This is seemingly a good point made by Bunneh - it would appear wise to address it. Perhaps allow this one entry because it's already in, and then discuss a possible age restriction that satisfies a definition of "adult" for upcoming recitals?

JF

John,

Personally, I am fine with postings by non-adults. There is already a precedent - Matt (Debussy20) posted in the recitals a few times and I think he may just now be old enough for his driver's license (or close if he is not).

Rich

I'm open to this... however, this has come up before and most of the feedback I've received has been "Wow, wonderful that she wants to participate."

That said, I read Bunneh's point to be more about registering as a forum member than participating in the recital. I'd be happy to be corrected on this point.

For folks who might be put off by children participating in the recital, I'd be curious to know why. Not challenging anyone here, just can't come up with any downside / negatives on my own.

We had a mom/daughter duet once, too - I loved it.

The discussion is always good - and it sort of makes the parameters dynamic, which, to me, keeps the ABF alive.

For me, I suppose some of it has to do with whether the parent is an active (and there's no set definition for that, either) member of the ABF, or just using the recital for another "public" opportunity for their kid, or to show off their kid. OTOH, we've had a couple of entries from adults, both here and in the piano bar, for only those purposes. I think those folks aren't around any more. Sometimes someone else will comment, or, more likely, there won't be enough comments to feed the troll, so it seems sort of self-correcting.

I like it that Jillian wanted to be like Dad

Cathy

I'm happy dealing with issues like that on a case-by-case basis. As far as I'm concerned, Jillian's certainly welcome here. I like Cathy's proposal of using how involved the parent is in AB forum as a determining factor. We wouldn't want a bunch of strange unfamiliar kids suddenly flooding the recitals. But I would like to hear Jillian, piano*son, or any other AB forum offspring, even if the offspring plays circles around me.

I'd hate to institute an 'adults only' rule, too, as it would seem to exclude people like Matt (who seems to have outgrown us, *sniffle*) who were solid contributors to AB forum.

Monica, there's also the problem of those of us who refuse to grow up! Chronologically I'm probably an adult (heck, in most places I qualify for the senior discount), but I'm still a kid at heart.

Ed

Jotur - I did a great happy dance after playing w/o hitting any wrong notes only to find out that after I pushed the record button the camera wasn't on. Went for it again, got the one I submitted (definitely not note perfect) but did the "happy dance" anyway!

Mr. SH - Darn! I could have used that c-note towards a zoom.

CMOHR

Rich - Well, I guess I am too - but only as long as the place isn't overrun by a veritable mob of the talented little irritating twerps!

It's bad enough that somebody is always excitedly linking us to these snot-nosed, parent-pushed, precocious, pint-sized geniuses on YouTube, but now we have to tolerate their obscenely early and colossial talent here in the Recitals...

But, I think that - at the end of the day - the most important part of the phrase "Adult Beginner" is the word "Beginner", and that the Recital should be open to all who qualify under that term - whatever the definition of it might be (and good luck with that one).

JF (aka, Grumpy Grandpa)

Not to mention the difficulty of verifying "Adult" status in general (other than on the "honor system", where usually some have the honor and others have a "system" ).

JF

I'm an Adult, but I'm not a Beginner, for sure. (I realized when I was filling out the form for this recital that I started playing the piano 47 years ago!)

It seems to me we're always having these discussions here, with proposals to change the name of the forum to something more meaningful.

Amateur Pianist Forum would seem to cover it.

A little later than planned, but I'm off to attempt get a recording of my piece. I am wearing my favourite football/soccer shirt for confidence, and am avoiding all nearby alcohol (until after the session [unless things are going REALLY bad!])

Does anyone else have specific habits/routines before they sit down to record?

A lot of fuss over nothing - a potential "Take 1-er". A few hesitations, but I think it could be okay. Am going back for another couple of shots as a backup.

After 16 recitals, my red-dot nerves have still not improved!

Mine either. I just let the mistakes fly.
Mike

Hey John Frank Where'd you go?. I was #6 and you #8. Both playing David Lanz pieces. Heck we were almost room mates but now your #36 and far far away.

I'll have to make nice with the people around me now but to be honest, most are classical players and they kind of look at me a little funny.

