@keff thank you for listening and complimenting my recording! 🙂

@bSharp thank you! Sensitivity is hard to accomplish, but pretty essential for Einaudi!

@Sophia , thank you!!

@Nightowl thank you!! Glad it sounded ok, I think it's just my laptop speakers!

@rsl12 thank you for your kind words!!

Is there more you want to do with it?

Thank you for asking. I need to go back and listen to this specific recording to see what I disliked about it :sweat I've made probably 5 recordings of this piece since July, and each one, there are mistakes, missed transitions, things like that... IIRC I think this recording was one of the ones that came closer to what I was aiming for with fewer obvious mistakes. Oh and btw what I was aiming for was: control over the tempo variations (I think I mostly have that), detailed dynamic shading (I don't think I have that) and a clear melody line (I think I have that). Also, I always want note accuracy or to play through the mistakes so that they're barely noticeable. This is a goal I rarely achieve!

@TC3 thank you!!

ShiroKuro Also, what is this piece and why is it so nostalgic to me!

It's called Fascination. I really love the way Nat King Cole sings it... I wish I could play it like that 🙂

    @Sophia Oooooh!!!! That’s why I recognized it!! Thank you!! That was going to keep me up at night wondering!

    Sam I really like this!, although I thought I may not, going by the description.
    I found it hypnotic, and now this will be an 'ear worm' for the rest of the day.
    I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

      thepianoplayer416 That was short and sweet.
      Well done for getting it recorded in such a short time.

        👏 Congratulations all. I have only had time to listen to a few bits but you all did an awesome job getting pieces in for the first PT recital.

        @BicBic I really enjoyed your playing, and the camera angle was just perfect.

        @bSharp That was lovely. I really must listen to more Einaudi. Video effects were great.

        @SalmonJack I always like when compositions are linked to a story, and yours is excellent, connected to imaginative video work.

        @Calavera Quality audio recording. So much contrast in the piece. I could almost hear a full orchestra backing you.

        @rsl12 This really put a smile on my face! Your singing improves with everything you do, and you were so laid back and relaxed throughout. That was fun 😀

        @TC3 I have always liked that song, and the arrangement and performance worked perfectly. The retro, black and white movie effect, was icing on the cake.

        @iternabe I didn't realise that Faber had such good tunes. I especially liked your light touch.

        More later, when I get a chance to listen some more.

          21. ShiroKuro — Nuvole Bianche
          I listened with headphones on my laptop and the recording sounds good. I really enjoy listening to you play! Your interpretation is tasteful and I like the way you balance the voices and shape the phrases. I especially like the sections that start at 3:05 and 5:13. In these sections I hear three very well balanced voices and the effect is lovely. This is a beautiful piece and I love the way you play it.

          22. lilypad — Manhattan 1928
          Very cool bluesy piece! I was reminded of Rhapsody in Blue in a few spots. Nice smooth playing, you create a nice atmosphere. I really like the way you play the high note flourishes in the section starting at 1:05. Great crescendo at 1:35! Thanks for sharing!

          23. TheBoringPianist — Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18
          Very impressive! You sound like a pro. I’m amazed that you can learn that much music in 6-7 weeks.

          I really enjoyed listening. I hear prelude from the beginning until 4:09, then at 4:10 hear transition (still prelude?), and at 5:08 I hear fugue. Between 5:08 and 8:07 I hear fugue alternating with dramatic interludes, with a change of character at 8:07, which I’m guessing is where the variation starts. Listening for the changes was fun and I enjoyed your playing throughout!

          You are an amazing player and I love the dynamic contrasts and drama in your playing (Boring Pianist?? No way!!). Very cool that you played this in a competition!

          24. Rob — Sunday Morning
          What a lovely, tranquil piece! I greatly enjoyed your playing. Very cool that you composed this! I like the interplay between voices and your phrasing. Thanks for sharing!

          25. diretonic — Borrowed Blues
          Wonderful! Very cool that you picked the kernel of this from a video. The intro that you added sounds really nice and fits with the rest of it. Nice flourishes throughout. I love your spirited playing of this fun piece!

          26. Rubens @Josephine — Waltz Op.70 no.2
          Nice collaboration @Josephine and @Rubens! If you hadn’t told me that this was two players I don’t think I would be able to tell. The transition was amazingly smooth. I guess you were both using the Kawai SK-EX samples?

          Great playing from both of you: nice phrasing and expression. The B section seemed more dramatic, but a single player could certainly play the B section in a different way to emphasize the difference between the sections so that’s an observation not any kind of comparison or criticism.

          Very fun, thanks for sharing the great music and the great story!

          27. Serge88 — Misty
          Very impressive, lovely jazz feel. This is a beautiful piece and I love the way you play it. You have a delicate touch, with some contrasting drama that adds interest. Nice swing in the section starting at 2:12. Well done!

          28. twocats — Rustle of Spring
          I admire your wonderful playing! There is a lot going on here and I love the way you emphasize certain notes and balance the voices. Impressive attention to detail. Your playing sounds dramatic and powerful to me throughout, yet you also play with astonishing contrast. Thanks for sharing, this is a treat!

          29. navindra — Bluebird
          Beautiful playing in an amazing setting! Your playing is solid and impeccable despite the challenging environment. What a treat for you and for everyone who got to hear this in person and for those of us who get to hear it on youtube!

          Thanks for all you do for PianoTell and this recital!

                              Sophia @rogerch You know you are my improvision inspiration right? 😃 Compared with your previous piece which featured a lot of daring harmonies, I'm seeing huge improvements with you too. The harmonies just flowed. It's hard to believe that it was improvised throughout - it comes across as an original composition that you could have worked on for weeks. Well done!
                              TRUTH. This conversation just happened. My husband came in and commented "what a very pretty piece". I told him that it is improvised on the spot and he was absolutely flabbergasted. What more needs to be said 🤣

                              Thanks for the nice feedback and the great story about your husband Sophia. I am flattered!

