Ooh this performance is gorgeous.... do you think I need to start a new thread for all of this??
Interesting, some of the recordings on YT are under a minute! That must be very fast! OTOH, the Pianist Magazine version is about 1:44 and so is the video I linked here (could it be the same pianist?)
Anyway, I'll aim for 2 minutes. (she says, foolishly, given that she's not even tried the piece out....)
ShiroKuro in the score in the video, it shows the tempo, Andantes as MM=76, while in the Pianist Magazine score, it still says Andante, but the tempo is set at MM=52.
Yes, I've noticed that too. The score in the video is the one from Shirmer's LIbrary (dated in 1884, so maybe it was marked that way originally by the composer?). The Pianist Magazine put it in the Beginner/Intermediate section, and maybe that's why they changed the tempo?
ShiroKuro Anyway, I'll aim for 2 minutes. (she says, foolishly, given that she's not even tried the piece out....)
I really don't think you're going to have a problem with the tempo! I can play it now at MM=52, but can't keep the sextuplets even throughout...
I'm so excited that you're going to learn this piece! Looking forward to hearing you play it! (Now we've hijacked this thread for good )
Gooseberry (Now we've hijacked this thread for good )
I'll report back later tonight (I'm actually in my office right now, in theory finishing up something, but half the time I'm online ... like right now...
Yay, after only a few days I can play the first 4 measures of the new piece. I'm super slow but it's not just picking notes, the melody is clearly audible.
Only 44 more measures to go. (Of which I already can play 2 but very poorly at this point.)
I mostly work on blues, so I learn various LH patterns, RH licks, etc., and work on improvising. However, I do learn specific songs as well: some I think of as etudes to build technique, others to play (and sometimes sing along with) for real.
Right now, my etude is "Blue Waltz" from The Joy of Boogie and Blues. Here's a nice version by Julian Lambert - to be clear, this is NOT me playing!
And then I'm working up my own arrangement of Floyd Rose's "On the Road Again" that I hope to play with my spouse (drummer) and a buddy (guitar). Here's the original, with some really tasty piano, and amazing vocals I only hope to approximate:
The ABF Fast Pieces Recital is looming, and playing fast is not a strength for me.
I've been working on the second movement of Beethoven's Sonata #13 (Op. 27 #1). I first learned it several years ago but I never got it up to performance level. Now with just a few weeks to go I'm not sure I can have it ready in time. Actually I'm not sure if I'll EVER be able to play this piece well enough to share! I haven't given up yet though.
As a backup I've been working on Heartsounds by David Lanz. I've played this one before as well. While Heartsounds is much easier than the Beethoven it has a couple of tricky spots. I think I can have it ready in time.
As a backup to the backup, I've been pushing the tempo on my improvisations. I may end up submitting a somewhat fast improvisation.
I'm still picking away at some RCM prep B stuff; currently "Carillon" and "Leaping the Waves with Dolphins". My teacher also has me doing some Dozen a Day exercises and mixes in some bits from Alfred's Basic Adult Piano. Some of the local teachers get student's together a couple times a year for a recital. I was working on a simple duet arrangement of Ode to Joy by Timothy Brown for the next recital, coming up soon, but it turned out that my partner will be unable to attend. I'll be doing the Carillon piece instead. It's a bit daunting to have so many of the young student's playing so much better live, but at least I'm not the only adult beginner there.
edit: Almost forgot another piece, an arrangement of Piano Man, but I'm struggling with the rhythm in it.
I'd probably learn faster with private instruction, but I love being in the company of other piano players and the ensemble work is fun. The class size is small enough that there is ample time for the instructor to address questions or difficulties that any of the students may have. I have to admit that I'm looking forward to the end of the semester in a few days when I can get back to working on my own stuff.
I am working on Sonatina in G by Muzio Clementi - also known as "Groovy Kind of Love" . I am just finishing up Page 3 of 4 and have been working on this since the end of January. I feel like I am never going to complete it!
Also working on an intermediate version of Sound of Silence. At least that one is a little easier for me!
TC3 I don't get too nervous in the class because we mostly play all at the same time. I'm pretty dedicated to practicing what the teacher has assigned and am relatively well prepared to play on the rare occasions that the teacher asks for a volunteer to play something. If no one else comes forward, I'll volunteer.
I'm also in a Meetup group of Portland (Oregon) Piano Players. I'm one of the least accomplished players there and I try to play first or at least early on in the meetings.
I'm working on the first piece in this video, called Music Box. I'm a sucker for pieces that use the far upper register of the piano.
I'm also working on a couple of other late-beginner/early-intermediate pieces that I can't find good recordings of: "Toccata-Rocket" by Jason Sifford and "A Lincoln Tribute" by Carol Matz. The latter is part of a suite of Washington, DC-themed piano pieces published by Alfred, and it turns out they have an intermediate-difficulty piano suite for every single U.S. state plus a number of other locations inside and outside the U.S.
Finally, I'm working on Kabalevesky's Etude in A minor, op. 27, no. 3. The version in ABRSM indicates the tempo at 100 to the quarter note, which is a bit ridiculously fast for me right now, but I'm working towards getting it to a satisfying level.
My teacher also wants me to work on Debussy soon. I'm a bit skeptical because the easiest Debussy piece I know, Page d'album, is still like way above anything I've ever worked on. Guess we'll see.
I have been rather distracted away from piano practice since the weekend but seem to have got some mojo back today. This morning rehearsed a piano duet with a friend who was seeking more experience with duets. We hope to perform it at our piano group on Saturday. It is by Ernest Markham-Lee and called the Lost Lagoon depicting what he calls a sheet of water in Stanley Park Vancouver. Does anyone know Stanley Park?
lilypad I'd probably learn faster with private instruction
You played jurassic park in one of the 'pw' recitals, right? I had never heard the jurassic park music before that, and the way it sounds ... progresses ... the 'chord' sounds/sequence combined with the piano timbre is very very powerful indeed. As in totally captivating. Every once in a while, I run through those sequences. It is amazing.
Update : just checked in google (lilypad jurassic park abf recitals. Thanking goodness my memory hasn't failed me hehe. Yes indeed ... that was you!
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