Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum My First Recording ever - please evaluate

Joe: That's a nice recording and it was very well played. Now that you're recording, you can join our recitals too, if you want.

Sandy, you're right, it takes control and it's not as easy as people think. There are also some stretches in this piece that are hard to reach (at least for me). But what else is new?

Thank you Sarah M. I am not familiar with the recitals you mentioned. Where can I get more information? Thanks

Joe

Mel, I looked in the control panel, sounds and found that the microphone boost box was checked. I unchecked the boost and now everything is fine. You hit the nail over the head. Thanks.

You probably have already figured this out, but in case not, here are the recital #5 instructions and information .

You have over two weeks to get something ready!

Joemoshi, this is a very impressing first recording. You have managed to catch some of the despair in this piece - and at your best your fingers are singing.
I know nothing about these technial tricks to make a good recording - but I'm sure next time you record you will be more calm and make some more nice music - I hope to hear you in thee recital!

Joemoshi, That was wonderful. You recovered marvelously after your few flubs, and just kept going. That is the mark of a good pianist. Most of us would have just come to a complete halt and have been unable to continue.

You really brought out the melodic line in the right hand. My only suggestion is to play the piece softer using the una corda pedal for more contrast wherever it is indicated on your score. At least that is what my teacher has me doing.

It is not an easy piece. Interpretation is everything. One can get all the right notes, yet not capture the mood of the piece. You did a really nice job on this Joemoshi. Gaby Tu

Posted by Sid:

Kathleen,

Wow, I didn't know they made Clavinova digitals way back then (envisioning vacuum tubes ), time for a new keyboard, girl!

Very Funny,Sid. "Vacuum tubes??

My grand piano is my other option. It''s 90 years old and has a cracked sound board.

I've given a lot of thought to buying something brand-new, but I'm afraid it would take one look at my grey hairs and wrinkles, and it would probably fall apart the first time I touched it.

Kathleen

Bravo...I just started this piece tonight. If I can do half as good, I would be happy. You should be very proud.

Was this the one in the key of F? And how long did it take to get down?

Again BRAVO!!

Thanks
Mark

Thank you Mark737. I am sure you will do well. The Moonlight Sonata has 4 sharps which makes it in the key of E Major, I think. As to how long it would take to learn it depends entirely on your level, practicing time, ability to sight read and ability to memorize . To hazard a guess I would suggest few weeks.
Good Luck.

The version I have is in the key of F, which makes it much easier and makes your accomplishment that much more amazing...

Mark

Thank you Gaby Tu for your encouragement. Is the una corda pedal the one on the extreme left? I have 3 pedals and I only know the name of the one in the centre: sustaining.
I have the book Piano Sonatas I, Universal Edition No.8 edited by Schenker und Ratz. Excuse my ignorance but I did not see any una corda notation on the sheet music. In fact I do not know what such notation looks like, is it the pp?

joemoshi, your sustain pedal is usually the one on the right. The pedal in the middle is the "sostenuto" (or, on some pianos, a practice mute). The one on the left in a grand is the una corda pedal. Sometimes there is no una corda notation; sometimes you will see a little "1 c." (= use the una corda pedal) or "3 c." (= step off it) underneath the bass clef. But sometimes you just use it when it's marked pp or ppp.

Joemoshi, Great work! Along with the technical stuff you've already read, I'll add that it's worth taking a year or two (YEAR?!?!) in finishing up the technical stuff and putting it to memory, perhaps moving up through some different transcriptions on the piece until you find one that's a good challenge AND is fun.

The reason for that is to fix the middle part: what happens there (with me) is that I miss a note and then get all up inside my head about it. The Little Voice comes out: "You remember that part coming up that you always miss in practice? Well... you're going to miss it again!" and Klink-Klonk the notes are wrong, I'm out of the Beethoven and having this internal conversation with myself that can go on so long that I even lose my place in the piece!

Geez I hate that.

The "secret" I've found (even before memorizing the piece) is to get to that place where it's just you and the keyboard and the manuscript. From there on to the place where even your breathing is the playing of the piece. Think "The Music and the Mirror" from Chorus Line

You'll still hit flubs, but you don't stop and step inside your head and start cussing yourself out in the middle of a piece!

I have to give that last bit of "advice" with a great deal of "Physician, heal thyself"

Joe,

After listening to your performance, I think you did great. I am actualy looking at this piece and I will start soon, still consentrating on the Fantasia in D-minor, but when I do I will let you know, and maybe record it myself. Great Job again and keep up the good work.

Joe,

The 1st movement of the Moonlight is in C# minor, not E major.

Both have 4 sharps, C# minor being the relative minor of E major.

I think you'll enjoy listening to Andras Schiff talk about the Moonlight:


Moonlight Master Class


Mel

Yes, Mel is correct. It is C# minor.

Joe My version is from the Schirmer'S edition of the Beethoven Sonatas, edited by Bulow-Lebert. It contains numerous suggestions that I found very helpful.

However, after listening to the Andras Schiff
lecture on this sonata, which Mel recommended, and Schiff's playing of it,I think I have a much much deeper understanding of how it should be played.

Thanks Mel for letting us know about Schiff's lectures. They are marvelous, and I think his playing of the Moonlight Sonata is absolutely superb. He brings out things I never heard in it before. Makes most other interpretations sound dull and uninspired. I was unaware of the indetedness to Mozart's Don Giovani. Gaby Tu


Gaby Tu

Thank you Mel. On my version of the score there was no mention of the key. How do you tell if the piece is in a major or in a minor key? I looked at the bass (left hand) and I did not see any tell tale of it being a minor.

I really enjoyed listening to Andras Schiff. In fact I saved his lecture. Thanks.

Gaby Tu, there was no notation on my score about using una corda pedal. In fact right at the beginning the notation was sempre pianissimo e senza sordini. I know that senza sordini means stepping on the damper pedal. Would sempre pianissimo mean stepping on the una corda pedal? And if so then one should step on both pedals.

Can someone shed some light on what Exactly does sempre pianissimo e senza sordini means?

Joe

Well, the first clue is the C# in the left hand. If it were in E major, it probably would have been an E octave in the left hand instead of the C#.

A C# minor chord would be C#-E-G#, or E-G#-C#, or G#-C#-E.

An E major chord would be E-G#-B, or G#-B-E, or B-E-G#.

The first three notes in the right hand, G#-C#-E are clearly a C# minor chord.

Also, if you look at the last chord at the end of the movement, it's a C# minor chord, C#-E-G#-C#.

Mel

It means "always very soft and without damping the sound".

So yes, you can use both the damper pedal and the una corda at the same time.

Mel

Thank you Mel for the explanations. I learned a lot since I joined this forum. I have been playing piano for many years but paid little attention to these details. It is just like speaking a foreign language where one can carry a conversation and make oneself understood but does not know the finer points of the language.