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Joined: May 2009
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20 
Performer's name:Ralph L.
From:Calgary
Experience:18 months
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://youtu.be/lx7DkEAYZWI
Title of piece:A thousand years
Composer:christina perri
Duration:02:10
Source of music:Used piano cover lead sheet and further changed to fit my skill level
Instrument used:Roland FP30
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I think this is from the Twilight Saga.

Due to my current skill level, I had to reduce the speed to minimize errors.

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21 
Performer's name:Handyman
From:Hershey, PA, USA
Experience:Beginning again after extended hiatus
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:North American Medley: America, the Beautiful and O Canada
Composer:Katherine Lee Bates/Samuel A. Ward & Calixa Lavallee/Adolphe Routher/Robert Weir
Duration:03:46
Source of music:Jumbo Easy Piano Songbook - 200 Songs for All Occasions
Instrument used:Yamaha CVP-301
Recording method:Digital Piano to Audacity Recording/Editing Software on laptop via Behringer Audio (Analog to Digital) Interface
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:While you may feel some vague compulsion to do so there is no need to stand at attention while listening to this submission - the pieces in this medley are presented here only for their intrinsic musical value, and not their patriotic appeal. But, I wonder if this is the first time a National Anthem has appeared in a Recital...

"America, the Beautiful" is NOT the National Anthem of the United States. However, with it's lovely melody and naturalistic lyrical images about spacious skies, amber waves of grain, majestic purple mountains and fruited plains there are many who wish that it was. It is quite the contrast to the "Star Spangled Banner" with it's war-related lyrics and difficult-to-sing, multi-octave tune based on some old, rowdy English pub drinking song (a vocal mine field for some of our most celebrated singers - even on the rare occasions when they do actually remember the lyrics).

"America" was finally pieced together and published as a patriotic song in 1910 from a poem written in 1895 by Katharine Lee Bates and music composed in 1883 (for a hymn) by Samuel A. Ward. It has been very popular ever since, and deservedly so.

"O Canada" is as simple and dignified and listenable as any Anthem probably ever gets. It has been the official National Anthem of Canada only since 1980, although the music for it was composed a century before. It has been a personal favorite since I first heard it as a young boy watching National Hockey League games on TV. The best versions are those by military vocal groups, or powerful tenors and sopranos giving us chills and knocking our socks off.

It's lyrics were originally in French, and various English translations have existed through the years. Just recently the second line was changed (by official Act) from "True patriot love in all thy Sons command" to the more politically correct "True patriot love in all of us command". This seems a somewhat reasonable concession to otherwise usually aggravating, non-sensical P.C. pressure. Another interesting aspect of it's lyrics is that 3 of the last 4 lines end with the phrase "we stand on guard for thee" apparently emphasizing the serious need for vigilance against unspecified, but ever present, enemies (not necessarily to the immediate south).

I pieced this medley together from separate sheets in the "Jumbo" songbook. The overall arrangement is mine, including the simple chord-like transitions and some of the harmony notes in the right hand melody lines. Also, I inserted the rising chords at the end of "O Canada" to give the piece an ascending and triumphant conclusion.

Hopefully, I have not offended any citizens - either American or Canadian - with this medley and/or it's performance.

So, "Rally 'round the flag boys - and girls!"

Handyman (enjoying American cheese and eggs and Canadian bacon and beer for lunch)

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22 
Performer's name:akc42 / Alan Chandler
From:London UK
Experience:10 months since restarting after 56 year break where previously scraped a grade 3.
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:J.S Bach Invention No 8
Composer:J. S. Bach
Duration:01:28
Source of music:Henle Urtext
Instrument used:Kawai CA67
Recording method:Internal Recorder to WAV then Audacity to MP3
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:This is my first week at 70bpm (previously 60bpm; ultimate aim is 82bpm). Wanting to get even playing with detached quavers throughout.

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23 
Performer's name:Tootles
From:Georgia, USA
Experience:less than a year
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Beauty and the Beast
Composer:Alan Menken
Duration:02:21
Source of music:Faber Adult Piano Adventures, popular, Book 1
Instrument used:Charles Walter console
Recording method:Zoom
Technical feedback wanted:No
Additional info:I played this at the SummerKeys student recital last month and didn't do too well. If only I could turn shaky hands into a piano vibrato, I'd have it made. I did a little better recording this today (after 5 tries). Still getting used to using the pedal, and also playing a little longer piece. But hey, I'm having fun playing on a piano of my own (I call it "Bonnie Prince Charlie").

