Stop! Cadenza time
Dispatches from the Imperfection Lab
I have been not great about posting weekly practice videos, and I apologize for that! I had a vague plan to record videos of me playing the concerto through with the software-generated midi track that Patricia sent me, but I found that there was no setup where I could 1) have the orchestra track played out loud (so it could be picked up by my phone) and 2) actually hear it at all while I was playing. Turns out a grand piano, even when being played at half strength, will drown out even a pretty powerful speaker at max volume, and I made so many hilarious attempts at trying to record a practice video this way, only to find that you can’t play along to something you can’t hear.
(I am only able to play with the midi if I play it through earphones with noise cancellation on—that’s literally the only way I can actually hear the orchestra over my own playing.)
But Sharon, I follow you on social media, and you posted videos of you playing along with the track! you say. Yes, I did. Those are STAGED VIDEOS for SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT in which I just played and recorded small fragments that could hold together. They are not real practice videos!
This is, though (I promise!) Here’s me playing through my cadenza and, joyfully, I recorded this with my nifty new recorder attachment, so it doesn’t get buzzy when I get loud.
(I am wearing a hoodie because I was in need of coziness at the time.)
There are a couple of blips because turns out you do still need to practice a thing you wrote yourself, so I dutifully practiced those weak spots after recording this, promise.
GOING TO DO THIS FOR REAL THIS WEEK AHHHHH. I’m fine. I’m totally fine.