23. Menuetto from Sonata in E-flat Major

Felt kinda bogged down on Day 7 of learning this (Sept. 16). I'm only just half way through the memorisation process. It feels like every phrase has some kind of tangle my fingers have to work out. I guess because I've started trying to really get things under my fingers before moving on to memorise later sections, it takes on the whole a longer time to learn the notes of a piece. Maybe that explained my frustration. But after spending the entire session on scales (C and D melodic minors), arpeggios (in C) and just this song, I got a bit annoyed. So I stopped before it got to me. I'd prefer not to associate the piano with annoyance.

Two weeks later and I'm still memorizing. Doesn't help that school started again and I'm finding less time to practise. Nevertheless, it's coming along. I do still think the song is a morass of technical difficulties. I like it for that reason: any competent rendition means I've improved my skills quite a bit.

I've been learning and practising the song in sections a lot, and while I think I've memorised all the parts, I'm not confident in one or two of them. For some reason that has deterred my putting them all together and playing the whole thing through. Thus, I haven't yet checked this off as a "learned song," as I usually do by recording the date I first play it all the way through from memory. Consequently, I'm about 24 days into learning this song... longest bout ever! (So far.)

Can I just say now that I know all the parts and have been working a lot more on them: I really enjoy playing this song. It's been a technical challenge through and through--though one I've always been able to meet, since it's been appropriately placed (by J.T.) at the edge of the abilities I've developed so far. But I'd always liked the song, and I'm glad I've learned it because I like hearing myself play it now. I still don't play it well, but it's getting there. (Oct. 27, 2015).

  

Eight months I worked to get this part. That gap between the G and the E in the descent was always very choppy. I played this almost every day for eight months and this week (this week, June 5- 12, 2016) is the first time I've felt fluidity in my fingers.