Holy hot weather Batman! Spring is here :D

Liam

*New* The Matador – the A section is more bouncy, and the B section contrasts that by being legato and song-like. Play the melody louder than the rest.

Begin getting Star Wars polished again for music party (May 6th or 7th), fill out performance worksheet once you’ve got it playable. If you don’t fill out the sheet that’s okay, but start thinking about your answers to the questions throughout the week.

Focus on solid triad patterns this week with focus on note accuracy.

Excellent work getting that Microjazz song down! Great counting. I’ll find another cool one for you :)

Marita

*New* Angelfish – this week let’s tackle the first 8 bars. The most important thing is evenness. Since this piece is a constant stream of 8th notes, it’ll be really noticeable if they’re not even. Playing at a steady tempo with strong fingers is a sure way to play even.

Microjazz 1 – Awesome job on the rhythm! Since this piece just repeats that melody in different contexts, you can play the entire piece now!

Heavenly Blue – You play this better than you think! With some concentrated practice on measures 13-16, you’ll have a lovely complete piece. Practice in small chunks this week and focus on improving each chunk each time.

Sara

Three + Two Blues – Great counting! Keep plugging away on it :) Great work.

Technique – For broken triads, try accenting the 2nd or 3rd triplet of each group. This will strengthen the fingers equally and ensure evenness. For solid triads you can “tip in” your wrists a bit each chord and use this motion to propel yourself upwards to the next inversion.

In the Spirit – M.10 rhythm: ensure beat 2 is filled with silence and the 8th notes begin on the “and of 2.” Otherwise, great steady tempo.

For your repertoire: Create many little random checkpoints (either by numbers or symbols) on the page (at least 10 in the Sonatina) and practice playing beginning from them until it’s easy. Then memorize beginning from them (they shouldn’t be just the beginning of phrases, put them random random places). In lesson, I will spot check your memory by asking you to play from different spots, creating a foolproof memory plan where even if your memory slips up, you just go to the next checkpoint and you’re good!

Feel better soon :) Next week we will discuss physical approach to pain free playing, remind me.

Sina

Movin’ On. Use the finger numbers and notes to find your starting position. This one the left hand starts in G position, goes to C and then back again. Great reading of the sharps and flats!

*New* Minuet – a Minuet is a type of Baroque dance. Baroque is a time period aroud the 1600s. Show the down-up-up feeling that is common in these 3/4 dances by doing a proper down-up wrist movement where the phrase marking shows (like beat 1-2 in measure 2).

Warmup with your C, G and D major scales because you know them all and they have the same fingering.