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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
The first time I saw PF was when they opened for The Guess Who ... circa 1970 in Atlanta Georgia ... the auditorium was packed for the concert ... after PF played most folk left ... I felt kinda bad for The Guess Who because there was only one row of listeners who stayed to hear them ... the people who stayed were enthusiastic and the band put on their show with a lot of energy ...
Good morning everyone! Welcome to Dipsy and VegasE! Becca, it's so nice to see you back. You were missed! Fabulous postings everyone! I only have time for one posting. I've been missing the sweet sounds of Sweet Honey in the Rock. The all female a cappella vocal ensemble is highly acclaimed for their performances of African American spirituals, folk music, and social protest music. Here is "Sylvie."
Looking forward to listening to Sweet Honey in the Rock and Shostakovich today.
We have been gripped here in Aussie-land by Prince fever (at least i have ) as a number of shows have just gone on sale for next month. I would like to share a live version of one of his classics. Prince is an amazing artist and performer and has breathed new life into this classic. WHat makes this special is the crowd interation with Prince's performance - expecially at the end of the piece. Enjoy it while you can, as this sort of Prince thing doesnt last very long on the web.
This was recorded live at the Montreaux Jazz festival a few years back. I only found this vid recently. It's interesting to hear a proper recording as i have only heard a boot of this performance and you do not get the overall sense of the crowd interaction and participation from this recording. Of course, his performance is much clearer on this.
That was a good video of Little Red Corvette ... the slower tempo sounded so mellow ... here's one of my favorite guitar solos by Prince ... it starts at 3:30 ... I remember watching this when it aired ... a friend who was not familiar with Prince was flabbergasted by his mastery of the guitar
KeysAngler, it's a shame that Prince's guitar skills aren't better known. You have to see him in concert. When I first saw him at Wembley I was amazed and yet there's so little on his recordings to suggest it. It's as if he's a songwriter one day and a guitarist another and never the twain shall meet.
Is it indicative of a contempt for his own ability that he casts away a gorgeous butterscotch tele at the end of this?
PPP, what was the point of this video? I'm sorry I didn't have time to read the commentary.
Was it intended as a Lady Gaga song or a showcase for the drummer? If it was the former I'll pass it by. There's no accounting for taste and I refuse to criticise you for that. I enjoy my own fair share of musical garbage.
Edit: Note the crafty way I dismiss Lady Gaga as garbage!
But, if it was the latter, I suggest you check out some 'real' drummers and then take a second look at this post. Here's a chance, perhaps, for you to increase you appreciation. The guy 'hits' the drums when they need to be 'struck', it's very difficult to put into words. There's no finesse, no control over the quality of the attack at the end of the sticks. His paradiddles aren't sharp and his timing is a little off at the end of his cadences. He's more like a whacker than a drummer. Possibly well suited to the music he's targetting but not really for isolated solos.
The piano is also a percussion instrument but compare Horowitz to the latest six year old Beethoven-wannabe bashing out Bach on YouTube. There's a quality of touch. Dean Minerva is missing a quality of touch.
Check this out and see if you can see (or rather, hear) the difference. Listen to the articulation in the paradiddles (try around 2:19 - 2:21, for example) where every single strike has a different quality and accents the beat. Peter Jablonski is not a formally trained drummer, at least I very much doubt it - and I can usually tell - and he doesn't have that much experience in this video (in terms of years) but he is (now) a gifted musician (concert pianist studying conducting).
If you can't tell the difference in a couple of listens, and you're still interested, I'll try and find another example, otherwise, please excuse an old man's unnecessary interference; it was well intended if not well met.
Good morning everyone! I won't have time for posting or much listening today. I'm having to manage my time very carefully. In addition to the busy workload, I have to make sure I give plenty of time to piano work. I've been asked to play two selections at a neighborhood event next week at the theater.
And just to keep life even more interesting, I have a cough that is damned annoying. Okay, now that I've had the opportunity to whine a little I think I can get through this by carefully pacing myself.
BTW, loved the discussion about Prince. He is from Minneapolis, which is where he launched his career. I also work at the theater where he was discovered by some talent agents. I have some interesting stories to share about the theater and Prince. It will have to wait until later, however. Off to work I go. Have a great day everyone!
Check this out and see if you can see (or rather, hear) the difference. Listen to the articulation in the paradiddles (try around 2:19 - 2:21, for example) where every single strike has a different quality and accents the beat. Peter Jablonski is not a formally trained drummer, at least I very much doubt it - and I can usually tell - and he doesn't have that much experience in this video (in terms of years) but he is (now) a gifted musician (concert pianist studying conducting).
WOW! I love it! Sort of like the difference between someone just striking the piano keys and resulting in a bit of a harsh,mechanical sound vs. playing with more finesse and bringing out a "singing" quality, if you will. There's another word I'm searching for, that won't come to mind right now. I'm still working on the latter BTW! I've finally accepted that it's not my piano.
p.s. why won't Prince allow his music on You Tube?
(Griffin & Eglantine, hope you both feel better and I'm glad I'm not close enough to catch your colds/coughs!)
I don't care too much for money. For money can't buy me love. -the Beatles
...the difference between...just striking the piano keys...and bringing out a "singing" quality...I've finally accepted that it's not my piano.
Yes, piano joy. Now you have it!
And being able to hear it is half the battle in bringing it out on your piano.
If you were to record, for example, Mozart's Fantasy in D minor, bar 20, repeated forte strikes on E you would see quite clearly where the notes were in the wave pattern in a sound recorder. If you then recorded Chopin's 'Raindrop' prelude, no. 15, with it's repeated piano A-flats, you would see a much softer waveform. This is the clue to a fine cantabile.
The piano's sound envelope has a sharper attack and decay the louder you play. This results in each successive note making an abrupt entrance. (Are you familiar with an ADSR envelope?)
With a softer strike the A-D portion is more subtle and resolves more gently into the sustain portion so it's easier for each note to blend into the next.
Knowing this makes it easier to bring it out on the piano. Pick a soft, slow piece as a case study, I'd use Schumann's Traümerei but I've no idea of your own repertoire, and try to play every note fully bedding the keys but so softly that none of them sound. I used to do this as a youngster with absolutely no idea of the consequences - I just thought it was a neat trick!
But it gives great control of your piano (volume level). Try it for a few minutes each day as part of your technical work and see if you can hear the difference in a couple of weeks. You might record yourself first as your ear will adjust to this far sooner than your hand and you might think you're regressing!
Originally Posted by piano joy
p.s. why won't Prince allow his music on You Tube?
I've a sneaking suspicion that a certain someone in the Minneapolis vicinity might have something to say on this issue. <puts teeth back in>
Here's a little 'Get Well Soon' music for our ailing friends to convalesce to.
Richard, Thanks for the beautiful Vivaldi!! Right on time. I decided to leave work early because I needed to get to bed and not spread this cough on to others at work.
That also gives me a little time to post some of the Prince music I've located for earlier posts I've done on him. These are also earlier performances. These were posted long before you all joined us. However, there are no rules against repeats occasionally.
Without further delay here is Prince performing "The Ride".
When I was a child I felt shocked by the film “Fantasiaâ€, especially by this scene. I don’t remember whether I felt scared by the images or the music impressed me.