No lesson today. Arthur is examining in Rockhampton.

Overall a good lesson.

Chopin Etude: Improving. Need to make the beginning as calm and controlled as the end - listen to the sound first.

Chopin Ballade: I tend to avoid practicing this because I am afraid it is too hard and won't work. Should start at where it gets hard and just do it. Should try to analyse the harmonies more as they are probably not so complex when you understand them.

Rachmaninov: both preludes are better. The middle section of the Op 23 No 5 middle section needs to be more lyrical and not too slow.

Scarlatti: practice louder for clarity and then tone it down.

Onwards!

Scarlatti: Although the fingers must be light, more weight can be put through the wrist so the fingers don't need to be raised so high.

Chopin Ballade: Chopin is always so difficult. So much depends on state of mind. I'm more afraid of playing Chopin than of any other composer. The key constantly drifts and there are lines within layers within levels of sound.

Rachmaninov: Much easier - he says what he means and means what he says. The two preludes are now both fun to play. I like it once the notes are "in my fingers" as they say.

Arthur has a 16 year old student who has just come second in the Brisbane Eisteddfod. She beat adults and university students alike. I've heard her play and it is lovely. She likes to go very fast and seemingly has no fear. I suggested Arthur enter her in the national Concerto competition.

5th August already. This was a good lesson. I played well. I'm back to yoga classes and the neck and back are better.

Arthur and I discussed the role of breathing in performance. It would seem an obvious thing to breath in and then out and then in again and keep doing that but apparently not for me.

When I forget to breath through a passage, I panic and then it falls apart. I may need to mark breathing points on the score. It might also help to listen to non-pianist musicians and singers.

Arthur gave me a bio on John Ogden to read. The first chapters are very interesting for someone who never went to a music college per se.

Let's see. Sunday was the 28th. The neck/upper back/ left arm are getting better and I did go to my lesson. It's a subtle thing but sometimes both Arthur and I are in a strange mood and the lesson doesn't go too well. Not much else to say really.

I'm disappointed because I cancelled my lesson with Arthur this afternoon. On Wednesday, I woke with a sore neck and pain going into my left shoulder and my left arm. It's taken the rest of the week to finally get better and was too sore to sit and practice for any length of time. As well as that, the ibuprofen I was taking to get myself to work was making me drowsy. I wouldn't normally take any medication at all but on this occasion, the discomfort got the better of me. If I had been more organised, I would have gone to an osteopath or physio but as it was the work week was very busy and I didn't get a chance to down tools. Next week.

A much better lesson last Sunday. Low GI food all through the day and twenty minutes of meditation before leaving home did the trick.

Chopin Ballade No.4. : Another page learnt so this week it will be the second part of the fugal section (around page 8 or so for memory). The melody needs more cantabile still but was better. Memorizing some of the tricky passages helps.

Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 2. : Played this at the end of the lesson and despite significant practice it fell apart. I have an actor friend who said that amateurs practice till the performance will probably be alright, professionals rehearse till they are certain it will be alright - good advice.

Rachmaninov Op 32 No 10.: The L'istesso tempo section needs more work in the right hand. Experiment with the sound in the chordal section - more depth, quality of forte sound.

Rachmaninov Op 23 No. 5: In the fingers now (yay!) accuracy getting there. The Un poco meno mosso section needs to be even quieter still.

Got to get started on the Brahm's Rhapsody.

Learnt that the mother of a fellow student and professional colleague (CM) had died in a car accident. Sad ++.

My ticket for Stephen Hough's concert on 26th September arrived. Seat Q3. Should be ok - it's at the Conservatorium theatre and the acoustics there are great.

Found the David Bar Ilan CD at Audiofon in Miami, Florida - Arthur is on the case.