Rubens that song brings me back to the original Frasier series. Good job!

When I started working on this, one of my first thoughts was to find Kelsey Grammer's version, since I was sure I had heard it before (or maybe Sideshow Bob singing it) but I couldn't find anything on Youtube. But you got me to search for "Frasier I am the model" and out popped a result! Thank you! I had never heard this before. I wish it were the full thing, but I'll take what I can get!

PS: The Family Guy take is pretty funny.

keff Bravo Major General!

Thank you!

Nightowl your performance was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!! 😃 🤩 😍 The speed of playing was incredible and singing all those complex tongue twisting lyrics at the same time made this even more impressive - my mind is completely blown!!! How do you do that?!?

You're making my ego grow much too much. Thank you! I've been working on the vocal part for two months, so the secret is really just time. First memorizing, then not tripping over the words, then getting faster, then making it smooth and lyrical, and then fixing a bunch of details.

The piano score is very repetitive, so I only had to learn a handful of measures. With experience, the process of memorizing and playing chords and scales, which is what 95% of the score is, is much easier.

Switching between my singing-focused brain and piano-focused brain continues to be a major problem for me, but I think I'm getting better. Thank you again for your very warm compliments!

ShiroKuro That was AWESOME!! And yes, it was very entertaining! (Somehow, I think your nursing home performances will be a lot more fun than my retirement center concert... 😛
BTW did you memorize the music and the lyrcis?? That's quite a feat!

I've been told that retirement communities are a very easy-to-please audience, so that makes it a good goal for us amateurs! I'll be thinking of you at the end of November, as you will be realizing my goal before I do!
Memorizing the lyrics took time--I did about one verse a week to get the initial memorizing done, and then a few more weeks to get the verses smooth. The piano part memorization was much easier, as it's much more repetitive!

            Rob
            This is a heartbreakingly beautiful composition. Reminds me a bit of Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla, perhaps because it is in the same mood and key. Your playing is expressive and captivating, and your piano has an exquisite tone, but that's not surprising considering that it's s Kawai ES920, which I used for my own performance 😁.

            • Rob replied to this.
            • Rob likes this.

                Schubertian2 Thank you Navindra - what a lot of good work you do!

                Thanks a lot for this comment. I saw it before leaving for work this morning and I can honestly say it put a smile on face and made my day. 🙂

                Congrats everyone! I've enjoyed everything I've listened to so far and will slowing start sharing my comments. 🙂

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

                  javiercorre Wow! Just wow.

                  You've been practicing for only 5 years and not only can you play Scarlatti, you can play two whole Sonatas worth from memory. Absolutely astounding. Bravo! 👏

                  I really enjoyed just how nimble your touch is and your musicality kept me entranced. You're definitely ready for your exam! Good luck and hopefully you can share how it goes! 👏

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

                    Sophia Thank you for your kind words.

                      WieWaldi I am pleased that you liked it. Thank you.

                        Schubertian2 — Ballade 4 – That was admirable! What’s most impressive to me is that it is your own interpretation through and through, that you’ve worked on it only with your teacher and based only on the score. And it does capture the nature of a ballade. Beautiful.

                        Schubertian2 I wonder if I could start a separate thread just to go over all that I learned from working on this and my ideas about what a 'ballade' is. It would be much too long here.

                        Please do, I would love to read that!

                              WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues – Great job! Your playing seems so laid-back, and sounds really bluesy, wonderful. I follow your and Sophia’s beginners blues thread and think you both are making tremendous progress!

                                Nightowl - What A Wonderful World – It may be a simplified arrangement, but it still is a difficult piece, and you’ve managed to play it well! You’re making a good, steady progress, congratulations! And it is so endearing that you have this amiable furry audience. Does it help with recording anxiety? I think I must try it too 🙂

                                    rsl12 on the topic of memorizing… I’ve read various snippets about research on how the brain physically changes as a result of how it’s used. For example, that bilingual people have a heavier prefrontal cortex, or the studies of the physical differences in the brains of London cab drivers…

                                    I would love to know what physical differences would be observed in the brain of someone like me, who hardly ever memorizes and always plays from the score, vs someone who memorizes solo piano music, vs someone like you who memorizes both piano parts and lyrics.

