2003-05-31 at 1:15 p.m.

It has been brought to my attention that I forgot about Ivan in yesterday's 'Ghosts of Flatmates Past' entry. Never mind, you can find out all you need to know about him by clicking here. Yes, here. On these words, you fool.

Anyway, I have been struck forcibly by the realisation that, once again, I have less than a month before I have to perform in front of lots of people who will all sit there and judge me and they're just waiting for me to slip up so they can pounce and ruin my life...

And, as past evidence has witnessed, I usually don't take this kind of pressure very well.

So, I thought I'd share with you all the musical problems that are plaguing me right now. Don't worry if you're not musically inclined, I'll explain it as I go along.

Unfortunately, my scanner is busted right now, so I am unable to scan in my scores. However, I have searched the length and breadth of the internet to find pictures that are completely, totally, and utterly relevant to what I'm talking about.

Firstly, let's begin with Beethoven.

In this exerpt from the first movement, we can see that both the left and right hands have some incredibly rapid scalic passages. If I attempt to play these with tension in my hands and arms, there is no way I'll be able to execute them at speed. I've been doing a lot of slow practice, which helps.

The A major arpeggios in the right hand always cause me problems with accuracy in the right hand. The solution is to get the thumb to pivot under the second finger as quickly as possible, and to keep the wrist low to the keys.

In the Scarlatti, we can see an extended passage of seemingly pointless arm-crossings. I get the feeling Scarlatti inserted these just to show off. Meanwhile, it makes life rather difficult for me, but it should look fairly impressive when I can pull it off.

The Copland Piano Variations. This passage has some very rapid octaves in both hands, both parts having some fairly wide leaps. It is very, very difficult to play this passage with both speed and accuracy.

The last pages of the Copland. There are a lot of exceptionally loud and widespread chords that require a lot of arm weight. This is hard to do for extended periods of time. And the indispersed octave passages are hard to hit accurately. When played correctly, however, it sounds very effective.

So, there you go. This is what I battle with on a daily basis. I hope it has been enlightening for you.

Have a musical day!