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A tremendous achievement for me. I managed to sing in front of my teacher and one student today for the first time in my life without too much hesitation. When I was little I was a very good singer but gave up after some years because I was afraid to sing in front of people and my teachers were always giving me solos. On the other hand I didn't feel good singing only as a backup or only during the chorus of songs so I gave up completely. Nowadays I am about average and my range has become very limited due to lack of practice and because my voice has changed in puberty and nobody worked with me for years but with some work I'm sure I can at least work with whatever I have left and extend it a little bit. I realize now that there is nothing to be ashamed of and the voice is an instrument much like any other. I'm not embarrassed to play the piano, so why would I be when singing?

Now to learn how to sight-sing before the exam in July...

Break a leg cas!

Cathy

I'll be thinking about you today, Cheryl. Have fun!

Hey Teodor, that's great - I bet that in the future we will enjoy you singing and playing at the same time!!

Thanks Jotur and MaryBee! We'll be leaving home in about 2 hours. I found out I'm number 6 on the program ... I think there are about 20 participants, though I 'm not sure.

So far, I'm still feeling pretty calm...:) so far...!

I'll be back after the recital - but take note: I'm taking you all with me in spirit!!!

Well you can hear my singing in the piano bar, don't know about playing yet at the same time

Good luck on your recital! Have fun!

Thanks for the link, Cheryl. I know you're going to have the crowd humming Chovan for the rest of the evening. Break a leg.

Jim

I am learning to play The Entertainer. I can play the first 2 pages fairly well. I am working on page 3. Page 4 and 5 are similar to page 2. I am happy with my progress.

Ta da! Check out my siggy

It went quite well. I did flub a bit, but no train wreck.

I made a few mistakes in Lilla, but managed to keep the flow going and ended coherently. In Gypsy Legend I actually managed to leave out several bars!!! Oh my!!! But , the notes I did play were all right lol.....and my husband said it all sounded very musical.

I was the only adult who played without music, and only one of the teens played without her music.

The audience was GREAT - so supportive! There were a few tense moments with a few of the performances and you could just feel the kind support flowing to the musicians!

My performance was fine. Not splendid, not horrible, but it WAS musical and I survived. I'm pretty content.

My hands were sweaty before I played (which has never happened before!) and they were shaking a bit towards the end of my second piece, not too badly, but a bit. However I managed to get through it and I enjoyed it.

I would do it again!

Thanks so much to all of you for your encouragement!!!!!!!!!

Well done Cheryl ... but I don't see the grand on your signature yet!

I left some notes out of both of my pieces too. I also added some extra ones. I think it helps to improvise don't you?!

Thanks Andy! Oh, yes, improvise ...right! That's what it is called. I didn't know I could do it!

re the siggy.....duh, I changed it and then forgot to save it!!!! argh... Now my grand is there

CONGRATULATIONS CHERYL!!! Sounds like a remarkably satisfying experience for you!!!!! And of course you played two pieces I love a lot. I am sure you were a hit!!!!! So happy for you!!

Casinitaly, I see that you have been playing for only one year and half. It's impressive.

Congratulations for your success.

Way to go, Cheryl. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know the sweaty, shaky hands syndrome Congratulations.

Cathy

Wow, Cheryl. What a milestone! Congratulations!!

Thanks everyone! It really was fun. I think some people were more nervous than I was, but NOBODY had a train wreck! I think our teacher really prepared us well (not just once we started talking about a recital, but right from the start).

What was really an extra dimension of fun was that several people played things that I've played at home and my husband enjoyed hearing them and recognizing them.

I know that it was a positive experience for all of us, and isn't that what it is all about?

There was one little girl - about 8, who convinced the teacher to play a duet with her. She was all dressed up in a blue velvet dress, a ribbon in her hair, patten-leather shoes and charming white ankle socks with lace. She was adorable, and she was the first to start clapping for each performer, and the last to stop. She just radiated joy.

ah, I'm still smiling!

Ooohhhh, what a lovely image Cheryl. The little girl sounds darling and I especially appreciated the description of her clothing. My closest friends always comment upon how lucky I was that we had boys instead of girls. They suspect that I would have turned a little girl into a complete and utter "Fashionista." While doing so would certainly be inconsistent with my feminist sensibilities, I do have a very serious weakness for darling "little girl clothing."

There are few things more fun for a Mom, (or an Auntie like myself) than buying ultra-girlie dresses for the young ladies in the family.

I've managed to get some really spectacular sundresses for my nieces - some Italian, some French - and they are so pretty. One of my nieces is 17 and she refuses to get rid of some of the dresses I got her when she was 10!!! She just loves them.

I had a lesson this morning, as always, great fun - and we "debriefed" on the recital. My teacher said she'd really like to see more recitals - maybe 3 or 4 a year JUST FOR THE ADULT STUDENTS! I said I'd help organize them.

Maybe I'm nuts, but I want to do it again - and really, in a group of other beginners who've only been playing 2-4 years? That's just too perfect. Of course we can always invite one of the teens to give our audience a break and give us some inspiration

I know that kind of inspiration. Yesterday my teacher played some Rachmaninoff for me and it was more than good. I nearly fainted in pleasure hearing it in person... I see now how she got her performance art degree

Anyway, my last recital for the season is tomorrow at some mall. They have a good grand in there, we'll see how it goes. Lately I've been nervous performing in front of people again but definitely not as much as before. It's just that I don't feel the music when I am not alone, it's something very intimate and I have to learn to express it when others are watching but it doesn't come yet. Personally I see this as an opportunity to gain valuable experience seeing as how I will be playing one of my exam pieces for a second time in a recital. By the time I get to the exam in July there should be no stage fright. I talked to my teacher and she said the only way for this to happen will be to perform hundreds of times. She claims that now she's got the opposite, she plays better for other people than at home because at home she can't be bothered to give it a 100% when she knows no one is listening.

Whats got me excited is playing my beautiful lovely wonderful red piano(WOW)

Back from the recital. I got to play this beauty! It went wonderful. With some mistakes but I never stopped playing to think what's next. I just rolled with it and finished fine. After, a woman asked me if I was a student at the local music high school which I take as a compliment





Here is one recording of a piece I liked:



I'll have the whole recital on a DVD soon, it was recorded professionally and will be much better than my cell phone recording up there. In fact you can see the camera guy in the recording, working his magic and being slightly annoying.