PianoTell Recital #4 is Now Live!

rogerch

rsl12 rogerch Good job playing through the unexpected harmonic turns. They ended up resolving nicely.

Thanks @rs12! Some of those harmonic turns were unexpected even for me. It's part of the experience and makes it fun!

rogerch

WieWaldi rogerch Forest 1 by rogerch

This one somehow similar like "Relaxed" and also very different. It seems as both had been composed for a record and the record follows a musical direction. Just like the great bands in the late 70ties and 80 did. It's hard to believe you playing all those melodies just our of your fingers without specific preparation.

Thanks @WieWaldi ! Those two improvisations were recorded about 15 minutes apart in the same session and a lot of my playing was similar. The other 2 Forest improvisations are even more similar to Forest 1. It was fun to play a series like that but I do need to keep trying different things!

rsl12

rogerch It was fun to play a series like that but I do need to keep trying different things!

If I may suggest an exercise: you have a tendency to play a note on the 4 or the & of 4 and then repeat it. It sounds fine, but if you want to give your playing more variety, try (as an exercise) resisting the urge of playing the same note and just hold it instead, until you are ready to move to another note. (Not that you have to do this all the time in actual performance, but it will help you get used to the possibility. ) You could also expand this exercise for all repeated notes: try not repeating any notes in the RH, and just hold for whatever duration you desire.

rogerch

Nightowl rogerch Forest 1 by rogerch
You have a real flair for improvisation, this piece was very relaxing to listen to and was evocative of a stream meandering gently through a wooded glade on a summer day. Nice work.

Thanks @Nightowl ! Somehow that music made me think of a forest and I'm glad you agree!

rogerch

AlbertAndreu rogerch Very moving, I really liked it. Congratulations.

Thanks for the nice feedback @AlbertAndreu !

rogerch

ShiroKuro rogerch that was beautiful! And your playing and your instrument both sound fantastic! Really lovely, thank you for sharing this music.

Thanks for the kind words @ShiroKuro !

rogerch

hebele rogerch Forest 1 by rogerch
I like how this one flows. As usual this is a source of inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks @hebele , I'm glad you like it!

rogerch

Sophia rogerch Lovely! This is such a far cry from your first improvisations, which is solid proof that practice pays off - you are developing your own "footprint" in music. In the past you would test the waters with clashing sounds (never ugly! but certainly daring), but now everything flows so smoothly all the time. You called this piece "Forest", but it's not a rough, scary, wild jungle now. I asked AI to imagine what I see inside my mind:

Thanks @Sophia ! I still play clashing sounds all the time, I just don't share them very often. If I manage to record one that I like the sound of I may try another one on you all some day 😀

Thanks for the lovely animals in the forest image!

rogerch

Gooseberry rogerch To me, your lovely and magical Forest 1 is a perfect illustration for the Japanese word "komorebi".

Thanks @Gooseberry ! I really like the idea of "komorebi". I'll keep that in mind as a title to use if I play another improvisation that seems to fit.

rogerch

TLH21 rogerch Forest 1 by rogerch

I very much like where this went. A very enjoyable journey.

Thanks @TLH21 ! I'm glad you like it!

rogerch

Rob rogerch Another masterclass in improvisation!
I had a strong sense of movement in that piece, visualising a camera moving gracefully through a forest, with random close ups of swaying branches and leaves fluttering in the breeze. Bravo!

Thanks @Rob ! I like the visualization, thank you for that!

Sgisela

Thanks @navindra for putting this together, and thanks to those who’ve listened and/or commented on my submission!

keff As Time Goes By by Herman Hupfield - I had not heard that story about Max Steiner disliking the song. I’ve always found it to be a great song, and it certainly has become iconic. You did a great job with a tricky arrangement. Thanks for sharing!

Schubertian2 Sonata Opus 109 by Beethoven Nicely played! I know you were forced not to use the pedal, but I think that it often works really well in classical era music to minimize the pedal usage. I hope the recoveries continue well and that you’re able to continue playing.

Sam Les Niais de Sologne by Jean-Philippe Rameau
I knew you had a harpsichord but didn’t know about the organ. I really enjoyed the combination of all 3 keyboard instruments, and this was a great piece to highlight each of them and bring them together!

WieWaldi Boogie Blues by Christian Fuchs
This Was definitely groovy! You’re making great progress and it looks like you’re also having fun!

Peyton Love No More by Peyton
I’m glad you chose to revisit this song! It’s quite catchy, and you did a great job with using technology to ‘bring back the band’!

hebele Old French Song by Tchaikovsky
Very nicely played. You got a lovely legato sound, and reducing the use of the pedal also allowed you to get a nice contrast between L and RH textures at 35-45s in the piece. Thanks for sharing!

