Mid-term Self Evaluation-Heather Crow

For my Keyboarding Skills III mid-term, I was torn between doing “Waterlilies” and “Promenade”. Both had traits that attracted me to them, like the legato-like tempo in “Waterlilies” and the bouncy, playful rhythm in “Promenade”. I settled on “Promenade” and took it apart by doing the right hand first and practicing slowly so that my staccati and slurs would be properly placed. Then I practiced the left hand, also taking into consideration the slurs and the line I had to form in the bass. Once I successfully practiced each hand individually, I played with them together: first at a slow tempo and increasing to a comfortable tempo. I did encounter problems at the beginning when playing both hands simultaneously how I would go to C instead of D in the third measure. It was quite frustrating, so I isolated the first four bars with my right hand and then added the left in later.

I enjoyed learning this piece and preparing for the mid-term because it allowed me to use my learning process in learning a song. I pick up melodies quickly, so knowing what the piece was supposed to sound like helped me with error detection in the event I press an incorrect key. It also allowed me to bring everything I know in piano and present it well.