Double check to make sure I am recording.

Euan, looking forward to the cake!

I re-recorded and resubmitted and dropped like a turkey's head at the chopping block on Thanksgiving but now I've gone and re-recorded again (this is the last time, I swear!) and may end up at #6 too (from the end).



That funny look is jealousy and fear - they know you're going to kick their collective butts with that gorgeous Lanz masterpiece you're playing!

JF

It's Chopin (5) pulling ahead with Beethoven (4) and Debussy (4) neck and neck...

4 Debussy, and only one CDL? I'm surprised.

HomeInMyShoes,

It's Bach (4)
"It's Chopin (5) pulling ahead with Beethoven (4) and Debussy (4) Bach (4) neck and neck"

Hey wait a minute, mr super hunky, I resemble that remark

I hate that title of the piece! I'm sure it has meaning when you watch the film, but as a stand-alone piece I would have liked to re-name it

Well, I'm in if a bit frustrated by the recording process. I thought I had a near perfect take of my second-choice piece. I got up to go to the Zoom and realized it was on standby. After that I was pretty frustrated, so I took the next take good, bad, and ugly. There is some good in there somewhere, I think.

Quite a few of us have been there. I had a camera battery die during the last measure of a piece. I've also forgotten to set the digital piano recording but did get the webcam recording video. (The audio from the webcam is quite horrible.)

Meanwhile I've gotten another video and recording of the recital piece and now I've got to compare that with the one that I recorded what seems like ages ago. This take is slightly faster but it might have some better qualities to it. Both my recordings are faster than the album version of the piece. I did get one at the album tempo but I didn't really care for that version as it sounded a bit too slow.

I'm not an angry person by nature, but there wouldn't have been a camera left if that had happened to me. It's one thing to hit a clanger-note in the last measure, but to have the battery die at that point. There would be trouble...!

What was your reaction to that incident (please don't say you 'remained calm and started again' )

It is safe to say that the "beep-beep" noise the camera made as it shut down pretty accurately sums up what I was saying at that point.

Yes, Anthony, I feel your pain. I was in a particularly good mood when I thought I'd aced it on the first try (after trying unsuccessfully to get a decent take of a much more difficult piece). My disappointment was profound but short lived. It's all in a day's work . . . or . . . play.

In the big scheme of life the quality of my recording is really nothing much. I got a phone call early this morning informing me that I was being transferred to another location at work effective tomorrow. Fortunately the new location is only about three miles from the previous one, so I won't need to relocate. This is my sixth move within the company. Every time they have given me very short notice of at most a couple of days. The good news is that I've worked at that location before, and know many of the people there. There are a couple of them I'm truly looking forward to working with again.

Good heavens. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario where they COULDN'T have given you more advance notice. That's got to feel terribly frustrating.

I'm glad the transfer won't require you to move, though, and it sounds like you're taking it with a healthy attitude.

Hey we should make a post on all the mean things we do while in the "recording" mode.

For me, my wife agrees to clear the area, phones are turned off and the dog gets put in the master bedroom with the doors closed.

There is always a certain tension in the air during the seemingly endless amounts of takes. Once I get a good one (unedited), or at least "minimally acceptable", it sure takes a LOT of the pressure off knowing that at least you've got something.

Subsequent recordings seem to go SO much smoother with so much less pressure that my "keeper" usually will come within the next few takes.

Once the "keeper" recording is achieved, all is good with the world once again. My wife comes out of her study and greets me with loving arms and the dog gets let out of the bedroom where she was probably moaning the whole time.

Recital time is a family affair around here!

My kids get banished to the basement, or outside, with strict instructions not to come out/in as long as the piano is playing.

This eventually creates so much Mommy Guilt in me that I try instead to record in the mornings while they're at school. That, in turn, creates Employee Guilt for shirking during work hours. You can't win.

Well, I'm 50 (I wish!) after 2 reloads - there are currently 3 behind me, including a piece called "Sleeping Through September" which, while tempting, I really wouldn't want to do since it's the nicest time of the year weather-wise here in Central PA.

JF

The working mom's dilemma. It's like the world dares you to take time for yourself.