PianoTell Recital #1 Is Now Live!

Late to the party! The PW ABF Quarterly recital #75 had to come first. Now let me see if I can navigate this new platform and make some comments!

1. Player1 — Energico - you asked for feedback - you are just not very even or steady. Try this: listen to your video while looking at the score and clapping a steady beat. Can't do it, right? Because you are not steady. Here is where working with a metronome will help. But you will have to do it in very small sections, not for the whole piece. If you fall behind the metronome, stop and assess why. Stop the metronome and fix the problem before you try again. The other obvious problem is that the triplets (I think they are triplets - the groups of 3 notes) are uneven. They should be perfectly even and equal in length. Your first task is to play back your video and see if you can hear that they are uneven. Surely the Faber website has a video of this piece - go listen to that and compare your triplets and their triplets. You have to hear that it needs fixing before you can fix it. Once again the metronome is your friend. Slow way down and use one click per note and stay with the clicks. I know this is boring and time consuming, but it will pay off over time.

2. rogerch — Improvisation 6 - commented at PW.

3. keff — A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - very moody and mellow - loved it!

4. Sophia — Fascination - That was great! Very even and lively.

5. Sgisela — Joropo - commented at PW

6. pseudonym58 — Images (5) for orchestra - Wow, what a labor of love! What is that - 40 minutes of music? Frankly, more than i have time to listen to, but I sampled them here and there. Arranging, typesetting, and then learning it and performing it. My hats off to you!

8. hebele — Downtown Abbey theme - commented at PW

9. MarieJ — Week #7 - commented at PW

10. plop_symphony — A Lincoln Tribute - Sounded very similar to Copland. Well played, and I think that tempo was great!

11. thepianoplayer416 — Air in D minor - commented at PW

12. BicBic — Prelude in B flat minor - No.16 from Op.34 - Short lively, energetic - and well played! Loved it!

More to come!

Sam

rsl12 I somehow missed this comment, and I’m glad you enjoyed the video! This was a piece that I chose because I had heard recordings of it and it really spoke to me. I had listened to the piece many times before starting to work on it, and maybe because of this, I felt that the rhythm was fairly intuitive. There were some real choices to make, though. The big one was how to deal with the Left Hand pattern, which is not quite an Alberti bass, but close. There are a few possibilities of what to emphasize. It’s not marked in the score, and in different recordings, I heard performers make different choices. To be very honest, I didn’t think about this when I started working on the piece. The huge hurdle with the LH is that the piece is fast! And the LH never stops moving, and in a pretty repetitive way. So managing it without getting fatigued was the real focal point of my early efforts. I had just started with my current teacher, who’s a Taubman person. It took some time to work out how to play the LH in a way that it felt like I could go on and on forever and at speed, but once I did, I also realized that I had a lot more freedom to make choices about what I wanted to emphasize (as opposed to just managing to play it). I experimented with different options. I liked the 3rd/1st beat accents — this seemed to add to the driving/propulsive feel of the piece, so it’s what I settled on.

The coordinated/syncopated leaps in the middle of the piece were another big challenge, but this was just a few measures, so in some ways a more limited problem.

More comments:

13. Nightowl — Plaisir D'Amour - that was really very good. Steady beat, everything crystal clear and well played. You are doing great for less than a year!

14. bSharp — High Heels - commented at PW

15. WieWaldi — Rainbow Connection - commented at PW

16. SalmonJack — Alia - commented at PW

17. Calavera — Chrono Cross - Scars of Time - commented at PW

18. rsl12 — Always Chew Your Food - Inspiring!

19. TC3 — St. James Infirmary - Very cool! Loved it!

20. iternabe — The Trout - One of my favorite Schubert melodies! Well played - I love the split screen video!

21. ShiroKuro — Nuvole Bianche - Well done! I can tel when someone plays music they really love!

22. lilypad — Manhattan 1928 - I try to restrict myself to three recording attempts. If it doesn't happen in 3 tries, then today is not the day! This sounds great though, and since it was your 2nd take, you have proved my theory!

