It’s interesting to me that on certain days certain sections of my current Seitz piece – movement three of the second concerto – seem harder than others.  It’s also interesting to drill down on what hard means.  There’s playing the notes, there’s memorization, and there’s musicality.  There’s also technique independent of what I need to do for this particular piece – tonalization in particular, and smooth bowing.

Overall, I’m having the most trouble with memory on one section that’s all arpeggios – they’re strung together in doubled sixteenth notes.  The similarities from moment to moment make it tough to distinguish the moments in my mind, so remembering what the next one should be is tricky.  During last week’s lesson we focused on the section, but heading into this week’s lesson now I’m afraid I still don’t have it all memorized.

The movement begins with the introduction of the main theme, followed by a minor sounding section, followed by a lovely flowing section, then my memory challenge doubled sixteenth note section.  Then there’s the big finish section, where the music heads back to the theme, then incorporates part of the doubled sixteenth note section, and adds dramatic chords to finish fortissimo.

Yesterday’s practice session was great – the Seitz was really coming together.  I hope I’ll sound as good for teacher today.  Sadly, experience tells me not to hold my breath on that.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan