Just a year ago what I really wanted was to make huge technical progress, play the hardest piano literature pieces, pratice scales and arpeggios everyday and make no mistakes.

Lately I'm a "social" phase which is changing my piano perspective. In fact pianists tend to be more isolated and introspective in my opinion but now I'm more interested in being with others. Because I made new great friends and found I girl I like and my aunt moved with my young cousins and I see them more often.

Suddenly I'm more interested in entertain this new social group with my music, make them interested to what I play, move them.

I'm therefore more interested in pop, new-age, catchy stuff but most of all I'm more interested in making my playing interesting rather than technically perfect. For some reason in spite my playing is technically decent they don't seem very attracted to it.

Maybe it's because I have a bad timing, rushing or slowing down randomly or because my left hand is too load or because I can't emphasize the underlaying rhythm of the pieces I play.

Any thoughts and tips?
These are examples of my playing (including my original composition)

http://www.4shared.com/audio/ZzAkbZ1P/Land_Before_Time.html
http://www.4shared.com/audio/4GNJRcCK/the_simple_life.html
http://www.4shared.com/audio/q3eCakQz/return_to_the_heart.html
http://www.4shared.com/audio/WaPBddAQ/depth.html
http://www.4shared.com/audio/8WD50FH2/Where_love_doesnt_reach.html

Well, I've listened to 2 of your pieces...and it seems like you've definitely got a good handle on timing, etc... If I had to point out anything, maybe it's the pieces you pick. These are all really "pretty" tunes and perhaps kinda "boring". Can you play any other style of music?

What is the environment in which your companions hear your music? Is it sort of in the background, or do you ask them to hear you play a tune?

Not familiar with the other ones, but I just went to David Lanz's concert two weeks ago and heard himself play one of your pieces. His music has lots of repeats in it - you can pretty much tell the different sections by looking at the score. Once you identify the "hightlight" of the piece, you can try to play the other sections a little softer and the highlight a little louder for a more dramatic contrast. BTW, I think Return to the Heart needs to be played a little faster... imagining your music as ocean waves, if you want to excite surfers, you gotta make some BIG waves and make sure that they come one after another to add up the cumulative effects (and maybe a little bit unexpected as well)...

This is probably not the best place to ask. Maybe you can ask the girl for a CD that she likes and listen to it to get some hints about what kind of music attracts her.

Sometimes I make them hear a tune but often it's background, just to test whether the music will "wake" them up from their idle just like a pretty tune they hear on the radio does.



I feel more confortable with this kind of music and soundtracks, I have tried to play pop tunes by heart before (http://www.4shared.com/audio/bRmXngaD/notueres.html) but my left hand patterns suck and I play better when I can read from a score. That and the classical stuff I practice for technique but that would be even more boring, lately it's just Bach and Mozart. I'd like to learn some jazzy stuff but seems too hard to pick up on my own.



She actually likes the stuff I play when she hear it from a CD but when I play them they don't attract her attention that easily.

I don't know about you guys, but for me playing is all about having fun and keeping it interesting for myself. When it comes to the point where I pound keys because I fail to play Chopin, I will quit.

There is nothing better than having friends over and playing some good old rock n' roll after few beers or playing music while own children sing to it

Why couldn't a piano player go and spend time with friends? If you want to tak piano playing too seriously and become a master, that's what it takes. You need to make sacrifices somewhere.

I agree with you and if you think about it masters do have fun with their arts. Like cartoonists who on their free time entertain their friend with funny drawings or caricatures of themselves or singers singing silly songs for their friends or writers inventing funny stories for their children or ballet dancers showing their technique even when they're at the club dancing house tunes or cooks using their skills to make great dinners for their friends without resorcing to high-cuisine. If I'm not wrong Mozart himself had a lot of fun with his music, throwing parties, creating silly tunes and showing off a little.

To me music is a language and like all other languages communication with people is its most important task.

Hello Motorama. Your music sounds great. If this is the type of music you like stick with it. Add other types of music when and if you feel in the mood. My wife just came in the room and ask who was playing the piano - she liked what she heard "Land Before Time".

Do some shopping on the internet for downloads or freebies or go to music stores. Or listen to another performers and look for songs new to you. If a number or book strikes your fancy buy it and learn to play it. I search a lot for music that strikes me. I don't play for others, I play for myself.