23. TheBoringPianist — Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 - you are braver than I am to compete! I went through 4 years to get an undergraduate piano performance degree (when I was 62). I came to hate that feeling of being judged and graded every time i sat down to play - so no contests for me! But I do enjoy (or at least put myself through) piano camps, masterclass, and recitals. Loved your range of dynamics in this. I have a friend who sometimes plays this, but only the prelude, so I have never heard her play it all. So it was a treat to hear the whole thing - the fugue and variations definitely sound challenging. Well done!

24. Rob — Sunday Morning - That was actually well done, and carefully thought out. Sounds professional!

25. diretonic — Borrowed Blues - Play it man!

26. Rubens @Josephine — Waltz Op.70 no.2 - That's an inspiring story! Good for the two of you! I thought it was pretty seamless. And I thought maybe that was an illustration of Chopin's heart!

27. Serge88 — Misty - commented on PW

28. twocats — Rustle of Spring - Wonderful! The melody was so clear, and the rustle of the leaves was just the right level in the background. The dramatic middle section as just the right level, and i loved it when the rustle of the leaves returned. Everything was great except for the blurring of your face - I assume you had a good reason!

29. navindra — Bluebird - very cool experience! But that piano seriously needs some cleaning! You played great even with all the distractions!

That's all - a great first recital!

Sam

Sam Rustle of Spring - Wonderful! The melody was so clear, and the rustle of the leaves was just the right level in the background. The dramatic middle section as just the right level, and i loved it when the rustle of the leaves returned. Everything was great except for the blurring of your face - I assume you had a good reason!

Sam, thank you for the lovely and descriptive feedback-- it's so nice to hear that you could hear the rustling of the leaves!

Regarding the face blurring:

Sam 22. lilypad — Manhattan 1928 - I try to restrict myself to three recording attempts. If it doesn't happen in 3 tries, then today is not the day! This sounds great though, and since it was your 2nd take, you have proved my theory!

Your theory is right! I'm normally guided by your 3 try strategy but by 13th I was desperate. Luckily I kept all my earlier recordings. Thank you for listening and the supportive comments.

twocats I was hoping you were a famous concert pianist, slumming in the recitals, and you wanted to keep your identity a secret!

Sam

Sam hah, I like this theory! Although no one would actually pay to hear me unless it was a benefit for charity My violinist friend and I put on a concert for our friends and family and we rented out a church with a decent piano, and I was joking that we were paying for them to come hear us play!

Sam 21. ShiroKuro — Nuvole Bianche - Well done! I can tel when someone plays music they really love!

Thank you @Sam that is the best compliment!!

Thanks to everyone who listened and commented on my Shostakovich piece i appreciate you all. and i really enjoyed participating and listening to everyone!

diretonic i couldn't play fast octaves before starting the piece - but i practiced and got better!

Nightowl - Plaisir D'Amour. It's exciting to see an adult starting out on the labor of love that is piano playing. You've chosen a charming piece and play it well.

bSharp - High Heels. It's always nice to have a piece you can revisit like an old friend. Classic, flowing Einaudi. Definitely not me in high heels. Gave mine up a few years ago. Getting too rickety in my 70's.

WieWaldi - Rainbow Connection. This is one of my all time favorites and I was excited when I saw you'd submitted this piece. Even an easy arrangement gives me goose bumps when I listen to it. I lived in a remote area with no TV reception when the show aired. From the little bits of the show that I've seen, I'd have to be the Cookie Monster.

SalmonJack - Alia. I liked your peaceful composition. That's an interesting comment regarding the melodic minor. I've never composed anything beyond a few bars for music theory assignments and never thought about it making music sound right. I just know it's a challenge learning melodic minor scales and training my fingers to do one thing going up and another thing going down.

