10 PIECES OF ADVICE I WOULD GIVE MY ROOKIE SELF
1. Starter kit: 2 slow 3's, 2 bigger waltzes, 2 marches, 2 fast 2's, 2 tangos, 5 flexible pieces.flexible pieces are fun to play in a variety of tempi and have a slow harmonic rhythm.
2. Practice intros, random tempos, and random cadences.
3. Building from your starter kit takes time, and it's okay to repeat yourself.
4. Try to collect a variety of styles, but only ones that you like.
5. Find a consistent way of marking scores in 8 counts that's easy to read.
6. Improvise for very short exercises (like a 16 count jump) without any music on purpose.
6. Improvise for very short exercises (like a 16 count jump) without any music on purpose.
7. If a helpful piece has several sections, consider breaking it into 2 pieces.
8. I promise, the teachers really want you to keep the beat and play clear cadences.
so play for the teachers first and expand horizons for yourself second.
so play for the teachers first and expand horizons for yourself second.
9. Give yourself homework and come into class a little more prepared every time.
10. You're winning as long as you don't give up, so be patient with yourself.
10 THINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH PIANO PLAYING
1. Know the Silicon Labs Garage is 166 Colorado St.
2. Put your parking pass and garage card away before you drive home.
3. Take a photo of the studio layouts to reference until you know where everything is.
4. Take a screenshot of your schedule each day so it's easy to double check.
5. Make a note of people's names.
6. Leave an hour before class starts so traffic and the parking garage drama don't matter.
7. Find a regular parking space and a regular walking route.
8. Make a habit of taking the stairs so you never have to think about it.
when they are not 32's, they are most often 16's, two 32's, or three 32's; rarely 4 or more.
when groups are going one after another, exercises can truly end at any moment.
2. Plies are usually slow 3's, and slow things in general are often in 3.
9. Have work clothes set aside so getting ready is easy.
10. Have a work bag for your ipad, phone, wallet, hoodie, water, hair ties, & snacks.
10 THINGS TO KNOW WHEN LOOKING FOR SCORES
1. IMSLP.org has a lot of free music, but most of it is too long and hard to be helpful.
2. Free-scores.com has more intermediate stuff, but it's a little more annoying to deal with.
3. Keep an ear out for pieces you like that naturally conform to 32's. most of these are aaba's, so when you hear one, count it out.
make a note of the ones you want to use, and look up the scores for them later.
4. Prioritize pieces that require very little arrangement and no page turns.
5. Embrace fakebooks even if they're scary; it's okay to choose simple lead sheets.
6. Dance exam books contain some helpful pieces.
7. Elementary (level 3 & 4) classical pieces like minuets and gavottes sometimes work.
8. Fiddle music is very nice for jumpstarting a petit allegro collection.
9. Easier rags are lots of fun and have nicely punctuated cadences in the right places.
10. The choruses of tunes from the late 1800s into the early 1900s are my gold.
and here's my goldmine: https://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/
10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BALLET
1. Dancer exercises are usually 32's, sometimes with a balance.when they are not 32's, they are most often 16's, two 32's, or three 32's; rarely 4 or more.
when groups are going one after another, exercises can truly end at any moment.
2. Plies are usually slow 3's, and slow things in general are often in 3.
3. Tondus are usually 2's.
4. Grand battements are usually marches.
5. Fondus are usually tangos, and if not, then slow 3's.
6. Petit allegros are usually fast 2's.
7. Grand allegros are usually big waltzes; fast 3's.
4. Grand battements are usually marches.
5. Fondus are usually tangos, and if not, then slow 3's.
6. Petit allegros are usually fast 2's.
7. Grand allegros are usually big waltzes; fast 3's.
8. Adage means slow or very slow.
9. Coda means ending, which also means big and lively; fast 2's.
10. Stretch time is unmeasured, so have some things NOT in 32 dancer beats to play with.
2. When reading lead sheets, inversions can be flexible; walking bass lines are nice.
10. Stretch time is unmeasured, so have some things NOT in 32 dancer beats to play with.
10 THINGS I LEARNED THIS MONTH FROM PLAYING
1. Just make a lot of mistakes and move on; don't dwell.2. When reading lead sheets, inversions can be flexible; walking bass lines are nice.
3. If a teacher seems to be counting way too fast, reimagine the subdivisions.
4. Simplify (sometimes a LOT) when you can't read your music fast enough.
5. Try to make a new melody when you have extra time.
6. When you lose nearly all control, just play chords - even very simplified chords.
7. When you're responsive and nice to teachers, everything else is forgiven.
8. Know what key you're in, or keep an ear out for a convenient place to cadence.
4. Simplify (sometimes a LOT) when you can't read your music fast enough.
5. Try to make a new melody when you have extra time.
6. When you lose nearly all control, just play chords - even very simplified chords.
7. When you're responsive and nice to teachers, everything else is forgiven.
8. Know what key you're in, or keep an ear out for a convenient place to cadence.
9. Look up at the class as much as you can.
10. It's okay not to think at all when you don't have to be thinking.
