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How do you know. Is this one below Joplin or not Joplin ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIjpB49bacM

Not Joplin.

This link has [MIDI transcriptions of] the two piano rolls that Joplin cut of the Maple Leaf Rag.

Connorized rolls were 'edited' after the fact to ensure even tempo. The arranger would also often punch in embellishments.

Uni-Record rolls were generally meant to reflect the performer's playing more directly. At this point in his life, Joplin is very afflicted by syphilis (he died about a year later), which can affect coordination and motor skills, so Joplin may have performed more proficiently in the past. Joplin was not particularly renowned as a performer, though.

(REPOST: my post-post edit did not make the edit window)

Maybe someone can explain what a piano roll actually is. If its the composer playing the music made into paper squares or not. Sorry if its too much a distraction from the thread :P

Thank you very useful information.

Player pianos are mechanical contraptions that use pneumatic systems to automatically depress piano keys based on a scrolling paper roll. The paper is punched with holes that indicate which notes should be depressed.

If, say, 1890-1910 was the era where sheet music was king, starting around maybe 1900-1920, player pianos began their ascendance, followed about 10-15 years later with actual recordings. (No known recordings exist of Joplin)

Basically, you would buy a roll the way you would buy a record, 8-track, cassette, CD, minidisc, mp3...

These rolls were usually created by effectively a reverse process. The pianist would play while an unpunched roll was running and the recording mechanism would apply marks to the paper corresponding to the depressed notes. These marked up rolls could then be punched. Arrangers would take liberties to make the music more interesting, since the player pianos were not limited to producing only notes that fit within a single human's handspan.

Most player pianos did not have the ability to duplicate dynamics but a subclass called reproducers could at the very least change the overall volume as the roll played.

I'm not really that well informed about player actions but the above is the gist.

32. Balezin Dmitry - Bohemian Rhapsody Hoorah! What a fun piece to play and I thought you did quite well. I love your bass

33. QuasiUnaFantasia - Moonlight, 2nd mvmnt What a great piece to dedicate to your father. I like the movement you imparted to this.

36. Pianist685 - Kiss the Rain I liked this - you played confidently and with good phrasing.

38. torquenale - Espana Prelude Welcome home. You created great atmosphere for this and all the little ornaments and the flowing left hand were good.

41.Mr. Super-Hunky - Song from a Secret Garden You just get better and better - amazing child. This was lovely.

42/ schinl - Prelude Nice dynamics and another piece with good movement to it.

44. dumka1 - April I thought the tempo was good and I *loved* the runs.

45. Qwerty53 - Still Blue Great playing! What a nice bluesy feel to it - your imagination was in exactly the same place as this recording. Wonderful.

26. Snejana - "A Walk in the Forest" - Medley of three pieces by composers from three different eras that follow one imaginative story. Scherzo by Dmitri Kabalevsky; Peaceful Calm by Rick Robertson; Walking Piece by Igor Stravinsky.
I have never tried to create a medley and would not know where to begin. Yours came out very well – musically coherent and listenable. Well done!

29. Ganddalf - Mallorca (Barcarolle) Op.202
Beautiful! I can almost hear the guitar strings! Masterfully executed, as usual! Thanks for breaking your rule.

31. RogerRL - Etude 9
Interesting! Seems more dramatic than the other Glass pieces I have heard. You kept it all moving very nicely, with that steady pulse. Well done.

33. QuasiUnaFantasia - Moonlight sonata, 2nd movement
Wonderful! A beautiful tribute to your father.

35. Yamaha G3 & P 80 - I got rhythm
Yay for Gershwin! Nice rhythmic figures you throw in there. Dynamite ending!

36. Pianist685 (Constantin) - Kiss the rain
Beautifully played. Starts out a bit like What Kind of Fool Am I, but quickly charges off in another direction. Lovely ending!

31. RogerRL - Etude 9 Now look what you’ve done - made me want to learn this one! Loved it.

32. Balezin Dmitry - Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) Isn’t it amazing how much we can achieve when we find something we *really* want to play? There was so much going on in that arrangement, and after only 4 months you are well on the way to ‘owning’ it. Bravo!

33. QuasiUnaFantasia - Moonlight sonata, 2nd movement Delightful music indeed, and played with great sensitivity - a very special tribute to your father.

34. ThePld - Ballad of The Earth What a terrific debut. I’d guess that your final Grade 1 Recital went really well!

35. Yamaha G3 & P 80 - I got rhythm To me, reading music would be much easier than trying to play anything by ear. I loved the colours, and the changing tempo, away from swing and back again. Very nice!

