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24. LaValse - Prelude Op 11 No 4
So hauntingly beautiful, LaValse. I have never ventured toward Scriabin, perhaps I should. I enjoyed this very much.

25. Jazzwee - All the Things You Are

I tried to anticipate the direction you were going with this, and must admit I got left in the dust a couple of times. Some nice runs Jazzwee.

26. wj3 / Walt - Take me home country roads

Walt, good job on this JD song, I enjoyed listening.

27. BillM (formerly b528nf7) - Mr. President (have pity on the working man)

Bill, I was looking forward to listening to this when I saw the lineup. You rocked it! Very nice piano playing as well.

29. serge88 - Your Song
I like this arrangement of and old favorite of mine. Very nice!

30. paquijote - Invention No. 7 in E minor - J.S. Bach

Intense. I can see how getting a clean recording could be difficult. This was certainly acceptable in my book.

31. Augustina - Somewhere Out There from an American Tail

Nicely done Augustina. As you point out tempo needs a bit of work. Perhaps, the page turning slows you down and you are compensating by speeding the tempo.

32. Undone - Toccata in D minor

Undone, this was very well done. (did I just say that) Very dramatic piece. Sounds to me like someone has been practicing. I think piano was the right choice, excellent!

33. LisztAddict - Prelude in b minor
Wonderfully paced and expressed, LA. I very much enjoyed listening to your performance.

And finally the last batch. I must say that the "10 a day" method is very easy and not burdensome at all. Maybe next time I'll try 20.


51. Hawgdriver (Leon) - Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 #15, 'raindrop' Leon this was a very special performance in that I could feel how well you intended to play this (which you did). The dynamics were absolutely fantstic, especially that you didn't have any clipping in the forte sections. Bravo.


52. bluekeys - Invention #13 Way too tricky for me to ever play but I enjoyed your performance nontheless. I was impressed with your technical ability on this piece. Great job.


53. custard apple - A Time for Love That was a lovely performacne custard apple and I especially loved the classic sound of your piano as well. Very warm and mellow. Nice job.


54. TTigg / Steve C - I Giorni I'm going to subtract a few points as this piece is so beautiful it's almost cheating. Good thing you played this at a level that is compatible with the beauty of the piece. Nothing short of excellent!


55. Copper - Lullaby Wow Cu, let's be honest, your performances have always sounded good; but not this good! Everything was done perfectly so how about next time a little more? Your progress is very noticeable but as I've said I'm wanting a bit more.


56. ddh - Daniel - Les lulus (The pigtails) Nice performance Daniel. I can hear how carefully you are hitting each and every note trying to submit a beautiful performacne and it worked. Keep up the good work as it is showing in your performances


57. mcasl - Hob XVI:6, Sonata in G major, 1st mov. Nice job with this piece, especially the technically tricky parts. You seem to have very good control overall. Those trills are not easy to do.


58. edtek - Winter Twilight Hey way to go edtek. I'm not familiar with this piece but you certainly played it well. Looking forward to hearing more from you in the future.

59. Starr Keys - Kiss from a Rose Kudos to you for even attempting this piece as it sounds pretty tricky; especially the spreads between the highs and lows. Your pianos upper reigister sounded especially nice. Good job.

It seems that every recital is better than the previous; thanks to all that organize it; it means a lot to me and helps me stay focused on my pianistic goals.

Some more comments: i listen in iTunes on random so...

49. grotrianer - Sonata in c-minor op.10, no.1: 2nd mvt. - Adagio Molto You, sir have a very musical touch, which is necessary to make me appreciate music from that period. I applause your dexterity as well. Well played indeed.

52. bluekeys - Invention #13 Ah, Bach ! I love to hate him; your rendition was quite precise; one could discern the different voices all the time and your rhythm was impeccable. Beautiful job.

42. PhilzPiano - Prelude in E minor Op. 28 No. 4 Chopin always offers a variety of ways in which one can stumble and a truly rewarding music experience to he who can avoid them. Well done.

22. MartinJB / martin - Reflections Em Martin, you have a well controlled and soft touch; this makes your music very enjoyable; well done indeed.

43. Yamaha G-3 & P-80 / Mike WHite - Milonga del angel Thanks Mike for bringing more Piazzola to the recital. You capture so well the mood of his music. Beautiful rendition. Muchas gratias amigo.

01. BenPiano - Waltz in G# Minor for Two Hands Op. 39 No. 3 Sweet indeed and very well played. Bravo and thanks for sharing.


More to come

25. Jazzwee - All the Things You Are - decent improv jazzwee - interesting take - would like to have heard the song's melody just a little more though.

26. wj3 / Walt - Take me home country roads - Walt, nice interpretation on this classic from JD.