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24 
Performer's name:LisztAddict
From:Earth
Experience:Too long, lost count.
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJbWwAE_PZw
Title of piece:Elegie Op 3 NO 1
Composer:Rachmaninoff
Duration:05:32
Source of music:sheet music
Instrument used:Yamaha CLP-645 digital
Recording method:MIDI from instrument to WAV (Pianoteq). Video from Samsung phone.
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:On the score, pp was marked at the beginning. However, for whatever reason, Rachmaninov himself played as f in one of his recordings. So now many pianists also start the piece at Forte, and they think that's how it should be played.

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25 
Performer's name:sinophilia
From:Italy
Experience:6 years
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuMQOzHiSc0
Title of piece:Last Chance Blues
Composer:Martha Mier
Duration:02:07
Source of music:Sheet music - Jazz, Rags & Blues book 4
Instrument used:Casio Celviano AP-450
Recording method:iPhone 7
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I enjoy taking a break from classical music once in a while, and Martha Mier's blues compositions are usually very nice, with some challenging spots here and there but very pleasant and feasible for an intermediate player. I also like the relaxed pace and overall "laziness" of blues pieces.

As usual, when I first tried to record this one, I started adding incredible new mistakes in unusual places. Then I told myself "Come on, you know this piece! Let's try one more time" and I managed to take this video, which came out okay I think, except for a blatant wrong note in the resolution at the very end. I got there and literally asked myself: "What comes next? Let's try this note!". It was not the right one but it wasn't completely out of place either. So that's it from me this time! laugh

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26 
Performer's name:Sandalholme
From:UK
Experience:Too many
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Prelude Op28 No15 (Erard 1849 piano)
Composer:Chopin
Duration:04:51
Source of music:Sheet music
Instrument used:Kawai ES7 Pianoteq 1849 Erard
Recording method:Digital to Mac, then Audacity
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:Like to share the sound of the PT 1849 Erard, wonderful for Chopin. A few raindrops got blown away in the wind and didn't land. Sorry about that.

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27 
Performer's name:Snejana
From:United States
Experience:4.6 years (self-taught)
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Hummingbird Memories
Composer:Rick Robertson
Duration:01:59
Source of music:PianoPronto https://pianopronto.com/composers-community/rick-robertson/rick-robertson-hummingbird/
Instrument used:Casio PX-700 Digital Piano
Recording method:GarageBand on Mac (I struggled with this so much). I don't know what is the best way to record the piece to sound exactly the way my keyboard sounds (GarageBand uses its own sound of a Steinway Grand Piano)
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:This is my second recital for which I decided to do a piece by a contemporary composer. I stumbled on Rick Robertson's Hummingbird when about a month ago I searching through my sheet music for a good candidate. I immediately fell in love with this piece because of its brisk melody (my favorite kind), and energetic feel. The melody is full of patterns, and I love learning pieces like that as they stick to your memory easier. I have to admit I deviated slightly from the suggested tempo and style of playing to fit it better with my touch. Other than tempo and pedaling, I also tweaked a few notes in one of the bars in the middle of the piece where for some reason the transition back to home didn't feel right. The piece is in G-major, but in that one bar (ritardando) it switched to A-minor and descended to D before making it home. And finally, I also emphasized the finale of the piece by introducing two more full notes - G (an octave apart) to really settle the piece. The original rendition by the composers himself sounds much more like a Hummingbird, while my interpretation of it sounds more like "Hummingbird memories"! I hope you enjoy it!

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28 
Performer's name:Monica K.
From:Lexington, KY
Avatar:Avatar Image
Experience:About 14 years, self-taught.
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://youtu.be/ijnI_AAR98k
Home page link:http://www.youtube.com/pianomonica
Title of piece:Elements
Composer:Ludovico Einaudi
Duration:04:14
Source of music:Elements sheet music collection, modified in some sections by ear to sound more like how Einaudi played it in the Carpark Session. (More specifically, I replaced the four-note arpeggios in the last section with three-note arpeggios.)
Instrument used:Mason & Hamlin A
Recording method:mp3 file recorded with Zoom H4, amplified in Audacity. YouTube video recorded with Zoom Q8.
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I've wanted to tackle this piece since hearing Einaudi's piano solo version of it in the Carpark Session recording. However, he plays it with a soft, gentle touch throughout, whereas I tend to get frenetic and out of control at the faster parts. I think I've reached the asymptote of my ability with this piece, at least for the time being, so it's time to put it to rest.

p.s. I'm also pretty sure I accidentally repeated a measure, but hopefully you won't notice where unless you're following along with the sheet music.

p.p.s. Lunch was leftover vegan potato/chickpea curry.