                                    /threaddrift 😅

                                        Gooseberry
                                        I don't know what would be the appropriate place - maybe here under notes "Me and the Fourth Ballade". LOL.

                                            Schubertian2 one nice thing about this forum is that we can prettily easily split threads if things go too far off topic. Like what I'm about to do...

                                            ShiroKuro I would love to know what physical differences would be observed in the brain of someone like me, who hardly ever memorizes and always plays from the score, vs someone who memorizes solo piano music, vs someone like you who memorizes both piano parts and lyrics.

                                            For classical, I almost never memorize pieces! I have a really bad memory, and it's rare that classical pieces are just 95% scales and simple chords like it was in this case (though vocal accompaniment is usually pretty simple). Usually classical has interesting lines with ambiguous and creative voicings which don't follow standard patterns or fingerings. If I go through the trouble of memorizing a piece like that, it will fly out of my memory within a couple weeks of disuse, making it not worth the effort.

                                            In pieces like my recital piece, what I have in my head is no harder than what you might see in a lead sheet: a soprano line with chords, with maybe a little extra information about the rhythm bass alternating between two notes or whatnot. But from that I can recreate the score with 97% accuracy, and the remaining 3% will be noticeable only if you're familiar with the score. That ability will come with experience, though learning theory well and analyzing the pieces you play can help speed up the process.

                                                Here are my last few comments:-

                                                15) Gooseberry
                                                That's a lovely piece and you played it beautifully. It was unusual watching somebody play with fingerless gloves, but maybe I'll get some if it will help me to play like that! (Anyway they'd cover my horrid veins.)

                                                16) Rob
                                                You created a beautiful piece of music there and the title is very apt, because I'm almost lost for words. I'm in awe of your talent.

                                                17) TC3
                                                Wow, that was great! You sure have soul, man!

                                                18) Lilypad
                                                That was a lovely rendition of an old time classic. Your piano really sings.

                                                19) BicBic
                                                That's quite a tricky piece and there were a few hesitations, but I think you're nearly there. 🙂

                                                20) Javiercorre
                                                You chose some lovely relaxing music to play and you seemed totally immersed in your playing. Sometimes when somebody uploads a fairly lengthy piece I find myself tempted to jump forward to the end, but there was no such temptation here - it was 11 minutes of magic. If that's what you've achieved in just 5 years, you clearly have a lot of talent and I'm sure you will iron out the tiny flaws and pass your exam with flying colours. Good luck (not that you'll need it).

                                                21) SalmonJack
                                                That was a nice composition, you clearly have talent for playing and composing music. The images of travelling over the water went nicely with the music, which ebbed and flowed at times, in the manner of an unpredictable sea.

                                                The submissions to this recital have been amazing, there has been something to appeal to all tastes and some truly incredible performances. I feel lucky to be in such company (although I really need to up my game if I'm going to take part in the next recital).

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

                                                  Gooseberry Thanks! It's a bit stilted in places and if I used the pedal it might sound better, but at this stage I haven't mastered the pedal and it felt like too much to remember during the recording process - just hitting the right notes was enough for my small brain! 🙂

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

                                                    Nightowl 17) TC3
                                                    Wow, that was great! You sure have soul, man!

                                                    Thank you! I sing like a man half my age. Or is it twice my age? ... 😃

                                                    Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                                                      Sophia — A Classy Rag – Girl, you are amazing – you fly through those Alfred books in leaps and bounds, to say nothing of the blues course, and you play so smoothly and delightfully as if nothing was easier! Colour me impressed 🙂

                                                        rogerch — Slow Steps – I love the warmth and tenderness that emanates from your improvisation, and I admire how you can transfer the flow of your ideas into such beautiful music 💗

                                                            thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star – I didn’t know this song until a year ago or so when my teacher at the time suggested it for me to learn. That’s how I know that it’s not easy to play it at that tempo, but you’ve done a good job there!