Episode 4
Why to start
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a busy schedule yet still found moments of inspiration that reignite your passion? Join me, David Reidy, as I navigate a week filled with debating competitions and school events, all while trying to squeeze in piano practice. Discover how a Year 8 student's original composition at our school's creative showcase provided a much-needed spark in my musical journey. With the holidays just around the corner, I'll share my plans for ramping up my practice time and aiming to catch up with my talented students.
This week, I also delve into the world of metronomes with a comprehensive review of the Boss DB90. After testing various options, I've found this metronome to be an essential companion in my practice routine. Learn about its standout features, including the large backlit LCD display, adjustable tempo, and diverse sound options. I’ll also offer tips on setting up the device, like the importance of using the recommended power supply to avoid noise issues. Tune in to find out why the Boss DB90 has become a key player in my quest to master the piano and how it could benefit your practice sessions too.
This week's review is of the metronome I have been using for my practice. We'll leave the discussion of the pros and cons of metronomes for another time, but, needless to say, a metronome is a common accessory when practising any instrument. There are many different types of metronomes available, from mechanical ones to electronic ones and ones that run on a mobile phone. Most digital pianos and keyboards also have one built in, often with many options, including using a drum track rather than a click. I played around with a few, starting with the mechanical one I reviewed in episode one,1, and with some of the many free applications available on the iPhone. There are many on the Android devices as well. I decided that I wanted a physical metronome because I tried to leave my iPhone out of sight while practising to reduce distractions, and, importantly, it needed to have a really easy way of adjusting the speed. As a beginner, the one thing that is consistent with my playing is that it is slow, but I want to be able to increase the speed gradually until I get up to the speed as written. Increasing the tempo by a couple of beats per minute means I can match my current ability and add a little more pressure to the practice.
Over the past week, the 2024 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition has been taking place in Salt Lake City. The quarterfinals have just finished, and the semifinals and finals will take place in the coming week. It's getting fairly easy to find competition piano performances on YouTube, but often, they are just the winners of those competitions. The difference with the Backhour competition is that every performance from the quarterfinals onwards has been recorded and live-streamed to YouTube. I started watching the first livestream and realised that it was going to be over nine hours long, so it's a comprehensive record of the competition. I realised that it was going to be over nine hours long, so it's a comprehensive record of the competition. Luckily, the organisers have also posted individual performances as individual videos, so it's now much easier to watch a performance in one sitting. Each piano player has played two 40-minute concerts for the quarterfinals, with the 12 semi-finalists going on to 60-minute concerts and the three finalists performing with the Utah Symphony Orchestra in the two final concerts.
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