Player1 The keyboard is at table height. I know it looks awkward but it's my legs that are oversized. I don't want to raise the height because then I won't be able to play a standard acoustic piano.

There are times when I feel like Schroeder and his toy piano.

There should be some room for adjustment that's worth exploring to achieve maximum comfort. And I think comfort is quite important in the long run.

Acoustic piano's standard keyboard height is 29.5 inches from floor, but it can vary between 27.5 to 30 inches. I've seen them put on casters which would raise them another inch or so. There is a limit for raising the piano though because you don't want the pedal to become too high from the floor.

You can also try lower the bench, and sit farther away from the keyboard. This should help as long as your arm is not too short.

TC3 — St. James Infirmary
I really liked that arrangement, your chosen tempo, and your performance, too. Was there any reason you recorded this with the Zoom rather than the Roland’s recorder?

iternabe — The Trout
That was so well done! I’m really impressed that you’ve reached this standard after only 7 months. The Faber books seem to have some really interesting arrangements.

ShiroKuro — Nuvole Bianche
One of my ‘favouritest’ of Einaudi’s compositions! Thanks for bringing us this one, ShiroKuro; I’m so I’m glad you didn’t miss this Recital. If only MY practice recordings sounded as good …

lilypad — Manhattan 1928
I definitely have had the same thing happen - the harder I try for a ‘perfect’ recording, the less likely I am to nail one. More pleasant music from Faber - that was most enjoyable.

TheBoringPianist — Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18
Wow - wonderful! Congratulations on making it to the finals. (How can anyone learn so much, and play so beautifully, in 6-7 weeks?!)

Rob — Sunday Morning
What a sweet composition. The AI image fitted it perfectly, too. A standing ovation!

diretonic — Borrowed Blues
It may have been only ‘a last minute morsel’ - but what a delicious one! Terrific!

Rubens @Josephine — Waltz Op.70 no.2
A refreshing collaboration with a highly successful outcome - a fun project. Encore!

twocats — Rustle of Spring
A lovely piece indeed, with a magnificent piano to showcase it. I’d say you managed a more than adequate preparation in the limited time you had at your disposal.

navindra — Bluebird
Ahhh - Alexis Ffrench! And the video! Loved the setting, loved the performance, loved the camera angles. A polished finale to an outstanding first Recital - magnifique!

Thank you for the very kind words to Nightowl Sophia rogerch TC3 ShiroKuro Sam BicBic rsl12 lilypad and everyone else who listened.

rsl12 For a beginner piece, it's pretty long,

Honestly, this piece isn't that long. It just repeats :|| haha

lilypad I lived in a remote area with no TV reception when the show aired. From the little bits of the show that I've seen, I'd have to be the Cookie Monster.

I remember the Muppet Show when I was a very little child. Was always afraid of the big monster puppets. I loved the cookie monster, too - he was just chasing cookies in a very childish way. My favorites were Beaker and Miss Piggy.

TC3 ...That’s a good tune to pull out if people put you on the spot and say “Oh, you play piano? Play something for me!”

Unfortuntely, I can't. This one I played by read-playing only. The muscle memory might be there, but I don't remember the first note to start with. For playing something out of nothing, I have Linus&Lucy

MarieJ St. James Infirmary
I really liked that arrangement, your chosen tempo, and your performance, too. Was there any reason you recorded this with the Zoom rather than the Roland’s recorder?

Thanks! Yes, my cellphone 's mic isn't very good but I can plug the zoom into it and get some good quality audio that sounds like you're more or less standing in the room, and then I don't have to mess with splicing in the audio later Also, the quality of the Roland's sound comes from the seven speaker system and the sounds board and chamber, which resonate acoustically, rather than the direct sound on its own. Thanks for asking!

WieWaldi Unfortuntely, I can't. This one I played by read-playing only. The muscle memory might be there, but I don't remember the first note to start with. For playing something out of nothing, I have Linus&Lucy

That's good too!