Regarding the transcriptions. I told ShiroKuro via PM that I would be willing to be a distribution point (as well as send her funds to cover the cost of the magazines and shipping to the US. If any of you are interested in purchasing the magazine (think she said it was around $8.00?) let us know and I'll cover everyone who wants one (honor system)...you can re-imburse me after you receive your magazine.

She's also trying to get permission to simply copy it & send it to us as a pdf file, which of course, would make everything much easier.

[falls back in a dead faint]

(i held my breath!)

I'd be interested to learn and obtain a copy of Kanemasu's arrangment and I don't mind having to pay for a copy.

Oh, great to hear those comments from your teacher! My teacher, who I thought might be tired of me bringing in new pieces all the time, also said she thought this piece was very interesting and had a unique feel that she doesn't see in most of the pieces that she works on with students, she said she was interested in playing through it herself.


Regarding the Kanemasu arrangement, if I buy several copies, Opus has kindly offered to distruibute scores to anyone who's interested in buying one. So please let me know if you're interested in doing that so I can get an idea how many people would be willing to spend $8-$10 dollars on this.

I have to figure out what the exchange is, but let's say $1 to Y114, and the magazine is Y780. Plus the cost of sending them to Opus and then him sending them to you. I would send them all at once, to make the shipping on this end would be cheaper, and then inside-US mailing shouldn't be that difficult.

BUT-- I asked Yamaha for permission to make 10 copies for study purposes, so let's wait and see if I get a positive response from that.

Again, please let me know if you want to use the Kanemasu arrangement, so I can know how many copies we need. And perhaps make it clear whether you'd want the Kanemasu arrangement even if you had to pay for it, or only if you could get it for free. Thanks.

Oops, I started my response and then didn't finish it until just now, so I didn't see Opus's post.

My teacher makes me so envious when I bring in something new to show her, she whips through it muttering things like "oh, that's not a good fingering, I should play it differently next time" and it seems like she accomplishes in 5 minutes what I spend 5 months doing! It's like I can see her brain clicking through the music, which is amazing when it's a piece (like this rhapsody) that she's never even heard before, let alone seen the score for.

ShiroKuro, even though I am most emphatically NOT a member of this study group , if you do end up doing the mailing/reimbursing thing, please include a copy for me. I can't play the piece now but I would very much like to tackle it in a year or two, and I'd rather buy the score now while it's logistically easier. (I downloaded the other version, but I like the Kanemasu arrangement so much that if I'm going to learn one, I'd like it to be that one.)

You got it Monica! BTW, did you manage to get all the Korean publications for Yiruma? Was it hard to get those?

Haven't gotten them yet, ShiroKuro. My Korean colleague is teaching summer school this month and working harder than I am, so I was waiting for it to be a less busy time for her and then have her help me navigate those web sites with me.

I would like a copy of the other arrangement as well. I don't mind paying.

I put you on the list with everyone else Laura.

And I just one of those form-letter emails that Yamaha received my query, so I know I sent it to the right place. Now let's hope they get back to me sooner rather than later!

Hello,

I don't post very often, but I listened to the Croatian Rhapsody and I am also hooked! It's wonderful to hear. Please count me in also for this learning group. I too prefer the Kanemasu version.

Thank you.
Tammi

Gee, when the question is about copyright, they sure do get back to you quickly. Yamaha publishing replied that copying was against the law. And they didn't offer to help send their product to the states either.

I also found a place where people can place their own orders:

Kuronekoyama/UPS Book Service

I sent them an email to see if orders could be take by email (and in English) because here it says order by fax, but the Japanese page has other order methods.

If I send the magazines, I'm worried the shipping is going to be a bit pricey, because of the size and weight of several magazines, so I'm going to call the post office and see if they can give me an idea based on the weight. After we know how much the shipping will cost, then we can figure out how much per person for shipping from Japan to the US and then from Opus to you, so to speak.

Say, is there any reason to worry that customs will look sideways at 10 issues or so of the same magazine? For some intellectual anti-piracy effort or anything?

SHIRO: You can count me in as one who would be willing to pay for the Kanemasu version. Also if we can order directly from the book service , of course that would work out great! Thanks for all your hard work! You are a gem!

Shiro (and the others) - I had originally signed up to this group. Was just wondering - is this going to be a formal learning process? I'm getting cold feet, and am thinking I would maybe like to learn it casually, rather than having to prepare a certain page for a certain date etc.

Was wondering if I could be a temporary member - chipping in questions etc when I have difficulties, but without having to commit to the piece fully.

As for the weight of the parcel - maybe see if people would be willing for you to cut the sheets out of the rest of the mag. After all, they are only buying the magazine for the transcription, and the rest of the articles will be in Japanese (not sure how many of the group speak Japanese). Would cut the weight down, yet also get the music across to America. Just a thought.

