PianoTell Recital #3 Is Now Live!

iternabe · 15 Feb

Performer: iternabe from North Carolina, USA. I am about just over 1 year into learning piano.
Piece: Malagueña (Traditional Spanish folk dance theme, arranged by Faber)
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Faber Adult Piano Adventures All-in-One Book 2.
Instrument: Roland FP-30X + Pianoteq 8.3 Bösendorfer 280VC
Recording method: Audio: digital out of Pianoteq. Video: OBS Studio + Webcams
Additional info: I have been taking zoom lessons from @Seeker. One of the first things he taught me is to be aware of the of strong and weak beats inherent of the music, and making coordinated movement of wrist, finger and arm with that rhythmic throbbing. I practiced to incorporate these movements into this piece. The movements may even look a little exaggerated? The change in sound is undoubtedly emerging. This does not come natural to me, and it still takes a lot of practice. It will be at the forefront of my mind when learning new pieces.

Sophia · 15 Feb

Performer: Sophia + Special Guest Star @rsl12
Piece: Just a "Good Old Tune" by Willard A. Palmer
Comment Policy: Anything goes!

Source of music: Alfred Adult All-in-One Course Level 3 page 72
Instrument: Clavinova, Melodica
Recording method: DaVinci Resolve
Additional info: When I learned this piece with the adorable lyrics, it was just after @rsl12's recital of Modern Major-General and I realized immediately that it would be a perfect match. And here we are, performing together from across the continent!

Rrach3master · 15 Feb

Performer: rach3master, 25+ years
Piece: Call of Silence: Attack on Titan OST / Hiroyuki Sawano
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument: NY Steinway D
Recording method: Various Schoeps cardioid and omnidirectional mics
Additional info: This is an emotional track from the popular anime series Attack on Titan, arranged by the YouTuber Animenz. The arrangement reaches such an intensity that I discovered some annoying mechanical noises on a few keys that the tuner was unable to fix, and as such had to painstakingly remove them one at a time in post-production. Acoustic pianos are certainly high maintenance compared to the digital ones I used to record on!

Pplop_symphony · 15 Feb

Performer: Arnold Lau, Philippines, 2 years
Piece: A Hermit Crab Surfing by Akira Miyoshi
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Piano album A Diary of the Sea
Instrument: Yamaha P-71
Recording method: MIDI via Pianoteq
Additional info: Akira Miyoshi (1933-2013) is a Japanese classical composer. A Diary of the Sea was his second piano album for children, first published in 1982.

PPlayer1 · 15 Feb

Performer: Player1
Piece: Legend of Madrid by Nancy Faber
Comment Policy: Open to all comments

Source of music: Faber 3B Lesson book
Instrument: My Casio
Recording method: Samsung S9
Additional info: This is very raw. I haven't been able to play since December 2023 and wasn't able to polish this for this recital. There are a couple of bad performance errors and lots of pauses and hesitations in it that I normally would have been able to fix except I can't play right now.

MarieJ · 15 Feb

Performer: MarieJ from Brisbane Australia. Flying solo on my piano journey since December 2011
Piece: I Giorni by Ludovico Einaudi
Comment Policy: General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement.

Source of music: ‘Ludovico Einaudi - The Best Of’ sheet music album
Instrument: Kawai ES110 with Pianoteq 8 (Standard)
Recording method: WAV file recorded by Pianoteq, converted to MP3 with Audacity
Additional info: I first heard I Giorni on digital radio in December 2011, when I was a disheartened long-term serial starter, about to close the piano lid permanently. Before Einaudi played the final note I knew - AT LAST - that I’d found the type of music that I wanted to be able to play.

Decades later, I’m still in love with the composer, his music, and the piano.

This is still a work in progress, as usual, but it’s the longest piece I’ve ever recorded and my concentration was really stretched!

The video is a parade of the 11 pianos I have begged, borrowed, or bought since I first laid fingers on a shabby old player-piano way back in the 1950s.

Hhebele · 15 Feb

Performer: hebele. About one year of of self learning.
Piece: Minuet in G by Christian Petzold. Because it would be a shame if a recital is missing a beginner playing Minuet in G.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Random pdf found in the net with strange annotations. I've made it mine by adding more.
Instrument: Roland FP10 with Pianoteq.
Recording method: Pianoteq midi and crappy smartphone front camera. With horrible audio-video sync. Sorry!
Additional info: Lots of bad decisions made here. I've made it unnecessarily hard by trying to learn trills/mordents. Then changed the suggested fingering to play the trills easier. Did not follow a good practice discipline so it took way longer than it should. Now I hope I've passed this rite of passage even if with some scars.

