Sunday, May 16, 2010

Nothing like a bit of........

Beethoven to get one pumped up in the mornings!
I have started work on the 1st movement of Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13, "The Pathetique".


It is a little hard to contain one's emotion and maintain at least some degree of detachment in the build up through the intense Grave opening before jumping into the Allegro di molto e con brio.
I am now so hyped and ready to hit the waves this morning for a good session as current conditions are indicating it may well be really good out there. Surf's up - yee hah!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Improving hand independence 2..........

...............here are two riffs to practise from Toto's great song "Hold the Line".

They are in the key of F#m so don't forget to sharpen the F, C & G.

The first is the classic introductory riff


The second one is when the verse starts


Although each are only a couple of bars long they include the guitar part in the left hand so they are a solid test of your level of hand independence. Enjoy!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Improving hand independence.........


... the fun way! As you would know from previous posts, I don't mind the music of Steely Dan and of course there are some great piano riffs thanks to Donald Fagen.
They are pretty tricky to play and I use them to help develop further independence between the hands which is an ongoing project.
Here is a relatively easy one, Bodhisattva, for you to try if you are interested and I will post a few more in time. It doesn't look too bad until you actually have a go at it, but practising each hand separately, in time of course, should do the trick.