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Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you can now skip the Beginners Forum, lol.

I've been lurking for a while and finally registered, so here goes.

I am a pianist (primarily jazz and other "pop" styles, although I play a lot of classical as well), organist, composer, music director, and vocalist in the North San Francisco Bay Area. I started playing when I was 6 and took lessons for about a year (studying mainly blues piano) when I was 12. After that, I started focusing on my trumpet playing until age 20, when I gradually stopped playing. However, I continued playing piano for personal enjoyment during this time. When I came back to music 5 years later (after I realized that my life went down the toilet when I wasn't playing), I decided to focus on piano. Trumpet was stressful for me, as I put too much pressure on myself at a young age and overpracticed, whereas piano was something I always did for fun, so I was able to enjoy it more (and stay relaxed when playing).

I studied jazz piano at a junior college for a few years to get my chops in to shape, and left when my school schedule was getting in the way of my gigging/teaching schedule. I have been teaching and performing full time for the past 4 years, and have been the choir director/organist at a local church for the past 3. I primarily play weddings, cocktail/dinner parties, corporate functions, and of course Christmas parties. I also play with various bands, although that doesn't pay the bills.

I am interested in both jazz and classical piano/organ pedagogy. I love jazz and the various styles that have come out of it. But I also love Chopin (and other classical composers, though I feel no one can write for piano like Chopin can).

I'm excited to join in the conversations!

Hi all,
I'm currently enjoying a renewed passion for the piano and have been reading a lot of these forums recently so thought i'd join! I played piano when I was younger, got my LTCL Recital diploma at age 21 but at the time I didn't feel I could commit to progressing to FTCL and I was getting really into singing so I switched to singing lessons with my teacher (she taught both piano and singing). I have always kept up the piano to some extent, but very quickly lost those top end pieces - my go-to has always been Fantasie-Impromptu, for some reasons it has always stayed in my fingers. I have tried on and off to learn new pieces over the years but i've never managed to stick it out and finish anything.

Earlier this year I decided to start playing the piano more as a means of introducing more joy into my life. I have two young kids (1 and 3) so things can be hectic! I bought a digital so that I can play at night with headphones on, as my kids always kick me off the piano during the day so they can 'play' (i.e. smash the keys). I started working on the Appassionata, and then got sidetracked when I started on La Campanella and for the last few months i've been focussing on that. The last week has felt like a tipping point for me - I have finally finished 'learning the notes', and am now in the process of building up speed in a few of the trickier parts. It's been so exhilarating feeling like i've actually learned a new piece - for the first time in 14 years! I'm nowhere near finished with La Campanella, but I now feel like I will get there, whereas for a while I worried it would be too much for me.

This has set me off and now i'm listening to lots more music, dreaming of a bunch of other pieces i'd love to tackle next and starting to wonder how being a pianist will fit with the rest of my life. I'm not aware of any competitions in NZ like the amateur competitions that run overseas, so finding avenues to perform will probably be tricky. At some point i'll take some lessons (who knows, maybe that FTCL might be in my future) but for now I have a world of music to explore and will just take it at my own pace.

For what it's worth, the pieces i've been thinking about playing are:
Chopin Sonata #2
Actually finishing the appassionata
Ditto Waldstein (i've played it on and off over the years but never cracked it)
Brahms Sonata #3
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #2 (I learned this when I was younger but simplified several bits because it was beyond me at the time)
Mephisto Waltz

Hi - I am new to the forum. I studied piano very intensively from age 10 to age 27. My last teacher was the legendary woman pianist, Nadia Reisenberg. I took a break from the piano but later joined some music groups and revived my performing. I took some breaks now and then from the piano but never left it completely. My piano technique always came back after some practice even after a long break.

I am now a senior citizen and have retired to Oklahoma where the cost of housing is much lower than my native New York. I located a music group in Oklahoma City and have become an active participant in their piano group. I have performed several times with the piano group.

As a senior citizen, I now have a bucket list of things that I want to accomplish. I completed one of my items when I self published my novel Beyond Ice - A Novel. My next item that I would like to work on is to make some You Tube recordings of my piano playing while I still have dexterity in my fingers. I have Haydn, Mozart, and Schumann sonatas that I would like to record. I am hoping to get some advice from the forum on purchasing a recording device that would show me playing and more importantly have good sound. I also have never made a You Tube recording and am a complete novice at this.

