darin.wilson

I’ve been practicing more classical music lately, specifically the piano music of Maurice Ravel of which I have long been a fan (in fact, it was nearly the topic of my master’s thesis in college). I’ve been starting with Le Tombeau de Couperin and Jeux d’Eau, both of which are probably a bit too ambitious for me at this point (especially the last movement of Tombeau - forget it!), but I’ve been in love with these pieces for years, and it’s nice to finally get my fingers into them and see how they work.

It’s also been very encouraging because up until now, I couldn’t even begin to play these pieces; now I can start to get through them and I’ve been surprised at how quickly I’ve been able to make sense of some passages that seemed impossible at first. The first movement of Tombeau (pictured here) is a good example. I remember taking a look at it some years ago, and I couldn’t make it happen at all, even at a slow tempo. My left hand just wasn’t agile enough to play the 16ths, and the fourth and fifth fingers on my right hand weren’t strong enough to handle the grace notes in the second and fourth bars. Now, it’s challenging but definitely do-able. I’m certain all the work I’ve been doing with Hanon has helped a great deal - the first few exercises focus heavily on building strength in the fourth and fifth fingers (one more vote for Hanon!).

With Jeux d’Eau, the title of this post is especially apropos. There are some passages that are forcing my hand to stretch out farther than I would have thought was reasonable for someone to expect of a pianist. My hands are pretty big, so maybe I’m missing something here. I doubt I’ll be able to get this up to tempo anytime soon, but the sounds and textures of this piece are really amazing, even when played painfully slowly as I currently do, and it’s nice to get an inside look at the guts of something I’ve been listening to and admiring for years.

This is turning out to be a good complement to my Hanon work. It’s getting my fingers into unfamiliar positions, which can only improve strength and agility, and it’s having the effect of making my jazz playing feel easier. After spending a bunch of time trying to execute the notes Msr Ravel wrote, I get to take off the straight jacket and play the notes that I want to play. It’s very freeing.

It’s not clear to me whether this is just a passing phase, or if I’ll continue to delve deeper into the classical realm, but I’m just going with the flow for now. I’ve loved this music for years, so it’s gratifying to know that I might be within reach of actually playing it for myself, and not just listening.

For those of you working on your piano playing, here’s something that definitely won’t help: shutting the bathroom door on your right pinky finger.

That seems like it should be obvious, but apparently I needed a reminder…

“Uh-oh - I think these guys are going to overpower us”

I was performing with the Rob Evans Quartet at our usual gig at Rose Pistola. I was in the middle of a solo when I heard Rob say those words as he looked out window. We usually perform next to a wall of windows facing Columbus St. so I looked out to see what he was concerned about. He was right: a brass band was marching down the sidewalk, and they were loud.

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