Week 2 Reflection

Saturday - May 20th @ 12:00 pm

Weekly reflection 2

This week, I didn’t make quite as progress as last week, which was kind of disappointing. Much of what I’m working on now is fine details, such as tempo, dynamics, articulation, and voicing, and I’m having a harder time staying motivated when it’s harder to see the progress that I am making (since it is less significant than learning the actual notes and rhythms). That being said, I definitely worked very hard and learned how difficult it is to make a piece sound performance quality. I could definitely feel myself gaining a better understanding of the piece as a whole while working on all of the dynamics and such. I think that in the next few days, before I get my final recording, I will definitely be able to execute the piece better now that I’ve worked on the fine details.

I also definitely improved my sight reading skills this week, as I tended to get bored while working on Fantasie Impromptu. Sight reading is so much fun because I get to pick any sort of piece I want, but it’s super beneficial at the same time. One of my original goals for the project was to create an easier jazz repertoire to perform at retirement homes, and even though that didn’t work out, I have still kept up with the idea of creating a smaller performance repertoire out of sight reading (but I’ve shifted my focus towards easier classical pieces rather than jazz). I’ve been chipping away at some easier Chopin pieces, and found Tico Tico no Fuba (which is a little bit above my sight reading level) and have been having so much fun learning these pieces.

Overall, I am still having a lot of fun playing as much as I am. I would definitely say that I was a little less motivated this week than last, but I was still able to make progress and I am proud of myself for that. I’m going to continue to work on the piece, and I’m really hopeful that in the next few days I will be able to really fine tune Fantasie and get a great final recording for express fest!