To learn more about me you can visit my blog at www.the-piano-blog.blogspot.com. Unfortunately I did not keep up this blog, but besides my biographical information, I have some good information on piano practice and solving technical problems at the piano on this blog. I hope to become an active participant on this forum.

Hi Helenez
Welcome to the forum! I am much interested in your blog and was thrilled to read that you were a student of Nadia Reisenberg... as I find her to be one of the overlooked great performers.

Interestingly, I attend adult piano camps with Rami Bar Niv, another former student of Nadia’s

Welcome again!

Hello,

My name is Sam, I'm a former Frenchman and self taught piano player for personal pleasure since 2013, I was 33 then.

I have a very "me" approach to learning the piano. I'm passionate about the very process of learning, especially at the piano.

This involves starting off learning Chopin etudes in my first year, because i believe my fierce sense of rhythm can help me overcome any musical difficultly, or at least being able to find new ways to look at an interesting puzzle and find ways to solve it.

Playing piano allows me to reach states of pure trance and enjoyment. I love playing and listening to other passionate people play too.

Ultimately, I registered to this forum hope I could find other like-minded people to have conversations with, in the scope of music research, be piano buddies over Skype and share our findings, as adventurers of the ordinary world we are, and anything else really that's related to piano or at least deep eagerness to understand and develop music

hello pianoworld,

Although I tend to think of myself as a keyboard fan, rather than say a 'piano player', I have to admit there is something special about the sonorities of a piano. I really like the depth, nuances and complexities of how the sound evolves. I'm humbled by the volume of posts and diverse knowledge of so many folk here at pianoworld who are dedicated to pianism.

My childhood piano teacher taught by demonstration and rote imitation, with no explanation about what scales, chords or harmony actually were. So I disliked piano lessons as a child. Now at middle age, I like just sitting down and 'messing around' at keyboard since I only play for personal interest and enjoyment. I like trying to understand snippets of a composition and then experimenting with it eg. changing the voicings, or harmonic structures and figuring out how to improvise around a theme.

pianoworld has provided many hours of reading and thoughtful opinions on so many topics from theory, to choice of software piano -- hopefully I'll have the opportunity to chime in every now and then when it's a topic I might know about.

Hi all!

I'm Henry. Just logged in for the first time today and posted one clip in the forum already. I would like to meet many pianists here as well as diverse ideas about piano sounds.

I am currently back to my daily practising routines and it feels so good.

I am working on :

1. Chopin - Prelude 16, 24
2. Sibelius - 13 pieces Op 76

My next repertoire could be Debussy's Children Corner.


Just simply introduction. Feel free to ask me any questions. I am happy to answer.

Wow, have two million people actually viewed this thread? Incredible if it is accurate.
I am new to this forum but have spent a lot of time here already, mostly reading up on what people have to say about Kawai's MP series of dps.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate forum members on their civility and generosity of spirit. Even the most fractious thread ( and it took a while to find one) did not sink to emotional knee jerk reactions that I have seen on other fora. Even this appeal to lurkers and the amazing turnout of people willing to overcome their reluctance speaks very loudly for the good vibrations emanating from this virtual node.

Secondly, I feel I have something to contribute here ( as well as gratefully getting valuable information) and that is my fascination with iOS or iPad music production. Most are familiar with desktop production, but it is only in the last few years that iOS has matured enough in terms of connectivity Andy functionality to produce quality recording studio in many genres. Lots of people dismiss this platform just as desktop was dismissed twenty five years ago. But iOS has several great things to offer musicians: it is affordable, portable, fascinating and fun. A relatively easy learning curve to get started and pretty cutting edge technology. I won't bore you with details but I recently posted what I believe is the first fully iPad created symphony, tho I call it Synthony cause I break a lot of rules. Here is the soundcloud post if you care to listen. It is definitely piano centric.

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2769854/synthony-no1-in-gminor.html#Post2769854

If you have interest in this expanding platform please pm me!

