Hi everybody! Spring is in the air and it is time for the 6th quarterly PianoWorld Adult Beginners Forum recital! The recital will be posted some time on the 15th of May which means that the submissions must be in by midnight EDT, Monday May 14.

The theme for this recital is "Spring". There is no requirement that the submission relate to the theme and while any and all styles of music are welcome, we do ask that it be piano related.

If you are fairly new to the piano, please do not be intimidated by some of the talent here in the ABF. We all consider ourselves to be beginners even though we may have been playing for some time. And, we LOVE to hear recordings from folks new to the keyboard. So even if you’re on your first Alfred’s method book, we would really enjoy hearing from you.

Recital submissions should be in MP3 format with at least 192kbs. I'll be modifying it a bit for file-size in the consolidated zip files, but your original link will still be availble at the full resolution for those who want it.

If you are new to recording your music, there are several threads in the forum archive that address the ways and means. Audacity is an excellent "free" recording application that can be used.

Below is the submission template to be filled out along with your attached music file. If I have time, I’ll normalize all submissions and create consistent MP3 tags so we can create a nice playlist without everyone having to individually do all that work. Due to the bandwidth requirements, I am unable to host everyone’s submission; however, there are a couple alternatives for those who do not have access to a host server:

1. Many ISPs provide hosting for user websites. If yours provides such a service, then you can use that space to host your song files. See your ISP’s help pages for instructions.

2. Alternatively, you can use the services of a storage host. Most recently we’ve had good luck with http://www.box.net as a storage host.

3. A new third option is to host it on your own computer using a server program called Tirminal. Tirminal allows you to securely share specific files from your hard drive without charge, regardless of their size. However, unless you’re on a broadband connection, I wouldn’t recommend trying it. You can find more information at http://www.tirminal.com/

When you are ready to send in your recital submission, copy and paste the template below into an email, fill it out (removing the italic notes), attach your music submission, and send it to me at the following address:

EMAIL-> piano at bakerstconsulting.com

TEMPLATE:

Performers Name:[/b] {forum ID and real name if you’d like}
Experience:[/b] {Yrs/Mos of piano playing experience}
Direct music link:[/b] {link to your hosted music file}
Song title/composer:[/b]
Source of music:[/b] {sheet music, improvised score, play-by-ear, etc}
Instrument used:[/b] {Piano make, keyboard model, etc.}
Feedback wanted:[/b] {Yes/No}
Additional Info:[/b] {Your thoughts on the piece, what you've had for lunch, etc etc}


Submissions are limited to a single piece of music. The piece can be a medley, but the different parts of the medley should flow together like a cohesive song, not just a collection of songs. There isn’t really a limit to the length of the piece as long as it’s a true piece of music. The due date for all song submissions is MIDNIGHT US EAST COAST TIME on 14MAY07.

There will be two separate discussion rooms (threads) for the recital.

In the first, you can chat about the performances, mention something you liked, and ask questions. But this room is NOT for critical discussion of the performance!

The second discussion room (thread) is for the purpose of providing POSITIVE critical feedback and questions for the performers. Performers must indicate in the Additional Info section if they want feedback on their performance. If this indication is not there, then it would not be good form to discuss their piece in this forum.

While real life recitals are not usually the place to criticize the performances, when the student returns to the studio with the teacher, they will frequently receive this critical analysis at that time. This is the goal for the second discussion forum - to provide this critical feedback to the students who would like to receive it and improve their playing.

Again, the recital order will be done in the order the songs were received, so the sooner you send in your song, the higher you will be on the list! This serves to reward the folks who feel on top of their game and it's about as fair as I can think of for all parties.

Should anyone have any questions at all on what to do or how to do it, this is the place to ask away. Remember, there are NO stupid questions as your questions will probably help to eliminate other member’s problems so ask away!

Let’s show and tell!

Ive only been playing for around 3 months and since i have to play a piece for a real recital for my class at the end of the month, I've thought about doing this to get some criticism on my piece. So from my understanding anyone can join?

Of course anyone can join! Don't be shy and submit your piece, Extraghost. You'll love it and so will we.

*bump*

I have about 16 unread submissions in my inbox and I should be able to process them tomorrow. So don't fret if you haven't heard from me.

Can someone who has just started playing the piano at age 16 submit? (I'm a bit obsessed since my piano got tuned last month.. but since then I'm starting to hate my piano because it does double strikes when playing softly with damper peddle depressed... there I go on a tangent again...)

Sure, Chris. You're not the only non-adult to submit something, so I'd say go ahead!

As of now, I've responded to all submissions that have been received.

Bob

What's the submission count at this point, Bob? Or is that a secret?

I'm in.

If I had a few more weeks I could probably get it right.

Oh well, I guess I better start working on August.

"submissions must be in by midnight EDT, Monday May 14."

Okay, Bob, you've touched upon one of my pet peeves. Do you mean midnight between Sunday and Monday, or Midnight between Monday and Tuesday? Do you consider Midnight to be the start of the day, or the end of the day? It would be a lot easier if the deadline were 11:59 pm.....

Euclid - I believe he means BEFORE 00:01 AM on the 15th

The deadline is Monday at 11:59:59 PM, plus one second, Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

Most people won't cut it that close, though.

Mel

Well, against my better judgement, I sent my piece in for the recital. It's out of my hands now. :p

Hooray! I'm glad you decided to go for it. Looking forward to hearing you!

Thanks AdagioM! Your PM was one of the reasons I decided to just send in what I have instead of complaining about how I haven't had (or taken) the time to make a better recording. (But I couldn't resist adding that kind of whiney excuse to my recording info! :p )

Hmm, I sense a new sig line in this:

"Piano- it's not a spectator sport"

(Sorry for the endless thread-hijack Bob! )

ok, so far I have 31 submissions. Awesome!

euclid10540, sorry for the confusion, I've never heard of Midnight as referring to the beginning of the day. To be perfectly clear, you can have yours in by 11:59:59pm New York, NY, USA time on Monday, May 14th, 2007.

That's my mantra.

But it beats not submitting anything.

31 submissions, nice! How many recordings were submitted in the last recital?

Okay, I just sent mine in (at 9:40 EST). Thank you, Bob, for doing this!

I think it was 44

Ok, mine is in (I hope). Tho I think maybe I should have done that C major scale....

Copper, that was what I finally decided. I missed the last one, so I'm glad I had something this time, even if it's rife with problems and 2 months old.

I feel like a fool. I submitted my recital piece a couple of days ago, but it was missing a major part...the ending! I lost the page!! Anyhow, I did find it (in the garbage can, complete with coffee grounds) and then re-recorded my piece....took me almost all night. Just checking to see if Bob got my update.

And my sincere thanks also, Bob. You do have the patience of a saint.

Kathleen

Mines in....

Ooh, I didn't realize that the deadline was today.

I suppose I'll wait for next time..

ok, 43 submissions so far. 3 hours to go.

Hey I thought I`d missed it because I couldn`t figure the time zone - I`m going to try and record right now...

Aww no I have been away for a while, I can't believe I missed this when I had a piece ready

I had to cop out - couldn`t quite nail it in time.