ATG Level 5 exam (Free Bass) - Preparation Thread

[breezybellows]

Starting a thread to log my prep for the level 5 exam. I had a good experience last year when I took the level 3 exam. I'm starting my prep for level 5. I need to pick 3 songs from the syllabus book for the selected level. I picked all three from the free bass selection (just like last time).

These are the three songs I picked
1) Making Friends with monsters under my bed (by Joseph Natoli).
2) Joe's Burritos (by Amy Jo Sawyer)
3) Dance of the Goblins (by Amy Jo Sawyer).

On top of that there are scales, arpeggios and other technical requirements. I've got a lot of ground to cover.

Here's a short video of my practicing short sections of Joe's Burritos.

 

[breezybellows]

Spent some time today practicing Dance of the Goblins. Overall, this looks a little easier than Joe's Burritos.

 

[breezybellows]

The third song I picked for the Free Bass repertoire is an original composition for free bass accordion by Joe Natoli. It is called Making Friends with monsters under my bed.

I love this song. It's starts off with a tense "Jaws" inspired scary section. Then it breaks into this absolutely beautiful melody.

Today, I spent some time practicing the melody. It sounds really good on the Petosa Cathedral (Harmonik Mics).

 

[breezybellows]

Today's focus was on Dance of the Goblins (by Amy Jo Sawyer). I've learned about half of the song. The marked tempo is Vivace. I'm now able to play about 60% of that at Moderato. I already like how this sounds. #goblins #sinister #music #accordion #freebassaccordion

 

[breezybellows]

Yesterday's practice was all about the scales requirement. I only focused on two. B Major and Ab harmonic minor. I'm going very slow. The required tempo is 76 BPM. And it has to be played at 1/16 notes.

There's melodic minors (on two different scales), 4 note form inversions, whole note scale, chromatic scale and arpeggios. Not a lot of time left.

 

[breezybellows]

Six more weeks left for preparation. I've made progress on the B Major and Ab major scales (Hands together). I'm playing a little bit faster. It needs to be played about 4x faster for the exam.

I've started the chromatic scale and the B Major 4 note form inversions.

Status of other requirements that are not part of this video.

1) Whole note scales (have separate): These seem relatively easier. I'm able to play it at tempo.

2) Ab melodic minor: playing hands separate for now. will need more practice to put it together and play faster.

3) Ab minor 4 note form inversions: yet to start

4) Major thirds in c major and f major: started practicing at slow tempo.

5) Major sixths in c major and f major: started practicing at slow tempo.

6) Dominant 7th of B Major (F#7) you and inversions: yet to start.

7) Diminished 7th of Ab minor (F double sharp): yet to start.

8) arpeggios of the B Major, Ab minor, F#7 and G diminished: yet to start.


Technical study (free bass): yet to pick the piece.

Repertoire:

1) Joe's Burritos: first half of cooking along nicely. the seeding half with the jazzy chords had some crazy syncopation. Quarter note triplets on the right hand and dotted quarters on the left hand. that took me a lot of time to learn. I'm playing it super slow now, but at least I'm able to play the whole thing now.

2) Dance of the Goblins: I'm able to play the whole song at a slower tempo. this is the one I expect to be ready first.

3) Making Friends with monsters under my bed: This has been in the backlog for some time now. I will start working on this after Dance is the Goblins is ready.

 

[breezybellows]

Target tempo unlocked! B Major Scale both hands together for two octaves as sixteenth notes. 76 beats per minute. It's not very stable at this speed. I still need to go back and practice at slow speeds. But I'm overjoyed that I'm able to play it at Target tempo! One down, about 15 more to go.