Hey everyone! Last week I entered in my local radio station's music competition - and guess what????
I made it to SEMI FINALS!!!!
The winner gets to play a solo in Benaroya Hall, and the top 10 get to play intermission music or something grand at Benaroya as well. Ahhhh how I would love to do that. :)
Please click HERE to vote for my video!
Currently I am #3 on the first page - this doesn't mean anything placing/vote-wise, because they rotate people through the first page each week. It says you can vote only once a week, but they sent out an email to clarify and you can actually vote once a day. :) And you can tell your friends!!
It's not really my best time through it, but ah well. One of these days I'll get a nice version up with no cuts and on a NIIICE piano.
In other news, I leave for Idaho tomorrow! Prayers would be appreciated. :D
Ahh! super excited right now. Heehee. :)
~Hannah
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8
Tuesday, January 11
Timing.
It's funny the places I get random revelations/thoughts-about-life. They generally occur at an unearthly hour of the night while I scribble away in my journal and highlight verses in my Bible...or they occur while I'm lost - or perhaps, not *entirely* lost - in my piano practice.
This post is a result of the latter.
I don't like practicing piano that much. Occasionally I manage to get really into it, but more often than I would like to admit, I'm just watching the clock. There's this little timer that sits on the side of the piano, and sometimes I just play my piece and watch it tick.
But I also play this game with myself, and so far I've only won once. (yes, after almost 12 years of piano) This game consists of me trying to time the last few seconds of my piece so that I end right as the clock does. Like - right as the clock does.
So I have this gorgeous piece by Faure, which has a lot of really weird sounds and flowy things that aren't really that complicated, but takes a bit of wrestling to really get down - and I have yet to accomplish this.
I was quite focused for all my practice time until around the last 60 seconds, where I decided to see if I could play the entire Faure and finish it right as the clock does.
So as I was playing it, I started watching the little black pixels countdown - and of course, lost my place in the music, which caused me to have to slow down, find my place again, and thus I lost a good 5 seconds of time and of course didn't finish it anywhere near the time the timer was done counting, because I had estimated wrong to begin with.
But I thought...how often do we do that in life? Being so focused on how long until this or how many more years till we can do this or when this might happen and thinking and dreaming about this...we watch the clock of our lives and lose our place in the music, forgetting that the one who composed the song will have it end exactly where He wants it. But if we focused on the music in front of us, what God has given us right there in our faces...maybe struggle through some parts and float through others, perhaps we'll find that the time has passed after all...and instead of impatiently waiting, we can complete the piece with satisfaction and fulfillment - and then move on to what He has in store next.
Maybe I'm stretching the analogy a bit, but hey. I never said music practice was a sane process, now, did I?
::grins::
This post is a result of the latter.
I don't like practicing piano that much. Occasionally I manage to get really into it, but more often than I would like to admit, I'm just watching the clock. There's this little timer that sits on the side of the piano, and sometimes I just play my piece and watch it tick.
But I also play this game with myself, and so far I've only won once. (yes, after almost 12 years of piano) This game consists of me trying to time the last few seconds of my piece so that I end right as the clock does. Like - right as the clock does.
So I have this gorgeous piece by Faure, which has a lot of really weird sounds and flowy things that aren't really that complicated, but takes a bit of wrestling to really get down - and I have yet to accomplish this.
I was quite focused for all my practice time until around the last 60 seconds, where I decided to see if I could play the entire Faure and finish it right as the clock does.
So as I was playing it, I started watching the little black pixels countdown - and of course, lost my place in the music, which caused me to have to slow down, find my place again, and thus I lost a good 5 seconds of time and of course didn't finish it anywhere near the time the timer was done counting, because I had estimated wrong to begin with.
But I thought...how often do we do that in life? Being so focused on how long until this or how many more years till we can do this or when this might happen and thinking and dreaming about this...we watch the clock of our lives and lose our place in the music, forgetting that the one who composed the song will have it end exactly where He wants it. But if we focused on the music in front of us, what God has given us right there in our faces...maybe struggle through some parts and float through others, perhaps we'll find that the time has passed after all...and instead of impatiently waiting, we can complete the piece with satisfaction and fulfillment - and then move on to what He has in store next.
Maybe I'm stretching the analogy a bit, but hey. I never said music practice was a sane process, now, did I?
::grins::
Monday, May 10
Tuesday, March 23
Vote!
Sorry for the lack of posts - I've been in Idaho at the Salt & Light Qualifier. It was FABULOUS, and I'm working up a post complete with pictures and videos for later.
For now....My friend Heather's brother, Michael, is another one of my piano teachers amazing students. He's placed in numerous competitions and recently played in a concert with the Seattle Festival Orchestra.
