Group 2
Video of the TWI Check-In with Borbála!
Have you noticed that most of the time we talk about technique or musical expression separately? We practice technical elements such as arpeggio, fast scales, left hand independence, tremolo, or even legato playing, etc. separately, but never together with the musical elements. Enjoy this two-week intensive to be able to play the basic musical ideas easily such as changes of dynamics and tempo, articulation, accentuation, as well as to improve your musical creativity.
- Course Period: December 5th - 19th
- Sign-Up: November 30th
- Zoom Check-In: Dec 11th, 9am PT
ASSIGNMENT FOR THE FIRST WEEK:Exercises_Expression (1)
Please share a video of yourself playing the first three exercises and at least two variations of the fourth exercise.
1-3. Exercises:
- Take a tempo in which you can play without unnecessary tension and make the musical expressions (accelerando, crescendo) gradually.
Exercice 1: https://youtu.be/lf3aQznZyKQ
Exercice 2: https://youtu.be/PeGYFbXkjuY
Exercise 3: https://youtu.be/gCycBsDb7Xw
4. Exercise:
- If it’s too difficult for you to learn to play in one week, you can perform only the upper voice.
- Make attention, that fingering should be different depends on the desired musical character.
- Try to show the musical elements exaggeratedly, even if it seems to be too much.
- Try to imagine the character before you play the exercise.
Exercise 4: https://youtu.be/FTHMi7xghjg
ASSIGMENT FOR THE SECOND WEEK:
Please choose a short section (at least a phrase) of your current repertoire or one of the following
pieces:
- Fernando Sor: Six Divertissements Op. 2. No. 1.
- Matteo Carcassi: 25 Etudes Op. 60. No. 9.
- Leo Brouwer: Estudios Sencillos No. 5.
and demonstrate it at least in two different variations of musical ideas, musical characters.
You can/should change the fingerings depends on your imagined musical character.
You can use the Cheat Sheet of Observation of musical ideas to control your way of playing.
Cheat_sheet_Observation_of_musical_expression (1) Sor_Six_divertissements_Op_2 Brouwer_Estudios_sencillos_no_5 Carcassi_25_Etudes_Op_60
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I picked the Brouwer. I played some etudes by him about 30 years ago, but I think never this one. So it is nice meeting him again and there is much room for interpretation. Here comes my first version, hope to puzzle out another one tomorrow.
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Ingo Hi Ingo, thanks for the video!
It was really very good! You use the musical tools so nice colorful I enjoeyed it a lot! Just one question: What was or were your characters here in this version? I'm looking forward to the second one. -
Borbala Seres Thanks a lot! Characters? Well... this is a rather slow version and the contrasts/repetitions end more mellow and calm.
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I gave the characters a shot. I definitely need more practice doing this.
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Nick Hi Nick, thenks for the videos!
Amarous: It was really very nice. I could imagine here to be a bit more quiet/soft and he way how you play the arpeggios could be also softer and slower, that would fit better to this character, but anyway it was good.Dance: Tempo, Dynamics were very good, but I think it is to fast yet for you technically. If you would like to work on it more, you could take slower tempo just for praticing and concentrate on your staccatos, that you gently lift up your LH fingers or at RH staccatos you put gently back your fingers onto the strings, not to get extra tension. It looks a bit stressy now, I suppose because of the tempo.
Christmas carol: I would recommend to take a slower tempo here, and more legato like a chor would sing. So it could be more equal, mor relaxed.
Good work, keep going!By the way I loved your start pictures!
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Borbala Seres thank you for this intensive. My awareness has definitely shifted. It is still a bit stressy. I will work on it.
Going slower seem like it takes foreveeer. -
Nick it seem that it takes forever but the truth is, you will reach your final goal much faster if you take it slower, and work on it a bit. So just keep going!
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Here comes the first take of my second version. This one is more uptempo and a bit more aggressive. The first version could be a picture and this one the diapositive/slide.
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Ingo I liked your second video as well, it was very colorful.
If you imagined here a bit more agressive version you could play it even faster, or play accelerando at some point. I would recommend you to stay longer on a tone color, that has a better effect, it's audible more clear, but in this piece as you played it, completely acceptable. Great job! Keep goin and don't forget about characters, they make a lot of fun.
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Borbala Seres Thanks a lot for your motivating feedback, Borbola. I wish you a merry christmas and hope to see you soon on tonbase again.
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Ingo Hi, Ingo! I wish you Merry Christmas too and Happy New Year! Good luck with your tremolo development!
Borbála
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Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to thank you all for your active participation and nice videos! It was a joyfull journey for me as well to get an experience with teaching musical expression through video recording instead of face to face lessons. I did learn a lot as well, and as I saw all of you made a great progress and you could step out from your comfort zone. Congratulation to Everyone! Keep going with experimentation!
Borbála
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
