No recital piece this time

For the first time in, I guess, a year and half, I won't be submitting an ABF Quarterly Recital piece. The Kuhlau Sonatina just isn't there (it's hard, did I mention that?) and I just can't bring myself to submit Hava Nagila from Alfred's. Partly because it's a somewhat fun but mostly annoying piece of music, and partly because I am simply not playing it very well. I am sure if I played it better it would be more fun than annoying, but for as long as I have been working on it, I'd have thought I would have reached that point by now.

I'm not happy about this, I must say.



In other (and related) news, we spent most of the last week in Tennessee, helping Gramma MA spend some of her timeshare points in Gatlinburg. Brief synopsis: first part of the trip was hot, crowded, touristy, and quite a bit of fun, but probably not enough fun to return for. Second half was spent in the Smoky Mountains National Park, and... wow. Words fail me (as they often do). Amazing, outstanding, even more fun than Dollywood, if'n you can believe that. (Which is really saying something... Dollywood had the added bonus of continuous ragtime being piped through the park, coming at you from all directions.) Lots of spontaneous fun that we didn't plan for, and didn't see coming.

- Aw2pp, who is considering wearing a coonskin cap at all times, henceforth.

Where's the recital?

Sorry for the delay, I am still recovering from Epic Fail (as the kids these days say). I haven't had the time courage to pull the camera out of the trunk of the car, much less view the clip or post it to Youtube.

Really, it was bad, and I am a little shaken and discouraged from it.

- Aw2pp, who doesn't park anywhere after a 2" snow fall.

Pre-Recital Practice

I've read threads Piano World (Home of the World Famous Piano Forums!) where folks posit that one should NOT play their recital piece the day of a recital, until it is actually time to do so. This is crazy talk, to me. I want to play as much as I can, then show up 90 minutes early and play it again on the recital piano. So far, I've probably gone through it a dozen times today, with probably a dozen or so more ahead of me. And you know what? It's not going well. Little annoying errors here and there.

Just saying is all.

(Quick update with information that doesn't warrant its own post... just played three takes in a row that I liked. I'm quitting while I am ahead.)

- Aw2pp, who bets Chopin went through this all the time.

T-minus one day...

... before Recital. Yes, tomorrow evening, Jillian and I play in front of dozens, nay, SCORES of friends, family, and curious onlookers compelled to attend only by their sense of morbid curiosity. I had my last pre-recital lesson yesterday, during which time I played Le Onde three times*. The first, not so well, but then again, I never play well at the beginning of a lesson. But who among us does?

* - Yes, that probably means I've now played it 300 times over the last three months.

The second, sloppy, and in fact, I got distracted halfway through, thinking about an error I made in the first half, and how I was going to play it SO MUCH BETTER the second time through... which, of course, since I was distracted, I messed it up even worse. But the third...

... the third...

Wow. I know a lot of words, but I don't know of any to explain how satisfied I was with how I played it the third time. I was another person. The music took on a new life.

Naturally, I have no expectations that that will happen again tomorrow. But wouldn't that be cool?

- Aw2pp, who is starting, for the first time, to play piano.

Le Onde - Final Take

(Two posts in one day? Blogger overload. I may have to take a day off tomorrow.)

As I said earlier, today is / was piano lesson day. I stumbled my way through Night Song in Alfred's... that is MUCH harder than I thought it would be, and it will need another week before we move on to Hava Nagila. Then I launched into Le Onde. It was pretty good... not perfect, but good. I told her I was trying to put together a good recording for the ABF Recital (a concept that still mystifies her, by the way... online recitals?) And that it would be nice if I could put together perfect recording, but also that I'd come around to the idea that "good" is good enough.

She said something she'd said before: "It's good enough. Don't try to improve it. You may improve it, but not by trying. Strive for excellence, which is much more attainable and worthwhile than perfection."

I got home, pushed the record button, and five minutes later, ended up with this. Hope you like it. It's good enough. Imperfect, yes, but good enough. More thoughts on it later this week (as you've come to expect from me).

