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LOL thanks for listening to my acoustic piano in spite of your preference Maybe you can also try the simplified version first. Yes tempo is essential for these rags and the original is really hard with these crazy jumps with the left hand. And I was being creative with the dynamics, in my version there is not much dynamic indications but in fact I mostly ignored the ones that were there also


As a connaisseur you must know how this should sound, so I'm happy with your compliments



Thanks for listening honestly and for the compliments!


Thanks!



LOL thanks!



Thanks! IMHO the key to light feel is to avoid the pedal.



Thanks for listening the whole stretch and for bearing with my acoustic! Good to hear the first bar was good!



Thanks! Yes this is my Grotrian 189. The dynamics are mostly my design, as the score did not show anything in this respect except for the first page (and those I mostly ignored as well )

Wow, you guys made a lot of comments on my performance! I'm only halfway page 2 now! Many thanks again!





Thanks!



Thanks for the compliments, particularly about the first bar, we know it's important now



Good to hear!


Thanks!


Thank you!



Yes I made a remark about commenting on the first bar, and on telling if and where you got bored, and that ruffled a few feathers

The full 1902 version looks still pretty hard, I don't want to compromise on the speed and articulation... maybe one day...



Thanks! Glad that you can enjoy this Grotrian sound



Thanks! Yes it is nice to play though after a few hundred times of playing I'm happy to move on


Thanks Mohan!


Thanks!

>>>> Nice job. Your hard work has really paid dividends.

Thanks very much TX Dennis for your compliment on A Time for Love.


>>>> rubato, speed changes: I think the piece can use much more.

I agree Wouter. Knotty on the Join the JOI Jazz Joint thread suggested I play along to the original so that I could hear more clearly how Bill Evans used rubato.

Yes, a version by Marcel Manshanden, downloaded from the web. Thanks for the compliments!

My version has only dynamics on the first page. And yes, I mostly ignored those as well. Well let's say 'enhanced' them

Yes some accents were out of place, thanks for the remark, I have to work on that.

Thank you!



Ah another expert on the entertainer! You must be playing and speaking of the full version. Not too many octaves in my version. Good to know, I will have to watch for the octaves in the full version.



Thanks GlassLove! BTW you love Glass? Philip Morris Glass that is?


Thank you!



4 months, amazing! Took me a bit longer to get it down. Thanks for your detailed comments! Yes I kept the rythm because this is supposed to be march-like. Mmm lacking joy, any suggestions or more specific what is lacking?



Nice idea to bring in an image instead of text. Interesting, I never associated this piece with the Prohibition. BTW someone here wrote that Joplin wrote the piece in 1910 and Wiki says it's 1902 and that the Rag dance was popular up to 1911. The Prohibition was started in 1920?

Interesting read about Prohibition though. It seems it had just as much adverse affects as good ones!

LaValse,

This image come to my mind when I hear your piece

First of all, I want to thank you for having devoted five minutes of your life listening to my piece.

Second, special thanks to Jotur, Hawgdriver, CMohr, Andy Platt, Inlanding, Peyton, Mr_super-hunky, BillM, Undone, KeemaNan, Casinitaly, Edtek, Ladypayne, TX-Dennis, FarmGirl, Mohan Karthik, John Frank, MartinJB, ShiroKuro, Augustina, Jazzwee, Monica K., TTigg, GlassLove, Strings & Wood for your comments on my piece. I am very happy (and proud) of you have all enjoyed so much.

Third, thanks for PianoWorld; I'm very proud to be part of this community.

Generaly speaking: "Dynamics" was the feature I've noticed that many of you pointed out. In fact, it created a (healthy) discussion around here about what was "Dynamics". My wife says it's the "flow" of the melody, but I think it has more to do with interpretation. In Wikipedia says something like: "Dynamics do not indicate specific volume levels, but are meant to be played with reference to the ensemble as a whole."

I'll be honest: I do not know much about "Music theory", I just try to play what I feel.
To all of you, thank you.

Hi LaValse,

Nice that you posted a few samples with the same music being played, makes a really interesting comparison! I think it might be even good idea to start a new thread on that.

BTW nice playing. The important part for me is halfway where the middle treble sets in.

To me the two samples sound very much the same.

So that learns us that it is not the back wall causing the problem!

Looking forward to the recording without front panels.

Carlos,

Dynamics refer to volume level, or dB if you want to put it really technical. And yes in music it is about changes in the volume, not about absolute volume level.

Flow is about the tempo. With flow, there are no tempo hickups and the tempo changes smoothly. Think about dancing along with the piece: if there is flow you can plan your steps and land at the right time. If there is no flow the rythm is distorted and you have trouble making the right movements. But if it is too metronomic, you start feel like a robot and your movements get stiff.

