Dylan & Victoria Cornejo
Tuesday, Nov26 2024 Dylan
Prelude in E minor - record yourself playing each hand separately. Evaluate against the reference track to the right. What is similar? What is different?
We started work on the full-version of Claire de Lune. The guy in the video says a lot of important things about counting in Claire De Lune. I should've spent more time with you talking about counting anyway - time signatures and polyrhythms (places in music where the notes in different voices are not subdivisions of each other - in other words 2 over 3, or 3 over 4 - one voice is playing eighth notes and the other is playing triplets. These complicate music. They create beauty and complexity and interest, but they need to be understood to read the music right. Claire De Lune is full of 2 over 3 and 3 over 4, and on top of that there are a lot of tied notes. So you're not always starting on the beat.
Keep working ULM also - especially from the depressed chord (measure 95).
7410Tuesday, Nov 26, 2024 Victoria
Today we worked on Rhythm. Try the rhythm challenges to the right.
We worked on keeping a steady beat.
She played through Twinkle Twinkle several times. We are continually working on keeping the steady beat.
We watched a young prodigy play.
We listened to You Are My Sunshine and talked about playing it.
for next week:
Have her listen to the song (in the video to the right) several times. Encourage her to sing it. It will help her get the melody in her head.
Keep playing Hot Cross Buns and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star w Dylan. (Have Dylan stay with his own tempo instead of waiting for her to find notes. She needs to get used to the fact that music doesn't slow down and wait for you to figure out what to play. It keeps going. Eventually she will be able to find her place.
Monday, Oct 28 2024 Dylan
We worked on the ULM - good progress.
We listened to and discussed Claire de Lune - will play through a simplified version
Will begin looking for a good grand piano to record Chopin Prelude and ULM.
Monday, Oct 28, 2024 Victoria
Today we worked on Rhythm. Try the rhythm challenges to the right.
We worked on keeping a steady beat.
She improvised on the black keys to a steady beat
I modeled Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the black keys. We will be working on this for the next few months. I will record a version on the black keys for her to play along with and to listen to often.
Play the video and let her try to match (read) the rhythms.
Monday, Oct 21 2024 Dylan
We worked on the Ugly Little Man first -
Pay close attention to where the alberti bass pattern changes between:
Pattern 1: pinky - thumb - middle - thumb - pinky - thumb - middle - thumb
Pattern 2: pinky - thumb - middle - thumb - middle - thumb - middle - thumb
We worked on Chopin - Prelude in E minor.
Pedal between each change of chord.
Work the left hand independently, getting those chords into muscle memory.
Then go back and work that melody to make it sing.
Monday, Oct 21, 2024 Victoria
Today we worked on Rhythm. Try the rhythm challenges to the right.
We worked on keeping a steady beat.
She made good progress on Hot Cross Buns on the black keys
We introduced Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We will work on this for the next few months.
play this song often through the week and let her try to play along.
Monday, Oct 14 2024 Dylan
We worked on Chopin - Prelude in E minor.
Pedal between each change of chord.
Work the left hand independently, getting those chords into muscle memory.
Then go back and work that melody to make it sing.
We worked on the Ugly Little Man
Pedal changes are an important part of this also. Work on pedaling.
Monday, Oct 14, 2024 Victoria
Today we worked on naming the white keys A - G
We worked on keeping a steady beat.
We worked on playing Hot Cross Buns on the black keys
We worked on improvising on the black keys over a steady beat (listen and stay locked in to the beat of the music while playing whatever black keys you want to play)
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
We reviewed the Piano Marvel Group Play feature - access by going to PM Preferences and enabling Group Play, then clicking on the orange tab on the left side of the screen to start or join a group play session.
We worked on ULM - outstanding progress. Music below:
We talked about tasks for July:
Take the SASR 3x each week.
Work through level 2 - all songs in the Method Section and Technique Sections of you can
Complete ULM
Check out the videos analyzing Willow Smith's new song, Symptoms of Life
The Ugly Little Man Sheet Music.pdfFriday, June 14, 2024
Practice Counting and Rhythm with drumstick
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Chopin (pronounced Show-pan) Prelude in E minor. We listened and watched a performance
we talked about the value of these types of videos with synthesia (the midi notes falling into the keys). You can see the ebb and flow - the push and pull of the rhythms that you're hearing. This is not a piece that you should play tight to the meter. Let it speed up and slow down. Let the dynamics push and pull also. This music was composed during the romantic era (1780 to the early 1900s). They were trying to make an emotional statement.
