Practice, Practice, Practice!

The focus of this week is stated in the title: practice.  If I have to be honest, I was growing a little bored of playing the same songs over and over. As a result, I spent most of this week practicing various short songs for fun. For example, one of the songs I practiced was “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter.

Image by Ansel101 via musescore

“Hedwig’s Theme” is written in the key of G because there is one sharp: the F sharp. Additionally, the piece features many bow lifts, which indicates that the player must repeat the previous bow direction. For example, if the first note is played using a downwards bow stroke and there is a bow lift after the note, then the second note will also be played using a downwards bow stroke instead of an upwards bow stroke. The tempo is 160 beats per minute, which means that the first half of the song will be played at an extremely quick tempo. The tempo of the second half is 80 beats per minute, which is a little slower than the first half. Additionally, the word “misterioso” that appears next to the tempo of the first half indicates that the first half of the piece should be played in a mysterious fashion. The word “bright” that appears next to the tempo of the second half indicates that the second half of the piece should be played in an uplifting manner.

The most challenging parts of the piece are the key changes. Many of the notes are sometimes played as sharp, which is not part of the original key signature. As a result, I found myself struggling to play those notes in tune. Additionally, I often missed the bow lifts because I was paying more attention to the notes. This week, I learned that it is more difficult to play a piece written with softer dynamics. Most of the dynamics for “Hedwig’s Theme” were mezzo forte, which made it difficult to play because I tend to play with a lot of power. Furthermore, I learned that it is difficult to slur 4 dotted quarter notes together since I often ran out of bow whenever I attempted to do so. For myself, I learned that I tend to play in the wrong part of the bow, which made my bow lifts weaker. For instance, I would end up in the upper part of the bow before having to repeat a downwards bow stroke, which made the second downwards bow stroke weaker than the first because I had to quickly move to the bottom of the bow, making the note also sound rushed and scratchy. During Thanksgiving Break, I will not be able to work on this project because I am going out of the country. As a result, I cannot take my instrument with me because of the extra baggage fees and I cannot find new music because there will be no internet. However, when I return, I plan on working on “Hedwig’s Theme,” specifically the key changes and bow lifts, because I really like the song.