Pathbreaker · 15 Feb

Performer: Pathbreaker
Piece: Op. 116 No. 6, Intermezzo in E major - Brahms
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: sheet music
Instrument: Yamaha N1X, VI Labs Modern D
Recording method: OBS Studio
Additional info:

Calavera · 15 Feb

Performer: Calavera from Belgium. Experience: about 10 years as a child and teenager, and about 6 years since my comeback as an adult.
Piece: Antipyretic by Hitoshi Sakimoto
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument: Yamaha P-125
Recording method: Garritan CFX
Additional info: Album: Final Fantasy Tactics Original Soundtrack. Arrangement by Sebastian Maurel (with some tweaks).
Here's another fun and brisk battle theme. As learning more demanding pieces tends to take me a million years these days due to my other commitments, I've begun to appreciate and treasure shorter gems even more than I used to. I'm quite fond of this theme's whimsical title too!

WieWaldi · 15 Feb

Performer: WieWaldi / Bavaria (near Germany), 3 years of active practicing
Piece: Frisco Blues by Christian Fuchs
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: sheet music
Instrument: Kawai CN-29 (Upright Piano sample)
Recording method: Headphone-jack to PC (OBS-Studio)
Additional info: I totally forgot about the recitals, until Navindra posted a wake-up call 20 days ago. Thank god, I have the Eight Easy Blues Pieces sheet music collection to get a beginner's title working. I added a 5th note to the bass line and, it worked out well.

Sam · 15 Feb

Performer: Sam from Georgia USA - playing about 16 years now.
Piece: Schumann op 15-6 - "An Important Event" from the Scenes from Childhood
Comment Policy: Polite and Supportive comments only - thanks!

Instrument: Yamaha C3
Additional info: One of my local piano groups had a challenge to play something from Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood" and this was my entry. It is under tempo and has a few mistakes, but that is nothing new for me! Schumann's metronome marking is insane - who can play that fast? Not me. Anyway, playing it too fast takes away from the mock seriousness of the whole thing. That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Yes, there are two grand pianos in my music room right now - I am helping a friend who had to move into assisted living and sell her car, house, and piano - very sad. So the extra piano is only temporary until it sells.

SSalmonJack · 15 Feb

Performer: SalmonJack from Hood River, OR, USA. Playing sporadically since 1973. Picking up the pace these days.
Piece: Just Mist by SalmonJack
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: My own composition.
Instrument: Kawai MP9000
Recording method: Kawai MP9000, Logic Pro, MacBook Air
Additional info: So that when the time came to post this, I kept notes on the progress of my composition so I could explain, maybe to myself only, how it evolved. Looking at those notes, dating clear back to November, I have no idea what they mean. This composition tells no story, has no background and is nothing more than something, hopefully pleasant, to listen to. Also, mysteriously, I played it much better a month ago when I wasn't recording. The more I played, the worse I played. I had to cut off the process before it sounded like Alice in Chains playing Mozart.

There are two videos for the same recording. This one is for anyone interested in following the music and its chords and structure. The other, is to look at pretty things while listening.

Rob · 15 Feb

Performer: Rob
Piece: 'Pembrokeshire Promise.' by Rob
Comment Policy: Anything goes

Source of music: ... Own Composition
Instrument: ... Kawai ES920 (as MIDI controller)
Recording method: ... Native instruments The Giant VST in Cubase
Additional info: This solo piano version, was originally recorded several years ago, as a mutitrack, using various internal piano and orchestral intrument sounds on my then new, kawai MP5, when I was feeling particularly homesick for my native Wales, UK. (The opening notes are a nod to the last line of the National anthem)

BBicBic · 15 Feb

Performer: BicBic in Utah
Piece: Mazurka Op.6 No.2 by Chopin
Comment Policy: Any and all!

Source of music: Sheet Music - Peters Edition
Instrument: Digital Yamaha P-140
Recording method: Line out to audacity, iphone video, combined in Lightworks (my latest video editing thing I'm trying)
Additional info: I find the Chopin mazurkas so fun! This is an early one. I believe there is a quote of some musical 'peer' of Chopin dismissing him as just a simple composer of Polish folk music, I googled but couldn't find it though. I like that the Mazurkas are fairly 'simple' in form and style, not necessarily to play though! This is the first Mazurka I've played since my piano restart just over a year ago, but there are a handful I played during my covid piano restart. I'd like to do a couple more this year too.