Watch the video again and look at the form of his hand. Is he using more wrist or more arm or more finger movement?
Excellent progress on Ugly Little man.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
We worked on the Ugly Little man - the section in D major and the section at 2:15 in the demo video where the broken chord pattern in the left hand changes.
work the hands independently. Use the dissonant notes to remind yourself where your fingers shift from B to C and C to B
get the sections smooth up to 2:05. When it transitions to the other broken chord pattern, speed up slightly.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Worked on (and completed) Solfegietto - we talked about the climax of the song - consider how to add drama. Use variations in dynamics and tempo to add a sense of push and pull. Make the climax the focal point.
We worked on the Ugly Little man - the section in D major.
The video to the right is the whole song being played by midiculous from a midi file. I am working on having the sheet music ready - which involves learning how to edit this piece in Musescore 4.
Tuesday, Mar 5, 2024
Worked on Solfegietto - we talked about the theory of the song - the melodic sections that come back in different keys are really just extended, broken minor 1 chord to a major 5 chord over and over. First it's in C minor, then G minor, then F m
We worked on the Ugly Little man. I recorded it all so I will post it soon.
No class Tuesday (Spring Break) work on ULM, Solfegietto and Mr. Magic.
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024
Worked on Beethoven Moonlight Sonata - clean up for recording next Tuesday. Review mm 81-82 (play the B instead of the octave D on that last chord).
Remember to pedal twice in places where you have an interval of a minor 2nd so the two notes don't bleed into each other.
Played through Solfeggieto part 1. Got the fingering down. Slow it down and smooth it out.
We learned Mr. Magic.
Jazz songs have a head (melody) the you play once or twice,
then an improv section,
Then you return to the head to end the song
When you work on improvisation - use the C blues scale. The notes are given in the video.
Dylan - Tuesday, Feb 13
Solfegietto fingering much better. Smooth transition from left hand to right and vice-versa.
Keep practicing slow with a metronome.
We worked on Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata. Review and work on this for the video. We'll record in two weeks so we can get the video in on time.
Ugly Little Man - good progress.
Dylan - Tuesday, Feb 6
Worked on Solfegietto by C.P.E. Bach
Alternate hands between each set of 4 16th notes so that you can smooth out what you're playing.
Practice slow with a metronome. Pay attention to which notes are louder or accented because of your fingering. Try to hit each key with the same velocity even when you have to cross over
Go super slow while figuring out new lines and figure out (before practicing the line) what the best fingering is to keep your wrist from rocking and to keep from having to play black keys with your thumb. The goal is to keep your hand as
Ugly Little Man - good progress. I'm including the next couple parts - still block chords. Later I'll put the version in with alberti bass (broken chords in the left hand).
Dylan - Tuesday, Jan 30
Worked on Solfegietto by C.P.E. Bach
Alternate hands between each set of 4 16th notes so that you can smooth out what you're playing.
Practice slow with a metronome. Pay attention to which notes are louder or accented because of your fingering. Try to hit each key with the same velocity even when you have to cross over
Go super slow while figuring out new lines and figure out (before practicing the line) what the best fingering is to keep your wrist from rocking and to keep from having to play black keys with your thumb. The goal is to keep your hand as
Ugly Little Man - good progress. I'm including the next couple parts - still block chords. Later I'll put the version in with alberti bass (broken chords in the left hand).
Dylan - Tuesday, Jan 23
We started on "The Ugly Little Man" Goal will be to play it for June recital and October to enter it in next year's video contest. For next week: practice section 1 with block chords in the left hand the way it is in the video. When you have it smooth, make the left hand chords an Alberti bass. (each chord is broken into pinky - thumb - middle - thumb pattern.)
Worked on Moonlight Sonata
Introduced Solfegietto by C.P.E. Bach (follow the link)
Let's not forget about the Chopin piece.
Work on pedaling for both the Beethoven and the Chopin.
Played Golden Hour beginning for my student. We should also work on playing some of that together during the recital
2023
Dylan - November 30 (Thursday)
I played my original piece - "The Ugly Little Man" for Dylan and asked if he wanted to play that for Piano Marvel's composer competition on my behalf. He accepted the challenge. I'll get the music printed out.
Chopin has developed very well. For next week: play the left hand alone with the pedal and record yourself on your phone. Work on making your pedaling so smooth that you never hear the breaks between chords, nor do you hear bleed from the previous chord.
practice the left hand allowing it to ebb and flow like ocean waves on a fairly calm day. The variation in what the left hand does should be both in velocity (how hard you play the keys) and timing (with micro shifts in speed).
