PianoTell Recital #2 — Are You Ready For It?

navindra

Have you heard about PianoTell Recital #1? It was fantastic, check it out!

It's been almost 3 months since the first recital went live and it's already time for Recital #2! If you performed in the first recital, this is your chance to keep your streak going. If you missed the first recital, well now's your chance to join in the fun!

Why participate in regular recitals? This is your chance to share your music if you are a seasoned player, showcase your progress milestone by milestone if you're an active learner, stay motivated and on track, or simply contribute to the community fun!

We will open for submissions on 31 October 2024 and the recital will go live on 15 November 2024.

The recital format will be the same as last time. See below for details!

Submission

Template

**Performer:** Name or Alias + Location + Experience
**Piece:** Title + Composer
**Comment Policy:** Feedback type desired (see below).

<Performance Embed>

**Source of music:** ...
**Instrument:** ...
**Recording method:** ...
**Additional info:** Tell your story or share any interesting details related to your performance!

You may use the ABF template to specify the Comment Policy:

No Comments Please!
Polite Comments only: no suggestions for improvement please.
General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement.
Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Performance Embed:

If you have a video, that's great! Otherwise, audio-only is fine.
Upload your performance to YouTube, Vimeo, Rumble, SoundCloud, or Google Drive.
- Your media may be public or unlisted but private will not work.
- The direct link needs to be posted so that the performance is embedded on PT.
- Ask for help!
Dropbox option: If hosting your performance using YouTube or other service is not possible, there will be an upload option available as well.

Submitters are requested to keep their performances up for at least a period of 30 days and as long as possible after that.

Do you want to host your performance elsewhere? Please let me know so that it can be tested.

Example

I hope Peter Bence doesn't mind that I used his video purely for illustrative purposes with some fictional details.

**Performer:** Peter Bence from Hungary. I've been playing since 1991.
**Piece:** Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.
**Comment Policy:** Critical Comments: Anything goes!

https://youtu.be/muxgwcxW-zo 

**Source of music:** My own arrangement.
**Instrument:** Purple Yamaha U1 Upright inspired by Prince!
**Recording method:** iPhone X with large condenser microphones.
**Additional info:** I get a lot of requests to play Bohemian Rhapsody but I'm still not happy with my progress on that one. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this rendition of Under Pressure. It took me a whole week to spray paint the piano!

Performer: Peter Bence from Hungary. I've been playing since 1991.
Piece: Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: My own arrangement.
Instrument: Purple Yamaha U1 Upright inspired by Prince!
Recording method: iPhone X with large condenser microphones.
Additional info: I get a lot of requests to play Bohemian Rhapsody but I'm still not happy with my progress on that one. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this rendition of Under Pressure. It took me a whole week to spray paint the piano!

What's Next?

Are you participating?

Feel free to pledge to perform a piece in the comments below.

Then — practice, practice, practice!

rogerch

I’m in! I look forward to hearing you all play! Thanks for making recital space for us @navindra !

twocats

Wow, it feels like the last one just happened! I won't be participating as I have nothing ready and I'm busy packing up to go visit the in-laws across the world. Have fun, everyone!!

ShiroKuro

Oh!! I obviously have no excuse not to participate, given that I’m getting easy to play in a concert.

Now, which of those three pieces to choose for PT’s recital…. Hmmm…

iternabe

I am in. I have many recorded pieces to choose from 😉

lilypad

I already have a recording of "God Bless the Child" ready without too many wrong notes. It's just that it sounds boring. I'll try and liven in up between now and the recital.

TheBoringPianist

I'm out of town through the entire submission period so I probably won't have anything this time around (unless I find a public piano somewhere?). Looking forward to hearing everyone else!

thepianoplayer416

Working on an old piece making last minute touch ups. Hope to have something recorded by the end of the week or next week.

Player1

I got nothing.

Nightowl

Player1 Same here, Player1. I had a piece in mind that I thought was ready, but tried to record it last night and seemed to play it worse with every attempt! Now I'm totally bored with it and am wondering what else I could submit.

