Well I had to change my sig to fit in my box.net link (lost my Sienfeld quote for now) Anyhow, managed to get a 95% perfect take with the upstairs practice digital (Piano+Strings). Over the weekend I will get a better take with both Piano Solo, that being the real one downstairs and another take of the Piano+Strings

Prelude C Major

I'm still trying to decide "my" happy pace for this piece, can be played at so many different tempos..

Thanks all..
- SC

TTigg - Fantastic! Bravo! Bravissimo!

Undone

TTigg, well done. You set an ambitious pace for yourself and kept everything in time.

If you want to get a little more out of this piece, write down the chords and you'll see the chord sequences that go with a key signature. For example it starts I,ii,V7, I in the key of C, then ii/V, V7/V, I/V in the key of G, etc. My teacher used this analysis to explain the sets of measures that go together in a phrase and to add dynamics to contiguous measures. It was neat stuff.

Ttig...very well done! I don't know a lot of pieces that can sound well at various speeds, but this is certainly one of them. I, for myself like to play it relatively fast because it makes one feel so 'good' at the piano. But playing it slowly allows for so much extra drama or feeling to be added. I like it both ways, just depending on my mood. But again...I thought your version sounded great! Very smooth and dynamic as well.

By the way, old fingers chord-approach is fun. I play from fake books as well, and it's nice to be able to recognize all the (inverted) chord sequences in classical pieces. Makes the playing a lot easier sometimes (hey, even in some of the alfred pieces the chords symbols are sometimes given..did you notice? It almost feels like cheating, using them, but I do whenever I can!)

And Old Fingers..haven't looked at the trumpet tune yet. Happily marching to war?? Hmm. Sounds intriguing, though probably not reallyt my type of music. It's in the ambitious section isn't it?? I'll look at it!

Ingrid

Fixed

Great, great job! I really can't imagine hearing a better performance. You and Undone both played this well into the professional level, with both feeling and dexterity. I certainly couldn't play like that. That was excellent TTigg: now keep them coming

Thank you (takes his bow) your excellent recording was my inspiration to get mine done, yep this piece is a keeper for sure..
- SC


Thanks OldFingers. I must confess my teacher prefers is slower but she did at least agree it sounded great (with a smirkey smile) I’ll have to take a look @ the music again to see this chord stuff you’re talking about. I like the idea of breaking it down (along with other songs) so thanks for the suggestion/tip
- SC


Thanks Ingrid
I do so very much enjoy this place and even though I may be going through a “bad patch” with regards to not enough pieces memorized (for my own goals) and lots of time being taken away by work, it’s always great to come back to my roots for some encouragement from such a great bunch!
- SC


You’re funny and very kind. Yes I was “chuffed” right up till the messed up note [not going to say where] since obviously nobody else thought it was that bad..I’m pretty sure you could play like that Waltz. We’ve both come so far since the good old days of book 1. Opening it up, getting used to the mountains of theory and not much playing. Now here we are in #3 where there is almost no theory and mountains of songs to play! Also your new teacher has you going off in different directions which is, in itself, is a sign of your continued improvement and build of talent
- SC

TTigg - excellent playing on the Bach Prelude - between your version and Undone's I'm now convinced that I want to tackle this throughly enjoyable and surprisingly melodic work myself before I close out Book 3 -it's just a matter of time - thanks to both of you for your fine performances, and for the inspiration

JF

Thanks and we're glad to be of service. I'm for sure going to keep this in and play with some more settings in my head (mainly tempo) but I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like it. When I first looked at it though, ooh, was not good
- SC

Finished up "Shenandoah" recently, a modified version of which can be heard in this month's (Oct.) Piano Bar. Also to be heard there is my accelerated, mistake-ridden version of Clementi's "Prelude in D minor".

Currently putting the finishng touches on the Jazz Ostinato piece (in the rather strange key of C# minor) and just startrd "Soldier's Joy (Hornpipe)".

A hornpipe is, according to Wikipedia:

The term hornpipe refers to any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and elsewhere from the late 17th century until the present day. It is said that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels. Movements were those familiar to sailors of that time: "looking out to sea" with the right hand to the forehead, then the left, lurching as in heavy weather, and giving the occasional rhythmic tug to their breeches both fore and aft.

I think versions of this piece are, and have been, long time staples of many Celtic music soloists and bands, often performed on the "fiddle".

JF

Ingrid, although I know what you mean about "cheating", I don't understand why it should be so. I know the Royal Conservatory would frown on the practice, but if it makes it easier to play and it brings greater understanding to the music, why shouldn't all music, classical and otherwise, have the chord notation. When I've had this discussion with my teacher, I'm told that advanced players do know all the chords and inversions and can recognize them without the lead-sheet notation. But why shouldn't the rest of us get a break?