Work on pedalling for both the Beethoven and the Chopin.
Golden Hour: practice the jumps with a metronome.
Slow at first then speed up when you can consistently hit the note without messing up the timing.
Practice the left hand without the low doubled octave note. Get used to the pattern both hands make from mm 9 to mm 23 without having to make crossovers and jumps in your left hand.
in.
Keep working on Moonlight Sonata
Dylan - November 16 (Thursday)
We Worked on the new material for Ice Castles just a little. You remembered it.
We spent most of the class time on the Chopin and Ice Castles.
Keep working on Chopin Prelude in E minor.
make that right hand melody sing. Play the whole song through a few times just with the right hand as if it were a song being sung acapella. It has to breathe in all the right places. It has to be confident by itself.
practice the left hand allowing it to ebb and flow like ocean waves on a fairly calm day. The variation in what the left hand does should be both in velocity (how hard you play the keys) and timing (with micro shifts in speed).
Work on pedalling for both the Beethoven and the Chopin.
Keep working on Moonlight Sonata
Dylan - October 17 (Tuesday)
We Worked Hanon #2 up and back to an 86 bpm drum beat
We Worked on some new material for Ice Castles. I haven't put it up yet though. I'll work on getting it up on this site.
Keep working on Chopin Prelude in E minor.
make that right hand melody sing. Play the whole song through a few times just with the right hand as if it were a song being sung acapella. It has to breathe in all the right places. It has to be confident by itself.
practice the left hand allowing it to ebb and flow like ocean waves on a fairly calm day. The variation in what the left hand does should be both in velocity (how hard you play the keys) and timing (with micro shifts in speed).
Work on pedalling for both the Beethoven and the Chopin.
Keep working on Moonlight Sonata
Jaaziel & Dylan - October 12 (Thursday)
Jaaziel played Sevillana for the class
We Worked Hanon #1 up and back to an 86 bpm drum beat
Jaaziel worked on Bach Two Part Invention #4 in D minor - keep working the learn section. Remember to look at the fingering
look for patterns. Often Bach will create a line and then repeat the line once or several more times moving the whole line up or down by one note.
We Worked on Ice Castles as a duet. We will play it together in the next recital, adding some material and make a video of the 3 of us playing it.
Dylan played Chopin Prelude in E minor very expressively. Things to work on:
make that right hand melody sing. Play the whole song through a few times just with the right hand as if it were a song being sung acapella. It has to breathe in all the right places. It has to be confident by itself.
practice the left hand allowing it to ebb and flow like ocean waves on a fairly calm day. The variation in what the left hand does should be both in velocity (how hard you play the keys) and timing (with micro shifts in speed).
Work on pedalling for both the Beethoven and the Chopin.
Dylan worked on Moonlight Sonata - I need to play through it to understand the teacher notes. Keep working on the pedaling. Good progress!
We ended class by playing through 3 point play duet. Good reading.
Dylan - Tuesday, Sep 28
We worked on 5 up and down in C, G, D, A, E and B.
we worked on Ice Castles by Aaron Garner. Keep working the learn section. play the broken chords together to remind yourself that throughout this whole song, the left hand keeps playing a minor 1 chord, a minor 4 chord, and a major 5 chord.
We worked on Moonlight Sonata - we talked about pedaling and expressive playing.
We looked at Chopin, Prelude in E minor. Work on this for next week.
Dylan - Tuesday, Sep 21
We worked on Hanon in G. Dylan played it legato and staccato.
we worked on Ice Castles by Aaron Garner. Remember to read steps and skips more than trying to figure out notes. Interval practice is here: Technique Section 2E
We looked at Chopin, Prelude in E minor. Work on this for next week.
Worked on the 4 important chords in Just the Two of Us.
Dylan - Tuesday, Sep 5
We worked on Hanon in C and then in G. Dylan played it legato and staccato.
we worked on Ice Castles by Aaron Garner. Remember to read steps and skips more than trying to figure out notes. Interval practice is here: Technique Section 2E
We looked at Chopin, Prelude in E minor. Work on this for next week.
Worked on the 4 important chords in Just the Two of Us.
Dylan - Tuesday Aug 29
We worked on Hanon in C and then in G.
Dylan figured out fingering for D and A (same as C and G).
we worked on Ice Castles by Aaron Garner. Remember to read steps and skips more than trying to figure out notes. Interval practice is here: Technique Section 2E
Dylan took the SASR.
Worked on the 4 important chords in Just the Two of Us.
