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Hi Bill!

Yes, I saw your comment on my YT music video and I appreciate your kind words. And, yes, that is my new-to-me Yamaha C7 and I love it! Of course, my meager playing doesn't do it justice!

I'm not sure if I like that camera angle or not... it's farther away from the piano, and my PA speaker. I'll try another angle next time.

I like the lyrics to my new song too... since most days are ordinary days, we might as well enjoy them... that way, we can really enjoy the extra-ordinary days!! Do I have an imagination or what! Sometimes I think my mind ain't right...

Take care

Rick

Thanks, Bill. Sure wish I could sing half as well as you.
Great lyrics with these old songs, huh?

Me here at last on the ground.. you in mid air...

Elssa,

As I watched you play, I thought to myself how amazingly skilled talented you are at the piano/keyboard. You play with such ease and grace and style. You are very, very accomplished. All I can do is sit back and enjoy watching and listening to you play and then fantasize that I could ever play as well as you!

Bill,

I admire you and wish I could play as well as you! You could easily be a professional entertainer… and, people would pay to come and hear you perform! I would!! Thanks for giving it to us for free here on the ABF!!!

Keep up the wonderful music!

Rick

Thanks, Rick. I always have some of that red dot syndrome when recording, but figure I'll give it a go anyway (just don't ask me to sing) It's amazing how you can sing and play piano so very well together. (Reminds me of Michael Feinstein). What is your favorite key to compose/play in? I favor C, Eb, and F. Do you mostly play by ear?

Hi Elssa,

My favorite key on the piano is F. I know the cord combinations and the scale well and it matches my singing voice well. Of course, C is familiar too. I'm learning to play in the flats and sharps.

And, yes, I do play mostly by ear, for better or worse. I can read some, but I'm lazy at it. I'd rather take the path of least resistance and try to play by ear.

My playing has lots of limitations, but it's fun a relaxing to try.

Take care,

Rick

HI Rick,

You sound like me, playing by chords mostly (once in a while I'll look at a lead sheet). I can sight read pretty well, too, but it's so much more fun figuring it all out without reading, just making up your own arrangement.. Whatever you're doing, sounds great!

One thing I like to practice is the Circle of 5ths in different keys. That seems to pop up in most songs in some form:
2-5-1, 1-6-2-5, 3-6-2-5-1, etc.

Nevermind, Andy. You won't need to give me a heads up if I'm looking for pieces to play because I started on this one already this week. Man, the left hand is just going the whole time! Thanks for sharing this month!




CMohr, I'm happy to hear that I helped spur you on to rediscover these waltzes! I printed out the sheet to No. 3 and hope to start on it sometime soon. I think it was DruzDruz that performed it for the piano bar not long ago, and that too is a really nice piece. I really need to discover the others as well!

I haven't posted in the bar for a few months but I've listened to all the songs and been entertained by all.

Here's one I put together during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina called "Color Me Gone".

Hope you enjoy.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=3818673

Studio Joe - I have missed your great singing and playing here in the bar. This is a terrific song and a professional sounding recording. I love the plaintive wail of the horn solo - fits perfectly.

Hello,
This is my first post and I appreciate your advices. I'm totally a beginner and I'm learning this sonata for almost 3 months now. I know I need to practice more, so please comment where I should focus and what to fix.

[video:youtube]qVLA25uwXMY[/video]

are you even using the pedal?

I like your playing! This was the first piece I ever learned many years ago and I know how it can grab you. After 3 months of work, a total beginner... you should feel pretty good about how well you are doing.

Yes, I use pedal. I press it (at least I try) right after I press left keys and release it just before I press left keys (change left accords). I found it somewhere in Internet, so I don't know if it is correct.

This is my very first piece as well (and only, so far). It is very rewarding sonata. Actually, I started to learn playing piano because of this song.
Thank you for listening.

SnowBarS, you should consider taking some lessons. There is lots to learn and things you will not get from the internet. You will be thankful later on. (I did the same thing as you. No lessons, Moonlight Sonata. But I did have a musician for a father who I could ask questions. All the same, had I taken lessons as a kid I would be so much further along now than I am.)

BTW, there are pedal indicates right there in the music but I think much comes down to listening carefully as well. You just start to feel where the pedal needs to be.

Came back from a holiday in the States and bought a new Canon PowerShot SX130 IS which features HD recording. So thought I'd record something to try it out. And yes, it's also my wonderful friend Crystal's birthday. Hope you enjoy this.

Philip - nice, easy, relaxed version of "This Guy..." .

JF

Philip - Very nice - this is great piano bar music. I can almost hear the ice clinking and low laughter from the young lovers sitting in the booth by the bar. Your new camera does a good job on both the audio and video.

Thank you for the nice comments!

Thank you for your advice. Right now my son and my wife are taking piano classes (we bought piano for them) and my daughter is in line, so I don't think we can handle another student (I'm like second class citizen -- I can play when they don't .
I'll try online lessons and learn fundamentals of music for now. I need to learn how to read music first.
It is difficult for me to pick-up exact pedal transitions just listening but I think conceptually I'm close -- I just need to work on better execution.