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Classical vs Classic Rock. Some Pop songs ended up in performance with a symphony orchestra…

3 years ago got a Yamaha P-125 brand new out of the box. There was a tape to hold the volume slider in place. The slider was exactly in the middle (neither high or low). After fixing the keyboard to a stand, the volume stayed at 50% for over a year. It’s in a small square room but reasonably spacious. Didn’t feel the volume needed to move until recently when I started using external speakers. Tried various loudness for recording purposes.

I do use practice pianos (upright & grand) at the conservatory. I rarely perform on a digital instrument. When doing solo not very conscious of the exact dB loud & soft need to be as long as the difference is noticeable. The only time more precise volume matter is when playing with other musicians in a duet or ensemble when you need a good sound balance.

Never feel the need to match the playing volume of a digital to an acoustic since I don’t have a piano at home. The pianos I play will be in different rooms some larger, some smaller (classroom or practice studio).

Hearing loss is a concern. This is why I rarely practice with headphones except when using a travel keyboard out of town which is a midi controller. Hearing loss is more likely with sound going directly into the ears using headphones. Not many talked about the foam plugs you put in your ears when traveling on a plane for ears protection.

Why would it be necessary to increase the volume to avoid difficulties transitioning to an acoustic? That makes little sense to me. And what does "increase the volume" even mean, i.e. increase it to what level? I think it makes sense when not using headphones to set the level so it's close to what an acoustic would sound like.

I have heard about musicians suffering hearing damage, but always thought that’s more commonly happening to those playing in an orchestra. I suppose brass instrument like trumpet can also produce very loud high pitch just by itself, too. But can pianist hurt their hearing practicing on concert grand, even in home setting? I have no experience listening to acoustic piano up close, so I am really curious to know.

I raised this question a week ago in my thread about dynamics. So far, my approach to using my digital piano (Roland FP-30X) is to set the volume as high as it is safe to my hearing.

What is safe volume can be ambiguous unless scientifically defined and measured. For sound projected from speakers, I can use a SPL meter. In the audiophile world, THX reference level is 85dB (with 20dB of headroom). That’s what you hear in the movie theaters. But if you do that at home in smaller room, it’s REALLY loud, to the extent that you probably can’t bear it after 30 minutes. So home theaters are commonly calibrated at 75dB, which is still loud but comfortable through a long movie. Now, my Roland FP-30X can sound nowhere near that loud even set at maximum volume. I haven’t bothered measure it but it sounds at least 10dB below 75.

Most of the time I wear headphones when practicing. Gauging the headphone volume is tricky without special equipment. My general rule of thumb is that when playing forte I should still be able to hear my little Seiko metronome. This mirrors the saying in audio world that if you can’t hear yourself talking, or hear your finger tapping on a wooden table, than your headphone is too loud and may impair your hearing. With this guideline, what volume to set on the digital piano, or computer if you use VST, depends on both the piano/computer’s circuitry as well the spec of headphone. I have two open-back headphones, the HD-497 has impedance of 36 Ohm, the HD-598 60 Ohm. Connected to the Roland directly, neither sounded too loud when volume is set to maximum. However, when MIDI is routed to the PC and sound is produced by Pianoteq, I need to attenuate the output level by -6 to -9 dB in Pianoteq.

Another cool trick to gauge headphone volume is to use an Apple AirPod Pro. iPhone has a feature to display safe volume level of the AirPod Pro, and you can play with volume adjustment and watch a visual display to see when it gets from safe level to unsafe level. Do it with a piano solo track, and then immediately switch to your digital piano headphone to reproduce a matching level - this should in theory work pretty well.

ABF Quarterly Recital #74 will open for submissions May 1 2024 at 6AM US Eastern time - I will post a call for submissions in this forum at that time.
It will go "live" May15 2024 at 6AM US Eastern time. So you will have 2 weeks to get your performance submitted.

There are just a few rules for the ABF Quarterly recitals.
- piano related - there should be a piano or keyboard in there somewhere!
- it is you playing!
- one submission per performer
- any level, any style, any genre
- you must have an mp3 recording of your performance to upload. Videos are optional, but very popular, and must be hosted somewhere else.

Questions? Just ask!

Sam

slipperykeys, here are my other comments in this thread. Obviously I don’t agree with Argerich at all.