We entered in a recent competition with our local radio station, (through youtube) and the top 10 people get $1000 and the privilege of playing at Benaroya Hall. While neither of my entries made it (they're on my youtube channel), Michael's did!! They have narrowed it down to the top 20, and based on votes, will determine the top 10.
So, I want all of you to click HERE!!! and vote for #16 (4 stars!) because he is a fabulous pianist and deserves it.
For now....My friend Heather's brother, Michael, is another one of my piano teachers amazing students. He's placed in numerous competitions and recently played in a concert with the Seattle Festival Orchestra.
We entered in a recent competition with our local radio station, (through youtube) and the top 10 people get $1000 and the privilege of playing at Benaroya Hall. While neither of my entries made it (they're on my youtube channel), Michael's did!! They have narrowed it down to the top 20, and based on votes, will determine the top 10.
So, I want all of you to click HERE!!! and vote for #16 (4 stars!) because he is a fabulous pianist and deserves it.
Saturday, March 13
It Really Doesn't End
So, I finally got around to recording my Chopin with the motivation of getting it done in time to enter it into a competition our local radio station was holding. (which explains the nerdy intro at the beginning =P )
And now I'm on youtube. O.o
=P
Anyway, here it is. I failed the left hand in one part and ruined another chord at the end, and wasn't as pleased with the emotions that came out this time around......but it was alright, and it does more justice to this post. The thing about playing such an emotionally deep piece is that you get something just a little bit different every time.
I was wearing such a formal dress because of my co-op semi formal later that evening which I will have pictures for later. Sorry the video is so big.
Here's an excerpt from that post:
I like to call a piece of joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love.
It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.
It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.
You've probably heard that it's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.
This piece is a full, deep, meaningful joy that you won't experience fully unless you have endured the pain beforehand.
There are so many different feelings you can pull out of this piece, and that's why I love it.
It really has astonished me how many different ways you can play this piece, and the depth of emotion you are constantly finding. My sister and I were talking today about how positively deep music is - it never ends! There's always something new. You can spend months on one piece and still find new and exciting things in it.
The other day, I discovered "righteous anger" in the cadenza. (the really fast chromatic part at the end) Maybe it was because I had just watched this speech on abortion, or because I was feeling particularly angry at things I felt were not my fault.
Other times, the cadenza just screams "Why, God??"
But my favorite part is at the end. I discovered how to play the last two chords in a way that almost guarantee that the right notes are voiced. Part of it was that I put the words "Be Still" on those two chords.
So many times in life I don't understand why things are a certain way, why people do things the way they do, or how there ever could be an end.
But God always says,
Be....Still.
Listen for that at the end.
PS - Some other time, if anyone cares to listen, I'll geek out to you about different parts of that Chopin and how amazing they are (as if this weren't enough), as well as the intricate emotions I think Chopin put there; or perhaps I'll show you my Beethoven. ;)
And now I'm on youtube. O.o
=P
Anyway, here it is. I failed the left hand in one part and ruined another chord at the end, and wasn't as pleased with the emotions that came out this time around......but it was alright, and it does more justice to this post. The thing about playing such an emotionally deep piece is that you get something just a little bit different every time.
I was wearing such a formal dress because of my co-op semi formal later that evening which I will have pictures for later. Sorry the video is so big.
Here's an excerpt from that post:
I like to call a piece of joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love.
It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.
It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.
You've probably heard that it's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.
This piece is a full, deep, meaningful joy that you won't experience fully unless you have endured the pain beforehand.
There are so many different feelings you can pull out of this piece, and that's why I love it.
It really has astonished me how many different ways you can play this piece, and the depth of emotion you are constantly finding. My sister and I were talking today about how positively deep music is - it never ends! There's always something new. You can spend months on one piece and still find new and exciting things in it.
The other day, I discovered "righteous anger" in the cadenza. (the really fast chromatic part at the end) Maybe it was because I had just watched this speech on abortion, or because I was feeling particularly angry at things I felt were not my fault.
Other times, the cadenza just screams "Why, God??"
But my favorite part is at the end. I discovered how to play the last two chords in a way that almost guarantee that the right notes are voiced. Part of it was that I put the words "Be Still" on those two chords.
So many times in life I don't understand why things are a certain way, why people do things the way they do, or how there ever could be an end.
But God always says,
Be....Still.
Listen for that at the end.