Sophia Country Song by Willard A. Palmer Great job! I have to say, I’m not quite sure I understand what a ‘characteristic country sound’ is! You always do an excellent job of keeping a very steady pulse. I guess my one comment (more for moving forward… unless you absolutely adore this piece, I would move on), is that I think I’d try to play the LH more softly, so it’s a bit more in the background. I think it would let the RH sing more. Congratulations on completing the Alfred books!

MarieJ The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter I was surprised when it ended, but shouldn’t have been (given your description)! You played this little gem beautifully! And I’m always impressed with your technological experimentations!

Sophia

Sgisela I’m not quite sure I understand what a ‘characteristic country sound’ is

Haha that makes two of us! When I think of country sounds, I think more

(Yes, I know he was actually a trained opera singer) 😃

Thanks for the pointers on improvements, I agree with everything you said! This was a bit of a stretch piece for me, or at least it maxed out my abilities for now, so you can definitely hear the struggle at times 🙂

Javier

Rob Hello Rob, your composition is beautiful and peacful. Well Done!

TLH21

iternabe Coffee House Boogie by Faber
Very nicely played. That is impressive progress for only being in your second year of playing.

Player1 Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John arr. by N. Faber
Thanks for sharing. Sight reading practice is important and you deserve a pat on the back for submitting a piece you are still working on.

Nightowl Yesterday by Lennon and McCartney
Very nice - good flow, and very soulful.

BicBic Etude No. 8 by Philip Glass
I loved this piece, and you played it well. There may be a little sound distortion in some of the louder sections - worth checking your recording settings?

BicBic

TLH21 Hmm, thank you. I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to that side of things - it's a line out to audacity on my laptop. Perhaps it's something in the way i normalize it after? I'll try to look out for it in future!

rogerch

rsl12 rogerch It was fun to play a series like that but I do need to keep trying different things!

If I may suggest an exercise: you have a tendency to play a note on the 4 or the & of 4 and then repeat it. It sounds fine, but if you want to give your playing more variety, try (as an exercise) resisting the urge of playing the same note and just hold it instead, until you are ready to move to another note. (Not that you have to do this all the time in actual performance, but it will help you get used to the possibility. ) You could also expand this exercise for all repeated notes: try not repeating any notes in the RH, and just hold for whatever duration you desire.

Thanks for the great suggestion! I will try this!

Nightowl

Here are my final comments (I hope I haven't missed anybody).

Sgisela cherzo, Opus 6 No. 3, from Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ Fantasy Pieces
You played this complicated piece very proficiently, great job!
ShiroKuro Pachelbel's Canon, arranged by Brian Crain
There is an arrangement of this piece in Alfred's book 2 but it's not nearly as nice as this one. You played this piece perfectly, your experience shows.
rach3master Valse-Fantasie by Glinka/Gryaznov
Wow, that was impressive playing! I'll be honest, pieces like this involving masses of notes played at speed are not my thing - I actually feel a bit stressed at the business of this type of music, but I admire your piano skills.
navindra Amazing Grace by John Newton, J. Carrell & D. Clayton
This was a very fitting final piece to round off the recital. You played the piece very well and it makes a fine tribute to your uncle, I'm sure he would be proud to hear your performance.
Thanks for all the work you do to keep this forum running smoothly.

ShiroKuro

Nightowl thank you for listening and for your kind words!

navindra

Peyton Thanks a lot Peyton!

ShiroKuro Thanks so much!

Sophia It also seems you accomplished your mission: finish the Alfred book. I believe this is one of the last pieces, so congrats on your progress!

Thank you! Maybe we have different Alfred book series? I still have too many pages left in mine and I'm unfortunately still stuck in the past so I haven't made much progress forward.

I bought the second book already though.

rogerch Thanks, Roger!

WieWaldi Thank you, I appreciate that!

Nightowl Thank you!

Nightowl

Javier Thanks, in a way that's the best kind of compliment. 🙂

@TLH21 @hebele @rogerch @AlbertAndreu Thanks for your kind words.

@rsl12 Thanks very much for the nice comments. There is an instruction in the arrangement to play the piece "Moderately, with expression", but I also had the advantage that this song was played on the radio a lot when I was a child, so it's indelibly printed on my memory.

WieWaldi

Sgisela Scherzo, Opus 6 No. 3, from Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ Fantasy Pieces

This piece seems quite challenging to me, and it holds some very complex harmonies. Myself, never ever be able to play that advanced stuff, I bow myself in deep respect for playing this. Even if this is just a work in progress, it shows your skills are quite impressive.

BicBic

ShiroKuro I listened to an album of the Etudes to decide which one to try! So yes, I did have an idea of how it should sound, or at least how someone else thought it should sound! I don’t think I listened again since starting to learn the piece though

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