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Ok now wait here... this was not the deal... This is supposed to be a critical discussion room, and when I'm one of the first to actually have any critique, the alarm bells start ringing. I don't agree with you Phlebas that I was being nasty. Firstly, when I reread what I wrote, I don't think it's nasty. I just didn't like the piece! That's not to say I don't like the musician, or even the person! I have no reason to hold a grudge against anyone here, so I think you should have given me the benefit of the doubt... I was just trying to be honest. Maybe I should've just said I didn't like the piece, and left it at that. But personally I think that is more insulting. I have tried to argument why I didn't like the piece. And still more insulting, is saying you like it, when you don't.

So, I think this way of dealing with it isn't entirely right... and this not about how much time I may or may not have invested in listening to everyone, I truly enjoyed, both the listening and sharing my thought with everyone. Besides that I think it's quite hypocritical to just delete what I posted, like I never said it. Rather confront me with it, i.e. saying you thought I was being nasty, and should consider apologising. I think you made an issue out of it by actively stepping in, and I'm making an even bigger issue about it by posting this... but I just don't feel this is the right way to handle a disagreement.

To maryrose, while my limited time with the piano does not automatically mean I wouldn't know much about music. However, it's certainly true. And I have never presumed to know much about music, you can read that in my comments numerous times. So you could be spot on in saying that this limits my capability to hear the beauty in Frycek's piece... maybe I will come to appreciate it in time... it's still in my itunes playlist, and I have it on cd, so it's not going anywhere soon!

I thought NE gave a very observant critique of my performance. He was dead on...as far as I was concerned.

But I feel the same as MaryRose regarding Frycek.
The piece that Frycek played (and played so wonderfully) is extremely difficult, especially to get that haunting but simple melody out in the right hand, almost sounds like a fragile silver bell ringing out over the fullness of chords. Or a mother's lovely voice gently lulling her baby to sleep. It takes a musical ear to hear it and appreciate its beauty. And a highly skilled and talented person to play it as eloquently as Frycek did.

Kathleen

Kathleen, when I got to the point of reading Nighteyes' critique about Frycek's performance I just stopped reading. I missed what he said about yours. I have now read it and think you are being too modest; he was not spot on. You were better than that - much, much better. What a gracious lady you are.

Having said that, I do think that Nighteyes has a wonderful time ahead as he improves his already good playing and matches that with listening skills and knowledge. I am quite sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone. Next time, maybe I will take part, and then he really WILL have material for criticism Which I will welcome.

Ah, tempo! LisztAddict brought this up, so please let me add to his comments.

One of the things I mentioned most often in my general reviews to specific performers was that they would benefit from keeping a more even tempo throughout the piece. When someone is just listening to the piece, esp someone who doesn't know the music or maybe knows the music but hasn't heard this performer's rendition, it's very disconcerting to have sudden speeding up or slowing down in the melody. When the music is a solo version of a well-known song (as many Christmas pieces are) this is doubly true. People tend to sing along in their heads, and if the melody you're playing suddenly changes tempo from the lyrics they have playing in their head, it makes the music sound/feel jerky.

Listening to this recital, three tempo problems stuck out, so I'll try address those as I noticed them.

1) Not giving notes their full value, or measures their full value. This tends to happen most often with whole or half notes, and esp when those notes come at the end of a measure or at the end of a phrase. For the performer, there's a feeling of needing to get on to the next section, esp if there's a difficult one coming up. But the music needs to breathe, and phrases need to feel completed. So playing a half or whole note to its full value is a crucial part of what goes into making the entire piece sing. While playing, it's really hard to tell if you're doing this yourself. This is where a teacher is helpful, but if you don't have a teacher, let your recording teach you. The easiest way to make sure you're not short-changing any notes is simply to count. Listen to your recording, and count (1,2,3,4, or better 1&,2&,3&,4&.) Anywhere that's rushed will stand out, because you'll be counting "1& 2& 3& 4&" and when you're at "4&" the music will be starting "1" of the next measure. If you find a place like that, then use the metronome to practice those measures (before and after the problem spot) and you can quickly train yourself to feel all the counts that are needed per measure.

Another thing that's helpful is to sing and see where you'd need to take a breath. Even though the final music will be solo piano, the phrases need to pause where a singing would be breathing, this makes it sound most natural and flowing for the listener.

2) Slowing down for difficult/fast passages. This is inevitable, esp for us ABers. Obviously we want to play up to tempo, and it's very tempting to start the piece at the proper tempo, slow down for a passage that's all difficult 16th notes or something, and then speed back up to the proper tempo again. But this leaves an uneven, unsettled impression on the listener. The first thing to do is isolate the sections that need to be played slower, and work on increasing the speed as much as you can without losing control or getting sloppy. Then figure out what that fastest possible speed is, and make the first measure, or easier measures, the same tempo. It may sound slow to your own ear, but if you re-train yourself to that tempo, it will make the overall piece sound much more polished. Again, a metronome can be helpful to re-set the tempo for the easier sections where you tend to play too fast.

