Grade 8 RC Piece

Just an additional youtube video today.

In my spare time, I often practice piano. This sometimes means learning a new favourite tune (like the Harry Potter Theme), practicing major and minor scales (harmonic and melodic), or practicing pieces I may have used if I had continued piano past grade 6.

It's not that I regret quitting piano when I did. I achieved my grade 6 Royal Conservatory certificate, and then I was so jam-packed with other activities that I shifted my focus to athletics and voice. This change served me well.
I also have never seen it as a failure because I did not truly quit piano.
I just lightened my load of appointments and lessons.
I have been working hard over the years to always be improving my piano skills in any way that I can. I have worked on my sight-reading like nobody's business, I have continued practicing scales and arpeggios, I have learned new songs from all kinds of difficulty levels, I have improved my improvisation skills, I have written music, I have worked on my ear training, and (above all), I continue to practice on a regular basis.

One of the recent pieces I have been practicing is a Grade 8 piece from my old RC books. It's called "In The Evening", Op.88 No.2.

It is SUCH an amazing feeling learning a new piece. When I first looked at this piece I thought 'no way, I'll never get this how I like it'. I thought it was too high of a skill-level to pull off. That nagging thought of 'you've only reached a Grade 6' is stuck there in the back of my mind like an anchor. And even though I am fairly happy with it, it's still not perfect. I could use more work on the dynamics, and I have always had difficulty with making the melody stand out when it switches hands or when it is in chords. These are skills I continue to work on.
It's not all about just playing the notes. It's finding the right tempo, feeling it in your entire body so that you can evoke that feeling with sound. It is the right dynamics and the attention to detail and the right melodic focus. This is what makes a piece stand out.
I am not there yet... but I definitely feel this one whenever I play it. So I am well on my way.

Then comes memorization.

That will be for another day!

Most importantly - I LOVE My Musical Life!