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29 
Performer's name:Greywullf
From:Tacoma, WA
Experience:29 years
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Lyric Pieces
Duration:05:25
Source of music:Sheet Music
Instrument used:1910 Chickering Parlor Grand
Recording method:Tascam DR-40, Audacity to remove silence between movements.
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:Three movements from Edvard Grieg's Lyric Pieces Op. 12
No. 1 Arietta
No. 3 Wachterlied
No. 5 Volksweise

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30 
Performer's name:fishandchips
Experience:1 year, 9 months
Direct music link:click to download
Home page link:https://soundcloud.com/user-197203213
Title of piece:Invention 11 in G minor BWV 782
Composer:J.S. Bach
Duration:01:22
Instrument used:Kawai ES110
Recording method:Vintage Galaxy D
Technical feedback wanted:Yes

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31 
Performer's name:EdmondRhapsody
From:San Francisco Bay Area
Experience:7 years of lessons as a kid, as an adult I am playing for fun without lesson
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://youtu.be/1L9UzGUjWl0
Title of piece:Mission Impossible Theme
Composer:Lalo Schifrin
Duration:01:19
Source of music:from various youtube piano arrangements
Instrument used:Yamaha P-255
Recording method:keyboard USB recording
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:This is one of my favorite theme songs. The theme was originally composed by Lalo Schifrin in the 60s in orchestral version. It's still very fun to play in piano arrangement. This is also a piece that I use to practice my left hand play. It took me some practice to play through the whole piece without my left hand tiring out.

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32 
Performer's name:tjbron (Tom)
From:United States
Experience:14 years as a youth, a few years as an adult after a break.
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Nocturne in F sharp minor, Op. 48 No. 2
Composer:Chopin
Duration:08:08
Source of music:G. Henle Verlag, Urtext
Instrument used:Mason & Hamlin BB, 1927
Recording method:Digital Camcorder (Canon M40) on manual mic level. Audacity to trim silence and run noise reduction, then convert to MP3.
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I was a little disappointed with the last minute or so, but when I managed to get these eight minutes without the phone ringing, the cat meowing, the air conditioner turning on, or some other calamity... I decided to run with this take!

Beat four of the first measure is widely known to be a D#, but my edition shows D natural. After learning it with the error, I decided I like it better that way, so D natural it is.

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33 
Performer's name:noobpianist90
From:India
Experience:10+ years
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYSyAuiPsIQ
Title of piece:Sonatina in C Major - Op. 36 No. 3
Composer:Muzio Clementi
Duration:07:55
Source of music:http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/5/58/IMSLP218423-WIMA.b861-cl36.pdf
Instrument used:Kawai VPC-1 with Pianoteq Steinway D
Recording method:USB Midi
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:This is the longest piece I've recorded so far, at around 8 minutes. This piece was perhaps not as technically or musically challenging as some other pieces I've learned. However, it still was pretty challenging due to the length of the piece and the tempo at which I wanted to play it.

The first movement is in AABB sonata form. Each part has two themes. The A part has the two themes in the key of G Major, and the B part starts of with the inverted first theme and then the recapitulation in C Major. It is marked "Spiritoso", which means to play it spiritedly. The most challenging part of this movement was getting the dynamics right on the scale runs. There are a couple of tempo flubs, but overall, I think it turned out okay.

The second movement is also in AABB form. Although the tempo marking is "Un Poco Adagio", I preferred to play it at Adagio, which I feel brings out the beauty of the melody more. I heard a few recordings playing this movement much faster, but it didn't appeal to me as much as playing it slowly did.

The third movement was probably the most challenging of the three. Especially because of the "Allegro" tempo marking. The scale runs transitioning to arpeggios was technically challenging mainly because of the tempo. Played slowly, this movement is not that hard. I'm not very sure about my analysis of this piece. It came across to me as having a Rondo form, with multiple themes that keep repeating and varying. Although the hardest, the third movement is definitely my favourite of the three. There are still a few rhythmic issues in the left hand in a few places, but this was the best recording I could manage.

