Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital 45 --- Call For Submissions

I have to record this weekend too. I hope I can manage since it is not finished yet. Having said that, it usually isn't.
It's a BIG short piece by my beloved Freddy...

Looking forward to the submissions! Some good stuff already submitted.

Well, I know next to nothing about the ARCT system, but from the little I do know, that would surprise me about Chopin's Bb minor Nocturne. It didn't take terribly long for me to learn how to play it, although the melismas in it did take some work to play relatively smoothly. Whereas the Db Nocturne that you're playing has many challenging measures, and some individual measures each present multiple technical problems. That's why I'm eager to hear your performance, to hear how you conquered those problems.

ARCT is the Association of the Royal Conservatory Toronto. The nocturnes are commonly used at diploma level, so the last stage of completing RCM. At least I think this is how it works.



Yeah, no kidding. Conquered? No, they are still problems. And likely all the areas you are thinking of.

Anyway, I was happy to make it all the way this time and get a recording of it at this stage.

Thanks, and likewise looking forward to the show.

Indeed. And bravo to you for tackling a piece so difficult AND putting yourself out there by submitting it!

I'm in. Only one wrong note (hit by mistake and promptly covered up ), so here it is! I wanted to submit a Bach Invention but I couldn't get a decent recording.

So it's one more submission for Team Schumann

There`s no such thing as a wrong note. It's merely a variation the composer never got around to exploring . . . or rejected because of his lack of imagination . . . .

Agreed!

Does the same apply to unplanned tempo variations? If so my recording is perfectly fine and there's no need to try again tomorrow

That's called rubato, and just shows the strength of your interpretation

I will call it an ornament then. A dissonant one

well sadly I cannot get any good audio so it seems I'll miss this recital.
Ah well by the next one I'll have a arguably more interesting piece.

In at 45 !! , and changed my piece twice -- after getting the flu .......I thought to go to a piece I was familiar with...
"Inspiration" lazy jazz piano ......anyway i like the piece hope you do too!!!

I just deleted my submission and made a decision not to take part this time.

This is why:
I have some problems with playing that are purely mental. Unfortunately these recitals seem to make the issues worse. I am obsessed not to miss any, but at the same time it eats me up to have to submit recordings that I hate. And I cannot get proper recordings because of my obsession with getting a good one. Unwanted thoughts creep up while trying to record. I am often able to play the piece the way I wanted until the last measures when THAT thought completely throws me off. "Don't screw up now and you don't need to do this again". I cannot resist the temptation to screw up then. Which means I have to try again but lost the desire to play for the session and any subsequent attempts just become worse.

Unfortunately I don't have the possibility to record day time except for weekends. It would help a lot if I could record a little every day and eventually I would probably get over the red dot. But not possible at the moment.

It was easier before when I just wasn't secure enough with the pieces. It was sort of ok to submit something unfinished. But when I actually know I can play the piece it depresses me too much to not be able to when recording.

The recitals have helped me a lot in accepting performance that is not perfect and sharing them anyway, but at this point they have become a chore and a pressure that is not doing any favors to my learning. I should focus on my playing instead of the quest for the perfect recording. Knowing myself it will make a big difference if I force myself to skip one. That will take the pressure of not missing any away and I can again think of these as something voluntarily and not so serious

I will probably submit this piece for the next one, since it is so well learned and memorized that I probably won't forget it again.

PS. I had to write this post to make sure that I won't change my mind today

I know exactly what you mean, but it is still unfortunate that you will not submit. I really hope you will submit the piece next time. Maybe recording in between recitals takes of the pressure a bit.

I still have to do my recording. Only have tonight so I hope I can manage. I often feel the same way as you described and want to submit a recording I am satisfied with. Reluctantly I have submitted recordings which I would not submit today.

I understand 100% outo, I can be prone to the same sorts of feelings.
Though I should be honest and admit that in my case neither of the pieces I had in mind for this recital are actually ready, and that's why I haven't got a recording that will do

Sorry to hear that outo, but I totally understand and support your decision.

In general though, I think adult amateurs are too hard on themselves. It doesn't help that professional recordings are note-perfect (and heavily edited to make them perfect). We are not pros - these recitals are intended to be a snapshot of where we are in our piano journey. And there is no more welcoming and supportive environment than these recitals. We are not being graded. We are not getting paid to perform. We are doing it anonymously. We want each other to succeed. Unless you ask for an in-depth critique, you will just get encouragement.

Personally, I know where my mistakes and weaknesses are. I pay a teacher to point them out to me! So I welcome the chance to share what I can play without all the angst of a live performance.

I used to record and re-record and obsess over my submission. But that was about 20 recitals back. I've recorded a lot of wrong notes over the years, a lot of performances that make me cringe to listen to them now. But they were all the best I could do at the time.

I have also missed recitals - life gets in the way. I went on a 5 month and 5 day walk in the woods! The break was good for me, and I returned ready to improve.

Outo, I am hoping you will be back for the next recital!

Sam

Clowns (Kabalevsky) or Op 36 No 1 - Andante (Clementi) ... not sure which I'll submit yet. I guess I better decide soon

Thanks for understanding!

Sam, of course we are too hard on ourselves. But that kind of comes with getting better, doesn't it?

I have no trouble sharing my less than perfect recordings with you folks, people here are overly kind and supportive. It's all about me and the stress of recording and disappointment eating away my spirits to study. Need to give myself some slack... I have such a personality that I get far too serious about things. The only way to stop it is to divert my attention to something else. Like working on my lesson pieces, which I just did and enjoyed it very much

outo, I think many of us have the same feelings as you. I skipped a lot of recitals because I thought I had to submit not just my very best, but something almost perfect. The difference between how a piece sounds in my mind, the actual way I can play it and, worse yet, what comes out in a recording can be painful! And doing several recording sessions was getting really tiring and frustrating. I don't know if it's the best way to do this, but now I only limit myself to 3 attempts per piece. During the first session I usually notice that the pieces I thought were ready still need some work, so I do a second and maybe a third session in the next days, but no more. If it's good enough I'll submit, if not I'll pass.

Submitted! I'm glad that I got the recording in time.