A Slight Setback, but 97.5% Memorized!

Hello! So, just over a week ago, in a freak random accident, I cut my left index fingertip on the razor sharp lid of a can I had set in the sink. I always push the lid inside the can, but had left it open to rinse it, and forgetting it was there, I put my hand down in the sink, and the tip of my finger ran straight into the vertical can lid. Needless to say, I freaked out! I knew right away I had cut it, before I even saw it. Then the fact that it didn't want to stop bleeding made me even more worried. Crap! I was panicking!



But eventually it stopped bleeding, I calmed down, and accepted the fact that I was going to be taking a (left-hand) break for a few days. I guess it was "meant to be" because DC weather last week after I cut my finger was gorgeous for about 3 days. So I did some right hand practicing, and enjoyed some time outdoors. And about the time it started getting hot again, I was ready to sit down and return to some serious practicing.

This cut really threw a wrench in my progress and in my motivation. I'm including a photo (left) of my finger today to show where the cut is, ON the tip, exactly where I need to play. I'm still playing lightly and on a flat finger, but in a few days I think it'll be back to normal. The crusty stuff is liquid bandage which is starting to peel off.

Today is the first day I really feel I'm back on track, which is I guess why I decided to blog. I have less than 2 pages left to memorize of the Ravel Waltzes, and for the first time I felt today like it is almost becoming a cohesive set of pieces. I am still learning waltzes #5 and 8, but after that, I will have this whole set learned and will feel a big sigh of relief.

A friend asked me what percentage I had memorized at this point, and I'm doing the calculation with the total number of pages. Out of a total of 80 pages, I have 78 pages memorized. So... that is 97.5% memorized!!!

Thanks for reading!

A New Approach to Ravel

So, I started thinking, WHY have I been learning the Ravel one waltz at a time, when I've been learning multiple Ginastera movements simultaneously (not to mention a bunch of other pieces)? So... I started learning Waltz #4 and #7 today. In general I seem to have the capacity to memorize about 3 lines of a piece at a time, so 3 lines of #4 and 2-3 lines of #7 make one whole page!

I also downloaded mp3's of the waltzes so that I could have a CD to listen to in my car. I realized that I really need to hear the waltzes a lot, since I don't really know them in and out, and that way it will be easier to memorize them since I'll know what they're supposed to sound like. My brilliant plan is already working.

Today I went to the dentist for a cleaning, and then to the grocery store (okay, two grocery stores) so I was out for most of the afternoon. That plus the fact that I only slept about 5 hours last night made tonight's practicing a struggle, but I did manage to get through everything, and memorize some Ravel and Chopin. Once again, I almost forgot Beethoven. I don't know what it is with that piece. Maybe it's the blue Henle book that just blends into the background.

I made fresh sea scallops and jumbo shrimp sauteed in olive oil with a bit of garlic and lemon, and ate them with a salad with mixed lettuce, sugar snap peas and peas. It was yum. I also bought pork chops which will need to be made tomorrow I guess. But this isn't my food blog so I'll stop there.

Tomorrow is another day, with lots more practicing and memorizing in store. And tomorrow night I'm attending a piano trio concert at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill: the Modern Musick Fortepiano Trio premiere concert. I'm actually volunteering there before it starts. If you're interested, it's $15 ($10 students). On the program is:
Beethoven: Trio in c minor, op. 1, no. 3
Hewittt: Piano Sonata: “The Battle of Trenton”
Mozart: Violin Sonata in G major, K. 379
Haydn: Trio in G major, Hob. XV, no. 25

Day 6 - Still going strong!

Today was day 6 of my first week of practicing for this recital, and I think all in all it's going fairly well. I find that around 5-6pm it gets to be the beginning of the end for me each day, so I'm really trying to get as much done before then as possible. Today I started around 9:30am, after the technician came to deliver a DVR!!! Finally, I'm joining the 21st century :)

Some notes:

1. Practicing makes my back hurt. Like, a lot. I take breaks and stretch but it still hurts.
2. The first Ravel waltz is not that easy to memorize. I'm a little annoyed that I still haven't even finished one Ravel waltz yet, although to be fair I really have been focusing on the Liszt and Ginastera.
3. For some reason I was scared to start the 1st mvt of Ginastera, but I started it today, and so far it's not so bad. I'm kind of finding that's my reaction to most of the stuff of which I'm scared.
   
4. Speaking of scary, there was a small snake on my back patio today. The handyman kindly took it far, far away.
5. Yes, I have a handyman.
   
6. Those chromatic major thirds at the end of the 2nd mvt of Ginastera are nasty. I have tried several fingerings, and I think I've found the one I like, but I will be doing some research into other chromatic third passages to see if I can come up with anything else.
   

Memory progress as of today, June 23, 2011:

Liszt: 6/9 pages or 67%
Beethoven: 5/11 pages or 45%
Ginastera Mvt 1: 0.6/7 pages or 9%
Ginastera Mvt 2: 5.3/7 pages or 88%
Ginastera Mvt 4: 7/7 pages or 100%!!!
Ravel Waltz No.1 (Adelaide): 2.5/3.5 pages or 71%

Um, if you've noticed that the Chopin isn't here, that's because it should be coming in the mail any day now... It's taking its sweet time, but I'm excited because I decided to splurge and get the new Polish National Edition. I had 20% off with Burt & Co music which helped me make that decision. It's also coming with the Durand edition of the Ravel. I originally purchased the Alfred Masterwork edition of the Ravel (don't judge me!) which is actually cool because it has a ton of background info about the piece, historical context, formal analysis, various recordings, use of the sostenuto pedal, performance suggestions, programming suggestions, and an article by Walter Gieseking called "How Does One Perform Ravel's Piano Music?" Um, to be perfectly honest, I haven't read any of this stuff, except the notes about editorial fingerings. So that is what I plan to do tonight. But getting back to the Durand - I decided to order that just because I think there are a lot of marks in this score that are not original.