Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum A few words after the Grieg recital

I just tried to get Forbi as strings-musical as possible on the DP in "strings" mode. Can you guys see it ---- the piece turned into orchestral or ensemble, and more being brought out that way? Or is it my imagination?

https://app.box.com/shared/static/e84ui6bfi6wyf78tcl7h.mp3

(If that doesn't work, then
alternative link
I got really excited about this. Maybe I'm nuts.

There's more control than I expected. The "strings" selection is still touch sensitive, and by fiddling between key release and the sustain pedal you can even get a few "bow strokes". It does weird things to the brain - doesn't know which instrument it's playing.

Morodiene "I'd like to try a rendition using a string sound now that you say it. smile"

Get on that FP7 and have fun! . . ."Flight o` the Bumble bee" . . . .

Play in key signatures with more sharps and flats.

My that was helpful !!

A couple of suggestions PP88.......

You can approach it by first learning EASY pieces in major keys with 2 sharps (D Major) or flats (B flat major), then 3 sharps (A major) or flats (E flat major), then 4, etc. etc.

Be sure to learn the major scale related to the new key. See link to pdf diagram showing the scale on the keyboard with RH and LH fingering.

http://musicmattersblog.com/wp-files/scale_fingerings_major.pdf

Once you are comfortable doing all this, you can use the same approach with easy pieces in minor keys. Usually best to learn the harmonic minor scale rather than the melodic.

http://musicmattersblog.com/wp-files/scale_fingerings_minor.pdf

IDEALLY - your goal should be to learn to play ALL of the MAJOR AND HARMONIC MINOR SCALES (up and down two octaves), as well as basic I IV V chord progressions in each key.

I taught adult beginners at the college level for a few years, and they were all able to accomplish this after only playing for a couple of semesters. We got them used to playing in all keys right from the very beginning.....and it worked.

Strewth!! That sounds like purgatory! I need a drink . . . .

Thanks everyone for putting up effort. Thanks for Op-leds, Gandalf, Morodiene and Carey for kickin their asses (plural?). There may have been several others. It was great to listen to the pieces every morning. I give A+ for the community for positive feedback. I don't deserve it personally, but, hey, thanks

That's why you just do one at a time.......related to the piece you're learning.

I've been doing lots of scales and arpeggios lately, mostly to learn each key signature better. I think it's harder to get through something (and it feels more intimidating) if you have to constantly remind yourself of which notes are sharp or flat. When you're playing with four or more of each, it's nearly impossible, at least for me. I feel like learning the scales and arpeggios is letting me "absorb" each key better, so it feels more natural to my brain and less intimidating when I run across them.

BINGO !!!!!

This is what I said, only I was more concise.

(I just meant that if you are too scared to play in other key signatures, you'll never be able to. You have to practice playing in "dangerous" keys. )

I don't think what carey said was anything like what you said, Polyphonist. And conciseness is not always a virtue.

In any case, thanks to both of you for the suggestions. I can actually play in all keys, but I asked for the benefit of those who might not do so yet. I can't offer advice myself because I don't know how I do it, or how I learned to do it.

What really helped me to overcome being afraid of key signatures was to play music that really made me think. Bach is excellent for this, and believe it or not, Debussy is as well. (Ravel too, but I think Debussy has some easier more accessible pieces).


Keystring:

To answer your questions, MOX6 is my Yamaha synthesizer. A sequencer is something that you can record into several times and layer different voices each time. That is how I was able to play with violin, viola, and cello sounds on that recording.

The most likely reason it sound flat on the higher notes is that string player normally will play higher notes sharper, whereas the tuning on a synth default to equal temperament. I could probably change it, but I wasn't really trying to make it sound like real strings, just to give an idea of what it would sound like. Nothing can replace the sound of acoustic instruments.

Note the emoticon I put after that.

That is a cool thing to have. I was intrigued by why the violinist sounded flat, because it had something to do with what I was used to hearing. Of course as a singer you are also used to listening for pitch, so you knew where I was coming from.

Did you come to any conclusions about this as a piece for several instruments or orchestra (developed further)?

Polyphonist, your emoticon conveyed a different meaning to me than the one you apparently intended.

I am noticing a few little hijacks of what is meant to be a thread about the recital Maybe we could take the other (interesting and useful) discussions to their own threads? - I'm sure that many folks would be interested in hearing the discussions on how to approach complicated keys, and the ideas behind hearing different orchestral sounds in piano music, why hide them here?


This recital will always hold a special place in my heart.

My knowledge of Grieg prior to this was limited. I saw a film once, "Song of Norway" but don't really remember it. I know the Peer Gynt suite...and was vaguely aware that of course there had to be more, but what?

I loved the idea of the themed recitals and was really thrilled when I realized I would be able to participate in this one (thanks to Richard zrtf90 who gave up Watchman's song to me!). I ordered the Dover collection and was blown away by the range of complexity in the pieces.

I was so excited about being part of a big piano project - it felt quite different to simply presenting my own piece in a recital!

I haven't finished listening yet but I think I can safely say that this recital - probably much like the Mendelssohn - really stretched a lot of us to develop new skills and levels of mastery. What I loved was the community support - everyone referring to their manuscripts, coaching, encouraging. Perhaps it was not much different that the level of mutual support we are accustomed to seeing here in the ABF, but with everyone working on the same project I felt there was a slightly different flavour to it - and it was delicious!

An extra bonus for me was working with the other Opleds and our fearless leader, Dipsy. Getting to know them better was the icing on the cake.

Having Ganddalf as our resident Grieg expert was such a treat - and I am enjoying reading all the background notes so carefully compiled!

I've also loved reading all the feedback notes.
I can see that I am not the only one astounded by the different voices Grieg uses, and impressed with the quaility of our performances. Everyone, even those of us who are still relatively early on in our piano studies can hold their head up high! Of course, many of us feel (and it is true for me!) that our performances could have been better - and in time they will be. It's a never ending journey, isn't it?

I'm still on a high over the whole recital - and still have 4 Opuses or if you prefer Opera to listen to....

Valencia - the playlist looks a great idea - it must have taken you some time to do what you've done. I'll click on the link and see what happens- fingers crossed!

Polyphonist - you are right - just playing pieces with simple key signatures does cut me off from lots of music! Thanks PianoStudent88, Morodiene and Carey for your tips on how to overcome this barrier.

And now its time for me to catch up on comments on the different 'opera' (I still can't get used to using that word!) in the recital!

Well I finally finished all of the recital submissions. I'm sure my opinion has no value other than that I enjoyed and admired all of them. Some more than others because my knowledge/understanding of Grieg (and classical music in general) is limited to what it sounds like to me. Congratulations to all the participants, and opleds for a well organized recital. All deserve a lot of credit for their efforts.

Valencia, that is a good idea. (It works for me.)

It works for me too, thank you! I just listened to most of it on my old iMac G4 - good speakers make a huge difference!