As a self learner, I always welcome any critique/suggestions. Nit-picking is also welcome smile

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34 
Performer's name:GoldmanT
From:Scotland
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODcgDLBx2wo
Title of piece:Sebastian's Place
Composer:improvisation
Duration:04:48
Source of music:Improvised (no time to learn a full-on piece of sheet music this month)
Instrument used:Kawai CA67
Recording method:USB
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:This is an improvisation cut down from 15 minutes and four separate takes - the video fades in and out when the cuts happen so I'm not trying to hide it! I don't know if it would qualify as a tone poem, but it was kind of inspired by the set design for JF Sebastian's apartment in Blade Runner, and I think the little 'two chords separated by a semi-tone' motif is in the soundtrack somewhere too. I listened to a lot of Frank Zappa's and Bartok's orchestral works when I was younger which gave me a big tolerance for dissonance which some of the listeners may not share. wink

I kind of know what I'm playing maybe 90% of the time, but there are times where a note is a surprise to me (sometimes even a pleasant surprise!) and I then have to try to respond to it with the next few notes to have it fit into an overall context. The last bass note in particular I find interesting because it follows a hot mess of shaped randomness (i.e. I knew the shape of what I was going to play but not the actual notes) and I hear it as a 9th, i.e. it's an F, whereas if I'd played an Eb it would have sounded like a root and resolved that section completely. So in essence there were 12 possible endings for that piece with varying amounts of resolution/suspension/dissonance, and that is really what happens throughout the whole thing with the note choices. Sometimes I stayed safe, there are a couple of straightforward jazz licks which hopefully balance things out.

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Performer's name:Piano2138
Experience:Almost 2 1/2 years
Direct music link:click to download
Title of piece:Witches and Wizards
Composer:Christine Donkin
Duration:00:33
Source of music:RCM Celebration Series Level 3 - Piano Etudes
Instrument used:Yamaha CLP-585
Recording method:Piano to WAV, normalized & converted to MP3 with Audacity
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:As I was able to practice only very little these last 3 months, initially I thought I should skip this recital. I decided to still submit a very short nice piece, at least to show to myself that I am continuing.
It was fun playing it!

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36 
Performer's name:MeganR
From:Near Yosemite
Experience:3
Direct music link:click to download
Home page link:http://www.prayinghorse.com
Title of piece:Aria Bist du Bei Mir BWV 508
Composer:Stolzel
Duration:03:03
Source of music:Sheet music, memorized
Instrument used:Everett spinet
Recording method:Zoom H4N, converted to mp3 in Audacity
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I've been playing this piece from the Anna Magdalena Notebook for some time, and until today hadn't been able to get a decent enough recording. I really love this piece, having heard it for the first time (or at least becoming aware of it really) by listening to a wonderful version by Jennifer Cutting on her album Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey.

https://youtu.be/z7Ro2lAln2I

Here's the usual disclaimer for not having entirely achieved what I think "should be" the true beauty of the piece - even so I'm pretty happy that I played nicely on a trouble spot that I practiced oh so many times, although not quite doing as well as I have in practice on others.

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37 
Performer's name:Piano_primo_1
From:South Pgh PA USA
Avatar:Avatar Image
Experience:8-9 but who counts ?
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz6Dy-fPbpc
Home page link:https://wp.me/p5jsTm-1Y
Title of piece:Elegy
Composer:Jules Massenet
Duration:02:48
Source of music:MIdi 2 sheet file
Instrument used:Casio PX 100
Recording method:digital to pianoteq and WMM
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:Really e-z piece for a good reason ...-hectic job jumping-
I choose this for the ease of learning it quickly. Note that I did ad lib the melody , which you'd only notice if you are familiar with the piece.
It was originally written for a stringed instrument ,cello viola etc, but there are many versions around the internet.
Other than that , it keeps me in the loop of piano ,which I do like but haven't a lot of time for...So, even if e-z style... hope you like this!
feedback is really optional a simple yay or nay will do!

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Performer's name:Balezin Dmitry
From:Russia
Experience:1 year 7 months
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFZ9hRzCbO0
Title of piece:Valse d'Amelie
Composer:Yann Tiersen
Duration:02:34
Source of music:https://musescore.com/user/1417101/scores/960611
Instrument used:Piano
Recording method:from piano to "line in" of my digital recorder...and then trimmed it and changed volume in audacity
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:I need to work more on volume range (from "p" to "mf"). And should have expressed melody more clearly (wich connected to the first problem)

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Performer's name:Jouishy
From:Quebec city
Experience:2,5 years
Direct music link:click to download
Video link:http://www.youtube.com/user/Jouishy
Title of piece:Sonata in C major - K545 1st movement
Composer:Mozart
Duration:03:06
Source of music:Sheet music - memorized
Instrument used:Yamaha M1A
Recording method:Zoom Q4n; extracted mp3 from Audacity
Technical feedback wanted:Yes
Additional info:A little bit disappointed with the recording, but didn't manage to get anything better. Listening back to myself makes me realize how much I lack in musicality, technical abilities and interpretation.
This is a piece I practiced for the first time when I had 6 months of piano experience. I took it back last May so I can go a little bit further in my interpretation. I guess I could go back to it again in a few years to get something even better.

I'm still practicing it for a few weeks, so advice are highly welcome! smile

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