27. BillM (formerly b528nf7) - Mr. President (have pity on the working man) - good job Bill - excellent accompaniment as usual.

28. Strings & Wood - Op. 68, No. 16 (Erster Verlust) - pretty nicely done S&W - enjoyed this 7 may try it myself someday.

29. serge88 - Your Song - one of my favorite EJ tunes - sweetly done & throughly enjoyable - liked this alot!

30. paquijote - Invention No. 7 in E minor - J.S. Bach - sounded almost jazz-like - interesting interpretation.


more to follow...

JF

Cathy Turner, WiseBuff, Inlanding (Glen), BenPiano, Augustina, Andy Platt, Leon, CMohr, KeemaNan, MartinJB, jazzwee, CarlosCC, LaValse, TTigg (Steve C), casinitaly, Cheryl, BillM, TX-Dennis, Wouter79, Edtek, Undone, PhilzPiano, MaryBee, Monica K., FarmGirl, ShiroKuro, Mr. Super Hunky.

Thank You all for taking the time to comment on my modest offering. Even though I am well aware of all my shortcomings, your comments fuel my desire to continue and improve to better my contribution to the next recital.

A few thing:

FarmGirl, don’t feel bad about not knowing Alain Lefebvre; he is mostly known for his carreer as a concert pianist. He has produced only two CDs as a composer and is mostly known in Quebec (the province).

Cathy, when played at tempo it is bouncier. My slow fingers just could’nt do it justice, this time around but I will keep on trying.

Monica and Andy; I will not tell Alain Lefebvre that You might consider his music «New Agy» this time. But beware if it happens again.

Thank you all again; handshakes for the boys, hugs and kisses for the girls.

21. Riddler/Ed - Boy, your parents sure did get their money’s worth with those piano lessons. Classic arrangement. Very cool jazz reminiscent of the first I ever heard in early 60’s films arranged by people like Peter Nero. I don’t write down my arrangements, but maybe I should. Do you have a program write them out from a midi or digital recording. What program do you use?

22. Martin - Very nice piece. Flowed well with lovely contrasts of dynamics. I think you’re very talented. Seems like another case of lesson money well spent.

23. Hoffy - I don’t usually hum classical pieces after I hear them but I found myself absentmindedly doing just that this time. I don’t think I ever did that when I was assigned things like this as a kid. Maybe I should have. It might have helped with the trilling which I never seemed to master. Think I’ll try this by ear just as in exercise in improving my trilling technique. Yours doesn’t need any improvement [thumbs up]

24. LaValse - Well, you certainly live up to your name. Beautiful Scriabin! Felt like I was being swept into a spiraling vortex coming to rest like a leaf on the void. Think you’ve got a handle on that polyphony. Looks like an interesting Blog. If I ever finish commenting on the submissions, I might revisit it.

25. JazzVee - “the idea was to be more melodic while maintaining a good rhythm and groove.” Since I actually found myself singing and nodding to rhythm at the same time, I’d say you succeeded.

26. Wj3/Walt - You clearly can play and read music, but I wasn’t sure, since I’ve heard some people play phenomenally well here after less than a year, whether “4+” meant you’d been playing four months or four years. If the latter, and you favor popular music over classical, IMO, it’s time to move on from truly bad sheet music arrangements and try to harmonize songs yourself. If that's what you're doing here, kudos to you for beginning to venture out. If not, you could use the sheet as a base, then listen to some other piano players do the song on Youtube and see if you could improve it using your ear, because no matter how well you learn to play, you’re never going to sound very good if the arrangement is terrible.

27. BillM - I always dreamed of being able to sing and accompany myself this way, instead of by playing sheet music which 1) makes it hard to concentrate on the vocal production and phrasing because of the preoccupation with reading and 2. The bland generic style of most pop sheet music doesn’t usually foster a heartfelt interpretation of the lyrics. Also, the way you’re able to do a piano solo in the middle of the song is like singing with a group or orchestra, and you do it so well and so freely. I’m not sure if you are improvising as you read a chord chart or whether you are reading music you’ve arranged and filling out what you see on the sheet but either way it feels fresh and perfectly supports your vocal style and interpretation.



Thank you. This says it all about my feeling about your performance as well.

28. Strings & Wood A lovely piece. The image I got listening to it was of a fall leave swirling and twirling on the wind. Very nice tone and articulation of the melody for me. Thank you.

29. Serge 88

You certainly did! And still did justice to the original. I really enjoyed it and taking the trip down memory lane with you. Thanks.

30. Paquijote Wow, just under two years? Seems amazing to me that you could master Bach at that speed so quickly, but then this whole recital has been a series of amazements for me.

