Performer: HeartKeys, USA, Play for fun by ear
Piece: O Holy Night (with a bunch of random stuff)
Comment Policy: Anything goes

Source of music: improvising to this classic.
Instrument: VSL Steinway D-274. I also experimented with NI Claire, VSL Bosendorfer Imperial, and VI Labs Modern D. Claire had some nice effects, but too much artifacts. Modern D was not "insane enough" sounding for the crescendo parts of this song.
Additional info:

  • Audio output was very low for some reason, so you'll need to turn volume up.
  • Build-up at 2:40.
  • Pardon the dynamic/tempo challenges, especially at 2:20, where this is my first attempt ever, at playing melody with left hand.
  • 2024 was my first year ever trying to play "correctly" with regards to technique. As far as the composition, I naturally have myriad ways for a song to go. I conceived of this version on Friday, and kept changing my mind of what to do.
  • Also, since I don't read music (I just make it up by ear), pardon those moments when the notes aren't 100% accurate. I won't pretend I know how to play any Debussy or Schubert stuff, but I was inspired by their main melodies.
  • For the ending, I have zero idea how I came up with that. ADHD or something. I'm sure it's from some movie that hit me out of nowhere (perhaps Interstellar and Rachmaninoff Prelude in G Minor).

Anyway, enjoy!

    rogerch This is my first time hearing you play off a lead sheet. It sounds like you have the basics down (not surprising, given what I've heard of your improv).

      keff Nice job on the arrangement. Nice segues into the different styles/tunes, and nice voice leading. Not that it's a competition, but I like your arrangement better than your colleague's--his sounded like complexity for the sake of complexity.

      TC3 I'm always jealous to see your wife will make music with you!!

      navindra Nice job with the production. Like the other people here, I wonder how disastrous the piano party was. But maybe it's better you edited it--the way it is, it brings warm Christmas thoughts. But is it traumatic for you to watch even that snippet?

      Rob A faint tingle far back in my memory--this carol, and the fact that Holst wrote one. Thanks for reminding me--I'm always on the lookout for well composed (and well-arranged!) Christmas songs.

                rsl12 Thank you. My version was rather easier.

                  Does anyone remember the Swingle Singers?
                  Just having a bit of fun here!

                    Performer: rach3master. Playing over 25 years.
                    Piece: Tchaikovsky - Waltz of the Flowers, arranged by Gryaznov
                    Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                    Source of music: Sheet music
                    Instrument: NY Steinway D
                    Recording method: Various Schoeps cardioid and omnidirectional mics, connected to UA audio interface
                    Additional info: Something I recorded last year for the holidays. This piece gave me some grief but managed to learn and record just in time on Christmas morning. Happy Holidays!

                      rach3master That was absolutely awesome! 😃 I was riveted the whole way through and by the end I felt exhausted after just watching that brilliant performance.
                      I think the piece was originally written for an orchestra, but this arrangement was so complex that every facet of the original composition was contained within this beautiful solo piano arrangement. Your YT channel mentions that you are "an amateur" but you play like a professional, thank you so much for uploading this lovely performance.

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

                        Rob This one was absolutely awesome - it sounds like a studio recording of a small orchestra. Especially the descending bells made a very Christmas like feeling. You played it very evenly, this is maybe the biggest indicator there had no real instruments (guitar especially) been used. IMO real guitars would have sounded probably more uneven. Thank you for sharing your last year Christmas card, a wonderful idea.

                        ErnieAd What an impressive 1st post in this forum. You played a really wonderful piece. Honestly, the title "Oh Holy night" made me think about another Christmas song. A classic German one with the same title, if you translate it word-wise. Some passages reminded me of the German one, but all in all I would not have recognized it without the title. Maybe it is your interpretation and many fills, I don't know. But it is way, way more complex sounding than the classic German one I know from my childhood. I also enjoyed the follow-up pieces in your channel. Especially Silent Night was a dream to listen to. Absolutely high recognition factor of what my parents told me to be queen of all Christmas songs. I really adore, how you beefed it up with some fills.
                        Something else? Welcome, Ernie - welcome to PianoTell.

                        keff Oh - that's a nice jazzy version of a classic Christmas carol. I have the feeling that jazzing something up makes it harder to play, is it?

                        HeartKeys I absolutely adore, how you mix different pieces. The beginning was something very well known classic one. Satie or Debussy? Well, those two were friends and so their music style isn't that different, and I didn't have to search long. Arabesque No. 1. 🤗 The fact you play by ear allows you to mix that nicely, I can't tell how envy I am about your talent. This is so much more valuable than the ability to read sheet music. Very well played, good ending - color me impressed!

                        Rob Does anyone remember the Swingle Singers?