Box.net link to a recording of Le Onde I'll be submitting as my recital piece

- Aw2pp, goat rodeo clown.

Aw2pp overcome by Red Dot Fever

I have a piano lesson in 29 minutes. Was just playing my recital piece, and played the first half, even three-fourths so well that... it made me nervous. I was thinking, "Wow, this is really something here..." And of course, that took my mind off what I was doing, and I made a fatal error. Recording over.

But I'm telling you, for the first 3 or 4 minutes, it was some seriously good music.

Back to it. Thought I'd share that with you on this slow afternoon.

- Aw2pp, who will now get back on that horse and try again.

ABF Recital Submission update

I have a recording I could live with. In some respects, I am pleasantly surprised by it. But it has four fairly egregious errors, and since I still have a few days left, I'm trying to see if I can improve on it.

- Aw2pp, who understands that the answer to the question "Is it Opposite Day?" is always, always, "No."

Le Rough Drafte

Here is a rough draft of where I am on Le Onde. It has about a half-dozen fatal errors, each of which would be egregious enough for me to toss the recording away if I were submitting this for an ABF recital (two weeks to go!). Fortunately, I am not.

Box.net link of a rough recording of Le Onde

First of, Denis, I am no help to you. Your question about making the dotted half notes sing... I am not sure that I do this, nor am I certain how I would go about doing it. I try to make a soft accent... something akin to the horizontal lines you see over notes in pieces like I Due Fiumi (see the very first note, for example). That subtle accent, combined with a very dull attack on the left hand, gets me closest to what I think you are describing. In this recording, the best example of this is about 36 seconds into the piece (measure 18).

There is an important caveat here: this sounds very different on PT's piano (a 4'6" Emerson grand, for those of you just joining us*). My hunch is that the singing quality you are looking to derive on those notes would be achieved differently on different pianos. I'll take your thoughts on that.

* - Where have you been, anyway?

Other observations.

Tempo - I am delighted that this checked in around 5 minutes in length. My template for this piece is Ludovico's studio recording on the Le Onde CD. It turns out that recording is just a few seconds shorter than mine, so, for the first time in my piano-playing life, I seem to be playing something at tempo. That despite a somewhat plodding and hesitant first page or so (not sure what is up with that, but it can be fixed).

Dynamics - They're getting there. A lot of work to go there, but it's an improvement over what I was doing just a week or two ago.

Errors - Obviously, these need to be ironed out. Some are more irksome than others. For instance, I have decided the climax of the piece begins in measure 147, and ends on the first note of measure 149. It's inexcusable not to have that part (and it's cousin in the first half) down pat.

The Wave - I am trying to invoke the wavelike sensation by building on LH arpeggios, getting softer on the RH arpeggios. Need lots of improvement here.

But mostly, I grabbed the recording to listen to the flow, and follow the music as I listen so that I know where I am missing dynamic and tempo markings. With two weeks left before ABF recital, and 6 weeks before we go Live! In Person!, I am pleased with where I am.

- Aw2pp, who always wanted to play Le Onde.

Le Update, Part Deux

Pardon my French, of course.

If it were a normal recital, I'd be going for recordings now. And failing, mostly, because that is what I do with recital recordings. I record and record and record, right up to the deadline, throwing away 99% of my takes because they have Fatal Errors. Eventually, I come across one that has errors, but non-lethal ones, save that recording off the Ap-200, and courageously try to improve on that recording. But I don't, and near the deadline, I upload that recording to the ABF Recital Server.

That's usually how it goes. But this time is different. ABF Recital time is a month away still. And though I have yet to play Le Onde error free, I am playing it to my usual recital standards, such as they are. In theory*, this gives me three weeks to improve on my usual standards, and yet another month to clean it up before playing live before a studio audience.

* - Of course, as Homer Simpson once said, in theory, communism** works. In theory.