The suggestions about finding out what she likes is good and if you really like her and can stand her type of music go for it, but, remember music will be with you for life, a very real part of your life, Will She?

Motorama, I can clearly see what your friends are saying. Your "Land Before Time" performance was technically correct but it sounded too computer generated. there were no flaws or slight pauses in your playing. Only a very regular beat. A beautiful piece in need of a emotional makeover.

I can also picture in my mind this same piece as it would be played in a movie soundtrack. Very smooth and flowing with audible variances in volume as well as highlighting certain key notes with timing (pauses).

"Emotion" in a piece is comprised of many different elements. A piece that is performed "technically" perfect may sound too robotic or computer generated.

It's the subtle nuances throughout the piece that make it sound warmer and more romantic.

I think your timing is *too* accurate and metronomish.

Try playing the piece with almost over the top amounts of emotion. Imagine violins playing along with you in the background as the notes flow together, one to the next.

Try holding some of the key notes just a little longer with emotional pauses.

Try and play more like a figure skater rather than a distance runner.

You've got the talent, just add more emotion.

Motorama. Is the song Land Before Time in print? How may I obtain a copy? I would like to play it. John

I am guessing that you may perhaps be a bit afraid of showing you sensitive and emotional side in front of other people.

This is where artists diverge from technical pianists.

I would much rather have an artistic performance with a few wrong notes ... someone who is deeply entrenched in brining out the melodies and making the piano sing then I would with a perfectly technical performance.

You need to realize that if you show your sensitivity ... and others don't appreciate it ... well that's their problem.

Never study piano and perform for the sake of others. Do it for yourself.

As for me, I have had many girls who have begged me to play them a song ... and I try to act like I'm not going too , which makes them beg even more!

But I'm not a technically great pianist (I'm changing that currently)

I am extremely sensitive, and I know how to make the piano sing. How to create textures and colors, and how to blend together. How to correctly use tempo changes to create effects.

You need to throw away the technical side of the piano, and concentrate more on expressing your deeper sensitivities and emotions. That is what makes you human. Not ripping off a scale flawlessly.

I would suggest listening to the pavaneforadeadprincess on my site listed in my signature. I just sight read through it while recording, but I LOVE the piece and show my deepest intimacy with it.

Just Bach and Mozart?

Thank you for your great advices
It's weird because when I don't play from a sheet I actually become too emotional and can't follow the timing, can't make the notes even and so on. But when I play from a sheet, even when I learn it by heart, I don't let myself go. The problem is, the moment I left myself ago, close my eyes and become emotional I also lose my coordination, my good posture and push too much on the keys or stop following the time or hurt my hands.

Have you listened to my piece "depth"?
That's something I have composed myself.
I could be wrong but I think there's more emotions and nuances there, don't you think?

I will try to record the Land Before Time again following your advices so I can understand better with your help (if you want) where I can add more volume changes, rubato even though I really don't know how to play rubato and nuances and things like those.

Bach is not for everyone and Mozart can be a bit pedantic in his sonatas, his orchestral works are a lot more interesting. At least, the things I can play from Bach and Mozart are not the greatest stuff from them, they have a rather pedagogical sound. It's not like I can play. If I could play their whole repertoire, hehe, that would be different...

Thanks for the great advice, but how do I do that.
I mean everything in this world needs to be learned, my teachers and books don't teach how to express your deeper sensitivies and emotions.

Here are two pieces I have created for friends.
The sound is horrible, the timing non-existence, full of mistakes and the left hand patterns are too banal. But I played with emotion. Can you tell?

http://www.4shared.com/audio/UFeMRUlL/Little_Daught_of_the_Sea.html
http://www.4shared.com/audio/iTK9XaXf/goodbye.html

I do.

Another thing you might try is to ease up on classical music and play more modern tunes like favorites, standards, and especially love songs. Girls like love songs of all types. If this girl likes a certain love song then you master it. John

Oh, I meant to ask. Maybe I should pm I don't know, but you can answer here or by pm, up to you.

