Performer: Iternabe, North Carolina, USA. Self learning for 7 months.
Piece: The Trout by Franz Schubert, arranged by Faber.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Faber Adult Piano Adventures Classics Book 1
Instrument: Roland FP-30X, Pianoteq Bosendorfer 280VC
Recording method: OBS Studio, Elgato Facecam (side), Logitech C930e (top), audio recorded digitally from Pianoteq
Additional info: I've completed Faber APA Book 1. Currently I am learning the pieces in the companion Classics book 1.

    Performer: ShiroKuro, US Midwest, 25 years.
    Piece: Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi
    Comment Policy: Polite Comments only: no suggestions for improvement please.

    Source of music: Sheet music
    Instrument: Yamaha C2 grand piano
    Recording method: my iPhone (sorry!!)
    Additional info: This was meant to be a practice recording, but I don't have anything else to share and I don't want to miss the first PT recital!! Please use headphones or good speakers, and even then, I'm pretty sure the sound quality is awful! (it sounds horrible on my laptop speakers, sorry!)

      Performer: lilypad from Vancouver, WA. Lessons when young. Returned to piano at retirement in 2004.
      Piece: Manhattan 1928 by N. Faber
      Comment Policy: General Comments

      Source of music: Piano Adventures Level 4 Performance Book
      Instrument: Yamaha CLP-635 digital piano
      Recording method: USB from digital piano to laptop; Audacity to normalize & convert to MP3.
      Additional info: Ha Ha! I made 6 recordings. First one was just practice. Ended up using my second one. As I attempted to get better recordings, they got progressively worse. I'm sure many of you have had the same thing happen.

        Performer: TheBoringPianist in Seattle, WA. Played piano from childhood, quit partway through college and stopped for a decade, resumed 5-6 years ago.
        Piece: Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 by César Franck (arr. Harold Bauer)
        Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

        Source of music: IMSLP
        Instrument: Steinway Model D
        Recording method: Zoom Q2n-4K video recorder
        Additional info: I started learning this about 6-7 weeks ago when I made a last-minute decision to enter the WIPAC piano competition. Someone else posted asking about the piece in another thread so I figured I'd upload my recording from the finals. It's not my best showing but making it to the finals already exceeded my expectations so I shouldn't complain too much.

        "You're a smart kid. But your playing is terribly dull."

          Performer: Rob
          Piece: Sunday Morning by Rob
          Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

          Source of music: My own composition.
          Instrument: Kawai MP5
          Recording method: VST in cubase.
          Additional info: Whenever I play, I see images in my head. The image here, is an AI generated version of what was in my mind's eye, at the time.

            Performer: diretonic, 75 years on and off.
            Piece: Borrowed Blues by "a Cat" (to quote Dr John) and played by Dr John
            Comment Policy: Anything goes

            Source of music: By ear from the original.
            Instrument: Layered vst pianos
            Recording method: Cubase
            Additional info: I've long been a fan of Dr John whose sound stems in part from his laid- back heavy handedness but there's something else which I can't pin down and probably never will. I picked this out from an informal chat (it's on YT) between Clint Eastwood and Dr John who's talking about his life and music interspersed with snatches of playing. This was one of them, in a style he seemed to credit another New Orleans pianist (hard to decipher exactly what he was saying but I think it was "a Cat" which would be typical of the milieu.) It's very short, a single run of an 8 bar blues. I spent a couple of days trying to get a feel for the style and busk a bridge of sorts but it was a lost cause and only detracted from the flavour of the original, so I've left it as-is, added a 4 bar intro and played a repeat so as to pad it out a bit. Sorry it's only a last-minute morsel, but I'll try and set aside more time for the next recital....

              Performer: @Josephine from the Netherlands... With a little bit of Rubens from Canada!
              Piece: Waltz Op.70 no.2 by Fryderyk Chopin
              Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

              Source of music: The Elise Gavard Edition from the Henle book
              Instrument: Josephine's: Kawai CN29. Rubens': Kawai ES920
              Recording method: USB recording
              Additional info: And now for something completely different.

