Le Onde - Behind the Tapestry (way too long)

The old adage holds in many ways. Focus on the finished product, because you may be better off not knowing about the bits and pieces and effort that went into it. "Don't see how sausage is made" says Life's Little Instruction Book. By the same token, stay out of the kitchen of your favorite restaurant. Don't turn the tapestry over and look at the chaos on the backside. The work that goes into publishing a book, creating commercial software, a dance recital, building a house... all very messy, and all very tedious. And, when done well, all completely transparent, hidden by the excellence of the finished product.

Those of you who think my Le Onde recording is wonderful and seamless (hi family!) should probably skip the rest of this post. Fact is, I spent a cool 5 months working on this piece. Hard work. Even now, when I play it, my mind is completely atwitter with specific thoughts relevant to where I'm at. The rest of this post will attempt to capture most of those.

First, a comment on the specific recital recording itself. In the end, I had the choice of two imperfect recordings. Recording A was recorded a week or so ago, at a time I wasn't even really intending to make a recording. And it had some awful, obvious errors on both the front and back halves. I kept it, though, because when I listened to it afterward, I was very impressed with how well the subtle things were done. More on those shortly. For now, consider recording A to be the figure skater who fell on her triple axle, and two-footed a landing late in her performance, but scored well on what those judges call "artistic impression".

Recording B was flawed in less obvious, less subtle ways. There was a pause here and a flub there, but it was overall cleaner than Recording B. And it was recorded later, just after a lesson. In listening to it, it was less polished, but had nothing major going against it... nothing that I couldn't live without. This is the figure skater who landed all her jumps, but scored lower for reasons known only to the Illuminati who judge the sport.

Of course you know I went with Recording B, even if I have a slight preference for the more imperfect, but subtly superior version. Both of them are good, though, and represent quality takes of which I'm proud.

Here is what goes through my head when I play this. I hope, by capturing this stuff here and sharing it with foisting it upon y'all, it might begin to clear my mind of all this clutter, so I can just play music come Live! In Person! recital time. Let me know if this sort of thing happens to you. That might help.

• First 12 seconds - Keep the tempo even here. Build from soft to medium loud with each measure. (This "build" command repeats itself through the music for every LH pass. It's my attempt to create the wavelike feel.)
• "We're not at the beach yet, but we can hear it off in the distance."
• Measure 5, Starting at 12 seconds - RH melody kicks in. It must overcome the LH, and yet, decay, medium to soft, with every measure. In addition, the melody (the higher notes) must be accented over the secondary notes. This is crucial. Finally, the last dotted half of the passage (the first of which occurs at the 18 second mark) needs to be lightly accented, and MUST occur exactly the moment the corresponding LH note hits. (This is what makes the note sing, as Denis was asking.)
• Measure 15 (30 seconds) - Start building volume. The increase from piano to mezzoforte in 4 measures is more sudden than you think. Don't be afraid to be too loud there, you'll quiet down quickly thereafter.
• Measure 20 (38 seconds) - And the reverse is true here. I had more trouble with the gradual diminuendo than the gradual crescendo, for some reason.
• "We're at the beach, and the tide is coming in, albeit very gradually."
  
• Measure 25 (45 seconds) - Starting a new theme here. Still piano. Resist the powerful temptation to rush this section.
• Measure 28 (51 seconds) - Crescendo, but then immediately dip back to piano. I never quite pull this off.
• Measure 31 (55 seconds) - Since you were back to piano, crescendo again. The music calls for a slight allargando (something of a reduction in tempo), but Einaudi himself doesn't seem to do this here in any of the recordings I have. Either way, I usually forget this, because, as you see, there is a bunch of other stuff going on in my head by this point.
• Measure 33 (59 seconds) - Repeating the second theme. Supposedly, we're beginning mezzopiano this time (as opposed to piano the first time around), but that didn't leave me enough room to crescendo in the upcoming measures. So in practice, I typically begin this second theme softly, and build. Speaking of which...
• Measure 35 (1:03) - Start building the volume, so that you're blasting away by the time you get to measure 39.
• "The waves are building. The tide is reaching its peak."
  
• Measure 39 (1:09) - Loud here. Accent that first note, and the first one in measure 40, then quickly soften to piano, to increase the contrast with the next section. Big slowdown, too, for exactly the same reason.
• Measure 41 (1:12) - Play this relaxed, but as loud as you can without making errors. Save the ferocity for later. Don't rush.
• Measure 44 (1:18) - That LH D needs to be crushed to get the proper accent. The RH D needs to be subtle, because it's contrast with everything else that is going on is enough to bring proper attention to it.
  
• Measure 47 (1:22) - Quick reduction in volume and tempo, followed by an equally quick rebuild.
• Measure 55 (1:35) - Start quieting down. In a few measures, you'll have a quick build, then back to almost nothing.
• "The tide, having reached its max, begins to recede here."
• Measure 59 (1:41) - It's ok to be very quiet here. We need the contrast with what's coming up. Don't crescendo, stay quiet. (Note, I usually always crescendo here anyway.)
• Measure 63 (1:45) - Loud. Accent the LH firmly at the beginning of each measure here. The RH is a tie; as much as you want to hit that D again, DON'T!
• "The tide has gone out. The beach is very quiet."
• Measure 64 (1:49) - Key measure. Einaudi calls for una corda, but wait until you hit that first note, then push the pedal. Regain the tempo and don't let it drag. Be smooth. