Performer: Navindra Umanee in the USA. On and off piano lessons since September 2019.
Piece: The Entertainer by Scott Joplin arr. by Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes! Please let me know what you think of the tuning and sound of the piano as well!

Source of music: Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course, Book 1
Instrument: Ritmüller UH121R by Pearl River
Recording method: I touched up the tuning on the piano using the amazing CyberHammer with the equally mind-blowing pianoscope app. I used close miking with the onboard mics on a Tascam Portacapture X8 near the bottom part of the harp and I had a matched pair of the Audix SCX25A mikes behind me. I mixed the mics using Audacity, and using Logic Pro, added a touch of reverb with Space Designer’s Piano Warmth and let Mastering Assistant work its magic. I decided to favor a player perspective for this upright.
Additional info: I originally played this piece for my teacher's 2024 Halloween Piano Party and I recorded it at home for PianoTell. I can't wait to graduate from Alfred Book 1.

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

    Well, as there were so many fascinating pieces submitted this round, I have decided to take my time and savour them all over the next few days/weeks. I will comment as I listen... so far I have only listed to

    iternabe — O mio babbino caro

    And what a lofty piece to start the recital with! @iternabe we basically started our piano journey around the same time, so it gives this wonderful feeling of "growing up" together. I think you have been making fantastic progress, obviously your zeal and eye for detail are paying off. Very delicately and musically played. And what performance isn't enhanced by a few furry friends watching over you ^_^

        Yay!!! Congratulations everyone!! And thank you @navindra for all of your work bringing this together!!

        I'm looking forward to listening! But gotta get back to work first!

        Sophia I'm doing the same, will take my time and listen / respond to a few at a time. I'm going to try to go in more-or-less random order as well. Where's my D&D dice bag? I must have a d27 in there somewhere ... 😃

        Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

          keff — Over the Rainbow

          Wow, that is a very interesting arrangement of OtR... those harmonies seem to gyrate around the melody in some places! Very sweet ending too. And so very impressive to see someone play a five minutes piece in one single take - I usually go to "pieces" after the one minute mark 😁

              plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball

              You played for just UNDER two years and learned this in a week?????? Consider me deeply impressed! Such a happy tune - and I loved the very interesting rhythms and dynamics. Really really - no, really well played. Keep going and by next year we can probably expect you to be at concert pianist level. Just kidding 😆

                  Okay, a few picked at random:
                  @Rubens - Sonata. A beautiful piece expertly played! I can hear what you mean about the moods of the piece. I’m also impressed with how nice that Kawaii sounds. Well done!
                  @Sam -Never Finished Piece. An interesting piece, thanks for sharing. I would be interested in hearing more about your creative process.
                  @Pathbreaker - Larghetto. Wow, for a “work in progress,” it sounded great to me. I imagine you want to spend more time on it for your own satisfaction, but I personally think it’s already audience-ready. Thanks for sharing!

                  Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                    TC3
                    Thanks for your comments. For my own satisfaction is a great way to put it.

                    • TC3 likes this.

                      Schubertian2 — Ballade 4

                      That's a gorgeous ballad, what is not to like about Chopin. The time spent learning that was well worth it, wow, that last part must be sooo challenging to play and you pulled it off splendidly! Loved the imagery as well, so fitting to the delicate melodies. Thank you!

                        WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues

                        Ahhhh... WieWaldi... I always said you are five steps ahead of me, but I need to change my opinion four now. After listening to this three times, I had to change it two the simple fact that you will always be number ONE in blues! Well played!!! I can't wait to reach this lesson 😃

                            Nightowl — What A Wonderful World

                            What a wonderful and uplifting piece! I could just hear Louis Armstrong's voice when you played that... I'm also impressed that it is quite long - I don't think I have ever dared to tackle a piece that is longer than a minute and a bit 😆 You are making great progress Nightowl, especially considering that you did not have any prior experience with instruments or even music in general (no, one single session with a recorder doesn't count) 😂

                            And the ending was absolutely adorable... petting your audience afterward... very fitting to the performance!

