Debussy

So we were relaxing and watching some of the figure skating routines at the Olympics, and a skater came on and his routine was set to Vivaldi's Winter (Four Seasons). Vivaldi was always one of my absolute favourite classical composers.

This music, and other classical pieces played during this Olympic event, jogged my memory that I have been meaning to purchase and download the sheet music for Debussy's Clair De Lune. So that is exactly what I did.

Unfortunately we had no regular paper, so I had to print it on the blank side of some printed paper with butterflies on it, and one piece of paper was lost in the printer and required my IT hubby-to-be to take it apart and remove the jammed page. After all of that, however, I now own the sheet music for one of my favourite pieces, in its original key. (Believe me, I was tempted to transpose it to an easier key, and even thought about downloading a simpler version, but that felt sacriligious, so I could not do that).

For the last hour I have gone through the entire piece twice with sight reading and began working a little more closely on the first three pages. I had already done a little piano today so I could not focus more on it as the pain was becoming far too distracting, but I am very much looking forward to slowly learning this masterpiece over the coming months.
I will start with playing the first three pages, isolating each hand, and combined. Then I will focus on the last three pages in the same way. Then I will go through the entire piece several times (slowly, focused, each hand separately as well as both hands together). Then, when I have gotten most of the iconic or simpler sections memorized by my fingers, I will isolate 'problem' sections and continue to play and work and focus and repeat until it becomes more and more comfortable, followed by mastering the transitions to each sections, and lastly pinpointing all of the stylistic elements.

It takes time. It takes patience, focus, determination, and time. I am confident, however, that it will be a learned piece. Maybe next year I might even be able to perform it somewhere. Wouldn't that be an amazing Christmastime background tune? Or background music for a fundraiser dinner?
Very excited!

My favourite part about this piece is how it immediately draws you in - the moment I hear those first two bars, it feels like I am inside of a gorgeous Steinway, Bechstein, or even Bösendorfer grand piano, absorbing every little movement of the strings. I am automatically transported to those places that give me the greatest sense of calm. Even when I am focused so intensely trying to learn the piece, I am also inside my imagined perfect solace.
That is the power that music pieces can offer.
Amazing.

I love #MyMusicalLife