3) Rushing through some parts, often the more difficult parts. This is the opposite of point number 2, because here often we have a difficult section (maybe it's all 16th notes) and we get sort of flustered by it, so we tend to rush through it, while we slow down and take our time on the sections where we're more comfortable. The result is that the notes sound squished together, and the overall tempo of the piece is uneven, so that the listener isn't able to relax. Even if you don't use a metronome, just counting (esp outloud during practice, but also silently while performing) will often solve this problem. If you use a metronome, it will be very obvious where you're getting ahead of the count, so those are the sections where you need to relax and keep yourself within the tempo.

4) Comments about playing rubato. (Sorry, did I say three points?) I didn't notice this as a problem with the current recital pieces, but I'm working a piece with rubato, so I thought I add a few comments about that. Many of you are familiar with David Nevue's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." I'm working on that (and hope to share a recording by Dec.) The tempo indication at the top of the score is "freely" and the first measure says "poco accel." while the second measure says "poco rit." My teacher pointed out that just because it says freely doesn't mean you can just let the tempo meander all over the place. She said that each measure should have the same value (length timewise) even if the notes within that measure speed up or slow down, otherwise the listener doesn't know/understand what's going on. So I'm thinking about this piece in two-measure chunks, the first measure speeds up and the second slows down, but all two-measure sets should take up essentially the same amount of time. Another thing that has really taught me a lot has been thinking about playing this piece in Japan. Most people here are not familiar with this music, so I'm very conscious that I need to provide an easy-to-follow melody, and where I speed up or slow down, it needs to be very clear to the listener what's happening when, and why.

I think this is a principle that could be applied to all music: a listener who doesn't know the melody or music should be able to follow the music, without making an effort or wondering what's going on.

I think following this principle would help some of the performers in the current online recital as well, because tempo is the perhaps the most basic element that the listener latches onto at the very beginning of the piece, and keeps ahold of until the music's end. If you don't have a teacher, you need to be your own teacher, and taking the time to see what needs to be fixed in your "finished" recording can be an excellent lesson.

If anyone has read this far, thanks!

Hmm, some other stuff was happening while I was writing my novel about tempo. Wonder if anyone will read that now...

I have, and thank you for expanding my use-your-metronome short version.

Nighteyes, I wasn't going to comment on your post, because I thought maybe the issue would just fizzle out, but I think I'll add my two yen now.

I can't speak for Phlebas or say why he chose to edit your post, but I have to say that I am in agreement with his actions. The point of this thread is to give constructive criticism that performers can then use to make a change in their playing (if they so choose.) I thought that was what Phlebas meant when he said "actionable critical feedback." That comments in this thread should be along the lines of

"I thought X was a problem with your playing, so maybe you could trying doing Y and that would make an improvement."

You didn't provide any "constructive" in your criticism, no suggestions for what a performer could do differently. If you don't like the piece, why comment on it? You don't have to say "I don't like this piece." You can just forego mentioning it entirely. The point of the critical discussion thread is not whether someone likes a piece or not, but what we all think about each other's playing and how we can help each other to play better. So if you don't like someone's playing you can certainly comment on that and give some suggestions for what they can do better, but it seems that your comment didn't have that constructive element.

Also, I think it's important to remember that a lot of us screw up all the courage we have to post our recordings. Just because it's a recording doesn't mean "stage fright" is non-exisitant. In some ways it's even more scary than a live performance, because a live performance disappears as soon as the sound is out of the piano. Of course we want feedback on our recordings, because that will help us improve, but we are sort of delicate, and the same comment will strike us differently depending on how it's phrased.

You may not agree with me, but I hope my comments will help show you a different perspective. Thank you for reading.

Dear Shirokuro, I am just writing to thank you for your wise words on tempo. It is something that many people here will benefit from, and I certainly will think about what you have said as I practise.

You have a wonderful way of writing - are you actually Japanese or is English your first language? In any case, you write as beautifully as you play the piano. Thank you again.

Maryrose, thank you for your kind comment!

I'm an American citizen, so yes, English is my first language. I've been in Japan for over 10 years I teach English as a second language, and my husband is Japanese. Your comment about my writing is especially appreciated because I really enjoy writing and hope to someday actually "write something." (as in get it published maybe?) And of course, thank you for complementing my playing as well.

One more word on the criticism issue...

I hope this does not discourage others from giving honest and heart-felt constructive feedback to others who participated in the recital.

Nighteyes has had the courage to post feedback on many performances here, but has perhaps oversteped the line on one occasion (I did not read the original post).

When this happens a quick apology is the best remedy, regardless of whether or not one thinks one's comments were offending.

I also think it is important to remember the spirit in which the ricital was performed, we are all friends here at the ABF.

I just wish to state that I did not report the posting in question myself nor did I ask to have it removed.

I think you're doing a great job, Phlebas.

I think I missed something.