It says Europe on here. Where in Europe are you from and where, what country do you live now. I am from all over the planet. I was born in the USA and for the last 16 years I have been living in Asia. At present I live in Thailand, land of great food. John

I'm from Italy, second land of great food I guess... isn't it

I liked your performance of "Notueres". I think you are being too critical of yourself, especially if you are playing for fun with your friends.

Italy, wow another land of great food. I love Italian food. I was raised in New Orleans, La, USA. Creole food which is a combination of French, Italian, Negro, Spanish and a few others thrown in with nice spices. I like Creole and Italian first, then Mexican and last Thai. American and English foot is the pits.

I made a new attempt at Return to the Heart, trying to play it less mechanically and more emotionally as many of you suggested.

What do you think?
http://www.4shared.com/audio/DHOa3koN/RTTH.html

Bah. To start, extend the tension using crescendo ending at the dissonances, ritard right before the cadence, tenuto the 4 on the 4-3 appogiaturas and other non chord tones, play the cadence piano.

My tip would be to learn to play a slow and pianissimo piece.

I think your playing sounds very accurate, but not much attention is paid to the phrase having a singing quality. Try playing and singing it as musically as you can, even if you're out of tune, sing it like a great singer. Great singers change up the their rhythms and aren't exactly with the beat. To recreate this on the piano, the LH and RH shouldn't always land together, only at cadences. Also, try not to play all the notes of a chord simultaneously all the time. With each phrase in the melody, find the peak and work your way toward that and away from it with crescendo/decrescendo and also with accelerando/ritardando.

Do lots of listening to lounge-type pianists, they are often great at this.

As far as really catching someone's attention, I would select more upbeat music that they can't really ignore. There's a lot of jazz that is written out that you can learn. Look for Philip Keveren's arrangements, and also Mark Hayes has some great jazzy pieces. Eugenie Rocherolle has a book of boogies and Christopher Norton has several books of very catchy jazz tunes in many different styles. This is one book I own and really enjoy lots of the music in here, plus it comes with a CD so you can hear how it should go:
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/The-Christopher-Norton-Jazz-Preludes-Collection/17263067

Lastly, selecting music that people will recognize will always catch their attention. The more obscure the tune, the more musical the playing has to be to catch attention.

I listened to this piece and I could definitely feel the emotion behind it. The performance was introspective and thoughtful and for that style of playing I think you have done well.

I'm guessing that your friends and relations are interested in music which is more up tempo/lively/dramatic. If your goal is to entertain them you should find out more about what sort of music they like and consider playing something in that style. Don't lose what you already have in the process, I could tell that you had an emotional connection with the piece you recorded. I think it would be good to work on creating the same level of emotional connection with a more lively piece.

Any suggestion?

Search your music collection for such a piece and then find a score for it?

I don't give specific names because YOU must like the piece.

FWIW - I think the music sounds fine.

If your audience is not interested in the music, then the style may not be appealing to them.

If you know the styles/pieces are to their liking but they're still not interested in your playing, consider the possibility that the problem is with the audience, not you or your playing.

Thank you
I have to be honest though, I love all the pieces that I play and still I was the first one that didn't find my playing interesting. Like I was already conscious that my playing was too harsh, too mechanical and not expressive enough.

Listening to my new recording of Return to the Heart I can say it sounds a lot more like "music" compared to other pieces I have recorded in the past.

This guy always succeeds in catching other people interest at his music and yet his patterns and arrangement are very simply, I would say simplied versions of the original piece.
I'd like to be like him

Before you play, think about what you want to convey. Your post describes wanting to play something interesting. However, this is different for everyone. What exactly do you want your audience to feel?

As posted above, even though you want to play for your audience, do not lose yourself. Make sure you are connected to the pieces by a desire to play them. Also, keep in mind if you search, you can find groups to play with and audiences to appreciate your music.

Although there's room to improve and express yourself much more and bring out the melody in the few pieces I've listened to, you're being too hard on yourself. If I were in your audience, I'd be intrigued to keep on listening.

Once you become interested in what you're playing, your piano playing will become interesting. ~ Yoda

Thanks a lot for your words



I have noticed that even people who would otherwise like heavy metal or heavy claim to hate music are captivated by live piano when the pianist is good enough. There's something about live instruments that makes people who otherwise would never listen to that kind of music hypnotized by the sound. Which is why I think people is crazy about videgame music covers for piano.