** - Did you know that the term "Communist Government" is an oxymoron? No, I am not making a joke here. I recently read that Communism is really a final stage in a process, by which the people own and manage everything the State previously ran, only, there is no State, no Government. Only "The People". An evolutionary step in the process is Socialism, where there actually is a government in charge of heading in this direction. In practice, it turns out even Comrades like power, so they tend not to give it up. Ever. So they remain in a Socialist (and usually totalitarian) condition. Which means there has never been, nor will there ever be, a Communist nation, at least insofar as Marx defined it. See what you get from coming here? I should post more often.

Headed down to Indianapolis to visit two prospective customers this week. I checked... the Fairfield Inn does not have a piano, so progress will have to hold a few days.

One other observation, totally unrelated to the price of tea in Liverpool or anything else... I recently discovered, much to my astonishment, that I am unable to play our piano unless the desk lamp is on. Even though all I have been playing for a couple weeks now is Le Onde, which, by now, I've memorized. But even in broad daylight, I absolutely cannot play unless the desk lamp is on.

- Aw2pp, who wonders if, after 15 years sitting in front of computers, it is finally time to visit the eye doctor.

Le Update

Just got back from this week's lesson. Focused entirely on Le Onde, and learned some new vocabulary in the process.

Me: What does this allarg. mean? I see that it is always followed by an a tempo, and recordings of the music sound like they slow down... is it just another way to write ritardando?
PT: No, it's more than that. Think broad and majestic as you slow down.
Me: Um, ok, what does that mean?
PT: Think of the glamorous stars walking down the red carpet on Oscar night. Play like they walk.

* - My wife, when she gets around to reading this, will be laughing at this point... she knows I consider The Oscars to be one of the most annoying things to watch on TV. That and Kendra.

Me: What about this poco tratt.?
PT: I have no idea.

We looked it up... it means to hold back, and is more common with string music. Whoddathunkit?

Where I am with Le Onde... I have the first half down and memorized. Once in awhile, I play it so well, I am pleased with it. And it is LOTS of fun, I almost don't want to play anything else these days. The problem is, I am so locked in on the pattern of the first half, the latter half is coming much more slowly, as the changes are subtle. But crucial. So I have some memorization to do on the back half.

Brilliant Reader Denis asks:

How did you solve the issue with 'singing' the main half notes on the right hand in bars 5,6,7 and in the rest of the song?

Great question. Measures 5 and 6 work like this for me: 524131
Measure 7 like this: 514131(2, the F# in the next measure)

It works well, but I bet you question is more of an artistic one than a technical one. That is, how do I play it "sweet and songlike, marking the melody*" (one presumes that would be the high notes). Still having trouble with this. What works for me is to accent the first note in the measure, then get progressively softer as I move down the scale. The first section, it's not coming out like I had hoped. The second section, however, beginning in measure 25, it comes out quite clearly, and I'm almost happy with it. Don't know what makes this section easier, but it is.

* - Pardon my Italian, but that is my guess on what the music is instructing. "Dolce e cantabile, marcando la melodia."

As to the third, beginning measure 41, I am just blasting away. He has some dynamic markings in 47 and 48 that temper things a bit, but, for now, I am playing this as loudly as my technique (such as it is) will allow. When I am ready for a recording, I will give a listen to what I am doing with this part, and probably make some changes.

I'm 2 months out at this point, but 5 weeks away from ABF Recital 18. I'm happy with where I am, enjoying the journey, and will hope to maintain progress for another month. My goal will be to have this down so completely that, come first Friday in June, all I have to worry about is getting a good haircut beforehand. We'll see.

- Aw2pp, inveterate tinkerer

Recital Piece

Now I remember why it's taking me so long to work through Alfred's Book 2. 4 times a year, I apply the brakes to everything else, and pound away at my recital piece. Seriously, for the last month, I played almost nothing else.

You may recall that for Recital 16, I played the first movement of a Clementi Sonatina. (If not, no worries, I'm here for you, give it a listen here.) This time, I recorded the final two movements of the piece, and submitted them as a single recording. No, I did not record these in a single take... in fact, the two pieces were recorded (consults a calendar, hold please...) 3 weeks apart. But through the magic that is Audacity , I joined the two recordings, and added 4 seconds of space between them. Just like the pros do.

Here is the result, for your listening pleasure: Box.net link

Some thoughts on this music... I would really, REALLY have loved to iron out the couple of pauses in the second movement. And I would really, Really, REALLY loved to had played the third movement faster. But such is life. To be completely honest (and frankly, you'd expect that out of me, no?) I am happy with these recordings, and happy to have tackled them. I found the third movement to be the easiest of the three, and both of these pieces easier than the first movement I submitted back in November. Who knows, maybe I have improved?

On that note, it's back to Alfred's. Picking up with the Divertimento, a piece written by one of the Alfred's Editors, but in the style of the Divertimento Master himself, W. A. Mozart. I would like to observe that Alfred's pieces are starting to seem easy to me, and that working on the fun pieces (recitals, Einaudi) are making me progress faster than the Alfred's music is progressing. I'd like to, but I can't, because even though the Alfred's pieces seem easy, I don't seem to be busting out recordings of them. Maybe the next six weeks will be productive in that regard.

On the other hand, the next stop on my introduction to classical music (Sonatina version) tour is the first Kuhlau Sonatina, Op. 20. I've looked at the music. It has lots and lots of black on it, and intimidates me greatly.

Spending the rest of this week in Toronto, doing work stuff. Y'all play nice now, eh?

- Aw2pp, father of four, master of none.

"Getting Started" with Le Onde

June 4, 2010. Mark your calendars. You'll feel a Disturbance in The Force that day, as Jillian and I attempt our second live recitals. This is no trick for Jillian, who seems to have been born without the gene that induces stage fright. Her mother and I are both carriers, though, so Lord only knows how Jillian escaped. Jillian began work on her recital piece back in November, and has asked that I not share with you kind folks what she is working on. So I shan't.

Me? Longtime friends may recall that I had an eye last year towards performing Le Onde. And after about 6 weeks, I had reached the point to where I could play (most of) the notes, but it simply didn't sound musical. (Professor K. has described Le Onde as her "Waterloo" because of similar difficulties.) One lesson, I brought the iPod in to let PT compare and contrast what I was doing with the recordings from Einaudi himself. The La Scala version is particularly expressive, and it was while listening to it that PT had an "ah-ha" moment.

"Listen carefully to what he is doing... he is creating a wavelike sensation by implementing crescendos on every upward arpeggio (like those in the first four messages) and decrescendos on every downward arpeggio." I listened. She was right. That's why she makes Big Piano Teacher Bucks.

So I went back home and tried to do this. It was much harder than it sounds. In fact, I spent a week on this concept, during which time my ability to play this piece simply fell apart like the deck of cards that it was. By this point, recital time was 8 weeks away, and I was basically on page 1. I told PT that we were going with I Due Fiumi instead, and she expressed some relief at my decision. (Good thing, too, because first recitals have plenty of anxieties of their own. No sense adding to them with questions about your ability to actually play the music.)

Now where are we? 8 months later, I have about another 150 hours of bench time behind me. I'm better. I'm actually working on the key of D-major* in Alfred's, so it seemed like a good time to dust off Le Onde and see where we're at. After two weeks, I can say with supreme confidence that... I am right where I was when I gave up on it last Spring.

* - Heck no, I didn't know that off the top of my head, but thanks for asking. I had to look it up. My theory needs work.

My plan is to focus the next month on the first three pages. I'm in the "Acquiring the Notes at about 1/2 tempo" phase of things, paying very little attention to the aforementioned unwritten crescendos and decrescendos, or even the written ones. I hope, by the end of January, that the pattern will be fairly automatic for me, and the musicality will come by focusing on the details. When I make some progress there, I will turn to page 4, and start work on the halftime interlude, which, from what I recall, is not too difficult from a technical perspective. And so on.

What's more, as with many of Einaudi's pieces, there is quite a bit of repetition. I'd guestimate 90% of the first three pages is repeated in the second half. This should leave quite a bit of time to work on pushing and pulling the tempo and dynamics, to create that wave sensation that those who play it well can simulate.

