Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum April Piano Bar (Before April 1 and No Fool'n!)

Elssa My cat Becky has spent many an hour at my side while I played. I only hope that, when the time comes to say goodbye to her, I can sublimate my feelings of loss into such a lovely tribute to her as yours is to Gwen. I think all your signature techniques work beautifully in this song. I have all your video tutorials and am planning on using your Blue Moon tutorial on my jazz final project, which lists it among songs we can play towards our final grade. Thank you also for your kind words on my song. Praise from you on a cocktail style arrangement and its melodic line is high praise, indeed.

Newman I have to agree with Bill about preferring the arrangement for accompaniment over the instrumental version and for the same reason. But I am really impressed how quickly you could turn the former into the latter. It shows you really know your music and that you're learning it in a way that will allow you the flexibility to perform both accompaniment and solo piano on the fly. My hat's off to you.

Augustina I was really excited to see your name at the Bar as, the last time I heard from you, you said you were going to take a college piano class and I was enthusiastic to see the results. It seems like you got a lot out of it. I was impressed with the rapidity and beauty of your runs around 3:29 and 4:35 and how you were able to slow down so dramatically both times without losing a beat. I see a lot of progress.

ElleC Great PW debut! I'm impressed with how you've made so much progress over such a short period of time. Welcome to the Bar.

Teodor - impressive scale work!

Codi I can see why you love that piano. Banging becomes it! Sometimes it's how you feel like playing, and the feeling is what communicates to the listener. This seemed fun for you and was fun for me. I think you play very well. Hope to hear more.

Thanks, Bill. I prefer vocal music too (as I'm sure you've figured out). I did the instrumental version to more or less say "after two years I can fake being able to play piano".

(The Soul Train/Midnight Special reference was in regard to it being a shortened version of the song)

Thanks. Everything I play is, really.

Thanks, Starr Keys.

So much to listen to - I'll be back.

Starkeys An old classic? Dare I mention Eartha Kitt? Atmospheric singing. Your Casio was not lacking.

Augustina - That is a lovely piece and you played very well. You gave it a nice searching quality with calm serenity. Very nice!

Teodor - Very fun riffs! You make them look very easy.

ElleC - Nice job on the Clementi! You have good control over the dynamics, staccato, and the runs. This is amazing progress for only three months of playing piano. Way to go!

Codi - This has a nice Boogie Woogie feel. You gave it lots of energy. Nice!

Wouter Great! Sounds befitting for ye harpsichord . . .Get thee one pronto man! . . good trills and plenty of `em. Sounds a bit like Dangerman . . .

LadyPayne Good backing, lass. I liked the 2nd track best, and the singer(S) were great.

Casinitaly Ya play well; Handel and Bach are always good for . . .anything really. Particularly Bach who is good for jazz. Fiddly bits are handled well. Time will bring great rewards!

Saranoya I can see why some are passionate about acoustic pianos. There`s few as good as yours; very nice work indeed!

BillM Your own take on a particular song, a classic. Everybody likes the atmosphere you give to your music. And no wonder . .

Newman More happy memories. You and Bill need to do a double act . . . . an internet double act . . . that`d be interesting

SwissM Bacarolles come in so many forms! Yours was good and played with good pedal work.

I can see you`ve all been busier than me . . .

Codi: Cool rendition of Cruella DeVil (or however it's spelt). It wasn't in the arrangement, but I was just imagining some tremolos on the "VIL" chord!

Howdy, everyone! What's it been, a year? I've done 3 new videos in the past couple of months, but I'll just post one at a time. This is the newest one. It's not pure improv, but it wasn't notated at all the way I played it. It still took me ages to get a take I was happy with.

How do I make my embed work? :'(

I got to the end at last! Reverse order . .

Codi Impressive! Enjoyed your confident style. Look forwards to your next . .

ElleC Yor teacher`ll be well pleased . . Well done!

Teodor Food for thought, man. Liked the runs . . must work on stuff like that

Augustina The repeating melody, in a minor key, gives ir a flavor. Rain on a summers day. I`m in the bar watching it . . .

Elssa Even 9 lives are sometimes not enough! A good choice which Kitty would approve wholeheartedly . .

Ridder A modern "Moonlight Sonata"? Excellent! And your piano?

Mark - Great vid and tune. The discordant aspects gave it character.

Amaruk - The reverb on your piano gave theis piece a monastic feel to it. Very well done!

Make it like this [video:youtube]PASTE LINK TO VIDEO[/video]

Thanks, Teodor! I have to give myself a view to do it. Oh well.

Thank you SwissMs, Amaruk, peterws, and anyone I forgot to thank. Your encouragement (particularly on my singing, which is a work in progress) is much appreciated. Peterws, I'm not sure what you mean with the Eartha kit reference. Did she do a classic version of my funny Valentine?

Maechre -- Lovely playing! I look forward to your other two videos.

This actually is for harpsichord originally so it's great that that comes through so clear

LOL yes I'd like to have one but so little space here in my appartment. Maybe there's a small one but I need a full range and most small ones have limited range and don't even fit this piece...