Finally, As to my history, I have been playing piano over sixty years. The last thirty on a Steinway restored 1915 B. My playing is all based on improvisation. I have five CDs out on newartistsrecords.com, a jazz label founded by Max Roach. I've played at the Bluenote and Birdland in NYC, written musicals, taught jazz and now, when least expected, caught up in a marvelous new platform for creating.

Perhaps I will contribute some of the things I have learned from my marvelous teacher, Connie Crothers ( student of the great Lennie Tristano). Her teachings on non muscular piano playing, nonjudgmental improvising and the like. Thanks to all for this cultured and compassionate forum!

Hi, my name is Hanna, and I used to study piano seriously but when the fork in the road came to decide whether to pursue it professionally, I went the other way. I don't regret the way my life has turned out (taught in special education for a few years, served as a public interest lawyer, then moved to Romania to be a missionary working with orphans), but I do miss playing the piano as I used to do. It was something I truly loved and sometimes it'd be painful to hear others play---I'd be happy to hear good music, but there was something bittersweet about having a different interpretation and not being able to share it.

Honestly, I thought that part of my life--the joy of working up a piece, sharing a creative take on a classic, or being carried by the music even when playing for myself--was over, because my parents sold the grand piano I used to play on when our family came on hard times, and with my current salary I would never be able to afford an acoustic piano, much less a grand, and I live in an apartment that's too cramped to really even fit an 88-key electric keyboard. I guess you could say it remained one of those wish-upon-a-star, far-reach prayers of mine to somehow find a piano to play on with all the keys, or maybe even a piano with all the sonorous tone qualities I had grown to love about the piano I grew up with.

But just two months ago, I got my wish... While stopping by a local piano store, I got to know the manager and the employees there, and they graciously gave me the OK to drop by and play whenever I wanted. I don't always get to play the nice grand pianos they have at the store, but I'm so grateful to have a place to practice again. And as my practice life got underway again, I started missing the camaraderie and feedback I used to have when I had a piano teacher and peers who were serious students. I started looking for a way to connect to other enthusiasts: I started posting a log of what I practiced on YouTube (link to channel in signature), and now I'm thrilled to find this forum. I hope that I can find a good community here to get feedback, appreciate others on their piano journey, and just to share some music when I polish something enough to share!

Welcome Hanna, and welcome back to the love of the piano. I look forward to reading your future posts.

Hello, Lee here from Manchester, 36 and just about to embark on a new piano journey, though I’m not new to playing. I’ve had a Yamaha YDP-142 for a couple of years and before that hadn’t played for a good few years since I was at school.

I’ve decided to start regular play again and have a large list of music I’d like to learn. My favourite music is contemporary classical which I listen to daily, the likes of Lambert, Riopy, Florian Christl, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Alexanda Chapman Campbell, Yiruma and Olafur Arnold (who I watched live last month).

I’ve signed up to the forum today and wanted to drop by and say hi. My new journey starts in a few days time as soon as my piano is set up after works have finished on the house. In the meantime I’m going to pick up Playing the Piano for Pleasure by Charles Cooke. Excited to get started and hope to see you around the forums.

Welcome to PW, Lee. If you are going to get the Cooke book, you might be interested in this particular forum thread.

I’m about half way through the book, if nothing else it gives some motivation and makes you think about how and why you practice. Thanks for the forum link although I’m currently putting together my own 50-piece repertoire for learning in the long run, based on my own interests and preferred style. I’m currently missing a good solo piano version score of Ave Maria if there’s one around somewhere?

Score is found here. Performance of that score by Lisitsa:

Yes that’s the version I like, thanks. I’m some way off that but at least it’s something to work towards. I currently only have 3 traditional pieces on my list, this, Claire de Lune and Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat. The rest are contemporary classical.

New forum member here. Who's delighted to find that forums still exist, and that there's one on my favourite subject (yay!).

The "CV"

Unsurprisingly, I love music and I love pianos. I started playing at 8 and had lessons until I finished school at 19. At that point, I was good enough that I could have - with practice - passed an entrance exam to a conservatory (at the time, I decided to keep music as a hobby and study literature instead), but I was never good enough to become a concert pianist or anything - more like a piano teacher in a small-town music school.

