Episode 60 - Choosing Six

🎙 Episode 60 – Choosing Six

Welcome to Episode 60 of Piano, Finally, a podcast about learning the piano later in life and enjoying the journey along the way.

This week, tickets went on sale for the Out West Piano Fest. It will be held in October at Blackdown Farm in Bathurst and features five concerts over three days with meals included. Wynona Wang, prize-winner at the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, will be performing, along with other pianists and a few surprise guests. More details are at Out West Piano Fest.

Early morning practice has its perks, but also one drawback: the cold. A simple solution? Fingerless merino wool gloves. They keep the hands warm without interfering with playing. Macpac Fingerless Gloves

YouTube Review – Greg Allison
This week I recommend Greg Allison’s channel, where he demonstrates all the presets for the Native Instruments Claire piano—over 100 in total. These videos are beautifully recorded, text-labelled, and let the sound speak for itself. He also covers Pianoteq instruments and other music gear. Greg Allison on YouTube

Essay – Choosing Six
New term, new pieces. Devi and I picked six pieces from the ANZCA Preliminary books to focus on specific skills: rhythm, articulation (particularly mixing legato and staccato), dynamics, and better awareness of key signatures. These selections are designed to help me progress steadily, building skills I can later bring back to more challenging pieces like the Mozart and Rossi works.

Review – ANZCA Preliminary Classical
The ANZCA preliminary series books are excellent stepping stones between preparatory pieces and Grade One. They include technical exercises, classical-era works, and 20th-century pieces. I review the classical book in this episode.
ANZCA website
ANZCA piano books
Classical Pianoforte Series 2 Preliminary Book

Progress
This week’s practice includes the first two of the new pieces: Study in G by August Müller and Tick Tock Blues by Glenn R. Hunter. For something different, you’ll also hear Dorico’s playback of these pieces before my own recordings

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