              Truth be told, this is mostly a performance by Josephine, with some last minute help from Rubens😅.

              So a few months ago Josephine and I (Rubens) started pm'ing on PW and she asked me for some piano advice. Next thing I know, she became my first online student😄. She's been learning this Chopin waltz and made quick progress, and recorded the first part of the piece beautifully. But then she started panicking. She was procrastinating again as usual (maybe because she is addicted to deadlines?) so she didn't learn the B part. And this is when Rubens the knight in plastic armor stepped out of his fake ivory tower and recorded his playing of the B part (from 1:07 to 1:51) to complete the track. The parts were then glued together with some Audacity magic and voila! A baby monster was born😅. It's not perfectly seamless, no. The tempi are not even the same! Musically we are different too. She has a warm, intimate musicality whereas I'm way too impetuoso.

              But I think she plays fantastically considering she only has 5 years of experience whereas I have about 8 times that, and yet the end product is still seamless enough. So let's give my student a round of applause while I step back into my toy tower.

              Oh and don't mind the picture, it's just part of an inside joke between teacher and student.

                Performer: Serge88
                Piece: Misty from Errol Garner
                Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                Source of music: Sheet music
                Instrument: Yamaha P-525
                Recording method: two webcam and OBS Studio

                  Performer: twocats from Portland, Oregon - playing from childhood with some breaks, but am currently very serious about chamber music
                  Piece: "Rustle of Spring" by Christian Sinding
                  Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                  Source: Peters Edition from IMSLP
                  Instrument: 1999 Bösendorfer 225
                  Recording method: Zoom Q8 Handy Video Recorder (wav file merged with video file for better audio quality, sounds best on headphones)
                  Additional info: I decided to participate in the recital at the last minute and didn't have much time to prepare, but I had played this as a kid and then revived it earlier this year for a piano playing event. I always thought it was a lovely piece. 🙂

                    Performer: Navindra Umanee in the USA. On and off piano lessons since September 2019.
                    Piece: Bluebird by Alexis Ffrench
                    Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                    Source of music: Alexis Ffrench - The Sheet Music Collection
                    Instrument: Yamaha GC1 in Mauritius
                    Recording method: Improvised with random devices like my phone and tablet.
                    Additional info: Wow! Where to start?

                    This recording was not only completely impromptu but a major deviation from all my prior recording plans. Normally, I’d carefully plan my shoot and I’d have all my gear at hand but I didn’t have any such luxury here. You might not be able to tell, but there was a ton going around me while I recorded. There was a business event, loud music, chattering, and many noises.

                    Simply, I’d never imagined I’m come across a grand piano in Mauritius, let alone one I could touch and play, and I had a blast with it! I got claps, one person asked me if it was a piece by Ludovico Einaudi, another person recorded me (you see Juliano walk into the frame at one point), and the day after, the manager stopped by our table with a friendly word.

                    It was an exhilarating experience similar to the one @BicBic had recently!

                      Rob this reminds me of the famous aria from the popular early 20th century French opera "Louise", which I played quite a bit during the 1980s!

                      • Rob likes this.

                      TheBoringPianist this is one of those occasional moments where it suddenly strikes me "I know this piece!".
                      I would never have guessed it to be César Franck, though.

                      twocats I had a recording of the orchestral version of this piece as a young child, and I wore it out! Something about it really appealed to me.

                      TC3 you might also enjoy another volume which I believe is in the same series, "The Joy of Jazz".

                      • TC3 replied to this.

                        Nightowl It is a very good first recording. Well done.

                        Rubens

                        I keep telling Josephine that she plays wonderfully. She has such an innate understanding of the music and how it should be played that you can't help but fall in love with it. That understanding shows in her performances. Hopefully some day she will finally accept how beautifully she plays.

                        navindra

                        I am so jealous. To play so well and have the opportunity to do it in public makes me green with envy.