Dylan - Tuesday Aug 22
Dylan is playing JVKE - Golden Hour (very difficult). Practice the simplified version here: Golden Hour in C so we can talk about the chords. We will go back and learn the harder one later.
Dylan took the SASR.
Begin working on Ice Castles by Aaron Garner.
We worked on the chords to Just the Two Of Us a little at the end
Dylan - July 24
We worked on the C scale, 1 octave, ending with a 1 chord, 4 chord, 1 chord, 5 chord, 1 chord.
Dylan took the SASR - scored in the mid 200s - high score.
We worked on Classical Showdown, good progress.
We worked on Girl On Fire - work on playing along with the track if you can change the key of the track. I will send some free software options that allow this if I can find them. Here are some good paid ones:
next week: Keep working on Method Section 1C & Technique Section 1C, Classical Showdown, Girl on Fire.
Jaaziel, Dylan - July 17
We walked through all notes 4 octaves
We raced through the note recognition game (richmanschool.com) calling notes to get a score (at basic level) for treble clef and bass clef. Then we played the notes for a score.
We worked on scales (Dylan learned the fingering for a C scale (see video). Jaaziel is working on G and D scales, 2 hands, 2 octaves.
We worked on Classical Showdown, measures 17 - 33
Dylan started on Beethoven: Ode to Joy and Jaaziel on Just the Two of Us independently
I introduced Midiculous. Jaaziel should download a free copy during the week and try it out.
We discussed the Nashville number system for chords in a major key. Dylan learned to play Girl On Fire by the chord changes.
1 chord
2 chord
3 chord
4 chord
5 chord
6 chord
7 chord
1 chord
In the song chart below, each dot is a beat. There are 4 beats in each measure, represented by the chord number (which usually falls on beat 1) and the rest of the beats that follow until the chord changes.
Jaaziel, Dylan - July 10
We walked through all notes 6 octaves
We raced through the note recognition game (richmanschool.com) at basic level and intermediate level for treble clef and bass clef
We took the SASR
We worked on Classical Showdown
Dylan started on Beethoven: Ode to Joy
Continued working on Just the Two of Us
We worked on Improv in Gb.
July 2023
Jaaziel, July 3 -
We started with a C scale 2 octaves ending in I - IV - I - V - I. We practiced it also in G.
We worked on Hanon #1 and #2.
We reviewed chords 1 - 7 noticing that 1 is major, 2 and 3 are minor, 4 and 5 are major, 6 is minor, 7 is diminished.
We worked on Classical Boot Camp.
Continued working on Just the Two of Us
June 2023
Jaaziel, June 30 -
Recorded Lavender Blue. as a jazz piece. We'll play the whole song, then improvise over the form of the song, then play the song again.
When improvising: guidelines:
stay with the beat
mostly steps, some skips, fewer jumps
repeat anything that sounds cool
pay attention to the notes that are in the chord - they will be the strongest notes to land on in your melody
Continued working on Just the Two of Us
Jaaziel, June 12 -
Worked on 5 up and down in C, G, D, A, E and B
Worked on C and G major scales. https://pianomarvel.com/en/nextgen/library
Worked on Lavender Blue as a jazz piece. We'll play the whole song, then improvise over the form of the song, then play the song again.
When improvising: guidelines:
stay with the beat
mostly steps, some skips, fewer jumps
repeat anything that sounds cool
pay attention to the notes that are in the chord - they will be the strongest notes to land on in your melody
Find Just the Two of Us - We will play this in it's original key of F minor instead of changing the key.
For the recital, I would like you to attempt two challenging songs - 1 written and 1 that we'll learn without the music.
May 2023
Jaaziel, May 29 -
Worked on 5 up and down in C, G, D, A, E and B
Worked on C and G major scales. https://pianomarvel.com/en/nextgen/library
Worked on Lavender Blue as a jazz piece. We'll play the whole song, then improvise over the form of the song, then play the song again.
When improvising: guidelines:
stay with the beat
mostly steps, some skips, fewer jumps
repeat anything that sounds cool
pay attention to the notes that are in the chord - they will be the strongest notes to land on in your melody
Find Just the Two of Us - We will play this in it's original key of F minor instead of changing the key.
For the recital, I would like you to attempt two challenging songs - 1 written and 1 that we'll learn without the music.
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire - Bach: We'll work on this in class, but I believe you can learn this in a month and that it will quickly familiarize you with some musical skills you might not realize that you already have.
Work on Just the Two of Us chord changes. Work on Lavender Blue.