Like Pianoworld's Kawaigirl for instance: Box.net link - Le Onde by Kawaigirl1

Look for my Le Onde in ABF Recital 18, which should be in May some time. In the meantime, updates as necessary.

- Aw2pp, new to the ways of The Force.

My Fourth (really?) ABF Recital Piece

Here you go. Since the ABF Recital won't even be published or processed until this weekend*, consider this an advanced screening.

* - Yeah, what's up with that? I hear you. I am always one of the last entries, trying (and often failing) to get a clean recording even up to the 11th hour. Not really that different this time. I am headed to Nashville tomorrow to catch a football game and hang out with old college buddies. So for me, this is the 11th hour.

http://www.box.net/shared/rka0qcn5hd

My recital piece this time around is the Clementi Sonatina Op.36 No.1 (the first part only). Previous recital entries have all been Einaudi pieces... Ombre, I Due Fiumi, and, most recently, I Giorni. Setting aside that I apparently only play music composed by Italian composers, you might say this entry represents a bit of a departure for me.

In some ways, yes, it's very different. This is my first classical piece. It's short. It's bouncy. The LH and RH are pretty much independent of each other, meaning I couldn't count on learning a few repeating patterns, and putting one hand (or both) on auto-pilot.

But still, in important ways, this is also like the other pieces. To whit: it's a stretch piece. Something that I probably shouldn't have tackled for another 6 months or so. Something that I didn't quite "get", and would probably play better with more technique under my belt. But, as with all good stretch goals, I learned a lot, and progressed.

You may recall a couple months ago that I asked PT for an introductory classical piece. She assigned me this, and, to follow, the second and third parts of the sonatina. I since learned that everybody seems to play this at an early part in their classical piano training. I got lots of feedback and suggestions on how to handle it. Truth be told, I needed the help. I did not find this easy at all, even though it is apparently as easy as anything else in the classical repertoire. As my family can attest, I spent a lot of time learning, eventually memorizing, and finally trying to grab a good recording of this piece. No lie, I must have recorded 60 takes. I can't play it at anywhere near tempo... this is about 75% the speed I had aimed for, and about 50% of the speed I hear in professional recordings*. And I've yet to play it error-free, at ANY tempo, although I submit this recording in the hopes that the most egregious errors are subtle enough to escape your notice. But the biggest problem I had, and I don't believe I am alone here, is maintaining a consistent tempo. It's uneven, you'll hear that... but it's better than it was.

* - Still plenty fast for me, boy howdy.

All in all, I am happy with this, happy to submit it, and ready for the 2nd and 3rd pieces of the Sonatina. Depending on how they go, one or both could be my recital entry next time.

Of course, I am also gearing up to attempt Le Onde at June's recital (Live! In Person!). So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

- Aw2pp, spiritoso!

Jillian's ABF Quarterly Recital Piece

Jillian recently recorded the following, and asked me to submit it to the Pianoworld Adult Beginner's Forum Quarterly Recital. It's called "Morning Prelude", and it is found on page 36 of Jillian's Bastien Piano Basics (Level 1) Book.

http://www.box.net/shared/7t0vgvihip

I am not entirely certain how to get this submitted, since Pianoworld doesn't allow 7 year-olds to register. But I'm sure we'll get that worked out in due time. Meanwhile, here are her comments on the piece:

I chose my song "Morning Prelude" because it was my first song I got to use the pedal on. I have thought it sounded really pretty, and I hope you do too.

She could give me lessons on being succinct.

- Aw2pp, quick learner.

Quick update on my recital piece

Just a quick hitter to say that, over the weekend, I got about 4 hours of bench time, and made significant progress on my Clementi Sonatina Recital piece. Which says more about where it was than where it is, but still, I now like my chances of having something in the hopper by November 12.

(Heading to Nashville that weekend, so I can't wait until the 11th hour like I usually do.)

- Aw2pp, a member in good standing of the Rock n Roll Justice League of Illinois

I Giorni - My Recital #15 Entry

Last Friday, with about 7 hours to spare, I submitted this file to the Pianoworld Adult Beginner's Forum Online Recital server. The recording is 6 minutes, 50 seconds long, so go ahead and grab it now, if you are curious, then read on.

