I just want…

Piano method books claim to teach you one new thing every exercise. Sometimes that new thing is so minor that you don’t even notice that there is anything new. Other times, it does not feel like an incremental change, rather like a huge step.

Last couple of exercises have introduced block chords in C Major. Playing chords is not that difficult, and it is fun too, IF you can find the chord and switch hand position fast enough. Reading chords gets a bit difficult too. Its the shapes of the notes that you have to associate with the actual chords because there is not enough time to be able to actually read three notes on single clef while playing.

Another new thing being introduced is the 6–8 time signature. Ideally, there shouldn’t be any difficulty in adapting to this change. But there is. One of the reasons is that Quavers get a beat now. Since I am so used to giving one beat to Crotchet, I have to recalibrate. Also, while its ok to start slow, I think the tempo of the piece should be fast enough so that the piece sounds like a 6–8 piece instead of a 3–4 piece. At least that’s what I think, else why would there be two different time signatures.

So I started practising this small piece called ‘In a Canoe’. It is in 6–8 time, has block chords, and requires you to move your right hand to three different positions. Now I just wanted

1. To play in time
2. To find the right chord without getting confused
3. To move the right hand to the right position while also moving the left hand to different positions to play the various chords.

Unfortunately, its easy to choose any two out of these three and get them right. But three out of three? That’s hard. I am still struggling with it and hence don’t have a recording yet. Going to practice right now and hopefully I would have something to record by this evening.