Thank you very much Mr S&H - although now you've got me pondering what points you subtracted
- SC

For the solo piano arrangements I've been doing lately, I've been writing them out, note by note, on the computer screen, using software called Noteworthy Composer. It's not very sophisticated, but it's cheap and user-friendly and prints out a very readable copy. Best of all, it plays back in midi, so if I make a mistake with accidentals or timing, I hear it and correct it.

Writing out an arrangement is a bit tedious and time-consuming, but I've found it to be quite educational.

Ed

Thank you. I know that’s not fair, I’ll probably pay for it big time on the next one.

Thanks, Ed, I started writing out cadences for my self-directed voice leading study, and I've also found it to be helpful but tedious, so a program like this will probably be good for that. However, since I already have a couple of arrangements on recordings all ready worked out, I am hoping to find something that could transcribe them automatically from a recording should I forget what I did on them.

Starr

Thanks everyone for the comments, I'm listening to the recitals right now, my comments will follow tomorrow. I can't believe we're getting so good.

Serge

27. BillM (formerly b528nf7) - Mr. President (have pity on the working man) - What an appropriate song for these perilous economic times!

I know I always tell you that I'm amazed at your ability to play and sing at the same time, but this time, I have to say, although your singing is great, you have some serious piano chops! The fact that you did this by ear, and that solo in the middle was brilliant. Us mortals are in awe!

26. wj3 / Walt - Take me home country roads - Great restraint throughout this piece to maintain the relaxed tempo and not rush it. Well done!

25. Jazzwee - All the Things You Are - I don't know how you do it, but I like it. You get better and better every time I hear you!

24. LaValse - Prelude Op 11 No 4 - I finally got to this one - I've been chomping at the bit! I heard someone I subscribe to play this on you tube, and I had to learn it as a result, and then a recital entry no less - what a popular piece.

But wait, it was your you tube channel that I heard this on! You really play this beautiful piece well. So well, that you inspired me to sort of learn it when you first posted it - thank you!

23. hoffy - Minuet In G Major) - No, it's not overdone here. Excellent pacing throughout, with trills and everything. Really well done - welcome back to piano!

22. MartinJB / martin - Reflections Em - Fortunately for us beginners there is beautiful piano music at all levels - this is one of them. Excellent playing and great first recital submission!

21. Riddler (Ed) - Dolphin Dance - Excellent arrangement Ed, loved it!

20. True Beginner - Winter Serenade - How appropriate - I just got a bunch of snow dumped on me today! Hopefully the warmth from your piece will help melt the snow a little faster. Well done on this creative composition!

19. Mateusz 'Mati' Papiernik - Odin Sphere no Theme - Learned this piece for a woman? I guess there is no better motivation than that! That big arpeggio is sick - you nailed it! Well done, I hope your female friend enjoyed your hard work!

18. Ken. - Monk Medley - Misterioso & Bye-ya - I especially liked Bye-ya, very groovy. Great playing!

Help!!!! It's taking me hours to listen to the recital because I can't get stuff downloaded, or it downloads so slowly! Sometimes I can get two or three, slowly, before I have to sign off the internet and sign back on to get anything to download.

I'm on a PC with Windows XP, and, don't laugh, internet explorer. Any ideas?

Here's a few more I've had the luck to hear in the last couple of hours:

5. Sam Smith - Song Without Words Lovely. You get better every recital, and more musical.

8. mr super-hunky - Great Gig Love that bass

21. Riddler - Dolphin Dance This was a real pleasure to listen to. Nicely felt and presented. I listened twice, just to give myself a nice break.

37. FarmGirl - Christmas overture I really enjoyed this. I hope by next season you feel you can come back to it - it's perfect music for a party!

35. ladypayne - Nearer My God to Thee I was looking forward to this other old favorite hymn. Congratulations on doing your own arrangement - I enjoyed it.

12. John Frank - Waltz Medley You are another who is getting better all the time. The second waltz was my favorite - it had a lightness that was closer to making me want to waltz.

18. Ken. - Monk Medley You have the groove, man. The first peice was "cool", and the second terrific - you have a great sense of rhythm.

Thanks everyone, I'll try to get more in, but I get pretty discouraged waiting for the load

Cathy

Cathy,
Can you not just listen to them on the online "streaming" player? I've never downloaded the songs just used the player but of course this would only work if you're planning on not listening to them offline.
- Steve

Have you tried downloading the zips? I used the streaming player which worked fine for me ... both at home (relatively slow broadband) and work. FYI, no laughing over IE ... I use it by choice.

Andy.

Road trip! Travel the globe and hear everyone live - it might consume less time!

ABF Road trip = best idea ever!