Box.net link

I Giorni - Always Wanted to Play Piano

I have a lot of thoughts on this, and they are all over the place. So rather than try to build them together in a coherent narrative, I have instead decided to interview myself. Which is a sloppy way of connecting disconnected thoughts, but hey, maybe it will work out. We'll see.

Q: Hi, Aw2pp, thanks for taking time out with us today. So, to get started, why I Giorni?
A: Glad to be here. After playing I Due Fiumi for the June recital, I took some time with my Alfred's pieces, trying to make up some lost ground there. And for about 6 weeks, I did make progress, completing about one piece per week. But before long, the idea of having to put together an acceptable recital piece began to loom large, and none of the Alfred's pieces seemed suitable. So I started looking around, and I Giorni seemed like the most logical next step in the Einaudi catalog.

Q: So it's only Einaudi pieces for you, in terms of recital entries?
A: Not at all. I envy folks who submit Bach minuets and inventions, ragtime pieces, Chopin preludes, and obscure jazz selections. I just can't play any of that. Until then, these Einaudi pieces represent, to me, the best mix of interesting / approachable music out there. Some day soon, I will submit something else, but this wasn't the time.

Q: I see that yours is the longest entry in this quarter's recital. How does that make you feel?
A: It's not supposed to be that long. It's more a matter of me not being able to play it quite up to the correct tempo. So if anything, I guess I am a little embarrassed.

Q: How was it learning I Giorni?
A: Not bad. It didn't take more than a week or so to get it recognizable, then another week to be able to play it the whole week through. There were a couple of sections I had to play over and over, and never quite got there... and I'm short a few BPM on the tempo. But this is my first experience with extended runs of simultaneous 8th notes on both hands, my first 16th notes, and first time playing 8th notes with two fingers on the same hand at the same time. If that makes any sense.

Q: Not really, but we'll move on. Anything you wish you had done differently?
A: Well, sure. I think this particular recording has a very weak finish, with a number of hesitations and missed notes in the last 90 seconds or so. I'd like to have those back, but since the first 5 minutes are fairly clean, I'm good with the result, all things considered.

Q: What's next?
A: Well, back to Alfred's for awhile. I know that, at this point, there is no way I can finish Alfred's Book 2 this year. But if I make some good progress this Fall, I might be done with it some time in the Spring. And of course, the next ABF Recital is right before Thanksgiving, so I will have to have something polished by then. Maybe Nefeli, maybe a Bach piece, I don't know. But whatever I decide on, I will use it as a carrot for making progress in Alfred's.

Q: Huh?
A: That is, I am going to try to keep focus on making technical progress, doing my lessons, and improving my skills. If I get through, say, 5 or 6 Alfred's pieces, maybe I'll start picking through the stack of fun things then. I figure as I progress technically, I should be able to pick up new fun pieces more quickly, and perhaps broaden the range of things I am able to play. Nothing against Einaudi, but there is a world of music out there, and most of it is beyond my ability at this point.

Q: Ok, then. Don't you have a real job or something? You should probably get back to that.
A: You're right. Later.


- Aw2pp, native Hawaiian.

That can't be good

Yesterday, I grabbed my first recording of I Giorni. It was 7 minutes and 56 seconds long.

Einaudi's studio version is 5:58.

Yeah, I think I may have to up the tempo a little, yes? Ya think so?

- Aw2pp, quick as a hiccup.

One week to go for a recital entry...

... and I vacillate (SAT word) between two extremes on my progress on I Giorni.

One moment, I am thinking, "Wow, I should have recorded that. No worries, if I can play it that well, I can play it even better with the Red Dot* blinking at me."

Next moment, I am thinking, "Oh mercy, I am never going to have this section at an acceptable level of polish."