SSgisela · 15 Feb

Performer: sgisela, took lessons through high school, resumed playing in 2020.
Piece: Danza de los ñáñigos, Ernesto Lecuona
Comment Policy: General comments, polite comments only

Source of music: sheet music
Instrument: Estonia L210
Recording method: iPhone
Additional info: This is from Lecuona’s suite of Danzas afrocubanas. I worked on La comparsa previously. I debated whether to try working on this at all because there’s a section with a bunch of ninths in the LH, and my hands can’t play all ninths comfortably. I ended up breaking up the ones that were problems for me, and I think that worked out fine. Ñáñigos refers to members of a fraternal order in Cuba; its other name is Abakua. The order was founded in Cuba in the 1830s, with roots in West African religious traditions. While many of the rituals of the Abakua are private, they also participate in public events, most notably festivities on Three Kings’ Day/Epiphany. (Above is summarized from several online sources).

I don’t usually memorize pieces, but most of this one got memorized almost automatically. There are a few hiccups, particularly toward the end, but overall I’m reasonably happy with this.

Gooseberry · 15 Feb

Performer: Gooseberry from Poland. Experience: 3 ½ years
Piece: Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues
Comment Policy: General comments, polite, supportive suggestions for improvement

Source of music: composite arrangement from various sources + bits by ear
Instrument: Yamaha CLP 735
Recording method: iphone
Additional info: Learning to play this song was a sentimental journey.

bSharp · 15 Feb

Performer: bSharp - California - About 9 years now
Piece: Journey - Open Arms - Arranged by Dan Coates
Comment Policy: General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement.

Source of music: Sheet Music
Instrument: Yamaha C3X
Recording method: Pianoteq - Bösendorfer 280VC - Warm Preset
Additional info: I wasn't planning to submit this. I'm working on Shallow by Lady Gaga and was thinking I'd submit it, but didn't get a chance to record in time. However, it's near ready and I think I'll record it in the next couple of weeks so that I'm ready for the next recital well ahead of time.

I decided to try something different this time with the recording. I'm playing on a Yamaha C3X with a Yamaha Wireless MD-BT01 bluetooth midi adapter connected to Enspire. Pianoteq is running on an Ipad and is taking MIDI from the MD-BT01. The instrument pack used is Bösendorfer 280VC - Warm Preset. Does it sound like a Bösendorfer? Probably not - it sounds like Pianoteq

GGreta99 · 15 Feb

Performer: I’m Greta99 from Germany.
Piece: "Berceuse", Op. 23 No. 1 by Mel Bonis
Comment Policy: Anything goes.

Source of music: Music sheet
Instrument: Kawai CA-58
Recording method: Digital piano
Additional info: Mel Bonis (Mélanie Hélène Bonis) (1858 - 1937) was a prolific French composer. She composed over 300 pieces, including works for piano, organ, chamber music, mélodies, choral music, and orchestral works. “Berceuse” was composed in 1895 and dedicated to Mel Bonis' daughter Jeanne.

ShiroKuro · 15 Feb

Performer: ShiroKuro, Midwest, 25 years
Piece: Wind by Brian Crain
Comment Policy: Polite Comments only: no suggestions for improvement please.

Source of music: sheet music purchased from the composer
Instrument: Yamaha C2 grand piano
Recording method: iPhone, with table-stand
Additional info: I have been working on this piece for a while, but just this week, my teacher recommended that I change the ending, and I had only practiced the new ending for about two days when I made the recording, so I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. Also, I have this new stand for my iPhone, which is easy to use and gives you the "hand view" I was hoping for, but I would rather have a horizontal view on the video... Maybe I'll figure out how to do that next time.
Anyway, I hope you like it, and thanks for listening!

navindra · 15 Feb

Performer: Navindra Umanee in the USA. On and off piano lessons since September 2019.
Piece: Over The Rainbow by Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg arr. by Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes! Strong honest feedback helps me.

Source of music: Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course, Book 1
Instrument: Estonia Model L168
Recording method: The piano was tuned using the amazing Grand CyberHammer with the equally mind-blowing pianoscope app. Unfortunately, Seattle hit a cold spell, which impacted the humidity and my tuning a little. I used close miking with the Audix SCX25APS system mounted on the Mirizio Microphone Mount, feeding into a TASCAM Portacapture X8 portable recorder. iZotope RX 10 Standard was used to attenuate the sustain pedal thumps via De-plosive, the tracks were mixed with Audacity, and a touch of reverb was added with Logic Pro using Space Designer’s Piano Warmth preset. The video was created with various generations of Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras and Final Cut Pro.
Additional info: The original song itself is a relatively simple one, so I was surprised that I enjoyed learning the Alfred arrangement as much as I did. I realize the performance could have been better, but this was the best I could do in time for the recital. I snuck in a triplet in there for fun!