PROJECT FOR EVERYONE: Dozen a Day exercises
Exercises can be found here and memorized. The point is not note reading, but technique. These should be played with confidence and without mistake, choose a tempo that you have a great success with.
Look at your section to see which group you are assigned, and work to prepare all 12 this week. A completely steady tempo is your main goal here. Group II on video. Group III on video.

Liam

Sonatina – very clear and even, nice work. Add in legato connection between octaves in m9 and 11 (and when it reoccurs in Recapitulation). Also in m13 fix the second half of the melody. When putting HT, use a slower tempo.

Heroic Symphony – great rhythms! Go slower when hands together. All the phrases have an 8th note pickup. Try to lighten the LH, so that the melody can float above it.

Dozen a Day group II

*Bonus* “Pronto Prep” for upcoming Gershwin piece Solace.

Check out the app “Chet” on the app store. It does ear training but even includes famous melodies and riffs from jazz, pop and rock. It is a super awesome resource!

Katarina

*New* Goodbye Halloween – in this piece the thumbs share middle C. There are parts that sound like Deck the Halls and Angels We Have Heard on High. Use your direction skills as well as asking “step? skip? or repeat?” when reading lines.

C Position “Walking” exercise from Dozen a Day. LH pinky on C, RH thumb on C. C up to G and back down in steady quarter notes stepping, then just step up to E and back. CDEFGFEDCDEDC. Hands together, slow and steady.
We will learn the other exercises of the group next week.

Sara

Maple Leaf Rag – 1st page wow!! Great work. Continue exactly how you have been. On page 2, notice which notes are 8th notes and have them be your main targets. Almost everything else is a 16th note, and therefore won’t be accented.

Yaya Sonhado – nice! Watch this video and use it for phrasing inspiration, you’ll notice how the pickup and use of syncopation gives it the illusion of being swung. Use the written fingering to get it as legato as possible before pedal.

Gavotte in F – today we did some harmonic analysis of the B section. Noticing the constant V-I progression throughout multiple keys will hopefully make the repeated sequence come out more. Break the B section into 2 bar phrases and work on fluency both HS and HT that way.

Dozen a Day group III

Marco

Totoro – great progress! Our new HT goal is 2 lines into the second page. This peaceful tempo you are doing is very appropriate, keep it up.

Lunar – Entire piece. The B section uses an interval of a 7th for dramatic effect on three occasions. Evenness is your goal here, we talked about feeling 1 big beat per measure rather than 3 little ones and how that feels nice for this piece. Even 8th notes will help propel you to the next bar.

Dozen a Day group II

Check out the app “Chet” on the app store. It does ear training but even includes famous melodies from movies. It is a super awesome resource!

Daniel

Entree in A Minor – nice!! Keep your eyes on the page to notice details like which notes are connected (if not marked connected, they are detached!) as we further polish this. Remember to restrain your volume and play at a moderate level.

Breezy – great HT. In measures 6 and 8 there are some particular breaks in the legato marking. Ensure to lift and break the line where it says to (I drew arrows). Extra isolation practice in the last line where the voices overlap.

Invention in A Minor – great reading. We noticed the use of root position E Major triads in line 2, and then 1st inversion of it too immediately after. Put HT this week.

Dozen a Day group III

Marita

Breezy – this week let’s add in those few extra notes to make it HT. In measures 6 and 8 there are some particular breaks in the legato marking. Ensure to lift and break the line where it says to (I drew arrows). I circled the tricky overlapping part, so run those 2 beats extra times, ensuring to play both Es together.

*New* Bird in the Bebop – first 8 bars. We labelled recognizable major triads. It is the combination of legato and staccato notes that make this have so much attitude, so include details right from the start.

Dozen a Day group II

Greta

New Shoes – great work getting LH legato! Now apply it to line 3 as well (the descending scale). If possible, detach the RH notes more too as they should be completely staccato. Watch this video as inspiration.

Raptors  – all. The natural symbol cancels out whatever changes have been made to that note and makes it a plain white key. Ensure you are playing staccato, light and detached almost always (the 2 note slurs are the only exception).

Dozen a Day group II