* - The Red Dot, for those of you outside the know, is that little light that shines (or in the case of my Ap200, blinks) when recording. It has a powerful, sometimes paralyzing effect on the performer. I like to think of the Red Dot as a heckler, who turns up the volume and intensity of his attacks as the performance (recording) proceeds towards success. Near the end, I sometimes imagine it saying, "Ha, this is going pretty well, isn't it?" At which point, I usually relax, let my concentration lapse, and make an error in a section I know really well. Totally annoying.


MJ clearly had no troubles with the Red Dot. Then again, he never played I Giorni. Insofar as I know.

What is holding me back at the moment is the final section, which is supposed to be played at the same tempo as the rest of the piece. Which is, to my ear, just shy of 120 beats per minute. I can play most of I Giorni just fine at about 108, which will just have to do. But at the end, I slow down to, oh, I dunno, 90 or so. At this point, I may just keep it as is, and attribute the diminuendo to artistic license. "Yes, I meant to do that. Sure I did. Stop snickering."

One week to go. You'll hear a recording before then, I promise.

- Aw2pp, who wants you to know that no trees were killed in the composition and posting of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

Back to lessons

Had my first piano lesson since May yesterday. We spent about 10 minutes talking about Jason, 10 minutes talking about her (PT's) children and their musical development as they grew up, 5 minutes reviewing what I had been doing this summer (Alfred's pieces), then about 5 minutes plodding through I Giorni.

As far as Jason goes, she doesn't regard this summer's lessons as a failure, or wasted time. In her world, 6 is very early to begin lessons, and the fact that he demonstrated interest and some aptitude speaks well of his long-term future as a piano player (or as a musician playing some other instrument). The fact that he chose not to practice in the off-hours is not entirely unexpected. But PT's guess as to what happens next with Jason is this: he'll continue to tinker on the piano here and there, and perhaps even play some of his assigned pieces on his own. He may ask for (or need) help with these, and I am fully capable of providing this. Over time, he will see me continue to do my piano thing, and, at some point in the next year or two, his desire to "want to be like dad" will cause him to return to the piano more formally.

"So, if you keep playing the piano, and progressing, he'll take it up, too." No pressure of course. In that same vein, she told me that two adults have approached her this summer about taking lessons, citing my recital performance as the thing that pushed them over the edge. Basically, the conversation went something like this: "I have always wanted to play the piano..." (hmm, where have I heard that before?...) "... but figured it was too late for me. But I guess not. Do have you have any openings?" I told her I knew who she was talking about because a someone came up to me after the June recital and said basically the same thing.

"Really? Who?"

"Well, the guy whose sons preceded me. George something..."

"Oh, George is a wonderful guy. But no, not him. These were other folks." Well, then.

As to how I did... her old piano takes some getting used to. In our 30 minute lesson, mind you, I only played maybe 5 minutes. I played I Giorni in its entirety, struggled through most of it, even though I played some parts much more smoothly than I ever had before. (Gremlins, again.) But overall, I left there with serious doubts as to whether I could produce an acceptable performance for the ABF Quarterly Recital.

Then I came home and played it pretty well, so who knows.

- Aw2pp, whose lack of mastery of I Giorni is starting to make coffee nervous.

My recital piece

Ok, I am all uploaded. (And just like that, I have a spam commenter who suggests I could be a "Youtube star". Heavens, I never aspired to such lofty goals before...)

A couple of comments and observations:

- I edited out the introductory comments, as you couldn't really hear what I was saying anyway.

- Speaking of which, the sound quality isn't the best. AnthonyB has mentioned before how Youtube strips the sound of high-quality recordings. In this case, it isn't Youtube's fault. It's partially my fault, for not getting proper sound out of the piano, and it's partially an equipment thing, as our camera isn't the best for this purpose. So put the headphones on. And if* we do this next year, we'll try to fire up an external mic or something.

* - "If?" Who am I kidding, we're doing this next year.

- As to the performance: the first half was, now that I listen to it, much rougher than I remembered. Boy, did I get off to a shaky start. Other way around on the second half, which was a vast improvement, and sounds much more confident than I remembered.



- Aw2pp, who, for the 18th consecutive year, has declared himself eligible for the upcoming NBA draft