Dangerman?? Never heard of that? Googled it, yes that's a harpsichord in the opening, together with a jazz orchestra! Thanks, I learned something

Elssa

Your over the top echo and sustain pedal with fast arpeggios and the string background seem to nicely paint the red furryness of Gueneviere

Elssa, what a perfect musical farewell to your kitty! I remember her well, appearing when least expected in your videos. As always, that was an industrial strength arrangement with the right intro and ending, and lots of flashy arpeggios filling up any empty spots. Great left hand work as usual.


casinitaly
Wow, I did not know that. If he were the bragging kind, he could have tooted his own horn a bit. I've noticed there seems to be a kind of genealogy of students of students of ….of Liszt. They keep track of their lineage as if it were a family tree of descendants from some titled nobility, and brag accordingly. (My impression of Oscar was that he was more humble.) Anyway, I guess that helps to explain his mind-boggling virtuosity.

Augustina, well done. What a haunting melody. Quite a long piece to perform with no mistakes! Every Time I hear your playing, it sounds better!

Teodor, yes, fun scale to play around with. If you deconstruct the runs in the recordings of people like Thelonious Monk you often find whole tone scales.

ElleC, that was wonderful. Not only are you hitting the right notes, you are playing with lots of energy, feeling, good dynamics, etc. Remarkable for someone who just started. Hope you continue to contribute, and join the recitals too.

Codi, I know the sound of pounding on a piano; believe me, that was not pounding. Good job, keep them coming!

Maechre, very pretty, your RH arpeggios and left hand chords are quite controlled and well done.

Ed

So many April Piano Bar submissions before April 1 - I hope no one is in that big of a hurry to get through the month…

StarrKeys~ Very nice rendition is your, My Funny Valentine. It's a difficult tune sing and you do a very fine job of it, indeed. Glad you got to practice performing this on the web prior to your live performance at school! Very tastefully done - the accompaniment is spot-on with your singing.

wouter79~ Good effort with your rendition of Couperin. I've heard it played with a more strict tempo, but your rubato at nearly every turn gives it an interesting flavor. No easy piece to play.

slpianoproject~ great, Mendlessohn! You play with very relaxed, purposeful movements of your hands. This is a beautiful melody and you bring out the voice quite well. Thank you for you music.

ladypayne~ Loved the play along with the Winnie the Pooh. You have so much talent! The tone of your voice is beautiful and I hope to hear more of your singing.

casinitaly~ you've come a very long way in these past few months! Impertinence is very well done! You brought out the voices beautifully and with such confidence. What a difference - Bravo!

Saranoya~ what a marvelous rendition of one of my favorite Burgmuller's Op 100 pieces. Great, subtle dynamics you bring to the fore.

BillM~ Holy smokes, man! Your repertoire knows no bounds. I loved your interpretation of, Whiter Side of Pale. Your relaxed delivery and sense of time is a joy to hear. Really good stuff, as they say. I listened to it several times - as always, thanks for the treat!

Newman~ again, you bring out of my all-time favorite Beatles Ballades. Haha. I did not hear the soul-train in your version. I just heard the care you bring to all the Beatles music you share. I'd like to hear this one again with a few rounds put together. Great one!

SwissMS~ Your Bacarolle is fabulous. If I heard you playing it in a hotel lobby, I'd stop to listen, for sure. You play with such care, as though you really enjoy listening the music as it comes from your hands.

Amaruk~ This Misty Mountains Cold tune fits your style of playing so very well - nicely played, for sure. As well, your excellent video editing is really befitting. This is a keeper, although it seemed too short.

Mark…~ Sunrise on the Harbour sounds like a difficult piece to play, as it seems to slide out of one key, into another quickly. This is great, but it, too, seem to end too quickly. I was wanting more.

Ed~ OP is one my all-time favorites. I 've always enjoyed his ballad arrangements. When I saw him in concert way back when, it took me about 2 hours to scrape my chin from the floor. You brought out the melody quite well. It sounds like there are a few different ways you could have done it, and you choose a beautiful way of bringing out OP's music. Great work.

Elssa~ so sorry for your loss! Memory is a perfect tune for you to play and you played it so well.

Augustina~ Never heard of Phillip Wesley before. Thanks for the introduction to his music. Your playing is getting much more refined and it certainly shows in this piece. I hope your midterm went as you liked.

ElleC~ Welcome to the Piano Bar! Thank you for your Clementi. You played it with a nice, solid tempo and your dynamics are great. Look forward to more of your playing.

Codi~ Welcome to the Piano Bar! Cruella de Ville is great! I can imagine you playing a few different rounds of this piece and adding a slightly different melody each time. Great work, indeed!

Maechre~ Glad you got a take you liked. I thought Kingdom Hearts was great. I only wish it were a bit longer - your playing is quite nice.

Glen

Thanks, guys.

Inlanding: I'll look at more variations next time - I didn't want to go through more than once because I was afraid a mistake would mean more takes. For that reason, a lot of my recordings are short.

All the music is great so far! here's another submission that I recorded with someone singing. The voice behind this one is Darlene Zschech I think. Btw I definitely do not sing only play the piano I play the music and play along with it. I could never get the exact tempo if I were to do it separately. At least not at this point in time. It's hard =) Anyway enjoy my own arrangement of Amazing Grace.

https://www.box.com/s/ee806ncf0105tsscub3m

First time I've heard this (i'm not really adept to classical music yet...just getting into it since i started the piano). That sounded beautiful to me. I definitely want to learn this some day.