There was a problem with one of the recordings, which I had to figure out and fix, but everything should be fine now - go listen!

Sam

This is taking place in the Themed Recital subforum - go listen!

Ragtime Themed recital
Ragtime Themed Recital discussion Thread

Sam

Exaggerate even more and play LH without making a sound, first hands separately, then hands together.

That's all folks!

Sam

32
Performer's name:	Playagain
From:	United States
Experience:	I started taking lessons again last October. I've taken lessons as a child and as an adult, but I hadn't played much in the last 5 years or so.
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	The Easy Winners
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	02:58
Source of music:	Sheet music
Instrument used:	Yamaha T-118 upright
Recording method:	Cell phone recording
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	Love this piece. I'm sorry I didn't get a good recording doing the repeats, so this one is without the repeats.

31
Performer's name:	Sam S
From:	Georgia, USA
Direct music link:	click to download
Video link:	https://youtu.be/wyU6JCoVY9s
Title of piece:	Elite Syncopations
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	05:17
Instrument used:	Yamaha C3
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	I struggled with this one - here it is - warts and all! If you came to my house today, this is what you would hear, so it is at least an accurate representation of the best I can do right now with this piece. Ragtime is hard!

30
Performer's name:	wr
From:	New Mexico
Experience:	65*
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Last Rag
Composer:	William Bolcom
Duration:	05:12
Source of music:	Sheet music
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	Needs more polishing, but I've run out of time, so here it is, ready or not.

29
Performer's name:	wr
From:	New Mexico
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Tangled Rag
Composer:	James Tenney
Duration:	05:49
Source of music:	Sheet Music
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	I think the "tangled" in the title refers to bits of the piece where things get kind of messed up on purpose. Then there are the places where I messed up inadvertently. Sometimes both things happen at the same time....

28
Performer's name:	AudreyJean
From:	Michigan
Experience:	Off and on as an adult a few years as a kud
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Nonpareil
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	02:55
Source of music:	Sheet music
Instrument used:	Yamaha avant- grand
Recording method:	iPhone
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	Sorry it’s so slow couldn’t make my wrists bend faster for the b and c sections

27
Performer's name:	jotur
From:	Santa Fe, NM
Experience:	3 years as an early teen, 35 years off, 23 years on, 5 years really intermittent and here we are
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	St. Louis Tickle
Composer:	Theron C. Bennett
Duration:	03:37
Source of music:	Library of Ragtime and Early Blues Piano, Amsco Publications
Instrument used:	Casio Privia PX-160
Recording method:	Audacity
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	This is it, kids - I'm out of time. This is only about 1/2 the piece, and very slow and sloppy. But - it did get me back on the piano bench, which was part of the idea. But it also showed me for sure what I already knew - I really don't have the attention span or want to spend the time away from other activities to do this regularly So, it has potential, and I'll probably keep working on it, and the rest of it, because I like the piece, but I'm really glad to be not under a deadline and back to playing just for the fun of it. And I'm glad I'll have to time to hike and read and, gasp, do my laundry So thanks for the push to be playing again, and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's ragtime

26
Performer's name:	Whizbang
Experience:	Decades
Direct music link:	click to download
Home page link:	https://www.youtube.com/user/Aeschala
Title of piece:	Magnetic Rag
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	06:08
Source of music:	Sheet
Instrument used:	Fandrich Piano Company U-122
Recording method:	Zoom H6
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	This is the last Joplin rag published within his lifetime. Like all of Joplin's later rags, it pushes the limits of the form. While the trademark syncopation and boom-chuck bass is present, Joplin varies the traditional AABBACC[DD] form and the progression of key signatures from section to section is far from typical. To my ears it sounds very symphonic.

25
Performer's name:	Tim Adrianson
From:	Madison, WI
Experience:	70+ years
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Old Adam
Composer:	William Bolcom
Duration:	03:14
Source of music:	Sheet Music -- Edward Marks/Hal Leonard
Instrument used:	KAwai 5.5' baby grand
Recording method:	TASCAM 40 320 Mb
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	Old Adam is the 1st in a set of 4 rags for piano which Bolcom entitled "Garden of Eden". He wrote these in 1964 -- long before the rag craze took hold in tghe early 70s as a result of the movie "Sting". Along with his colleague William Albright, he was instrumental in introducing rag as a genre, and over the 60s and 70s wrote quite a number of very sophisticated rags, notable for their wit and grace -- and OK, their difficulty too!

