PianoTell Recital #2 Is Now Live!

WieWaldi - Quick Five Blues - Nice laid back blues piece. Lots of cool blues licks in there. I especially admired that tremolo.

Thank you for listening to my piace earlier and your kind remarks.

@Cratersmash— Sonata No. 3. Another advanced piece, far beyond me. Prokofiev is a great change of pace from the usual baroque and classical pieces. Thanks very much for sharing!
@diretonic — Chega de Saudade (No More Blues). Some lovely jazz, we need more of that around here, thanks! Jobim's tunes are great, and this one is a nice departure from the usual "Girl from Ipanema." Hope your arthritis is better these days!
@rogerch— Slow Steps. Love your improvisations, still don't know how you do that ... I was a bit confused about "minor fourth" until I realized it was what I know as a minor iv chord, then it made sense.

iternabe — O mio babbino caro. I’d say you’re definitely making the right choice here - your performance sings, as it should. Sweet!

keff — Over the Rainbow. A very different arrangement from what I was expecting - I really liked it! A shame about the print size, it’s challenging enough to play while reading, without encountering format problems as well!

plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball. A confident, playful performance. You’ve been learning for under 2 years, and you polished this off in less than a week?! You must be very pleased with your progress!

Schubertian2 — Ballade 4. A concert-hall-worthy performance, enhanced by a well-chosen video compilation. Stunning!

WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues. . Bravo!

Nightowl — What A Wonderful World. Happy Pianoversary for yesterday, Nightowl! Don’t be too concerned about brain freezes - they’re part of the ‘red dot syndrome’, but when you’re going it alone, the recorder is your very best friend. Well done!

Sophia — A Classy Rag. I started with Alfred’s AIO too, but most certainly did not reach AIO level 3 in a mere 10 months! Great progress and a 'classy' performance - congratulations!

rogerch — Slow Steps. Lovely chord progressions - a gentle and melodious result. You should indeed be pleased with this!

thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star. (My comments are over in the PW Recital forum.)

Thanks so much, Marie But I just need to emphasize that I didn't completely start from scratch. I played as a child and also went through the entire first Thompson book about 6 years ago. I flew through the first Alfred book in about six weeks, just catching up with what I had already picked up in the past.

Also, I'm starting to think that I probably picked up more from my parents (both professional musicians) than I realized.

I wouldn't want to give the impression that I'm going through the method at super speed... it's decidedly leveling down now

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten
Bliss Ten is gorgeous, and I love your expert playing and the lush recording. The entire performance is lovely. I’m especially captivated by the section from 5:20 until around 6:20. Those are some really interesting rhythms that sound really cool!

rsl12 — I am the very model of a modern Major-General
What a fun song! It seems like it would be very challenging to sing like that, but you pulled it off and you sound great. The piano playing sounds really good as well, and you do a great job putting it all together. Well done!

Sgisela — Do Tebe
I enjoy your expert playing of this lovely piece and I’m glad to hear it again! The whole performance is great to listen to. I was particularly impressed by the section that starts around 1:15 with the melody in octaves alternating with some really nice flourishes. Thanks for sharing!

Pathbreaker — Larghetto
Larghetto is a lovely, slightly haunting piece. I love the way you play it gently with great expression. Wonderful playing!

diretonic — Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)
Thanks for playing this, it sounds really nice! It sounds slightly jazzy to me, with a latin feel. Somehow it comes across as laid back even though there is a lot going on. I think that’s a testament to your expert playing!

navindra — The Entertainer
Your confident playing sounds really good! You give the Entertainer a great ragtime feel with nice dynamic expression. Your piano and the recording sound really good too. I love the high note at the end. I’m guessing that wasn’t in the Alfred book.

Thanks again for running PianoTell and this recital!

Nightowl rogerch — Slow Steps
That was beautiful, melancholy and melodious. You are incredibly talented. I love your piano too, the colour of the wood is beautiful and it seems to have a very rich, mellow tone. After watching your performance I am full of envy and admiration, on so many levels.

Thanks @Nightowl! My piano thanks you too!

I'm sorry you are full of envy though! If you enjoy playing the piano while learning new things, then you and I are in the same place in the ways that matter most. I think you're doing great and I hope that playing brings you joy!

rsl12 rogerch You had in mind to use minor subdominants? Your thinking about improvisation is getting more sophisticated. Glad to hear more of your progress!

Thanks @rs12! It's really fun to find sounds I like and incorporate them into improvisations!

Sophia rogerch — Slow Steps

Roger You know you are my living example to get to improvisation, right? But every time you set that bar higher because you are improving in strides Very nice and you are right, the chord is beautiful and fits well into the piece. Very impressive!

Thanks @Sophia! It really helped my piano playing that I took 14 months off from work. I've been back at work since August so my progress may slow down, but I'll take what I can get!

WieWaldi rogerch — Slow Steps
One can really tell, you are enjoying to improvise. It looks like a fish in the water. I've heard this style of impro already from you, last time it was good, this time it is good again. Just different, but still with your own signature.
I enjoyed to listen to the beautiful sound, the warmth, the harmony, you did very well changing between Major and minor, here and there (at least I believe, you did). You made a good mix between repeating the known melodies to please the listener and introducing new themes to keep in interesting. I'd call this well rounded improvisation again.
Well done, Roger, I bow to you in respect!

Thanks @WieWaldi! I absolutely enjoy improvising, it has been a great journey!

Gooseberry 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

Thanks for the nice feedback, @Gooseberry!

rogerch thank you for listening and for your kind words!