PianoTell Recital #2 Is Now Live!

Player1 That sounds like a great plan, to buy a baby grand when you retire! I love baby grands - all the allure and curves of their larger relatives, but a modest enough size for many homes to accommodate. Please remember to post a photo when the time comes.

Thank you sooo much everybody who provided such lovely comments. Such an incentive to keep going! Being entertaining is my dearest wish and it’s so very pleasing if I’m able do so in my own small way

I’m still listening to the recitals and enjoying every single one… more comments will follow later

Nightowl

It'll be a couple of years at least. Of course I have to build the house first. Then buy the piano.

lilypad — God Bless the Child

That was beautiful Lilypad - to match your lovely name I absolutely love Billie Holiday (how could I not, after all she is the Lady of the Blues!), but I wasn't familiar with this song of hers. So of course I had to look up her version too. You absolutely captured the spirit of her great performance. Thank you for giving me a new memory on someone I greatly admire (apart from you now too, lol)

BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11

That's fantastic for one year, comeback or not! Congratulations on renewing your piano vows... I'm very glad I did the same. Though I'm nowhere near your level yet, of course. You have a very delicate touch, and played with very good dynamics. Very nice!

javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380

Beautiful! Delicately played and such an endearing piece. Fantastic dynamics and very skillful playing. Almost flawlessly and from memory, in a single take!!! And you have only five years of practice?! I'm very impressed! I'm sure you will do great on your exam!

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten

This forum is so talented... pianists, composers, sailors, movie makers, and from the looks of it you're all rolled in one Thanks for sharing your creation and lovely imagery to go with it. It felt like a mini cruise with an on board pianist - thank you for taking us on this virtual trip!

Rob — Lost
A wonderful melody for rainy day. You composed a really somber tune, that creates a very strong mood of sadness or pensiveness. Wonderful played, and with your video it just perfect.

@Nightowl - What a Wonderful World. Boy, y’all are contributing a bunch of lovely classics. Nicely done, and I’m particularly impressed that you’re playing like this after only a year, self-teaching no less. Keep it up!
@Sophia - A Classy Rag. Excellent! You have a really nice, smooth, even touch. I’d seriously have guessed that you started playing much longer ago. That’s a really fun tune, and you nailed it!
@Player1 - Ashokan Farewell. A very pretty piece. Well done, thanks for sharing!

@iternabe I am pleased you took liberties with your arrangement. It flowed well, and was delicately played.

@plop_symphony I had not heard that piece before, but it was such fun to listen to, and you played it so well!

@Schubertian2 One word, Impressive!
Impressive performance, especially for a piece of that length
Impressive that it is your own interpretation, and not influenced by any other performances or recordings.
I also enjoyed the images in your video.

@WieWaldi Quick five Blues. You play with a relaxed confidence, and feeling, at the same time.
I really enjoyed it. Thank you.

iternabe your sense of rhythm is really good! I'm curious what the first recording sounded like, because the liberties you took in this one were subtle (and nice).You sound very much in control, and it seems like you are very ready for the Level 2 books.

plop_symphony great recording! You must be happy with it. It doesn't sound like anything gave you trouble with this piece.

WieWaldi is there a missing note? I didn't notice one! You're making great progress. That was a nice blues--it incorporated quite a number of licks and none of them seemed to give you trouble.

Nightowl Motivation is always the most important thing to keep up, so I think it was a good idea to get away from the method book, at least a bit. Do you have a metronome or a metronome app? I think it would help you greatly to use one. And don't worry too much about stepping up your game--it's fun to see your progress no matter what speed it happens at.

Sophia last recital I said you were almost not a beginner any more, and now I would definitely categorize you as an intermediate player. You have good control over tempo, dynamics, tricky rhythms, jumps. You're doing great, and you know how to play a catchy song in a catchy way!

rsl12 I don't have a metronome. I tried a metronome app but found it too distracting.

I do have a reasonable sense of rhythm/tempo, so it's not that I don't realise when I've slowed down or paused between notes - it's just that my brain is slow with sight reading. I should have practised the piece a lot more so that I could play the trickier parts without pausing to locate the notes. Everyone is being very kind but I'll say what many are probably thinking - this effort was not worth uploading and it is quite painful to listen to. I'm in a massive learning curve. Maybe in 6 months' time I'll produce something worth listening to.

Nightowl Everyone is being very kind but I'll say what many are probably thinking - this effort was not worth uploading and it is quite painful to listen to.

NOT. AT. ALL. You seemed a bit hesitant at first, but very quickly you started playing much more smoothly, and it was quite pleasant.

Nightowl Everyone is being very kind but I'll say what many are probably thinking - this effort was not worth uploading and it is quite painful to listen to.

What nonsense! I bet you all the pianos in the world that not a single person thought that. Because everyone started at one point and especially those who started as adults faced the same struggles and beginner phases.

You haven't been playing a full year and only a few months on a proper piano, rather than a keyboard that wasn't even touch-sensitive.

You are making remarkable progress, just compare it with your previous two recitals!

Nothing "kind" about that, just simple facts

@Nightowl Self teaching is hard, but your playing shows that you are motivated, and committed to learning, which is great! Keep going onwards and upwards.