My next batch:

31. Augustina - Somewhere Out There from an American Tail
I must admit, I smiled when I hear the page turns. Very nice rendition of the theme song from this Spielberg/Bluth animated classic.

33. LisztAddict - Prelude in b minor
Another fine performance from one who always presents such lovely pieces. The second section sounded particularly challenging (at least to someone of my ability).

34. Mohan Karthik - So far away
Only at this for eleven months and your already submitting your own compositions to a recital, way to go! You put a lot of heart and feeling into this piece, and I thought the ending in particular was very well done indeed.

35. ladypayne - Nearer My God to Thee
I can never hear this piece without thinking of the RMS Titanic. You did a fine job and I liked the way you put a lot of added emphasis into the second verse.

36. MaryBee - Sheep May Safely Graze
I liked this recording a lot MaryBee. You did a great job with the ornamentation and overall feel of the piece.

37. FarmGirl - A Christmas Overture
FarmGirl, based on the additional information you provided, I suppose I should simply say "congratulations on being rid of this piece and may you never have to endure such torture again", but I can't help but add that I really liked listening to it and thought you played it wonderfully.

38. Andy Platt - Mozart Sonata in C (K545) Movement 2 - Andante
I'm sorry, but I didn't catch the "very noticeable flubs", you'll have to try and make them even more noticable next time I enjoyed the mathematical precision of your playing very much.

39. Sideshow/Edwin - Prelude - BWV935
I hate it when the recital participants hate their submissions which I in turn love. Once again, I really enjoyed this piece and thought you did a great job on it.

40. GlassLove (Christine) - Song of India (arranged)
Very nicely played. I wasn't so sure about this piece in the very beginning, but the more it went on, the more I liked it.


Undone

Thanks wouter, this is a perfect explanation.

About your interpretation, and about my comment regarding with a "lack of joy": the diference between the humans and machines is the "emotion", and I think you can put a litle more emotion in your interpretation (btw: I don't know how...). It's nothing personal, it's just my opinion, and I still think that you did a very good job.

Wouter
My teacher worked with me on making that repeating note soft...the third finger does it best because of the hand muscle structure. Thank you for the specific comments. This has been much more rewarding than I had hoped...very fun.

Hawgdriver
LOL...actually the Buffs used to plan AF.

Wanted to hear a couple more pieces before I leave town (I'm presenting two papers at a conference). Need music before I go. :-)

#2 wouter79. Love this piece and especially your even, relaxed tempo with it. Encourage you to add more contrast between the sections. Nice job on that Grotrian.
#3 Peyton. Sorry about the loss of your friend. What a tribute this piece is though. Wistful and rich with feeling. When you move the right hand up an octave or so...I'd soften that left hand part even more to bring out the difference. Enjoyed it.
#4 dannylux. You have a nice touch on the keys and it creates a soft mood.
#5 sam smith. These are great pieces...thank you for sharing them. Especially liked your crescendo early on in the piece and the variety of moods evoked.

A few more...

48. Laura aka ten left thumbs - Moonlight Sonata, Op 27 no 2, 1st movement I think you did a great job with the dotted rhythm. And in bringing out the melody line. Dynamics were good too - the acc. was not overpowering. The arpeggio section was clear and clean. Very nice.

49. grotrianer - Sonata in c-minor op.10, no.1: 2nd mvt. - Adagio Molto Not boring at all - I was amazed at the little fast note passages you slipped in. And your variety of touch was great, as well as the trills and ornaments.

50. Bunneh - Barcarolle, No. 6 from Troisième Recueil de Chants, op. 65. Very smooth and free-flowing. Your balance betwen the hands was great. Loved your interpretation too - your little rubatos seemed just right.

51. Hawgdriver (Leon) - Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 #15, 'raindrop' Your hard work paid off - absolutely fantastic.

52. bluekeys - Invention #13 Quit beating yourself up! You did a great job. True, some people play it faster. Glenn Gould plays it in 46 seconds. But who cares? I think it sounds great at this speed.

55. Copper - Lullaby This should be the last piece in the recital! Loved it. So simple and so moving.

57. mcasl - Hob XVI:6, Sonata in G major, 1st mov. Thanks for playing this - we don't hear enough Haydn sonatas. Great job.

Sam

Wow! What a wonderful recital this time. Thanks everyone for your kind comments about my Mendelssohn SWW. Someone asked for the difficulty lever - probably a grade 7 or 8 I would think. Buried down in the Mendelssohn Appreciation Thread there is a list I compiled of all the SWWs and the difficulty levels that I could find. In Opus 19 (the first set of six) it is the second hardest. 19/5 is harder - it's in f# minor which then goes to f# major - yikes!

Anyway, I got a lot of satisfaction out of learning it and playing it. It was well worth the effort. I plan to revisit it sometime in the future and learn to play it faster.

What's on my music desk for the next recital? Something shockingly different!

Sam

I'm gettin' ready for the shock!

