How much time do you spend on dynamics?
Sitting in a lesson the other day I was told my dynamics weren’t clear enough and the range wasn’t bold enough. It’s funny the difference between what is being put our and what we hear in our own heads because I thought they were fine!
Anyway, after that we spent about 10 minutes playng one 3 note chord. You should try that…. it feels like an eternity.
We were working on first of all deciding what balance I wanted when playing that passage. From there we separeted the 3 notes and worked on them individually. After that we put them together and I had the balance I was looking for.
Although the approximate timeframe for working on that one chord was ‘eternity’, every time I now come to that chord in the piece I’m working on, I hit it with the correct level of balance without thinking about it.
Sometimes just spending what feels like a long time on just one aspect translates in to a skill that will last until I stop playing the piano. Time well spent in my eyes.
When we working on dynamics, we should be having a look at the range required within the piece. Check your quietest and loudest then make a conscious decision on how you would like them to sound. Pracitce that, listen closely and pay attention to how your arm feels when you press the key.
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