                                bSharp 2. rogerch — Improvisation 6
                                Well played, I always envy those that can improve and make stuff up that sounds great. Where do you place the H4n for recording? I'm considering getting one myself.

                                Thanks bSharp! For this recording I had the H4n on a tripod about 3 feet away from the open side of the piano, a little further back from the curve, pointing down at the strings. I've tried several different positions and I'm not completely satisfied with any of them.

                                I'm considering getting a new recorder that removes the need to set gain when recording. I haven't done the research, but I saw a discussion on pianoworld about this a few months back

                                  TC3 @rogerch : Lovely! I always enjoy your improvisations and great envy your ability. Sometime you’ll have to talk more about how you learned to do that. I’m curious where you set up your Zoom. Is it under the piano?

                                  Thanks TC3!

                                  I work a lot on scales and chords in major and minor keys, followed by improvising in that key. I also work on trying to ignore what I know about keys and just play things that sound good. I work on a lot of random things to try to keep things fresh.

                                  The zoom is about three feet away from the curve of the piano, pointing down at the strings.

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                                      ShiroKuro @rogerch very nice, I really enjoyed that! Especially gentle glide into the ending! May I ask what the artwork is behind the piano?

                                      Thanks ShiroKuro! The artwork is a painting by Eric Waugh. You can see the whole piece in the Post Pictures thread.

                                      Also, can I ask about your background? You've been playing for a long time, was your training classic or other styles? How did you get into improvising?

                                      I've been playing on and off as a hobby since I was 7 (I'm 57 now). I took 8 years of lessons as a kid and another 8 years as a young adult. My lessons as a young adult were mostly focused on classical but I also played ragtime and new age music. I got into improvising because after a lifetime of reading from sheet music it still takes me a huge amount of time to learn a piece and I wanted to be able to just sit down and play. Learning to improvise has been very fun and rewarding! There is more detail in the Share Your Piano Journey thread.

                                        rogerch I guess you were both using the Kawai SK-EX samples?

                                        Thanks for your nice comment!

                                        We were using different samples. I tried to record it again with the same settings as Rubens but I failed to get a good recording. It's funny how different the touch response is when you use a different setting. The setting Rubens used was more sensitive, so some notes sounded way too loud when I tried to record it again. I often use the mellow grand, or the studio grand with the settings changed to mellow, so I used one of those. @Rubens used a mix of two pianos, but maybe he can tell about that because I don't remember the settings exactly. Yesterday I tried to mix other pianos for fun, but not all combinations sound good. I noticed some pianos have a different stretch, so when combined large parts of the keyboard sound out of tune.

                                          TC3 Thank you for your kind words. The work in progress comment applied to the audio recording made on 3rd August. It wasn't my intention to record a YT video, mostly because I can only do it with a mobile phone. On the morning of 15th August (just a few hours before the recital was closed) I decided to make a video using the phone with no expectation or indeed rehearsal. Nerves kicked in when I realised I wasn't reading in advance of the notes I was playing and I let both tempo and some rthyms slip in efforts to keep playing the right notes. I should have attempted a second take but the recital deadline was very close. Again, thanks for your comments.

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                                              lilypad Thank you for your lovely feedback. Now wishing that I had made a better recording and video.

                                                rogerch I really enjoy listening to you play! Your interpretation is tasteful and I like the way you balance the voices and shape the phrases. I especially like the sections that start at 3:05 and 5:13. In these sections I hear three very well balanced voices and the effect is lovely. This is a beautiful piece and I love the way you play it.

                                                Thank you so much for these thoughtful comments!! Reading them made my day!

                                                And thanks for the link to your post on the piano journey thread, I had read it before, but now that I’ve heard you improvise, it’s more meaningful! I would love to be able to improvise like you do. During covid I tried to take jazz lessons. I had two different teachers, but neither of them were a good fit for me and now I’m back to working with a regular (classically trained) teacher. We work on music of my choosing, which is good, but our lessons tend to be him coaching me to do what I already do, just a little better (if that makes sense). Rather than learning how to do something I do not know how to do, which is what lessons focused on improvising would be.

                                                But that’s probably ok for now. Your experience underscores that, just as it’s never too late to learn the piano, it’s never too late to learn improvising!

                                                P.S. I love your Eric Waugh painting!!

                                                  Rob Thanks! You're the first person to mention the video effect. That was borne of necessity ... I forgot to lock the exposure setting on my phone camera and cars passing by were casting shadows, causing the camera to auto-adjust and just plain flicker. I decided to lean into it and use the corny old-time effect in iMovie to cover it up!

                                                  rogerch Thanks for the info. Learning and practicing improv is so much harder for me than learning something from sheet music. I'm never quite sure what to practice, and I feel like I've spent my time just "noodling," making it hard to judge if I've accomplished anything during a practice session.

                                                  keff Quite welcome, and thanks again for sharing your playing.

                                                  Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                                                          rogerch I guess you were both using the Kawai SK-EX samples?

                                                          I used Dual mode sounds: SK Concert Grand, with volume balance at 9, and EX Concert Grand with volume balance at 7. This is to try to replicate the sound of my acoustic piano. Quite different from Josephine's mellow grand sound. I should probably have used the same sample as hers!

                                                            TC3 rogerch Thanks for the info. Learning and practicing improv is so much harder for me than learning something from sheet music. I'm never quite sure what to practice, and I feel like I've spent my time just "noodling," making it hard to judge if I've accomplished anything during a practice session.

                                                            I wrote more detail about how I study improvisation in the Piano Journey thread