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Thanks, CMohr, for the acknowledgement on Softly As In A Morning Sunrise. It was the only tune I played with any regularity when I was only able to steal bits of time at the keyboard, so I thought I'd do another take on it now that I am getting a bit stronger - so glad you liked it!

Studio Joe ~ Blue Velvet...Great to see you back at the Piano Bar! That was a fantastic arrangement of Blue Velvet. I look forward to hearing more of your music.

ladypayne ~ Home...I'd not heard of David Nevue until I heard you play some of his arrangements. This is a beautiful piece you played so very nicely!

Elssa ~ Tara's Theme...great rendition of this piece in your style. I really like this tune.

BrentH ~ Misty...Erroll Garner is one of my favorite pianists. You did this piece justice.
Bewitched...you did a wondeful job with this tune. It is a beauty.

MaryAnn ~ I enjoyed your Bach very much - I had to listen/watch at home, because FaceBook is blocked from this location.Welcome to the Piano Bar!!

Glen

If you upload to youtube you can choose to make the video public(everybody) or private (only "frinds" on YT), or to have it only viewable with the link. If you did the link option people reading the forum would be able to view it by the link here in the thread but it would not be searchable on youtube or up for viewing on your channel page.

MaryAnn - Sorry I can't access your piece. I really would like to hear it. I don't do facebook, so maybe that's the reason. But congrats on submitting!

Brent H - Like Trapper John I am also a big fan of songs from the Great American Songbook. I really enjoyed listening to your take on these classics. I think that these songs sound better when you free yourself to interpret the phrasing and dynamics and play what feels right.

I also look forward to more from you. Keep 'em coming.

OK, the "Misty" recording as well as the two "Bewitched" versions were recorded with a single microphone inside the piano, mono recordings. Now I've acquired a second microphone which I placed underneath the piano pointing up at the belly of the soundboard.

http://soundcloud.com/brent-hutto/the-shadow-of-your-smile

This is a tune I've just started learning in earnest the last two days. So the first 65 seconds or so (long intro) has several places where I just totally got lost. You might want to skip forward about a minute and let me know how you like the "stereo" recording.

The reason I put that in quotes is it's not really recording left-right so there's not a coherent stereo image. The underneath microphone is panned left and the inside microphone slightly to the right which gives some space but doesn't really localize anything.

Very nice, Brent. You are doing great. The microphone placement works quite well - good separation across the register for a decent stereo effect! A good tuning will make a huge difference in the sound, too.

Once you find a way to maintain a consistent tempo (my achilles heel, too), you will be well on your way with this fabulous standard. Thanks for your music - good work!

Glen

Part of my problem on the intro was just getting losing my orientation on the keyboard. But in my piano lesson this afternoon I'm going to ask for help with finding a feel for it. The intro is marked "In Two" while the actual tune is "In Four". I can't for the life of me hear or play anything like a feel of two on that intro and it kind of hangs me up.

Just tap your foot and follow the notes to the beat (yes, easier said than done). Once you get the music better under your fingers, you will find yourself not thinking about it as much. You are doing great, Brent.

Maybe I'll change my .sig line to "Less Thinking, More Foot Tapping"! Actually, that's not bad advice for life in general.

I like that, Brent - glad to help out. If you've got a metronome of some type, it can help with the discipline of keeping time. It is one of many New Years resolutions (make correct changes in time). Another good goal of mine is to focus more on the music rather than the notes. It's a bear, no doubt.

Here's another song from me. This one is from the newer Peter Pan movie that was made in 2003. Song is called Flying. Enjoy!


http://www.box.com/s/c41a0pn6kg84uodzbjuq

That was fantastic! So many things going on, lots of twists and turns. It sounds like you were enjoying playing it - I sure enjoyed listening!

Glen

ladypayne - nicely played. You just improving

Cathy

Nice work, Ladypayne! The starting theme has a soaring feeling to it. The other parts make me imagine shots of various places as they fly over them.

Brent - You have a great start on "Shadow of Your Smile". I really liked this. I relistened to "Bewitched" and the second mike on "Shadow" really gives a fuller sound. Much nicer recording. (You have a couple serious mikes there!)

LadyPayne Wonderful! I think I heard Tinker Bell, the lost boys and pirates and indians all in there! What a fun listen!

Now that I am slowly ramping up, being able to practice again, here is a piece by Massenet (for cello and voice) that is slowly getting under my fingers and very short improvisation Ideas in F (causes some foot tapping, maybe) based in part on Good Morning Heartache.

Glen

I love that Massenet piece, just the thing for a drizzly Friday afternoon!

Glen,

One of the nicest things about PW is getting introduced to new music and composers. If I'd heard of Massenet before, the context escapes me. What a nice little dark morsel that piece is..........does it have a name?(edit: oops, I see its Elegie) Looks like good left hand independence practice work too. Loved your dynamics.

Jim

ladypayne - What an interesting and well played piece. Loved it.

Inlanding - Élégie - Massenet - An elegant performance of this lovely piece. Well done.

Ideas in F - some very good ideas. The first idea was more playful - the second a little more uptown.