Sat for the theory exam in KK High School yesterday with my brother. My brother took the grade 1 exam while I took grade 3. There were some questions that I got a bit confused at... but I'll pass. I believe I will pass this exam :D
I realized that having a mock exam day every week for a month before the real exam is really helpful. Like helps with not being nervous etc.. I could apply the same for the subjects I'm taking this semester.
Theory again.. :P
The music theory exam is tomorrow~! Actually I haven't memorise the italian terms... Uh-oh.
Anyway... I kept getting confused at how to describe the intervals for minor scales. Today, all confusions were cleared. LOL. FINALLY understood how to look at it. & Miss C said she's going to stress on the scales after the music school's midterm holidays... Still haven't practise that scary looking minor scales. She also talked about the aural section. Seems like there'll be a part where I have to sing out notes on paper... and then the examiner plays the notes to check if I sang correctly. This is actually scary... but I'm kind of excited to learn this! (crazy?) Isn't this basically sight-reading??? Sight-reading is a nice skill to have IMO...
Did theory exercises for Grade 3 because my brother and I will be sitting for ABRSM music theory exam next week on March 12th.
Bought two songbook that focus on moving up grades (like pieces with level in between such and such grade). I already have g1-g2 & g2-g3 at home, the ones I bought were g3-g4 & g4-g5 :P... Tried playing them already. Very nice. My playing progress was much slower when I play the g4-g5 pieces ... so I guess I'm really right on my supposed grade, huh.
I wonder if I'm experiencing this music learning the way I would be if I learn earlier (or similar like others who started early)... For now, the way I'm seeing it, I'm learning not because I'm that passionate about music. It's more like I'm appreciative of the opportunity I get to learn something I forgo in the past... it's like the fun just have barely started (lol).. Of course it's fun now... but as I just rewatched Nodame Cantabile, I realised there are so many more that I could learn regarding music.. & many pieces I want to play... well.. not that I'm aiming to go to a music college or something.. it's really a personal thing. I was thinking that I want to be someone who could play one of Beethoven's sonatas (for example) without having to graduate from a music college in the future. Very personal thing, right..
Last week, my class was postponed to Sunday... Great day. I think I played better than Saturday's classes. I really miss going to class every Sunday...
Today played pieces only. Wasn't any better than last week's.. started on second piece though. My biggest problem with this second piece is how to express it... maybe.. partly I chose this so that I could learn how to control the dynamics of anything I play on the piano :P
My music school is moving to a new place so our classes would be held at their other venue starting next month (while they still have to do renovation at the new place)... The other venue seems to be a place for those taking Rock school kind of lessons...? Dunno what that meant really hehe... but I've never been there so I'm kind of excited to go there next month.
Ohno has a new dorama next season. "Kagi no Kakatta Heya". SO, SO HAPPY. So happy that I ordered the novel (:P) before it was confirmed by newspaper reports (originally people found out from a magazine scan yet to be published...) along with Arashi's latest album songbook...
Can't wait for my order to arrive!!!
The music school's classrooms (studios?) are REALLY fully booked on Saturdays!
Last Saturday, my class (actually since it changed to Saturdays, I have music lessons together with my brother :P) was conducted in a room that is usually used for [mock] exam practice use. Very large room... Six times larger than the room we usually use. There were two upright pianos. Miss C chose the one that sounded like harpsichord.. I said it sounded that way because when I play my first song, it sounded just like the original harpsichord version I found on Youtube. I like the sound actually.. but I didn't play very well that day. Lack of sleep (had only 1-2 hours of sleep) made me so out of focus all day...
ARGGRGHH. I was also so irritated that I couldn't control the dynamics of the piece... was it because it's a piano I don't usually use? .. lack of focus..? URGH.
Actually my weekend wasn't really great.. super annoyed with everything.. can't describe what kind of feelings I had...
It felt great to attend class when you had had practice the week before... :D
I still played like a mess though... dunno why it always have to happen when Miss C is there :P
Miss C started on scales after the first piece was played. Panicked. I totally panicked hearing unfamiliar major scales... lol. When I actually tried all of them (only the major ones for now), I realised... "HEY. I kind of know this...," I felt like a fool! I've played pieces/songs with these key signatures before! Playing those songs - even though not perfect - REALLY HELPED A LOT! Though it was just recently (few months ago I think) that I could accept songs with 4-6 flats (Arashi's "Monster" is one of them & I LOVE this song)... I'm quite surprised how easy I get comfortable with those scary scales. XD
Now I'm back to worrying about my pieces. My problem is still the dynamics ... my second piece looks easy but is quite difficult on the expressing part (had to work more on the controlling the pedal - too noisy for now)... I've tried playing my third piece already, a jazz piece.. chosen through elimination method :P ....C1 was lengthy, need to play fast & need to change pages (yeah I think of petty things like this lol).. C3 was lengthy too & I'm not really in the mood to play marches :P.
My chosen pieces are A1, B1 & C2.
I've found someone who had played them on youtube so you can listen to how they sound like...
A1
B1
C2
I shouldn't have been surprised... actually.
I want this to happen.
I have wanted this to happen.
Since I skipped taking exams last year, I was like floating between grade 3 and 4. The time gap was big. It gave me enough time to study G3...& then G4's pieces. Which was what I was supposed to be taking this year. BUT. One day, I forgot to bring my G4 book to class. So my teacher lent me G5 book from the school shop (lol)... & I fell in love with the first song (A1). I got bored with the G4 pieces I had chosen to play. It was so apparent that I didn't feel like improving my playing anymore XD... When my piano teacher asked me to pick between these two numbers last Saturday, I was thinking that I'm not up to G5 level yet... but then another thought came.. I rather die than play the G4 pieces for exam. Okay, I'm exaggerating... but this made me agree to go along with my teacher's suggestion.
So, I need to be serious this year. There are a lot to catch up... such as scales. I must know all my scales. 12 major scales and 12 minor scales. *cringes* ... I haven't even pick my B and C pieces yet...
The exam is at least six months away....
Honestly, I'm feeling a bit optimistic about this. If I fail, at least I will have the experience of taking a G5 practical exam... & the next attempt should be easier (& more relaxing).
My first post in 2012! XD
My parents bought a new sofa set few weeks ago, so the piano was re-located... well not far from it's original place... but lol.. I just want to say it sounds really pretty now when I play it! I haven't check it online, but I think it has some effects to the acoustic of the room (or sth) when you put the piano too closely to the wall... Before, the sound was echo-ish and not as pleasant as now.. I don't know... psychological, maybe... lol
Anyway.. starting this year -following a somewhat big change in my father's church situation...- my piano classes will be on Saturdays..
I believe 2012 will be a great year.
Didn't play the piano in piano class yesterday... music theory only hehe.. not that I'm complaining (didn't practised much again last week XD)
I've started reading the pink ABRSM music theory book I bought a couple years ago.. it was really enriching, really. The way it was written was unlike the usual rigid/strict kind of textbook, it was really easy to understand! I think I've become more appreciative towards music.. it suddenly makes sense to me now. XD
------------------------------------------------------------
This part was cross-posted from my LJ post :D
I started trying to transcribe "Meikyuu Love Song" on the piano last Saturday... :P
This is the first time I really made to the end... well, only the melody part though for now.. XD
Just got curious of how people learnt to create the piano version of popular songs just by listening...& boy, my ears got a really good listening practice that day. And I practised singing too lol ... 'cos you cannot not sing along with the song.. that was good practice too for the "echo" part of ABRSM exam.
What a productive Saturday I had last week. <3
I mentioned about playing 5x10 perfectly before the end of September in my main blog. It's far from perfect but I'm still happy that I could now play the two difficult bars in the beginning part. They looked easy really but I kept pressing the wrong keys. :P
For this year... supposedly my final year in university... I should be preparing my Final Year Project so that was why I told my teacher that I don't want any piano exams this year. But there were almost-four-month long semester holidays this year so I SHOULD'VE been able to do it. And then came the decision to extend my studies in university for another year, which means I can only start my FYP next year...
Now.. I DON'T CARE ANYMORE. I'll take those exams whenever I want to!
Moving on. Since few weeks ago, my piano teacher had made me study the G5 pieces more seriously. Then last Sunday, she told me what I wanted initially but feared for it to happen now : Skipping G3 and G4, and take G5 exams. WHOA. In these few past months I felt my dynamics & mood-making (or whatever you call it) to bring the exam pieces to life were so lacking, I kind of doubt whether I CAN play the piano or not. It's like "I'm lost". G5 demands a lot of that...which I don't have now... Anyway. She was just suggesting. I have to study both grades' pieces before she decide whether G5 is a go or not.
To me, taking piano exams is like acquiring the official points of the level of my playing skills. It may not reflect my REAL ability but it gives some kind of proof which I think is important to motivate someone who re-started playing piano again at an older age. I actually learnt a lot more from pieces that weren't assigned to me in class eg. I got used to 3-6 sharps/flats songs of my favourite artistes (like Arashi & Demi Lovato)... this self-study lessons complements my piano lessons... If you make efforts to attend music lessons every week, why not take the exams too, right? It was actually a childhood dream of mine really..to play piano like those who played since they were children..and have exams like such. Though... I think all the young students in my music school are taking ABRSM exams. It seems like most of them are taking GUILD ones [or not taking at all??? Will do so when they reach G5 level?]
Hmm.
