Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital #5 General Discussion Room

Thank you to all the participants for another terrific recital.

We have lots of good words about the recital, it's time for some statistics and a map.

Here are some statistics for Recital #5
(and the numbers from #4 are in parenthesis)

Number of Players: 45 (40)
Males: 21 (20)
Female: 12 (11)
Gender Unknown: 12 (9)
Oldest: 67 (60)
Youngest: 14 (19)
Average Age: 43.4 (41.5)
Unknown ages: 21 (14)
Total experience: 259.4 years (229.9)
Average experience: 5.8 years (5.7)
Number of Digital instruments: 21 (24)
Number of Acoustical instruments: 23 (16)
Most popular digital brand: Yamaha 12 (10)
Most popular acoustical brand: Yamaha 4 (3)
Shortest: 1 minute 03 seconds (0:43)
Longest: 9 minutes 25 seconds (6:11)
Total Length: 2 hours 30 minutes 42 seconds (2:06:29)
Average Length: 3 minutes 21 seconds (3:10)

With the growing number of participants the detective staff has been very busy. Some of these numbers are based on guesses but they are probably fairly close.

There are only 4 “unknown” locations – as always they go to to Hawaii.

Sandy, I think it has something to do with the capitalization in your file names. From what I can tell Gecko based browsers such as Firefox, Seamonkey, Mozilla, etc. don't like the capitalization. I was able to open it with Internet Exploder . . . er . . .Explorer when I tried. I would wager that all of us who couldn't open the file were using Gecko based browsers. Perhaps next time you could name the file in all lower case and see if that helps.

If the piece has words, I sing in my head. But you wouldn't want to hear it! LOL

Thank you Mel and Cozywriter for your suggestions. Recently I started playing the left hand with stacatto and the rythm is coming out better.

I also would like to thank all those that made comments on my playing. Thank you Piano again for your comments:

I did not quite understand your suggestion, could you please elaborate. Thank you.

To experiment I played another tango "El Choclo" an accordian with the right hand and double base with the left. It was different:

http://www.box.net/public/mm1cf4s3ef

Thanks again to all.

I was thinking maybe the rhythms were a little too exact for the tango style. By "stretch," I meant make the dotted note a little longer and the short note a little shorter and later. I've not played anything like this myself, at least on the piano, so I don't know if it will work. It's a subtle difference, but it might be worth experimenting with.

In your accordian recording (is this a real or "virtual" accordian?), I think some of the rhythms were off, such that there aren't the right number of beats in some of the measures.

Thank you Piano again. I played the accordian on my Yamaha CVP-307 keyboard which offers hundreds of voices including grand piano. I will try to improve the rythm.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the recital pieces, but I hope to do so, tomorrow.

However, I did want to thank all of you for your wonderfully kind and generous words of praise and encouragement.

One of the best things I've done is discover this forum and all of you.

Kathleen

I have only listened to a few and don't really have time to comment at the moment but wanted to say I was completely impressed w/ Mr. Super Hunky's recital submission! Nice work!!

Hi yall - finally I am up from the bed. Nose is still running a little bit but no more bleeding. Throat is almost clear. Head is not spinning. Ears are not popping/booming as bad as they were 4-5 days ago. I think I'll start putting in some practice minutes tomorrow

Now I go listen to your recital pieces. the Pianist Corner is a pretty.....uhhh..... ruff place.

LisztAddict,

I'm happy to hear that you are feeling better. Sounds as though you had a rough time with the flu.

The recital pieces will help lift your spirts, too.

(page 2 of 4 pages)

34. LisztAddict
I’ve been fortunate enough to hear a few of your recordings and comment on some of them as they were posted. You continue to elicit magnificent sensitivity and beauty from your piano. You make the difficult sound easy. This is a trait of an extremely versatile pianist. Thank you for sharing this warm and inviting Nocturne.

35. Mary-Rose
Your playing is beautiful and delicate, much as I picture you in my mind’s eye. It’s impossible to know that you spend only a few hours per week at your piano. You certainly have caught up quickly after thirty years away. This is a long piece to sound so effortless while you play. You evoke the sadness that this young genius must have been feeling when composing this work. Exquisite! Thank you.

36. Sarah M
This is fantastic! I have a lump in my throat while listening to this magnificent music. It’s true; we are our own worst critic. For you to find flaws in this performance is only because you are the performer. As a listener, I hear nothing but your masterful fingers playing this Impromptu with all the passion and technique one could expect. Thank you for sharing your immense talent and the beauty in your soul.

37. Ishmael
In your performance profile, you stated that you did not want feedback, but others have posted comments, so I will as well. This is a beautiful. Your right hand creates a dreamy quality to the overall piece. You play very well for the total time you’ve been studying. Thank you for sharing this lovely music.

38. Mary Alice Kropp (IrishMak)
This is certainly a change of pace, but your piece makes me thankful that we all have made it through tough times and now celebrate together. For me, you have taken a frown and turned it upside down with this song. I’ll be out for lunch one day, OK? Thank you for sharing your singing.

39. Bluemarine
Your touch and expression are quite graceful. Romantic passion fills the air with your eloquent dynamics. One take or one-hundred does not matter. Thank you for sharing this charming, poetic piece.

40. Schubertian
I once played this Nocturne. It’s filled with romantic longing and tenderness. It’s rightfully one of Chopin’s favorite pieces for many who admire his works. Thank you for the fond memories you’ve given me and for your expressive playing of this classic.

41. NancyM333
What a delight! This reminds me of the old black & white movies (before your time and some of them when I was a child) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Seems they always had a dance where the bobby-soxers did the boogie or other fad dances of that generation. Thanks for the fun.

