If you want to quit smoking, tell everyone you're quitting. The humiliation of breaking such a public resolution may be just the incentive you need to stick with it.
--Rainier96 (11-18-08)
Well, so much for that theory!
A year ago, you may recall, I offered you my "public resolution" that I'd teach myself to play the Adagio movement to Beethoven's Pathétique sonata -- an uncommonly beautiful middle movement preceded and followed by movements that are louder, much faster, and significantly beyond my present puny abilities. I'd tried teaching myself to play that movement once before -- as I confessed to you last year -- and hadn't gotten very far, but I was now determined to master it, mechanically at least, by sheer force of determination.
Once I accomplished this goal, proving to myself that I was serious in my endeavor and capable of sustained effort, I would once more place myself under the guidance of a piano instructor.
Those of you who know me, or have even followed this blog from its inception, will hardly be surprised when I tell you that I failed to achieve my goal in the "three or four months" that I contemplated. Travels, movie-making, a fall on my head -- well, gosh, sometimes life just conspires against you, doesn't it?
However, I'm happy to say that I've recently made progress. I can now struggle through the movement without too many embarrassing stops, stumbles, scowls, and swearing. It doesn't flow like it should, I admit. My phrasing is poor. The movement has a number of trills, trills that still don't trip lightly off my fingers without loss of tempo. I'm often unsure of which notes to emphasize. I suspect that I'm not simultaneously presenting both the treble and bass melodies, as Herr Beethoven intended.
But these are all questions of musicality, exactly the sort of questions for which you turn to a teacher for guidance. I'm at least getting close to the point where I hit the correct keys -- more or less reliably. And once I reach that point, as I promised a year ago, I plan to sign up for lessons.
The winter "term" at the music school I've used before starts in January. I think I'll be ready by then. Wish me luck.
--------------------------------------------The second movement to Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in A flat major ("Pathétique"), when played as I'd like some day to play it, is well worth hearing. Here's a nice interpretation, performed by a young pianist on YouTube.
2 comments:
I once tried to teach myself "Fantasia in D Minor" on a keyboard. I'm glad your endeavours have worked out better than mine!
Good for you for trying! I've never tried to play the Fantasia -- but just from listening to it, I'd guess that it's a harder piece to learn than the one I'm working on. Especially the last third.
You don't have spare time nowadays, but when you do, you should try to learn a simpler piece, but one that you still enjoy listening to. Even when you're as lazy at it as I've been, it's fun to feel yourself making progress.
Post a Comment