Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum ABF Joplin-themed recital -- Call for Submissions

The Adult Beginners and Beyond Scott Joplin-themed recital is now open for submissions!

The recital will be posted some time on the 15th of March, which means that the submissions must be in by midnight Eastern Standard Time, March 14. Please note this deadline is very firm; I cannot start working on the recital until it is closed, and once it is closed, no new entries can be added.

Unlike the Adult Beginners and Beyond Quarterly recitals, which showcase a variety of composers, this recital showcases just the piano works of Scott Joplin. All are welcome to submit a piece by consulting the signup thread here and putting in a request to play an otherwise unclaimed Joplin piece (even if it is not yet explicitly listed).

If you are fairly new to the piano, please do not be intimidated by some of the talent here in the ABF. We all consider ourselves to be beginners even though we may have been playing for some time. And, we LOVE to hear recordings from folks new to the keyboard.

Recital submissions must be in MP3 format. The maximum size of the file is 20 MB. We recommend encoding the recording at 192 kbs with a constant bitrate, as that works best with the online streaming player. At that bitrate, a 20 MB file works out to be about 7-9 minutes in length. Your recording will be normalized when placed in the consolidated zip files, but your original link will still be available for those who want it.

If you are new to recording your music, there are several threads in the forum archives that address the ways and means. See the "Important Topics in the AB Forum" thread stickied at the top of the AB forum page. Audacity is an excellent free recording application that can be used.

If you’re new to the forum and the recitals, I encourage you to browse through a few of the past recitals to see what they’re like. An easy way to find past recitals is to use Sam S.’s extremely helpful recital index, located here:

http://recitals.pianoworld.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page


Submitting Your Recording:

We will be using again the absolutely marvelous automatic web-based recital program that mahlzeit wrote for us. You will upload your mp3 file to the recital server as part of the recital submission process.

When you have your mp3 file ready, go to:

https://recitals.pianoworld.com/

and follow the instructions there. Please note that this URL reflects our new permanent home for all the recital files. Once you have uploaded your info to the automated recital software, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You will have the opportunity to revise your submission any time up until the deadline. If you have any problems at all using the new website, or if you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within a few hours, just PM me. If you have not participated in past recitals using this software, I strongly encourage you to submit your recital piece at least a day in advance in case you run into any problems with it.

The recital website uses the following submission template to be filled out along with your attached music file. You may want to have your responses to these fields prepared in advance so all you have to do is cut and paste:

Performer's Name: {forum ID and real name if you’d like}
Where you are located: {optional}
Avatar image link: {optional}
Experience: {Yrs/Mos of piano playing experience}
Link to YouTube or other video: {optional}
Home page link: {optional}
Title of piece/composer:
Source of music: {sheet music, improvised score, play-by-ear, etc}
Instrument used: {Piano make, keyboard model, etc.}
Recording method: {audacity, Zoom, digital to PC, etc.}
Constructive technical feedback wanted: {Yes/No}
Additional Info: {Your thoughts on the piece, what you had for lunch, etc.}


The due date for all submissions is midnight US EASTERN TIME on March 14, 2014.

Did I mention that the midnight deadline was firm?

Think "consistency of concrete."

By submitting a piece to the recital, you are certifying that it is a recording of your own performance.

Again, the recital order will be presented in the order the pieces were received, so the sooner you send in your piece, the higher you will be on the list! You can revise your entries on the template (e.g., thoughts about your piece, adding YouTube links, and the like) any time and not lose your place in the recital queue, but if you resubmit your recording at any time, for any reason, you will be bumped to the end of the list.

Should anyone have any questions at all on what to do or how to do it, this is the place to ask. Remember, there are NO stupid questions, as we have a steady flow of new members in AB Forum for whom this is their first recital, so your questions will probably help to eliminate other members’ problems. Please ask away! smile

Let's all go out and brave that Red Dot and share a lot of beautiful music!

In Italian we say "Via il dente, via il dolore" (get rid of the tooth and you'll get rid of the pain), so I figured I should go first to stop your suffering and mine

Can't wait to listen to this great recital!

Whizbang, I just have two things to tell you...

1. I'm guessing I'll be able to record somewhere around March 11-14. I'm hoping not to have to pull a last-minute recording like I did with the Chopin Mazurkas.

2. Challenge accepted. Had a chance to run through it today, and yes, I will do the Entertainer.


Looking forward to hearing everyone's performance!

I can't agree more. It feels like a couple of days before finals in college again for me. I am stressing out!

Mine's uploaded! Thanks for arranging all this Whizbang. I don't think I would have ever played Joplin without this recital to encourage me.

I won't be recording for at least a week. After about two months of trying, I finally got my tech to set a date, so that I'll have a freshly tuned piano for the recital.



Me, too!

Another one in . . Mag Rag!

Tried and failed today to get a recording - just too many errors. I still have 13 days to smooth things out...

Sam

i know what you mean.

Wait until you hear the errors in mine. But I'm not going to get a better recording at this point.

Ah, I was so close today. Then- one major blooper. This Joplin piece has been the most difficult yet for me to get a good recording. Maybe tomorrow!

Uh oh! I recorded mine at 128 Kbps and the recommendation is 192 Kbps. Oh well, I wanted to pull off a better recording anyway. We still have 11 days.

peterws - Magnetic Rag is one of my favorites. I'm looking forward to hearing your recording.

peterws - Magnetic Rag is one of my favorites. I'm looking forward to hearing your recording.
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I tried to follow the Bill Westcott model, tempo, state of piano detune (or rather, neglect to tune) and his relaxed style. If I appear relaxed, then you`ve been fooled . . .

I have been trying daily to get a recording for at least a week. Very challenging indeed!

Mine is submitted--Weeping Willow! I can't wait to hear everyone's performances!

Thank you, Whizbang, and everyone. I've really enjoyed learning my Scott Joplin piece and taking part in the recital. Please forgive the mistakes!

This is the first piece I've memorized in many years, and this has been lots of fun! I'm so glad I took part in the recital, and I can't wait to hear all the Joplin rags!

I wasn't very familiar with Weeping Willow when I chose it--I think I had heard the first part of it, and I ended up really liking it. I definitely want to learn more ragtime pieces!

Thanks,everyone!

I'm a terrible memorizer, but Weeping Willow is one of the four rags I took the trouble to memorize. Of course, I've forgotten it now, but I think it's a great rag.

I, too, am looking forward to hearing the recital!

HI, Whizbang,
Yes, I've had so much trouble memorizing, too. This piece is easier than classical pieces to memorize for me, and it helped that we had months to learn it. I learned the first two sections and a bit of the 3rd and 4th, and then got so busy and put it aside. When I came back to it, it wasn't as daunting since I had pretty well learned about half of it.

When I take lessons, we're always onto the next piece so quickly, and I have to take so much time to memorize that I never can accomplish it in the time frame.

So, thanks for having this recital! It's been really fun!

"Of course, I've forgotten it now, but I think it's a great rag."

Doesn`t take long does it?

I`ve still got one to record before I forget it. AQnd I haven`t yet learned it . . .

Well, I am in! It is not perfect, but it is my best effort at this point. This has been a great learning experience. Thanks for organising all of this Whizbang! It has been both fun, and at times, torture (in front to the red dot)!! But I have to think I am a better player for it. I cannot wait to listen to everyone's submissions!

I've had time to record "Pleasant Moments" twice in the last week, but still have to try to get it a bit better ... wish I had the red dot in my corner, but he's on the other side of the ring in his corner. It's easier to swing the tune than playing it straight up.