24
Performer's name:	SalmonJack
From:	Hood River, OR
Avatar:
Experience:	Sporadically over fifty-two years. Picking up the pace these days.
Direct music link:	click to download
Video link:	https://youtu.be/qPCvavhEcjM
Home page link:	http://salmonjack.com/music
Title of piece:	Weeping Willow
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	04:50
Source of music:	Sheet music
Instrument used:	Kawai MP9000
Recording method:	Kawai MP9000, Logic Pro, MacBook Air
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	This is my third time learning this rag. The first mention of it in my journals was in 1987. I didn't play piano for nine years (bad boy!) but when I started again in 2001 Weeping Willow was about fourth on the list. I set it free from my fingers over the last few years, so this was a good opportunity to revive it.

23
Performer's name:	rogerch
From:	California
Experience:	50 years
Direct music link:	click to download
Video link:	https://youtu.be/E7MNEXVFUqI
Title of piece:	Solace
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	05:31
Source of music:	sheet music
Instrument used:	Steinway
Recording method:	Zoom H4n Pro
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	I first learned the third and fourth sections of this piece from an arrangement from the Sting soundtrack when I was a teenager. The notes were all Joplin's but the first two sections were left out. I finally learned the first two sections during COVID lockdown but didn't get them to performance level. For this recital I worked out some technical issues with the first two sections and then worked to put it all together into a (hopefully) coherent whole.

22
Performer's name:	rogerch
From:	California
Experience:	50 years
Direct music link:	click to download
Video link:	https://youtu.be/taZFoSYB7XQ
Title of piece:	Pine Apple Rag
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	03:46
Source of music:	sheet music
Instrument used:	Steinway
Recording method:	Zoom H4n Pro
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	Pine Apple Rag is my favorite ragtime piece to play. I first learned it in the early 90s and it has been in and out of my repertoire ever since. Polishing this piece that I thought I knew so well has taken way more effort than I thought it would! It's still a work in progress...

21
Performer's name:	Tim Adrianson
From:	Madison, WI
Experience:	70+ years.
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Peacherine Rag
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	04:27
Source of music:	Sheet Music -- Chappell Ltd (London)
Instrument used:	Kawai, 5.5' Baby Grand
Recording method:	TASCAM 40 320 Mb
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	Peacherine Rag I consider to be one Joplin's standard rags, written and published fairly early in his career. Unlike The Cascades, which I put into overdrive, I decided to shoot for charm at a slower tempo (Joplin's directive is "not fast"). Enjoy!

20
Performer's name:	Tim Adrianson
From:	Madison, WI
Experience:	70+ years
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	The Cascades
Composer:	Scott Joplin
Duration:	03:08
Source of music:	Sheet Music -- Chappell (London)
Instrument used:	Kawai 5.5' Baby Grand
Recording method:	TASCAM 40 320 Mb
Comment Policy:	General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement
Additional info:	This is a recording I made 10 years or so ago, for another PW themed recital which took place in the Pianist Corner's forum. Prior to this more systematic format, a group of us used to conduct occasional e-citals with a theme, and "ragtime" was one of those themes. Man, I took that at a clip then -- would never be able to do it now! The recording is too closely miked, and somewhat harsh as a result -- please keep that in mind in judging this effort.

19
Performer's name:	Tim Adrianson
From:	Madison, WI
Experience:	70+ years
Direct music link:	click to download
Title of piece:	Ragtime
Composer:	Stephen Flaherty
Duration:	03:38
Source of music:	Sheet Music -- Warner Brothers
Instrument used:	Kawai 5.5' Baby Grand
Recording method:	TASCAM 40 320 Mb
Comment Policy:	Critical Comments: Anything goes!
Additional info:	"Ragtime" is the opening number for the Musical of the same name -- which in turn was based on the historical fiction book of the same name by E L Doctorow. Flaherty won the 1998 Tony award for best musical score, and IMO this is indeed one of the finest scores to come out of Broadway -- to be reckoned with Sondheim, Rodgers, Webber, et al in significance. Hope you enjoy it!