                        Not me - still I liked, what I heard 🥰

                        rach3master You rise the bar very high in this recital. You have an amazing speed and coordination - loved your trills. Everything was just played so very well, with so much of dynamics, so much verve and expression. I bow deep in respect - thank you for sharing.
                        PS: I always thought this piece is work from Johann Strauss Sohn. (Sorry - recognizing classical music is a lot of guess work for me.)

                                      WieWaldi
                                      Thanks for the kind words. The jazz version was harder than my arrangement I played at the start of Christmas Medley near the top of the thread but I do not think that 'jazzing something up' necessarily makes a piece harder. It could be easier because the tempo is reduced and wrong notes hidden in some of the harmonies. I tend to take the attitude that all music is hard to play and all instruments hard to learn.

                                        I don't have anything in my repertoire that would be suitable for this thread, but one day I'd like to be able to play this song, which is from a film that often gets shown during the festive season:

                                        [

                                        Which prompts the question @Sam - have you ever played this? I suspect I'm not the first to ask you to play it, @Sam! 😀

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

                                          Almost missed this thread - here is a new one I recorded a few days ago:

                                            Performer: WieWaldi, Bavaria (near Germany), almost 3 years of active practicing
                                            Piece: Let It Snow (with a touch of Blues) by Jule Styne/arr. C.Fuchs
                                            Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                                            Source of music: Sheet music linked in this YouTube Tutorial
                                            Instrument: Kawai CN-29 (Upright Piano sample)
                                            Recording method: Headphone-jack to PC (OBS-Studio)
                                            Additional info: I am a bit late to the party, but I started only after this thread was created by someone, who once said: "This recitals are killing me!". And I second this! I got the sheet music on 3rd of December and thought this should be feasible until Christmas. Big mistake! This arrangement was way above my level, so I decided to learn only the 1st half - the easier half. The 2nd half is something I will probably do next year, or the year after next year, or another year later.

                                              Sam Haha - cross post! Honestly, I missed you already. A recital without Sam? No way!
                                              Well played - this was a real jazzy arrangement. Loved the swing and verve you put into this lovely tune. The playing was very crisp, and you brought the piece to the point. Needless to say, this is one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs.
                                              Also loved the decoration of your music room and the video setup to capture everything!

                                                Oh, that was doubly delightful to listen to those two renditions of Let It Snow - clearly great players think alike, @Sam and @WieWaldi ! 😃 I enjoyed both versions very much.

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

                                                [

                                                Source of music: original
                                                Instrument: Kawai
                                                Recording method: Studio One
                                                Additional info: I posted this last Christmas on piano world but as I have only just joined pianotell seems like a good place to start. I wrote this years ago when I still had horses and chickens. As many of you from piano world probably know my house burned down three years ago a few days after Christmas so the song seemed worthy of revisting and recording.

                                                  Peyton This was a very pensive one, and so lovely played. Both versions of it. I didn't know what happened to your house 3 years ago and it does not sound good. I have the impression, you got over it and now everything is all right again. (I hope I am not wrong about it.) Your singing is on spot as in every piece you share, and I adore your videos as they are always so well rounded in terms of composing, lyrics, interpretation, singing, recording and production. Just beautiful.

                                                  Have a merry Christmas and welcome to PianoTell, Peyton!

                                                      Performer: thepianoplayer416
                                                      Piece: The Huron Carol. Original Huron text by Fr. Jean de Brebeuf (1642) based on an old French song. The English version was by JE Middleton (1899).
                                                      Comment Policy: General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement.

                                                      Source of music: arrangement from Sheet Music Plus
                                                      Instrument: Yamaha grand, P-125 & violin.
                                                      Recording method: Canon EOS M-200
                                                      Additional info: this is a hymn in church played around Christmas that originated in Canada. Specifically central Ontario where the Huron natives lived. In the 17th century France already colonized Quebec as "New France". Catholic missionaries were sent to places outside Quebec to convert the locals to Christianity.
                                                      A traditional hymn is repetitive with 3 or more verses. When you hear pieces like these performed on the radio, it is usually in an arrangement with different instruments playing solo than several verses sounding roughly the same. Here 3 instruments were used to keep the piece from sounding too repetitive.

                                                      The local church I attended this piece is in the hymn book but rarely sung. Every year the 2 pieces "O Come All Ye Faithful" & "Joy to the World" seems to be always on the list in the Christmas service.

                                                        Performer: Summer
                                                        Piece: Suite from the Polar Express
                                                        Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

                                                        Source of music: Musescore (Can be found here)
                                                        Additional info: I'm a day late, oh well. I love this song, and this arrangement is genuinely one of the hardest things I've played on piano. Merry Christmas everyone!