Abi:
Try to do those octave jumps everyday. Im hearing your notes begin faster, and your articulation is becoming more precise. Think spit ball in the higher register. I think you could get that C# out if you worked on it.
Ab and Db major scales for next week. 60bpm, tongued and slurred.
Propeller song looked pretty good overall. I’m glad you took the time to write that out even though you were busy, so thank you. The main problem was you put that sixteenth note pick up on beat one instead of the & of 4. That would line all the bars up properly and you would have the appropriate amount of rests. There were a couple other little things that you could have changed, which you can see when I write it out for you.
All through the night: Good job reading that. After you get the notes and rhythms down, watch for dynamic markings and articulation. Try to make it as beautiful as possible. Maybe check out Gavotte II if you have time as well.
Link to All through the night sheet music, etc:
Matthew:
I would really like to be able to see you a better during lesson. It’s hard for me to adjust your technique if I can only see the top of your head.
Major scales: We worked on C, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major this week. Please review those for next week. Overall, they sounded pretty good but they’re missing some confidence. If you sat down and practiced them slowly that would make a huge difference.
German Song: This is sounding much better. Now that you have the notes and rhythms down, you need to draw your attention to the dynamics, and articulation. We talked about how there not only needs to be a contrast between staccato and tenuto – which you do well – but there needs to be a consistency within the articulation itself. For example, sometimes you play staccato nice and short, and other times they’re not as short. Those need to be more uniform. Dynamics were getting better but I think you can exaggerate them more overall. I also think you can start to perform this song faster. Practice it with a metronome to get the time solid.
All through the night: Same goes here with articulation and dynamic. The notes and rhythms are clear but there is no life to the music without dynamics and articulation. Watch them closely and bring those out when you need to. I think playing this song a touch faster will help with that as well.
Always take time to perform each song in their entirety when you are done workshopping them. Remember to have fun!
Etude book link: