I have spent so much time at my piano lately!! But, it's a very good thing. Preparing for a Senior Recital is unlike anything I have ever done before! It is one of the most strenuous mental things I have ever done, but also one of the best.
The mind is really an amazing thing. I have gone back and pulled out pieces that I haven't played since the start of high school, and within a very short time, I am able to remember them. It's kind of like trying to speak a language you once knew, but haven't used in a while...words (or in this case, notes) start coming back to you.
I am only about 3 weeks away from giving my first real "concert"....about an hour's worth of music. All memorized. All perfected. And totally terrifying!! But I'm very excited too.
I get to play my most favorite pieces I've learned to date, without worrying about a judge (like at a competition).
So I'm very excited.
But for some reason, when I think about it, my fingers start shaking......
Sit on them - your hands that is. Don't sit on the judges - that really wouldn't help things.
ReplyDeleteWow, so this is really something. Prayin you pull it off fine!
Oh wow, that sound terribly exciting!! I wish you the best for your senior recital. :) I'm auditioning for my youth orchestra on the cello next week...been a little nervous, but I'm actually looking forward to it too. :) What pieces will you be playing?? (and btw, gorgeous dress!!)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!! I would love all prayers :D
ReplyDeleteEmiko...as far as what I'm playing....
Bach: Prelude & Fugue in c minor, Brahms: Rhapsody Op 79 No 2, Mozart: Rondo Alla Turca in A Major, Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata Mvmt 3 Presto Agitato, Mozkowski: Etincelles, Brahms: Intermezzo Op 118 No 1, Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu, Copland: Hoe-Down.
Sounds like a bunch of gibberish, doesn't it? :D
You'll do just great, Lis! Don't worry. :) I'll be praying that you won't even think about being nervous!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sadie!!
DeleteIt is such a joy to play! (Though I'm sometimes envious of the things that Steven Sharp Nelson (Piano Guys, Look 'em up if you haven't!) can do with a cello!)
ReplyDeleteIt's it though? I love it when you can sit down and pull a piece out of times past, and after a little fiddling, have it playable!
All the pictures are really good, but the last one is amazing! I have a thing for reflections, so that one really grabs me! Though if I may venture to critique a little, I think that just a little fill light, and perhaps just a hint of a smile, would make it a total winner!
I once played on of my pieces at a family cam we got to in Oregon (You should come some time!), and I've never shaken so much! Though apparently I didn't show it much, because people kept commenting on how calm I looked! If they only knew. :) (But I think it's justified a little bit because of the number of people)
Piano Guys?!?!? My favs!!!!! Totally awesome...in fact, I'm going to play one of Jon Schmidt's songs as my encore piece..."All Of Me." So excited :)
DeleteI agree that I should go in and add some fill light on that last one. Especially my right eye (camera's left).
It's pretty funny how much of performing is really acting. I was learning a really gorgeous Intermezzo (by Brahms), and there is one place where it is just so passionate and beautiful, and it was my absolute favorite part of the whole piece. But, to my dismay, I always always messed it up. So I was talking to my teacher about it, and she said, "It's because you're feeling the emotion too much, Lisa. You have to make your audience feel the emotion, and you have to feel it to some degree, but in a way, you have to be conveying emotion you're not really feeling."
That was eye opening for me.
I didn't know you played! Who's your favorite composer? I'm kinda on a Brahms rampage right now. LOVE his Rhapsodys. I have learned and loved his Rhapsody in g minor, and I'm hoping to learn his Rhapsody in b minor soon. Awesome works. But, I also love Chopin...Rachmaninoff...Mendelssohn....
BTW...that last shot is my favorite, too. I used it on my invitations and program :)
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