I was finally able to host some of the files I recorded a little while ago. Here they are:

Czerny Etude

Rachmaninoff Melody

Chopin Nocturne

Bach Italian Concerto 2nd Mvt.

Im sorry if the recording quality isn't very good. You may have to turn your speakers up a little to hear. Please give feedback, criticisms, and tell me what you think. Thanks! -Mike-

Czerny - very nice. It would be great if you could speed it up even more. Oh, don't bang the melody notes even though it's staccato.

More Rubato in Chopin. LH too heavy at times compared to RH in forte passages - just because the RH is loud doesn't mean LH has to be loud. It's a nocturne so not too heavy, like, ever. No banging the keys at the end, sink your arms into them for a fuller sound which is the right sound. Excellent technical capacity.

Bach - don't let the melody get lost, lighter on supporting notes (esp repeated notes). Good rhythm.

Mikester- Thanks for the comments, especially the Chopin. Many of the comments you brought up have also been addressed by my teacher and my interpretation has improved since that recording.

Wow. Well done, Mike!

I've never heard any of these before, except for the Chopin, so this is really a treat!

Czerny - Very precise. That's good. Above all, these etudes should be crystal-clear precise. But try to play a bit more musically! I know that it's just an etude... you do some nice cresendos in the octaves, but try to do something with the rumbling (the actual technique that's being trained). Maybe do a hairpin crescendo and decrescendo on each of those.

Rachmaninov - Very musical. Perhaps make the "da daaa"s softer. It's just the background, after all. You really want to make the Melody sing, and you don't want it hindered by the repeated chords. More dynamics, though! Really make it sing. I feel like its sort of trapped dynamically between mp and mf. Don't be afraid to get down to ppp! Like wise, when you want to play loudly, really play loudly! But don't bang! :p Always exaggerate dynamics, in whatever piece you are playing. That's really important. (Have you ever seen a stage actor up close? The makeup is really offensive! But from the audience, it looks perfect.)

Chopin - Hmmm... raining? I imagine light drizzle on a calm night. I imagine a mother cleaning up for the night, after having tucked the young kids in good night - sort of strolling about, washing a few last dishes, putting things away, turning off the lights, going to bed herself. You play beatifully, but again, more of those hairpin dynamics. (<>) More rubato! Make it schmaltzy! Very beautifully done, though.

Bach - Try the "da daaaa"s softer. Just like in the Rachmaninov. Really make the melody go somewhere! It has to lead somewhere. I feel like your sort of wandering about on the keyboard, and it sounds nice, but it needs direction. Dynamics will help with that. This can be really sublime, and you've gotten a great start (your technique is very good - its just the realization of your internal interpretation that you might wish to work on).

Overall, very good. Thank you for posting these, and I hope my comments and others will help you a lot in your musical development.

Good luck.

Thanks Sam, your comments were excellent. I'll take some of that into account if I decide to go back to some of those pieces!. BTW, why not call yourself pianosam? Where did the jerome come from? Just wondering...

Jerome is an old nickname of mine. I don't know why, but one of my best friends just began calling me that 6 years ago. Now we live 700 miles apart, but whenever we talk with each other, he always calls me Jerome!

Incidentally, his name is Jonathan, but everybody calls him Ishmael...

"Call me Ishmael" thats from Moby Dick. If he is Ishamel, who is Ahab? :p

Hahaha.

He's really into nicknames: Felix is "Farlix", Danny is "Tyrese", his brother Sam is "Little Jerome", Alex is "Alex mon"...

Weird guy... but so entertaining!