36. Pianist685 (Constantin) - Kiss the rain Another aspirational piece for me. That was a delight - thank you!

37. JoBert - Adagio (KV 540) A wonderfully expressive interpretation - standing ovation here!

38. torquenale (Alessandra) - Espana - Prelude A very atmospheric piece, capturing the swirling colours of a Spanish dance. Great work!

39. Moo - Morceaux de fantaisie, Serenade (1892 version) A real achievement - congratulations!

40. joangolfing - Bourree One and Two (French Overture) BWV 831 Your hard work has paid off, resulting in a most enjoyable performance.

41. Mr. Super-Hunky - Song from a secret garden I love milder, gentler pieces so this one gets my vote - it was just dreamy. But we all need variety, so don’t restrict your styles, you do so many, so very well!

42. schinl - Prelude Op.23 No.4 I can see why you loved this dramatic and melancholic piece. You handled it with confidence and flair.

43. jotur/Cathy Turner - Victory March Wow - what a story! And what a great rendition of that 100-year-old Victory March. Thank you for sharing your family history - and your musical talents!

44. dumka1 - "April" (Snowdrop) from "The Seasons" Clearly you rose to those challenges and overcame the difficulties - a most enjoyable rendition.

45. Qwerty53 - Still Blue You painted just the right picture, with your description and then with your touch on the keys. (Who IS that dark-haired man over by the bar?)

05. MarieJ - Limbo (to do)

Great job on the Einuadi piece. Another one I have to add to my to do list.

07. akc42 Alan Chander - BWV 974 Adagio

Welcome to the BWV 974 club. I enjoyed your performance very much!

08. KevinM - Song without words Opus 30.3

This caught my attention as I just started learning it a few weeks ago. You played it well! The mp3 with the RCM book plays the beginning of bar 7 and 11 broken or trill like, although there is no such notation. I have to figure out what is going on there.

Many thanks to KevinM, MarieJ, barbaram, Querty53, SamS, Balezin Dmitry, cmb13, noobpianist90, AssociateX for all your comments which ar much appreciated. Glad that no-one seems to have heard any extraneous noises. Yes, the sudden forte scale run is a surprise: Nocturnes are of course of the night and most have something of a nightmare passage or 2 in them. (Technically and musically) It is one of the harder - technically - of the Nocturnes but Op62 No2 is harder and as for Op48 No1 ..... Re bringing attention to the LH at times and some "notey" passages, I wonder if these coincide and if either of you (noobpianist90 and AssociateX) can indicate where it would help. By "notey" I assume notes that don't appear to carry a great deal of musical meaning. Don't worry if it's not possible/convenient. It encourages me to listen carefully for this. Re imperfections, we all know that errors fall into 2 categories: those we know the listener will hear and those we can hear but a listener, especially one unfamiliar with the music, may or may not. I think our sensitivity to our own errors is normal and not a sign of perfectionism.

Wow it's the next weekend and we already have 4 pages of comments!


Thanks Kevin!



Good you mention Schubert in relation to Heller. I didn't realize before you mentioned, but Heller wrote quite some pieces inspired on Schubert's lieder, such as Die Forelle, Der Erlkönig, etc. Op.45 is right between those pieces.


Interesting that you get such inverse images with this, I didn't know that it could work that way, thanks for sharing


Thanks for the nice comments!

Thanks! You can find more heller on pianoworld here
https://recitals.pianoworld.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Heller


Yes they are so much nicer to play and hear than the average etude.


Sam thanks!


Ah yes, the bells. I have to play them soft because it's accompaniment here .You find these a lot more often in Norwegian composers like Grieg and Sinding.


Good to hear! You can also check heller's op.47 for more.



Thanks! What does "(do do)" mean?

And, please stick with a real acoustic! Any decent acoustic sounds better than any top DP. A Steinway model O is a good size, if tuned and regulated well this should easily outdo anything DP.And if you spend some time on your room acoustics and recording techniques you can do so much more than a DP

12. cmb13 - Craig - Autumn Song - October
Exactly autumn...I hadn't seen the name of the piece when
I started to listen to it...I though it's great music to recall somrthing and get deep into thoughts (kind of what we do in Autumn)
Great.

13. EdmondRhapsody - Faded
I love covers...piano covers, don't know if that's my simple taste.
Still...you did great job on this one. I liked your hands movement.

14. peterws - Wistful Thinking
Bright melodies. Great clean playing with nice dynamic...something to strive for. I loved listring to it.

15. lyricmudra - Venetian Boat Song No. 1 (Songs Without Words Op. 19 No. 6)
Well, I loved it. Smooth, fluent playing. Melody is so clear and doesn't get lost in chords and bass sounds (kind of what I have at the moment:-).