42. Debussy20 (AKA: Matt)
This is all we need. Some little snot-nosed kid to practice a piece for a few minutes and rub it in to those of us who had to prepare for our whole life (it seems). I’m teasing, you know. Good job, Matt. You have acquired many piano skills in a short period.

43. C7 Player Greg Smith
Very entertaining, Greg. I’m glad you made it into the recital. Every time I hear this played, I’m reminded of the movie, “The Sting” with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Scott Joplin’s rags were the background music for the movie. You do an excellent job with the dynamics and the tricky syncopation of this piece. Thank you for this sudden burst of sunshine.

44. DragonPianoPlayer / Rich Meredith
I love to hear most anything by Andrew Lloyd Weber and this is one of my favorites. Despite the slight over modulation and your short time back to the piano, you set a reflective mood in your performance. Thank you.

45. AQP_87 (Álvaro Quiles Pomares)
You’ve really taken on a difficult piece here and made it sound so lyrical and delicate. I now understand why some teachers recommend Chopin Etudes for development over Hanon or scales. Very nicely done. Thank you for playing.

All of you - thanks so much for your kind remarks! All the comments about me sounding more "mature" than my 11 months of piano playing are very flattering. It's nice to know when I get frustrated about my pace of progress that you all are here to help :-)

I have been on the road for a couple of weeks (business travel is a beast) so I haven't had a chance to really sit down and listen to everyone's. But I am very much looking forward to it.

Thanks for the stats and the map Copper

Thanks for the nice comments. I learned of Einaudi's music just a few months ago as of Euan Morrisons info he posted and especially of Monica's and Kawaigirls performance of some of his pieces.

I am currently working on Le Onde and it is coming together very nice.

I have had no time to really sit down and listen to the recordings but did just play Kathleen's playing of Traumeri. Kathleen, you really played that with so much feeling and so well! You truely did it justice.

Also, Lisztener, a very moving performance of one of my favorite Liszt pieces.

Can't wait to hear it !

I've gotten to listen to a few more:

Lisztener: I love this piece, and you played it so beautifully. You have no hesitation on the keys, and each note had meaning. I hope to someday play it half as well as you have here.

Kathleen: I tried to play this a couple of years ago. After a couple of months with it, I said to my teacher in exasperation, "I just don't get this piece!" And instead of reassuring me, as I expected, she just sighed and said, "No, you don't." I had to laugh then at her honesty. But you know what, when you played it, I got it! I think I always played it too fast, but you make it so poignant and tender. To be honest, I wanted to avoid listening to this because of my own problematic struggle with Traumerei (Trauma, if you had asked me the meaning of it), but I listened out of my regard for you and am so glad I did. It's wonderful. Schumann suits you, so I think it's great that you branched out from Chopin.

JoeMoshi: I didn't know what to expect with your tango, but it was so cleanly played and fun to listen to. I am very impressed by your technique. Very nice work.

Peter: I'm glad you reminded me of the beautiful music of Scarlatti. You brought out the loveliness of his themes, and I wound up listening to it twice. Great job.

Ragnhild: Very nice. I find Baroque music so difficult, but you make it seem easy. You play it very smoothly.

Mel: Oh, my. I guess I forgot how talented you are after hearing you in the last recital. That was just unbelievable. When I read your notes, I thought, "I love to hear that something is not as hard as it sounds." After hearing it, it may not be as hard as it sounds, but it has got to be pretty darn difficult. Please don't leave us for the Pianist Forum--you'll make them all feel inadequate.

Sandy Moore--Beautiful work on a complex sounding piece. I didn't know what to expect, but I'm glad I listened to it. You brought a lot of feeling to it.

Househead78--I now understand your type; I'm on to you. Exceller in every area. World traveler, successful businessperson, and someone who just takes up piano and plays like that in a short time. I bet you were a starter on your high school sports team, too, and probably spoke at graduation. I know nothing of Enya (is it a she? Is she the one who wore that swan outfit to the Grammys one year?), but this is a beautiful piece and you do a great job with it. I can't imagine how you'd play if you weren't on the road so much, but I'd love to find out!

Euan Morrison--This was beautifully done. I think someone mentioned this piece in the last couple of months on some thread, so I was curious about it. You do a gorgeous job with it. You must really enjoy playing it.

StephenC--You've introduced me to another lovely work. I'm impressed at your fluency on the keys--no hesitations that I could hear, and you sound so sure of yourself when you play. I really enjoyed it.

Mike White--When someone has played by ear, they never lose that comfort with the keys I think. This was an awesome performance. Frankly, I'm not too crazy about this piece--maybe I've just heard it played poorly too often--but you play it with a lot of personality and poise. Your audiences must smile when they hear you play. This seems like a very difficult piece to play well, so I'm impressed you tackled it. Nice work.

That's it for the evening. I listened to more but will have to write later.

Nancy

I haven't listened to all and would like to give each several listens before commenting, but I'd like to mention two in particular:

AdagioM...........that was great! You've played the piece with even more feeling at my home a few weeks ago! I enjoyed that "recital".

Lisztener.........I love the piece you chose and the way you played with such sensitivity; maybe someday I can learn this piece.

You have all produced such wonderful results, and hope I can do so in the future. I too have been practicing with the red dot, but haven't had a piece even close to recording. I've also been using a different red dot........the one that my dog and cats like to chase around the house!

Thank you! It was much less threatening at your home than at mine, because of the red dot.

Speaking of the red dot, check out this video:

ninja piano

Uh oh, now you've done it! The cats are in sleep mode now so I'll have to try it in the morning. Can't let the dog see it; otherwise, I won't have any piano keys left!