The graded pieces spreadsheet I have suggests 8. I noted down in my document I keep pieces I would like to play one day (after listening to your performance):



I listened to it today while looking at the score. I have decided that this is a great compliment to your playing because you made it sound easy but looking at the score it obviously isn't!!!

19. Mateusz 'Mati' Papiernik- You would have to tell us you learned it in three days!!! That would take me weeks and weeks to learn and I could never play it as smoothly and with such feeling. I especially love the crossovers and the run. Great recording quality too. I watched it on youtube.

15- Todd- This is one of those Chopin waltzes I keep coming back to and never finishing. I don't know why because it's such a lovely one (but then... which Chopin waltzes are not?) You really have it all down. I hope you keep working it, getting it to tempo, because it won't be long until you own it.

18-Ken- Great choices!! I agree with you totally, one of the things that makes monk's music so fantastic was his sense of humor. I'm going to go find that book you are using. It sounds like a ton of fun! Great playing.

22-Martin- A delightful, thoughtful piece. You play it elegantly and with feeling. Congrats on a fine ABF recital debut...


Hey, I just want to add my thanks to everyone. I really appreciate all the feedback on my piece. I think for a lot of us this is our only chance to put our playing out there and I know that I really enjoy reading what people have to say, not just about my work but others as well. I've also really enjoyed listening to everyone's work. It's been said before but I'll say it again... I am really impressed by the quality of playing on this forum. It just blows me away.

In a haphazard way I tried to listen to everyone's work and I apologize if I missed a few. I have to leave my computer (and piano) behind and go off to my "ski job"... and will be gone for a while. Cheers again for a great recital!!!

last batch, please note the link to an amazing midi at 41.

I promise not to procrastinate next recital and get an better recording setup.

35. ladypayne – Very cool that you can do your own improvised arrangements! I wish I had that ability.

36. MaryBee – I thought you did very good job on balancing the LH and RH. I also do miss being able to vary a note’s loudness as I did when playing wind instrument or singing. Unfortunately when we hit a piano note, that’s all she wrote for expressiveness.

37. FarmGirl – I love Christmas songs and it was great to hear this medley played so well.

38. Andy Platt – A flub or even two does not matter as much communicating what you want to the listener which I thought you did very well.

39. Sideshow/Edwin – Wow, this piece is really impressive. You are to be commended for the excellent performance.

40. GlassLove (Christine) – Such a pretty song and played so well.

41. jotur/Cathy Turner – A nice song, arrangement, and playing. You might be interested in this version, I think the best version of Amazing Grace I’ve ever heard:

Amazing Grace Chris Plasch

42. PhilzPiano – I thought you’re doing pretty darn good already with this piece but I guess we always think we can do better.

43. Yamaha G-3 & P-80 / Mike WHite – I had never heard of this composer but this is a really nice piece played really well.

44. MegumiNoda – Very well played and your hand movements looked so graceful and lovely in the vid.

45. Wisebuff – Very nice and your piano sounded so nice also.

46. ShiroKuro – It’s hard to imagine one hand getting all those notes out of guitar the dots. Great job!

48. Laura aka ten left thumbs – I never tire of hearing this piece. Thank you for letting us experience in such a well played way.

49. grotrianer – I just hope that one day I have enough confidence to take on a challenging Ludwig Van piece like this. Well done!

50. Bunneh – Ok, I’ll be as tough as I can be. This is a beautiful piece and I thought you did a fantastic job with it. Sorry if I offended you.

51. Hawgdriver (Leon) – You being up an interesting point. I have always used chord voicing to mean in what order you play the notes. But I have learned in classical music it can also refer to the emphasis you place on each note in a chord. I think this is what separates the great from the merely good. Anyway you did a fine job with this piece and we even got a short story to read while we listened to it.

52. bluekeys – I like this Bach piece and I thought your playing was very good. And yes, I’ve also found that just learning the notes is just the first stage in a long process of perfecting a piece.

53. custard apple – Someday I’ll have the nerve to tackle a Bill Evans piece. Nicely done.

54. TTigg / Steve C – A beautiful piece and played very well with dynamics well controlled.

55. Copper – Lovely simple piece played very well.

56. ddh - Daniel – I really like that the recital lets us hear pieces we might never hear ordinarily. Thank you for presenting this very nice song and you did a very good job playing it.

57. mcasl – I’ve always liked Hayden but am used to just hearing his string pieces. This was a pleasant change and very enjoyable.

58. edtek – Ok, I’ll get a better recorder setup before the next recital and also make sure I touch up the tuning before.

59. Starr Keys – This Seal song is so nice and your arrangement by ear is really good.

Thanks for all the comments - going into weekend mode now - 'hic. A few people have expressed interest in the Scriabin piece - PDF is here:-

http://www.sailwave.com/music/op-11-04.pdf