16. noobpianist90 - Two Part Invention in C Major BWV 772
That's so Bach :-) I mean, one goes straight back to his times and hears those trills and notes. Very well played.
And about being able to make it from the FIRST take is somethin to be proud of...It takes me lot of take to make a video...I just make that much mistakes under stress:-)

18. Ted Jones - Improvisation
Some parts were kind of famliliar...and of course being able to improvise LIKE THAT is just so great. Loved it.

19. Associate X (Liz) - Tchaikovsky- Seasons (June- Barcarolle)
I think that just a tad bit softer and it would have been great. Still great playing...I see you can sight-read it, which is something beyond my reach:-). Lovely.

20. sinophilia - Waltz in G# minor Op. 39 no. 3

21. Monica K. - Song for Gavin
Sad, but beatiful. Isn't it what we all want from our playing...beautiful sounds.

22. facdo - Invention No.13 in A minor, BWV 784
Light and lovely sound. You play very well...and for me the dynamics is also there. Keep on enhancing and polishing it.

23. barbaram - Prelude No 2 in D Minor BWV 940
Great that you've found a piece that you enjoy playing. You can
develop a lot of feel, playing it. Nice playing.

24. Riddler (Ed) - Maiden Voyage
Loved it. I can meditate listening to this piece. It has a lovely
motion inside it. Calm but somwhat thoughtful.
Great that you can explain and understand theory behind the piece.

25. Palmpirate - The Prophet Bird
Loved it. Don't know why. It's different and sadden pauses makes it
even more interesting. Great!!!

26. Snejana - "A Walk in the Forest" - Medley of three pieces by composers from three different eras that follow one imaginative story. Scherzo by Dmitri Kabalevsky; Peaceful Calm by Rick Robertson; Walking Piece by Igor Stravinsky.
The longest TITLE that's for sure...it's great playing for a self-taught player. It means that I also have some chances to play well sometimes in the future. I loved the sound of the pieces.

27. Ralph L. - Someone like you (Adele)
I'd really prefer the melody to be also played on the piano (which sounds great). The synth sounds doesn't fit so well in my opinion.
Still. I loved the piece and your playing...it's just the sounds
I am not a fan of:-)

48. Serge88 - Pathetique A great piece and a nice interpretation.

50. zsolpyW - Unforgiven So well-played! I like your contrast between different parts.

51. lvojnovic - Regen How fun! I loved it. You played it with jolliness and a sort of tenderness.

56. Sam S - November How quiet and comtemplative. A perfect ending for the recital. I love hearing about your piano journey.

Thanks to everyone who makes/made these recitals possible. I love listening to them every time.

1 Wouter

Nice! Tuneful, pleasant piece to kick off with.

2 Claudemir Medeiros

You're learning well, and your fluency is testament to to this. Excellent work!

3 Mosotti

Very well played. Sounds full of gloomy expression. You done well in this, man. Can't fault it.

4 Peyton

I didn't know there was a Celtic sea . . . very nice tune though. You obviously like this. It shows!

5 Marie J

Nicely done, Marie.

6 JerzyK19

You know this well obviously. And you put so much into it. Lovely work in the dancing tradition. You are a very fluent pianist.

7 AKC42

Great work. A bit o' sadness here, But you do a super job.

8 KevinM

There's a mature, feelgood about most of Mendellsohn's work. That's why it's so often used in churches. Your piano sounded very well. A very nice listen but could you lift up the light and shade just a bit more?

9 Sandalholme

Couldn't fault the sound. There was loads of dynamics here. Beautifully played.

10 Thomas

Really nice; Lively and very vibrant, but it could do with smoothing out a wee bit, if you don't mind me saying. I enjoyed it and it's efforvescence greatly.

Thanks for listening. Familiar ? Yes, sometimes, when listening to my recordings, I hear unintentional quotes, sometimes quite detailed, from music I had heard a long time ago. How this operates is a mystery but it does happen occasionally.

38. torquenale (Alessandra) - Espana - Prelude
Welcome back, Alessandra. Good job, authentic feel. I’d say you are ready for the recital, no doubt about it!

40. joangolfing - Bourree One and Two (French Overture) BWV 831
Pieces like this with multiple lines are so hard to master, but you have done quite well. Very musically played.

42. schinl - Prelude Op.23 No.4
Wow, intimidating piece of music. Very impressive playing!

43. jotur/Cathy Turner - Victory March
Yes, victory! I can hear the whole band in there! Lots of musical folks in my family tree, too, but no composers. It must give you a special satisfaction to play his composition.

46. Handyman (John) - Phantom of the Opera
Awesome! I used to play this on a Hammond organ – lots of fun. Love those key modulations. Well done!

Ed