Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum One month until the 29th ABF Recital!

I think I understand - my 96 year old mother lives with us - was born during WWI - fortunately, so far she has most of her health and wits about her - spends most of her time watching pro football (Ravens) and major league baseball (Nationals) and cheering (or swearing) vociferously at her big screen TV - she's going so well I think I may be in a nursing home before she is - Thinks my piano playing is "nice", but then she's 95% deaf

Well, I've my piece ready to do a proper record. I don't have practicing in the last weeks (my mother in law died in the 1st day of the year, and I've been giving some support to my sad wife), but I think I can do a record in time to participate in this recital.

Hi Les!

Cathy

If not for these recitals I would not be tuning my piano even half as often as I do. Here I go again....

Condolences Carlos - my mother-in-law passed away on 2 January last year - it is a sad way to begin a new year.
I hope you manage to record a piece, it is always a pleasure to listen to your music

This should be good.

Many thanks, but I would strongly recommend a significantly low expectation for this.

So noted ...

... scribbles, BenPiano says expect more of the same ...

... Oops, that wasn't for public consumption!

Hi Cathy....been a long time, I need to spend a little more time over here....

I'm working on a beautiful tune from the Broadway stage but I keep changing the arrangement (I have a nasty habit of doing this), which is not highly conducive to the goal of getting it recorded...

If in the end (or "at the end of the day" as the politicians always say) I'm not satisfied - either with the arrangement or the recording or both - I may submit a lively and lovely Christmas song that I started work on before then but just got a good take on - late for this season, yes (or way early for next), but what can one do? "Kick the can down the road" to the next Recital?


Trap


Edited to add: GO RAVENS!

I recorded my piece yesterday, but there were a few misses. Therefore I keep this recording just as backup and hope to be able to make a better one before the deadline.

I think I've got my piece in good enough shape to start attempting a recording... *except* it's not fully memorized yet, and the danged thing is 6 pages long. Aarrggh.

Your post, Ganddalf motivated me to give this a try. I realize now I have a lot more work to do then I had thought. Perhaps I should have started sooner, but thankfully there is still time.

The Red dot syndrome is upon me. This is the little regimen/game I play with myself that seems to help. Keeping in mind, I have always been my own worst enemy. Basically, I try to put myself in the shoes of the pro's.

Conversation with Self:
"C'mon Greener, you can do better then that. What are you, an amateur or a professional?"

Answer: amateur

"Yes, I know. But I HATE that answer"

"Well then, if you HATE that answer, perhaps you should start acting more professional"

OK, take 25 ...

"There we have it, good enough to submit. After all I am only an amateur"

Meanwhile, over in the adjoining recording studio...

Peter Professional bangs his highly skilled but fragile and delicate hands down on the keyboard in utter exasperation after the 25th take, and after cursing in gutter-like terms that would make a truck driver or lumberjack blush (is that possible?) says to himself:

"For crying out loud Pete you moron, are you a high paid, world famous professional or a freakin' amateur?"

To which he answers: "A professional, of course, you jerk-face!"

In response to which he says: "Yes, I Know - and I LOVE that answer. And don't you forget it, you lowlife!"

And then replies: "Well, if you love it then stop acting like a rank amateur and start playing like the arrogant and egotistical pro you are - this studio recording time is expensive!"

25 takes later: "Finally, a take even I can live with - print it - it'll sell like hot funnel cake."

Moral of the story: Pianists of every level wrestle with the red dot - some "opponents" are bigger than others and some matches just cost more than others...

The only real difference between professional and amateur is whether you earn a living with it. Has little to do with skill or talent. But if you're serious about your hobby, keep practising!

(Why am I writing this, instead of practicing for the recital?)

The only difference between a amateur and a professional is...

An amateur practices until he gets it right....

A professional practices until he can't do it wrong.

(or something like that...)

I'm out of luck ... I caught a bad flu and I could not record anything this week-end ...

I think it's the first time I'm almost 4 weeks without playing... Are we nearing at the end of the world??????

Ouch, I should really take part in this one... I think I have 2 or 3 tunes that I might try to record... actually I wanted to finish book 2 first but I still have two songs and the Canon in D to do

That's it exactly! I love it, Jazzwee...BTW, I just started taking a Jazz improv class at our town's comm. college. We're using Aebersold play-alongs. Pressure is on not to do it wrong.

Oh dear, I've not got anything ready for this recital.The last couple of months have just been wall to wall Mendelssohn.The only other things I've picked at recently have been Bach's Allemande from French suite no 4 and a nice arrangement of As if we never said goodbye from Sunset Boulevard.I might get one of them in by the deadline.