My rant for the day.

Bob

Bob, you're right! You know, in dutch we don't call fake books 'fake books'. we call them 'pop song books'. Or 'chord approach books' Or 'melody line books'. I heard the term 'fake books' for the first time here at the forum. And maybe it's just because I am a non-native english speaker, but the word 'fake' has for me a quite negative sound to it. Indeed, like you're cheating. But you are absolutely right (and I even said so myself): Knowing chords helps a lot. And playing from 'fake books' has helped me a lot in both understanding chords, and playing them easily. The fingerings of all the basic chords and inversions become kind of 'automatic'. You don't have to think about it, you just play them.

Yep. I'm a fan of the 'double' approach, playing both 'chord stuff' and classical. And promise, I won't call it cheating again!


Goodnight from europe! (way past midnight here!)

Ingrid

Everyone,

Thought I'd throw in an update. I have finished up both Minuet in D Minor, Bach and the 3rd Movement from Clementi's Sonatina 36/1. I recorded and submitted the D Minor Minuet to the Oct. Piano bar, but have not yet recorded the final movement from the Sonatina. My teacher assigned me Clowns by Kabalevsky this past week. I thought it would have taken me a long time, but I actually gave myself the pass on it today. Mark... I remember your submission of this piece a few months ago, so I was somewhat familiar with the piece.

I have progressed faster than I thought with these pieces and I thus think I will be starting the C Major Prelude very soon

Waltz - a famous (or to some, infamous) radio talk show host always claims that he is "having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have" - well, you may be progressing "faster than a human being should be allowed to progress"!

I'm very impressed with not only your amazing rate of progress, but also with the quality of it And, as I've said before, your readily apparent enthusiasm and pleasure in playing are the best part - so keep up the good work!

JF

Thanks JF , that means a lot. I think all of us in this thread are doing really great and moving along nicely.

I started the C Major Prelude yesterday. So far, the first two pages seem, to me, much easier than the Clementi D Minor Prelude... mainly because the chord changes are easier to read and perform. Are the last two pages more difficult? It is certainly a pretty piece of music.

Waltz,



I would say that from a 'playing the notes as they are written' point of view the Bach is definitively easier then the Clementi. I was surprised that Clementi was in the tutorial part of the book, and Bach in the ambitious section. And the last part is not that much more complicated then the first (apart from managing the volume in that extremely long crescendo)

But for me, playing the Bach prelude in a beautiful way was (and still is) quite a bit more challenging and interesting to work on then perfecting the Clementi D prelude. (I should add that I am not objective. I liked the Bach one a lot more then Clementi, so I am sure that makes quite a difference)

Ingrid

I’ll second what Ingrid wrote. I noticed that I was able to “read through” Bach’s prelude relatively quickly, but it took me much longer to play it well. Scheherazade on the other hand took longer to “read through” but once there, I was able to finish it up in less time.

Undone

Not that I belong here, as I have my hands full with Book 2 as it is. But I thought I'd mention that, about 6 weeks ago, I asked my teacher to assign me an introductory classical piece... "Something that students generally start with." She gave me the Clementi Sonatina 36/1 (all movements, starting with the first). I admit, I have had a great deal of difficulty with it, but will have it sufficiently polished (to my standards, such as they are) in time for the upcoming ABF recital.

My observation, then, is, "Really? This is a Book 3 piece? What am I doing playing it?"

No need for a response there, but wow, I'm surprised. There is a lot of fun left for me in Book 2, and some of it falls into the category of "Wow, I find it hard to believe I'll be playing that in the next six months or so." To say nothing of what I expect to find in Book 3 (I don't have it yet).

Alwayswantedtoplaythepiano...

I don't think that by definition every book 3 piece is a lot more difficult then a book 2 piece. Depends also on yourself, some types of music are for some people easier to play then others. And if for once in a while you want to tackle something that's a bit more advanced then usual..why not? The Alfred's books are designed I guess to teach you a whole bunch of aspects of piano playing in a certain order..., keys, chords, legato/staccato, varying loudness types of playing etc in a certain order. Every piece has it's specific bit of 'learning'. And shuffling that around a bit doesn't really matter. And (my experience) it's also fun sometimes to step away from the books and learn to play something that you or your teacher reaaly picked out as interesting for YOU!

Have fun with Clementi...and we'll see you around here in a while!

Ingrid

PS: (added after reading John's note underneath) The above is of course still more or less valid, even if it's a different Clementi piece you are learning then the one that is in book 3! I only remembered that it was 'in D', and not whether it had a specific number. Or even that it was a Prelude instead of a Sonatina...LOL!

