lilypad The down side of having a so-so version of my piece already recorded with plans to better it is that I haven't been as motivated as I would be if I had nothing or something really bad.

I recorded my piece some time ago thinking I would go back and improve it but then someone asked if I could learn the piano part of a well known carol so they could play along with recorder. The problem is that we can't play together so I am recording to YT and bending over backwards to make sure the rhythms are as correct as I can make them. The carol contains a 16 bar piano part cadenza between the verses and so it is not particularly easy. My PT recital 2 piece improvement has fallen by the wayside.

    I set things up and did a test recording for levels and such. Everything's working, so I have no excuse now ... I'll do a few takes over the next few days, then submit something by Thursday, even if it's the best of a bad bunch.

    Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

      TC3 Can't wait to hear your submission. I bet it will be really, really, really good.
      Actually I can't wait for the entire recital to be published. More in this forum than in PW. Last time, PT submissions leaned more towards Jazz/Blues/Modern/Contemporary, while PW was leaning towards Classical. And Classical isn't my favorite genre.

        Oh damn, I just realized how out of place my entry seems to be, since nearly the entire recital is non-classical.
        Oh well, I'm not gonna remove it now, but feel free to skip it, because it's 8 minutes of more or less palatable russian chromatic counterpoint. You have been warned.

          Rubens I see plenty of classical in the list above. You'll be in good company!

          Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

            Rubens minutes of more or less palatable russian chromatic counterpoint

            I’m really looking forward to hearing this and everyone else’s playing!

              lilypad warming up with it turned out to be one of those times out of the blue where it's like I'd never seen the piece before.

              That's how the first half of my recording session went today! It was exactly as if I had never seen the piece before nor practiced all the problematic parts. My performance just fell apart in the most frustrating ways.

              I was simply trying too hard.

              For the second half of the session, I just sat back and let autopilot do its thing. I was just there to enjoy the ride.

              I probably got some usable takes from this, barring technical issues. I better have as I'm just about done packing everything up! 😃

              --
              Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
              TIME

                Rubens Oh damn, I just realized how out of place my entry seems to be, since nearly the entire recital is non-classical.
                Oh well, I'm not gonna remove it now, but feel free to skip it, because it's 8 minutes of more or less palatable russian chromatic counterpoint. You have been warned.

                It's not really out-of-place, not any more than my Prokofiev Sonata, at least

                    Cratersmash

                    Well thanks for participating anyway. With our entries it looks like the atmosphere will decidedly shift to early 20th century Russia for nearly 18 minutes straight (if one is to listen to the entire recital in order!). Looking forward to listening to your entry. It's a big piece.

                        I love the mixture of classical and non classical!!! I would have liked to submit Chopin Prelude in A major but I'm only now getting to the polishing stage. I'm really looking forward to everyone's submissions and ever so pleased we have a little something of everything 😄

                        I hope to submit a short one of mine, if I can get it recorded by Wednesday.
                        Be warned, it is a bit depressing, but thankfully short!
                        It is over fifteen years old, but hoping to get a half decent new recording.

                        Rubens Hopefully I will add one more classical piece. I already have some recordings that are "fine" and I still have some time today to do another one. But that hasn't stopped me from missing the deadline before...

                          Rubens I don't know enough music theory to know what Russian chromatic counterpoint might sound like, but you've got me excited to hear it now.

                          A month or so ago I heard Rach's Op. 39 Etude Tableaux pieces for the first time. All but one of them made it immediately to my way, way, way in the future bucket list.

                            I recorded a few takes today. It was ... humbling ... 😃 The problem is that I don't know the words well enough yet, so I keep thinking "what's the next verse?!" and then my piano playing crashes. I'll try again the next few days and post the best of the bad bunch Thursday. If nothing else, it might help people to get over their perfectionism: if I can embarrass myself like this, so can you!!!

                            Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                              We're holding at 15 submissions... but good to see folks are still planning to submit!

                              I feel like I'm cutting it a little too close. I think I have a viable submission but today was not a productive day in terms of getting it ready. I still have to go through all the video and audio and somehow put it all together. 😅

                              Here's to hoping you all get those submissions coming in!

                              --
                              Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
                              TIME

                                One thing that has streamlined my recording production is the new AI Mastering Assistant in Logic Pro. I set the microphones, record with logic pro, turn on the mastering assistant on the stereo output, and it analyzes the audio and applies EQ and reverb. Sounds better than anything I can come up with it, and saves a lot of time and fiddling with things. Bounce to Final Cut to automatically sync the audio and video, trim the ends, and I am done.

                                Of course the hard part is still actually playing the piano...

                                  TC3 I have a similar problem. I'm not singing, but I use the lyrics as sung by a particular performers' recording as a guide to rhythmic nuances to make my performance less boring. The trouble is that I keep forgetting the lyrics and rhythmic nuance for one particular verse. Trying to dredge it up to get the rhythm right results in a cascade of mistakes.

                                  • TC3 replied to this.
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                                      I realized that this piece is so long and complex I am probably not going to get a 'perfect' recording - not for a while anyway. But it does communicate the sense I have of what the Ballade is about and that is probably enough for now

                                      lilypad For some reasons, words seem to override music in my brain. That's probably why I tend to ignore lyrics, even to some of my favorite songs!

                                      navindra Here's to hoping you all get those submissions coming in!

                                      Definitely. I already have one take that I can live with, considering it's a work in progress. I'll try again tomorrow and then just post the best I get.

                                      Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.