The problem is that by the time I've got a piece to a decent standard I'm already tired of it, so in some ways I feel loathe to sacrifice a favourite piece on the altar of the recital, knowing I might come to hate it by the time I get a decent recording. That's the down side of taking part, but on the other hand it is good to be part of the event and receive encouraging remarks from others. Anyway we have a couple of weeks more to come up with something P1. 🙂

Player1

Nightowl
I thought about it but I'd have to start from scratch. That means finding something to play, then learning it, then recording it. Not ideal. Especially when I'm hit & miss on playing.

Then again, there's always 3 blind mice to fall back on. If, that is, I can figure out the LH chords.

iternabe

Nightowl I had a piece in mind that I thought was ready, but tried to record it last night and seemed to play it worse with every attempt!

What I've learned is do not make recording an event that you work up to, be nervous about, and only do occasionally as if it is a special occasion. It's a lot easier to just record the whole session every time you practice, note down the good run through, and make a cut of that performance as soon as possible. I save the first run that's almost presentable, then keep working on the piece and keep saving any run that has marked improvement. Usually when I get 5 or 6 edited and saved recordings, the piece is polished enough for an online recital.

I know this approach is different from preparing a piece for live performance standard. (And I do continue work on pieces after I have a satisfactory recording.) But this always-recording workflow is much less stressful for beginner like me.

Last but not least, listening to recording of my own playing, and watching the video, has proven to be super helpful in finding flaws in my technique and artistry.

bSharp

I don't have anything this time around either. Things have been hectic lately, but I think I'll have something for the next recital.

TC3

I've mostly been working on stuff for my garage band, but I'll see if I can't come up with at least a little something by then. No promises, though!

Sophia

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Come on guys, this is not an exam... Send in something old and tired full of mistakes if need be. I always enjoy the private concert so very much, it's the highlight of the forum.

I recorded mine two weeks ago and it's definitely not flawless... just a fun piece to showcase current progress. I'm really looking forward to this second recital!

Player1

Sophia

Okay, okay. I'll check my stuff and see what I can find.

No promises though. I think I've already submitted everything I've recorded to a recital at one time or another.

Unless you want to see me play scales and arpeggios?

HeartKeys

As I play by ear, and play/improvise on the spot, I almost never record myself, as I’m prone to mistakes. It sounds cool live, but recorded-wise not as good.

But perhaps I’ll make an exception for this forum!

If I contribute, it’d be me literally laying on the spot, nothing pre-determined. Just whatever my brain feeds me on the spot.

If there’s appetite for that, then I’ll participate this time! 🙂

Sophia

HeartKeys If there’s appetite for that, then I’ll participate this time! 🙂

Always! I enjoy roger's improvisations too, as well as others'. I find it incredibly impressive how people can come up with a melody inside their head and then let it flow through their fingers. I'm looking forward to it 🙂

Player1

HeartKeys

You wouldn't be the only improv performance in the recitals. We have a few members who submit some awesome stuff that's totally improvised.

The key is that you play and what you play is what we want to hear.

rogerch

HeartKeys If I contribute, it’d be me literally laying on the spot, nothing pre-determined. Just whatever my brain feeds me on the spot.

Hey @HeartKeys, that’s what I do for a lot of these recitals. I would love to hear you improvise!

Nightowl

iternabe Thanks, that is a great suggestion. I remember you posted it previously on the other forum, but at the time I did not know to edit my videos so I put it to the back of my mind. However, today I learned how to do basic editing using the Google app, so I might try out your idea later. I guess a video of 60-90 mins length would use up a lot of memory so I would need to promptly delete the unwanted chunks, but it might be a way for me to get a decent recording.

Sophia

Player1 Unless you want to see me play scales and arpeggios?

You want the honest answer or the truth? 😄 Ok then, I'll give you both: neither are good friends of mine! Not to play and even less to listen to 🤣