me playing it. It's far from perfect, but it's a start with the recording opportunities I've had. It's not easy to record round here without being disturbed.
I wanted to record something to get used to doing it a bit more and hear how the sound is. If you bother to listen, let me know how the sound quality is.
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Roni Glaser very nice congratulations
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Giuseppe Gasparini Grazie Giuseppe!
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Roni Glaser wonderful job, Roni!!! The sound quality is very good - more than enough for a home video (perfect for sharing short snippets of your playing on here or on social media!)
The video does tend to get jumpy in places, which I'm sure you noticed, and I assume might have happened due to encoding overload. Did you use a phone / tablet or a camera / webcam to record?
When it comes to the music, I loved it! You managed to capture that free rhythm, improvisational quality to it - I think that's exactly what Gulli wanted!
I have to admit though, I'm totally not getting the reference about "a ram sam sam"... is that from a song?
PS: Whatsapp!
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Mircea Thank Mircea! Good to know about the sound. It seems the set up works for the <ƒ volume, but I tried recording something else louder and sounded weird.
The video was just on the little camera in the middle of the top of my laptop using QuickTime Player. The one on my iPad would work better, but I'm not sure how I could combine that with the mic (Zoom H4n). It didn't look jumpy for me, just a bit low-resolutiony, which is rubbish considering it uses up so much data. The low light probably had a slight effect too.
Re: "a ram sam sam"; it's the bit with the rolling arms in this video. DISCLAIMER: Watch at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any deaths, psychiatric hospitalisation, psychological trauma or any other adverse effects resulting from watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwA9GfYIYus
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Roni Glaser WHAT - I can't believe I missed this reply
oh man, I'll try to include this in the watch party :D -
Mircea So I guess they don't do this to Düsseldorfer kids then?
I hope you're happy, you've now put this earworm firmly back in my head
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- Landslag you worked on: Landslag no. 5
- One thing you found easy: The free meter gave me so many opportunities to express myself and truly make the piece my own! I loved how deliberately these movements focus in one one or a few specific aspects of performance and musicianship and allow us to work on those individually.
- One thing you found difficult: As an experiment, I tried to respect all the indicated fingerings. I don't think I would use them if I were to play it in concert, however. For example, the shift towards the fourth chord on the second line (D, A, B) in particular is not something I would risk in a performance. I believe in the freedom resulting from the stability of a straightforward and easy performance, which is achieved through technical simplicity. Of course, in some pieces, simplicity is impossible, however, my "art of technique" consists in simplifying things, and I take great pride in being able to do so while maintaining my extroverted style of performance. In an airy, slow piece however, I would probably judge the sacrifice in stability at that (and a few other) points to be disproportionate. I did enjoy working on it like this at home though! Almost like mindful meditation, getting each one of these changes to flow convincingly.
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Mircea beautiful!
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Mircea Very good, very interesting also the comment
, I got bogged down in N ° 3 but I have to go on
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Giuseppe Gasparini Thank you Giuseppe and Derek !
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- Landslag you worked on: Landslag IV
A lovely piece great for working with these rhythms and a nice day reading workout. Well done Gulli.
Kind Regards
Dennis
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Dennis Greensmith thank you for sharing, Dennis! Good job on sticking with the challenge!
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I missed a couple of days because work and life got crazy. But trying again.
Landsprag you worked on: Landsprag II.
Something you found easy:. The right hand fingerings were fairly simple.
Something you found hard:. Maintaining tone between notes (left hand transitions).
No recording today because I'm still time crunched, bit will continue to work on the weekend, and post I video when I have been able to get through the whole piece
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Michael great work, Michael! No worries about not putting a recording up
videos are great, but text updates work just fine too. You are so right, by the way! Maintaining a balance between transitions is quite often the hardest thing to do, throughout all of these movements!
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Hello everybody, new to this thread. I am completely hooked with this small pieces full of resonance, it is like meditating, I can not stop playing them.... I don't know if my family feels the same way... The first, easy enough for me were the postures, not difficult but challenging giving it the right flow. Number 2 a bit challenging was the ornament in compas 26. Number 3 the challenge was in giving the protagonist role to the thumb. It was easy for me in number 2 and 3 to give them musicality. I don't know if I will be able to keep up....
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Emma Hi and welcome to the challenge, Emma!
so glad to hear you've been enjoying this! Sometimes, our families and neighbors need to make small sacrifices for our love of music, haha I'm sure they will not mind you playing a bunch of beautiful, atmospheric Icelandic music though 
Really happy to read your updates, too! Keeping up is only about practicing them every day, not about getting through all of them by the time of the watch party next week on December 19th. And it seems you've been doing a great job on that! Keep it up and hope to read your updates in this thread again!
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Had some reeeaaally full days, but every other day I could work on the pieces and I wanna share my experiences
- Landslag you worked on: Landslag no. 4
- One thing you found easy: Getting a feel for the internal groove that made the different voices flow easily!
- One thing you found difficult: I really got crazy with some fingerings as I wanted it to be as resonant as possible without noticeable stops. I am pretty confident that it worked out, but I need to practice some more!
I will try to record Landslag II-V today and tomorrow, wish me luck!
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martin Great to hear, Martin! I had the same feeling in Landslag 4. More importantly though, I'm really excited about seeing that video! Four different Landslög recorded in two days? Wow! That would be some awesome commitment. Very happy to hear your update! (And don't let work get the better of you
I know what a dedicated worker you are in everything you do.) -
Mircea As I didn't record anything yesterday, it will be more like 4 different landslög in one day, haha! *Funny little man in the blue hat off to practicing and recording!*
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I also considered some different fingerings (so that the top voices could all be arpeggiated in the second half) but in the end I've kept to the original suggestions, mostly because they're easier! Btw, do the beers come before or after the recording?
(Or does the funny little man in the blue hat get to drink them?) -
David that's a question for martin
I think the blue man can drink whenever he wants, because he is a wizard, and as we know, a wizard is never late or early, he arrives precisely at the moment he intends to 
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David Awesome, that's exactly what I attempt to to do! The position shifts are still playable, but this needs a lot of control on the weaker side of your left hand!
(hehe, the funny little man with the blue hat appreciates the reference despite the different in color choices)
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Mircea I didn't know that about wizards - but now I'm wondering whether I might not be one myself ...
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So for me it was Landslag 4 today. What a fascinating piece! I thought I might have difficulty accurately sight-reading the rhythms but I found that the easy bit. For me the challenge going forward will be to do justice to balancing the voices effectively!
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Ron great to hear!
true- as the Landslög progress in difficulty, they get more polyphonically complex. Very happy to read about the sight reading though!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