                              Sophia I had worked on it a year ago, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar to me when I restarted on it this year. 😅

                                Sophia — A Classy Rag
                                Yeah - Ragtime! This is IMO one of the most difficult genres of all. This specific one might be one of the easier rags, whereas rag&easy is a contradiction by itself. I mean it is like a law of nature: There is no easy rag, (same as there is no easy Chopin). I always forget you are playing just since January, and then you pull a ragtime out of nothing. Flawlessly performed. Kudos!

                                Sophia I always said you are five steps ahead of me, ...

                                Haha, every step I make, you do two.
                                I'm very sure, cause I'm watching you! 😊

                                    Congrats to all the participants! I'm skipping this recital and won't be posting any comments because I've been far too busy lately. I am, however, going to listen to all the PW and PT submissions.

                                    navindra — The Entertainer
                                    Let's continue with Ragtime! This one may be widely frowned upon some ragtime pianists, simply because it is overplayed. (I hope I didn't screw up grammar in this sentence😬) Still, The Entertainer has a very special place in my heart. It was the very first rag I ever heard in my life, thanks to M.Hamlish. And I never get bored of it. No, I would say, you never ever really played piano, if you didn't play The Entertainer at least once in your life. (Sorry Mozart, but it's true 🤪) You played it excellent, everything was on point.

                                    Navindra, congrats! Now you can say, you have played the piano - really!

                                      iternabe — O mio babbino caro
                                      I really love to follow your progress. You don't play any fancy things like many other self directed learners do. No, you are following a well tailored path, every piece gets a tiny bit more challenging than the last one, your steps aren't big. But you are making MANY of them! After just 9 months of playing, all this small steps summed up to huge distance.
                                      And because you really mastered every piece you've touched so far, there is no sloppyness. Everything in this piece was just perfect: dynamics, rubato, the mood, the entire interpretation just wonderful to listen to. Can't wait to hear what's coming next.

                                          iternabe — O mio babbino caro
                                          That was beautifully and fluidly played, you have made amazing progress in just 10 months. I love this gentle arrangement - in fact I prefer this to the original version!
                                          keff — Over the Rainbow
                                          A different take on a popular film classic, very well played.
                                          plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball
                                          A fun piece for Halloween, with suspenseful passages. You play very well.
                                          Schubertian2 — Ballade 4
                                          This is Chopin - so enough said, it's not for the faint hearted but you rose to the challenge and that was a stellar performance. Your lifetime of playing piano has not been wasted. The featured works of art were perfect to accompany this Chopin masterpiece.
                                          WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues
                                          I enjoyed listening to this selection from your Blues lesson pieces, you play in a very relaxed and confident manner. Ironically, this music made me feel far from blue - it's more like a cure for the blues. 🙂
                                          Nightowl — What A Wonderful World
                                          Having listened to some of the other submissions, the limits of my skill are painfully evident. In fact, my playing sounds so stilted here that I'm tempted to remove the video from YT, but that would be against the spirit of what the recital is about - players of all abilities putting their work forward in a safe space where they can receive feedback.
                                          Sophia — A Classy Rag
                                          That was very well played, with precision, confidence and flair - you nailed it! 😀 Your playing is in a different league to what would normally be expected after less than a year of playing (although I know you had previous attempts to learn piano, but even so this is something else). You never fail to impress me.
                                          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.

                                          Well, that's enough for now. More comments later.

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

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

                                                            Sam Love your use of inversions. The deceptive cadences continually surprised me! Hope your hip is doing better. What a chair!

                                                            Rob First section flows so well. The middle section sounds like it's going to be a change of mood, but it returns quickly to the original theme. Loved it.

                                                            TC3 I think this is my favorite recording of yours so far. Good arrangement--simple and varied. Your singing voice is also really good on this! It sounds relaxed and confident.

                                                            diretonic I can see why you think it's a little busy in places, but I hope you don't tweak it too much because it sounds really good. I particularly like the way you juggle in the middle voice(s).