AWTPP - the Clementi Sonatina Op 36 is not a Book 3 piece - it is not found in any of the Alfred editions - it is, however, often assigned as a supplementary work for students in any number of organized, instructor-directed programs of study, including those currently in Alfred 3, which is the case here (and not infrequently for those still in Book 2).

JF

And just a short update from me. Had my weekly lesson yesterday, and 'Come back to Sorrento' is done. Nice piece, I may keep it in repertoire, it's one of those well known tunes that's nice to play if any potential audience wants to hear something familiar, that's not too classical.

I flipped to the next page of my book, which is the Peer Gynt, but my teacher asked whether I'd not rather work on another Yann Tiersen piece first. She played me a couple of the pieces in my book, which I didn't know, and I decided to take on 'Le Moulin' Beautiful music! (copy of a youtube link, if you want to hear what it sounds like...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ISqRLM25A)



Greetings,

Ingrid

Clementi Sonatina Movement 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0w_qMWvA7M

Clowns, Kabalevsky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHD5iQBS3ps

Went ahead and recorded both today since I may not have time later in the week. I am more happy with these recordings than the Bach Minuet in D Minor, which I felt I played poorly after hearing myself in third person.

As always, your watching/commenting means very much to me, thanks,

W

Waltz - Great job on both of those. I would imagine it took a lot more work to complete Clementi’s third movement, but I must say I particularly liked “Clowns”. It sort of reminded me of “Calypso Carnival”, but in a more advanced form.

Undone

Great work (as usual)

I think I'm going to be taking a break from #3 till the new year. I've got (lots) of books of movie music which is one of my favorite types (and one of my main draws to the piano) so I'm going to pick out 10 or so pieces and teacher and I will concentrate on those for the next 2mths..

Then I'll pick back up with #3 in Jan and will move on and probably alternate each week with some Movie/TV/Narada and Alfred.

- SC

Undone and TTigg:

Thanks so much for watching and commenting

TTigg, I think it's cool you're moving out of Alfred's for a while. There really is an immense amount of music "out there", and it's satisfying to actually pick and choose the ones we want to learn. I'm really curious which you'll be learning from the movie books, keep us updated, (and post recordings )

Yeah yeah I know I'm really behind on the recordings side. That's something that's been bugging me for a bit. So it's time to "take charge" of my time and get "cracking"
- SC

What type of movies do you generally watch?

How long you got?
I watch a lot of action movies but my original interest in Piano came form the "soundtracks" and "instrumental, or solo as I now know it's called" pieces.

It's funny to find music from one movie, then go look up the composer and find out yep, he's done several of the pieces I've loved in other movies. I am going to be hitting some of the "Twilight" pieces first since my daughter is "well into them" and her 16th is coming up in Jan

After that it'll be a mixture of stuff like....

- Arthur's Theme
- Forest Gump - Feather Theme (yes I'm going to re-visit it)
- Once (Falling Slowly)
- Music & Lyrics (Way back into Love)
- Against all Odds (Against all Odds)
- The Notebook (main theme)
- Corpse Bride (Victors Piano Solo)
- Harry Potter (various)
- Lord of the Rings (various)

Then there's the TV stuff

- Cheers
- Hill Street Blues
- Friends

+ all the other good stuff inc some classical. I'm going to focus on movies/TV from now till Jan. Then head back into Alfred and do at least one Movie/TV each week (every other week) on the side.

- SC

Victor's Piano Solo!!! I am quasi-learning that right now. I think it is above my skill level, but I'm fooling around with it. Danny Elfman is a very interesting composer. I don't know much about Twilight, but I hear "Bella's" whatever (song/theme?) is all the rage right now

I've been playing around the last little bit with "This Is Halloween" from Nightmare Before Christmas, which is also an Elfman song. It's interesting, because when I got the sheet music and it was 8 pages, I figured it would be like most songs and have a lot of repeats. Not so much! Each verse is just slightly differeent. Elfman does write some pretty neat stuff, tho.

Otherwise, I am still slogging, er, working thru Moonlight Sonata in Alfred's 3. It's been very slow going. At my lesson this week, we turned over to page 3, but page 2 still needs a lot of work! And page 1 is far from perfect! I think I am going to really immerse myself in it for a while, study it more, listen to recordings, all that, to see if I can't get a better handle on it. After that, who knows?

Hi All, I have managed to finally get through all of "Fur Elise". i will be playing it for my instructor tomorrow. Hopefully, I can play it for all here if I don't get too bogged down with work this weekend! It's a good feeling:-)