Lesson 60: Major Work Study, Part 4 — Performance and Recording
- Play the complete Loeillet D minor sonata, all four movements, in a single sitting at target tempi.
- Record yourself doing so, and listen to the recording without the score.
A piece is finished when the recording reveals nothing you didn't already know was there.
No new musical ideas here — the work is in the assembly: playing four movements in a row, recording the result, and using the recording as a third ear.
The run-through
Put the recorder five or six feet away at head height, then play the four movements in order with performance rests between:
- Largo → Allegro
- Eight beats of silence.
- Allegro → Adagio
- Twelve beats — Italian energy to French gravity needs space.
- Adagio → Giga
- Six beats.
If something goes wrong, keep going — the recording is honest; perfection is for the next session.
Listening to the recording
Put the score away and listen straight through twice: first for the whole shape, second for trouble — mark anything that makes you flinch.
- Tempo: did each movement breathe at the tempo you intended, or did some rush or drag?
- Phrasing: could a listener hear the bar lines as you wanted them?
- Affect: are the Largo and Adagio recognisably different? The Allegro and Giga?
The three-item fix list
Pick exactly three things to fix before the next run-through — the three that, if fixed, would change the whole recording. A typical first list:
- The Largo's last cadence dragged — the flattement was too long.
- The Allegro's bar-2 sequence still has a fingering hiccup at speed.
- The Giga's slurring was inconsistent.
Memorisation
Confirm the four movement openings still play from memory; refresh any that have slipped.
Now play these
- Loeillet: Sonata in D minor, Op. 1 No. 1 — complete
- Record it twice over two weeks; compare.
- Pepusch: Sonata in F major, Op. 1 No. 1
- Test the same four-stage procedure on a second sonata.
When you have recorded the complete Loeillet sonata, listened back without the score, and produced a real three-item fix list, move on to Lesson 61.