Jaaziel, May 22 -
Jaaziel took the SASR. Remember to work on note recognition games at richmond school. When reading, look at the contour of melodic lines. look for steps, skips and patterns (to minimize how many notes you actually have to figure out. It's easier to say, "the next note is a step up, or a skip down than it is to say, the next note is the A about middle C.)
We worked on Lavender Blue. play it next week but also play around with the left hand chords. We did two eighth notes and a half note per measure in the left hand. we also did 6 eighth notes (which was harder.)
Find Just the Two of Us - We will play this in it's original key of F minor instead of changing the key.
For the recital, I would like you to attempt two challenging songs - 1 written and 1 that we'll learn without the music.
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire - Bach: We'll work on this in class, but I believe you can learn this in a month and that it will quickly familiarize you with some musical skills you might not realize that you already have.
Work on the Bach. Work on Just the Two of Us chord changes. Work on Lavender Blue.
Jaaziel, May 15 -
Jaaziel took the SASR. Remember to work on note recognition games at richmond school. When reading, look at the contour of melodic lines. look for steps, skips and patterns (to minimize how many notes you actually have to figure out. It's easier to say, "the next note is a step up, or a skip down than it is to say, the next note is the A about middle C.)
We worked on Lavender Blue. play it next week but also play around with the left hand chords. Break them up and see what different patterns sound like.
Find Just the Two of Us - We will play this in A minor (C major). I will get this up on this site tonight or tomorrow.
For the recital, I would like you to attempt two challenging songs - 1 written and 1 that we'll learn without the music.
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire - Bach: We'll work on this in class, but I believe you can learn this in a month and that it will quickly familiarize you with some musical skills you might not realize that you already have.
Work on the Back while I work on a simplified version of Just the Two Of Us.
Jaaziel, May 8 -
We worked on Lavender Blue. play it next week but also play around with the left hand chords. Break them up and see what different patterns sound like.
Find Just the Two of Us - We will play this in A minor (C major).
Next week we'll pick something for the recital.
Jaaziel, May 1 -
We worked on a C scale. Work on G scale also - 2 octaves for next week. Refer to the video under Feb 6 for review.
We listened to River Flows in You. Work on this song in Piano Marvel. https://pianomarvel.com/en/nextgen/library
We worked in Piano Marvel - We are making our way through Section 1.
Find Just the Two of Us
Play through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star https://pianomarvel.com/en/nextgen/home/342820/60.
Carol of the Bells https://pianomarvel.com/en/nextgen/home/18122/128 continue to work on it in learn mode. Remember to not look at your fingers as much as possible. slow and steady until you make a conscious pattern a subconscious one.
We worked on Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys - We will work on this a little at the end of class each week.
On the piano keyboard a half step is from one key to the very closest key. A whole step is the key after the closest key. If it were walking, think of it as a half step is left foot to right foot. A whole step would be left to right and back to left
A scale is a specific pattern of half and whole steps from one note to that same note an octave up or down. When you number the notes, each note in the scale is called a SCALE DEGREE.
C=1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7
Chord numbers are created when you play a 3-note chord in root position (the number is on the bottom of the chord and the other two are a skip away.
1 chord
2 chord
3 chord
4 chord
5 chord
6 chord
7 chord
1 chord
C scale. Fingering is in the video.
Recognizing pitches - practice: online note flashcards at richmanmusicschool.com.
Present: Susej
We started by working on form sitting at the piano.
Weight in the center of the piano bench
hands all the way over the keys with each finger over a different key
fingers arched - playing with fingertips
wrists slightly above the level of the surface of the white keys
middle C should be pointing at your belly button
We worked on Joy to the World (practice in one or two measure chunks, rhythm by itself, then find the pitches and practice the pitches).
We practiced matching the correct note to each key by visiting the website with the note flashcards.
https://www.richmanmusicschool.com/products/name-that-note
got on piano marvel and played through some exercises
How you sit and position your hands at the piano is very important. Check out this video to review how to position yourself at the piano. Guide to proper piano hand position.
We we played octaves on all pitches - first the white keys (letter named keys) then the black keys (sharps)
We talked about accidentals - (the black keys)
Review this video to learn about them: Sharps (♯) and Flats (♭)
We got on piano marvel and played through some exercises
Both Sariah and Susej have good natural form. How you sit and position your hands at the piano is very important. Check out this video to review how to position yourself at the piano. Guide to proper piano hand position.
Last week we talked about practicing - importance of making it a habit, so your brain will work on your practice experiences while you sleep.
We played through several Piano Marvel exercises
We went into the Library, and put the Christmas Challenge in our favorites.