Perhaps I'm worrying too much (I've been known to do that...) but if the package was opened, and there were 10 copies of the scores, cut out from the magazine.. would that look like a copyright violation? The good people at customs wouldn't know that I had purchased the magazines in the first place...

However, Euan, it is an excellent idea for weight control.

Regarding participation in this group, I don't see why you can't participate on your own terms. I think people will try to be formal about it (i.e. "let's all work on X measures for the next week" sort of thing) but that doesn't mean you have to follow it perfectly. And even for people who are sort of being formal about it, some will prgress faster than others, so it will be pretty fluid I'm thinking. What are everyone else's thoughts on this?

However, if you don't do your homework, we will be sending a note home to your mommy.

Euan has a great idea on just sending the pages we are interested in. I have a feeling I am not going to be able to casually read through the rest of the magazine anyway.

I am in to pay for a copy. We've come too far to back out now. If everyone uses paypal we can transfer funds very easily.

Euan,
I was just proposing a schedule of sorts in order to help us gauge our progress and keep moving forward. I am sure many of us will ignore it and do our own thing.

ShiroKuro, THANK YOU[/b] so much for all your personal time and effort you've put into this for us...petrof1 is right, you ARE a gem!

First a little rant about Yamaha Publishing
(I've personally spent over ten thousand dollars in Yamaha products in my life so far...you would think their publishing company would allow a handful of students to...oh, never mind.)

Now that I've got that off my chest...Shiro, once we get the final number of copies desired from everyone, I will either get those funds to you (including shipping to U.S.), or if you prefer (as you mentioned in Email), I will be happy to purchase scores from the U.S. and send them to you.

For the official record: I want the Kanemasu version and am willing to pay for it.

And another thing...I KNEW Monica wouldn't be able to resist getting the score for this piece .

[Edit, how much can we be talking about for shipping 10 or so magazines? Hey, I'm not wealthy, but I throw away $20 here & $20 there all the time....(not concerned about cost of shipping...unless we're talking hundreds of dollars)]

I think to send it all at once will make it cheaper.. But rather than me speculating, I'll call the post office tomorrow!

Good point about Yamaha, my piano is a Yamaha upright, and my first keyboard was a Yamaha digital. I buy their magazines every month... sigh... grrr...

Euan, I think the group is going to be very casual...after all, aren't we speculating spending 6 months to learn it? (that sounds pretty casual to me). Perhaps a few in the group will zip through it lickety-split...and I hope they will pop in every now & then and offer suggestions to those of use who will take longer because we work full time and don't have hours everyday to spend on the piano...or might still be developing the technical skills necessary to master this somewhat difficult piece.

(hope you hang with us Euan!)

BTW, here's a tip, so to speak: if you're planning on switching arrangements but still want to work on it a bit, focus on the RH because that will be the easiest to adjust to the differing arrangement.

Perhaps if you attach the magazine cover to each piece? That way the weight stays down, but it's clear that you purchased one magazine per copy.

Ooh, very good idea Nina!!

Always ask on these forums, someone always thinks of something you don't!!

Definitely be careful... now that you sent an email to Yamaha your internet activity is probably being traced by Yamaha spies as we speak...

To be extra secure, you could even include a receipt of the purchase of the magazines (of course, keeping a photocopy of it for yourself!)

I will keep in the group and work casually on the piece - I'm working on alot of other stuff, and can't really dedicate too much of my time on it. Still, it would be fun to play it.

As regards to the transcriptions - rather than pay for the magazine, cost of shipping to USA, then cost of shipping to UK, I think I will just work from the 'other' version. It might even be a good plan to compare the two finished versions (if i ever finish it ).

I talked to my teacher yesterday.. and she said that it was not the right piece to start.

I will still try the piece , but i do not wish to purchase a copy. I already have alot of stuff already to do.

Please include me for the Kanemasu version if this is possible. Opus, make sure you include your mailing costs. We don't want to short-change you!

Monica and Opus re the sight-reading: This really isn't as difficult as you think. I found the sight reading relatively easy. The tempo is what's tricky. I'm not very good at counting so I listened carefully to it a number of times and then worked at playing it the way I heard it.

yeah, you're right about that...but I spent about half an hour one evening fooling around with the download transcription, and my progress was so darned slow (I think I got the first measure in decent shape :rolleyes: ) that I realized it would take too much of my limited piano practice time to give it a good-faith learning attempt. So I will be content to lurk instead as y'all try to master this piece. :p

I am interested in obtaining a copy of the Kanemasu version. Thank you, Shiro, for all your work in obtaining this version and thank you Opus for making it possible for us to obtain it.