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.

      I made my "ok" recording a week ago. Don't want to look back. Every time you hear the recording you always find something to improve. Even a modest 2 min piece took 3 recording sessions to get something satisfactory.

      People singing Jazz & Pop tunes don't usually do everything on the beat. When playing piano against a singing version, I'd listen to a recording a few times. Each time I'd write in changes on the sheet.

      Sam 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.

      Whoa! Mind blown! 🤯

      I couldn't tell you how much I struggle with the audio... and to think it was all just a button press away? Too often I just go back to doing everything manually with Audacity... I had no idea Logic Pro was so powerful.

      Thanks a lot for the tip! I'm actually looking forward to this now! 😃

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

        OK, I fulfilled my promise and uploaded something. 🙂 Not too bad but still a bit sloppy. Good enough for now!

        Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

          TC3

          And you didn't wait until the last second either!

          You go!!

              Here's the current tally.

              1. iternabe — O mio babbino caro by Puccini, arr. by Faber
              2. keff — Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg, arr. by Brent Edstom
              3. plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball by Naoko Ikeda
              4. Schubertian2 — Ballade 4 by Chopin
              5. WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues by Christian Fuchs
              6. Nightowl — What A Wonderful World by G D Weiss & B Thiele, arr. by G P Tingley
              7. Sophia — A Classy Rag
              8. rogerch — Slow Steps by rogerch
              9. thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star by Ned Washington & Leigh Harline
              10. Sam — The Never Finished Piece by Sam
              11. MarieJ — Waltz in F minor by Tim Neumark
              12. Player1 — Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar
              13. Rubens — Sonata no.2, Op.36 (1913), 2nd movement, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
              14. Cratersmash — Sonata No. 3 in A Minor by Sergei Prokofiev
              15. Gooseberry — Pigalle by Virginio Aiello
              16. Rob — Lost by Rob
              17. TC3 — Worried Life Blues by Big Maceo Merriweather
              18. lilypad — God Bless the Child by Arthur Herzop and Billie Holiday

              Nice! There's a day or two left.

              We'll go live on Friday... not promising an exact time though. 😉

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

              Player1 Just the next to the last second ... 😮

              Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                Looks like my procrastination strategy has paid off. Final Cut Pro 11 is here.

                I really could have used that AI masking feature when I was working on this video:

                You wouldn't imagine how painful it was to do the masking by hand! 😃

                Now to update to Sequoia and see if FCP 11 is a free upgrade. I really hope Apple doesn't make me get a subscription for this... that would force a real clash of my principles. 😃

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

                So at least two weeks ago I think I said I was going to starting recording at each practice… but you know that didn’t happen… 😁

                So today, I finally did a recording. It’s not perfect, but if I can’t get a better recording tomorrow, I’ll use this one.
                Now I just have to remember what my SK YouTube account is… 🙄

                In other news, I wanted to experiment with placement of the phone (I’m recording w my phone) to maybe get better sound. so I put it on top of a shelf at the tail end of the piano. I had the piano on the short stick, so that blocks my face in the video but you can still see my hair. Which I think looks very funny! 😀

                Rubens Oh I love it, super excited! I'm about to submit a Scriabin piece that is MUCH easier than yours and @Cratersmash entries - and i looked up the composition and publication date and it just squeezes into late 19th century rather than early 20th so we can travel back in time a few years!

                  Hello I just joined and posted my recital pieces a couple of Scarlatti sonatas. Looking forward to listen to your submissions.

                    Updated tally!

                    1. iternabe — O mio babbino caro by Puccini, arr. by Faber
                    2. keff — Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg, arr. by Brent Edstom
                    3. plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball by Naoko Ikeda
                    4. Schubertian2 — Ballade 4 by Chopin
                    5. WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues by Christian Fuchs
                    6. Nightowl — What A Wonderful World by G D Weiss & B Thiele, arr. by G P Tingley
                    7. Sophia — A Classy Rag
                    8. rogerch — Slow Steps by rogerch
                    9. thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star by Ned Washington & Leigh Harline
                    10. Sam — The Never Finished Piece by Sam
                    11. MarieJ — Waltz in F minor by Tim Neumark
                    12. Player1 — Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar
                    13. Rubens — Sonata no.2, Op.36 (1913), 2nd movement, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
                    14. Cratersmash — Sonata No. 3 in A Minor by Sergei Prokofiev
                    15. Gooseberry — Pigalle by Virginio Aiello
                    16. Rob — Lost by Rob
                    17. TC3 — Worried Life Blues by Big Maceo Merriweather
                    18. lilypad — God Bless the Child by Arthur Herzop and Billie Holiday
                    19. BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11 by Scriabin
                    20. javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 by Scarlatti

                    There's a whole day and change left for more submissions. 🙂

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

                    It looks like this will be another talent packed recital, with 20 submissions so far.

                    I had a quick look at the recital thread on the PW forum, and they also have 20 submissions. However, their forum membership is well over 110,000 whilst there are just 259 members here, so this forum is punching well above its weight when you consider those numbers!

                    This is impressive, and might be even more so if (when?) some last minute submissions push PT into the lead! 😃

                    "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                    Hahaha I had the exact same thought, Nightowl! I am really looking forward to it, there are so many styles and interesting choices in this recital that I just can't wait 😍

                    Latest update:

                    1. iternabe — O mio babbino caro by Puccini, arr. by Faber
                    2. keff — Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg, arr. by Brent Edstom
                    3. plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball by Naoko Ikeda
                    4. Schubertian2 — Ballade 4 by Chopin
                    5. WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues by Christian Fuchs
                    6. Nightowl — What A Wonderful World by G D Weiss & B Thiele, arr. by G P Tingley
                    7. Sophia — A Classy Rag
                    8. rogerch — Slow Steps by rogerch
                    9. thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star by Ned Washington & Leigh Harline
                    10. Sam — The Never Finished Piece by Sam
                    11. MarieJ — Waltz in F minor by Tim Neumark
                    12. Player1 — Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar
                    13. Rubens — Sonata no.2, Op.36 (1913), 2nd movement, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
                    14. Cratersmash — Sonata No. 3 in A Minor by Sergei Prokofiev
                    15. Gooseberry — Pigalle by Virginio Aiello
                    16. Rob — Lost by Rob
                    17. TC3 — Worried Life Blues by Big Maceo Merriweather
                    18. lilypad — God Bless the Child by Arthur Herzop and Billie Holiday
                    19. BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11 by Scriabin
                    20. javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 by Scarlatti
                    21. SalmonJack — Bliss Ten by SalmonJack
                    22. rsl12 — I am the very model of a modern Major-General by WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

                    Time is running out! 😅

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

                    • TC3 likes this.

                    Navindra - what time zone are you in? This may become an all-important data point this evening

                      I’m uploading yesterday’s recording to YouTube right now….