Hello again and welcome to my second piano challenge post, albeit a little earlier than previously stated – sorry for that diary malfunction! From today, I will be posting piano updates every two weeks, and Dori will be posting her knitting challenge update every two weeks from next Friday.
This week I have completed the first lesson in my tutorial book (‘Getting to know the right hand’), and I’ve tried to practise every day, going back over what I learnt before, pushing on through the tutorial and drawing staves with notes on, trying to recall what belongs where, etc... I have noticed a difference in my ‘playing’ already; last week my right hand felt rigid as I tried to move up and down the C Major scale and the scale sounded a bit ‘clunky’, but this week, things feel more fluid and sound better. I didn’t think my hands would ache quite as much as they have done as I do a fair bit of knitting and sewing, but there you are – it takes time to get used to new things, and I suppose as all those little muscles and joints loosen up and my hands relax, my playing will improve. The second half of this lesson introduces the ‘Chromatic scale’, which basically means using the white keys and the black keys in sequence – so, the C Major scale which contains 8 notes and covers one octave, becomes a sequence of 13 notes (or semitones) when you play both the white and the black keys. I’ve learnt to play this scale in ascending and descending sequence, ensuring I use the right finger on the right key, and it’s different on the way up to the way down! Having said that, it’s amazing how quickly my fingers have got used to where they should be, which is a good sign. These extra half notes (the black keys) are either ‘flat’ or ‘sharp’. ‘Sharps’ raise the pitch by a semitone, while ‘flats’ lower the pitch by a semitone and looking at the keyboard, just for example, a C sharp is actually the same as a D flat. Mmmm...this could get confusing... Sharps and flats are ‘accidentals’, or notational symbols that relate to changes in pitch. There are also ‘double flats’ (flattened notes that need flattening!) and ‘double sharps’ (sharpened notes that need sharpening!) and a ‘natural’ symbol (which I’ve never come across before!). The ‘natural’ denotes that a sharp or a flat should revert to its original pitch, because ‘Whenever a note is sharpened or flattened, the symbol only needs showing in the first instance. Thereafter, notes on the same line are assumed to remain at that pitch. The natural symbol returns it to its ‘natural’ state’ (Total Piano Tutor, Burrows T., 2002). Okay...
The last two exercises in Lesson 1 involve practising the melody from Ode to Joy by Beethoven and Waltz in A by Ferdinando Carulli, and I’m amazed that I can actually play them. This challenge feels pretty huge at the moment, but I feel positive about it. There is so much to learn, including getting to know my way around the keyboard, how to sit and hold my hands properly, how to use the correct fingering, and how to read the music, which, incidentally, is much more complex than the basic recorder pieces I played at Primary school. It really is like learning another language, but I am loving it. I do think with regular practice and focus, I’ll improve and may even upload a video of my progress! I may regret writing that last sentence... Looking ahead at Lesson 2, it’s all about timing and rhythm, so things are going to get really interesting.
I’ve been listening to some piano music via YouTube whilst writing this post. The pianist is the amazing Ludovico Einaudi, and you can listen here to his In a Time Lapse, live from home if you’d like to. I’ll be back in two weeks with another piano update and, hopefully, with more flexible fingers!
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