PS - Some other time, if anyone cares to listen, I'll geek out to you about different parts of that Chopin and how amazing they are (as if this weren't enough), as well as the intricate emotions I think Chopin put there; or perhaps I'll show you my Beethoven. ;)
Monday, February 8
Endless Emotions
Awhile ago, I wrote something along these lines in my facebook status: (although it was much shorter than this to accommodate facebook's word limit)
Chopin's thought process while writing his prelude in C♯ minor:
"I think I'll write a random prelude. Let's give it 4 sharps...and make it in C♯ minor."
::poses thoughtfully::
"I'll make a gorgeous melody, quite simple, for the first page. But then, I think I'll take ALL those notes and turn them into FLATS! Yes!"
::rubs hands together gleefully::
"Next, I think I'll write it so that the pedaling is so intricately delicate that students will get foot cramps trying to do it right"
::scribbles notes madly::
"Oooh! I have an idea. Let's put in a cadenza at the end. A *chromatic* one."
::the scheme deepens::
"Not only that, but why don't we make it be chromatic in FOUR DIFFERENT PATTERNS!"
::triumphantly publishes music, only to have it become a rarely played piece, left alone as the only piece in Op. 45::
As you can probably see, the learning process of this piece has not exactly been pleasant.
But if you look beyond that - the world of classical music is so intricately deep, with things you never imagined weaved into a single note.
I just finished up 2.5 hours of piano practice, with about 1 hour of that consisting of Chopin. But today was not a day of tedious chromatic scales and foot-cramping pedal patterns - today was a day of discovery.
Previously, my teacher asked me what I thought of when I thought of this piece. She wanted a story for me to think of.
I told her that it wasn't the type of piece that could be expressed with something material. It was an emotion, a color....anything but something you could touch or see or express in concrete terms.
So, taking the situation I was currently in, I played it with the kind of emotion that comes from pain, from something lost, from something you so desperately need.
Today I discovered that it's not that kind of a piece - at all.
I like to call a piece of joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love.
It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.
It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.
You've probably heard that it's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.
This piece is a full, deep, meaningful joy that you won't experience fully unless you have endured the pain beforehand.
Doesn't the depth of music that God has created excite you? Does it not leave you in awe and wonder of our Father in heaven?
There are so many different feelings you can pull out of this piece, and that's why I love it.
Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
PS - I wish I had a decent recording to give you, but I don't. I will be recording all my pieces at some point though, so eventually I will be able to share it with you.
Chopin's thought process while writing his prelude in C♯ minor:
"I think I'll write a random prelude. Let's give it 4 sharps...and make it in C♯ minor."
::poses thoughtfully::
"I'll make a gorgeous melody, quite simple, for the first page. But then, I think I'll take ALL those notes and turn them into FLATS! Yes!"
::rubs hands together gleefully::
"Next, I think I'll write it so that the pedaling is so intricately delicate that students will get foot cramps trying to do it right"
::scribbles notes madly::
"Oooh! I have an idea. Let's put in a cadenza at the end. A *chromatic* one."
::the scheme deepens::
"Not only that, but why don't we make it be chromatic in FOUR DIFFERENT PATTERNS!"
::triumphantly publishes music, only to have it become a rarely played piece, left alone as the only piece in Op. 45::
As you can probably see, the learning process of this piece has not exactly been pleasant.
But if you look beyond that - the world of classical music is so intricately deep, with things you never imagined weaved into a single note.
I just finished up 2.5 hours of piano practice, with about 1 hour of that consisting of Chopin. But today was not a day of tedious chromatic scales and foot-cramping pedal patterns - today was a day of discovery.
Previously, my teacher asked me what I thought of when I thought of this piece. She wanted a story for me to think of.
I told her that it wasn't the type of piece that could be expressed with something material. It was an emotion, a color....anything but something you could touch or see or express in concrete terms.
So, taking the situation I was currently in, I played it with the kind of emotion that comes from pain, from something lost, from something you so desperately need.
Today I discovered that it's not that kind of a piece - at all.
I like to call a piece of joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love.
It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.
It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.
You've probably heard that it's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.
This piece is a full, deep, meaningful joy that you won't experience fully unless you have endured the pain beforehand.
Doesn't the depth of music that God has created excite you? Does it not leave you in awe and wonder of our Father in heaven?
There are so many different feelings you can pull out of this piece, and that's why I love it.
Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
PS - I wish I had a decent recording to give you, but I don't. I will be recording all my pieces at some point though, so eventually I will be able to share it with you.
Wednesday, January 13
I change my blog background too often.
Saturday, September 19
I want to play piano like this.
Kat, one of my dear moderators on Aslan's Country, is an amazing pianist. She has this great ear for picking out all sorts of songs on the piano, and this is one of my favorites that she's done. [Beloved, by Tenth Avenue North] I would really, really love to develop that kind of skill to be able to do that.
Check out more of her videos here.
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