I've been cursed with a lot of musicality and good taste.

I say "cursed", because these things came packaged with very limited ability In other words, I hear *exactly* how bad I am, haha.

TL;DR (so far): It's not a loss for the world when I don't play the piano, but it's a major loss for me.

In fact, practising is a kind of necessity for me. I've always loved practising (even as a kid) and maintained my skill level for many years. Then came a mixture of personal circumstances and life throwing crap at me, the details of which I won't bore you with, and I didn't even have a piano for 15 years.

Two weeks ago, I bought a rather cheap Laniem - actually it's fairly decent for its price (it's ca. 4 years old and virtually unused), and most importantly it's MINE! And so at 48, I've started the painful, frustrating process of recovering some of my lost skill, which at this point consists of me hammering out Czerny pieces trying to coax my fingers into *moving*! I expected this and was prepared, which doesn't make it any less horrible.

Side note and fun fact: I've spent most of my adult life in Ireland and am bilingual, but my entire music education happened in Germany, so I have no idea how to talk about music and the piano in English. It's a whole new world. B-sharp/flat-what? Lol.


Trivia and silly things

Favourite composer: Chopin

Least favourite: Bach. Don't even try. I know intellectually his importance, impact, groundbreaking and influence. I just never got "into him". I'm firmly rooted in the 19th century and beyond, or shall we say, anything from Beethoven onwards.

Favourite piece of music: Chopin's Nocturne op. 27 No. 2 D-flat major (I hope that's what "Des-Dur" is. See, I'm learning)

Faourite piano concerto: Prokofiev's 1st. Yes, really. I think it's brilliant and vastly underrated.

Favourite pianists: When I was 18 (this was in the 80s), I fell in love with Pogorelich (oh shut up He was gorgeous, and pianistically he was God to me. So there!). I still like him, it's always worth listening to his take on things. But my favourite-favourite pianists are the likes of Kissin and Berezovsky. I also still love Martha Argerich, and if we include dead people, Horowitz is definitely up there, too.

Favourite pianos: Apart from the obvious such as a Steinway grand, for myself I dream of an upright August Förster. Saving up for that to buy in 3-5 years (by which time I hope to merit it once more).


Sob story

My childhood piano teacher later became a personal friend. We used to go to recitals and stalk our favourite pianists, sneaking into rehearsals we had no business being in, and managed to get autographs and shake hands (I used to hope some skill would transfer itself by osmosis. Alas, it never did).

I've not been to a single recital since her untimely death of cancer in 2011. In February/March 2019, I'll finally go to hear two of my favourites live again, in Germany resp. Vienna. Big deal for me.

I lost all my sheet music. Long story; basically, they were in a box which accidentally got picked up and put into a skip, rather than picked up and brought to the house I'd just moved into. Not only did I lose thousands of Euros worth of sheet music, but also 11 years' worth of piano lessons, pencilled-in fingerings and advice from my now-deceased teacher - the last bit of her handwriting I had left. I still choke up just thinking of it, but it's done and I need to deal, so now I'm buying a few pieces of music every month as I can afford it.


Sorry for the accidental novel! I'll be quiet now (for a bit) Glad to be here and looking forward to getting to know folks.

Welcome Sibylle. Good place for a novel. I felt something catch in my throat about losing handwritten notes from your now deceased former piano teacher. Something similar happened with some things I had from my late wife which bring me nearly to tears even now, 20+ years later.

Hope you enjoy participating in this forum!

Oh man, that's awful. I'm so sorry to hear. These things never really stop hurting.

And thanks for the warm welcome

Sibylle, I think I'm your Ukrainian double. I also started playing piano at 8 (although stopped taking formal lessons at 15), considered becoming a piano teacher, starting preparing for entrance exam to a music college (pre-conservatory) but decided to study literature instead. My first piano teacher died of cancer at the age of 39 during my last year of that program, when I was about 15. We were very close. I moved to the US in my twenties and have gotten used somewhat to the music terminology in English but am not 100% at home with it. I do love Bach, though (as well as Chopin and the Romantics, and also the Classics--I'm quite omnivorous). Nice to meet you!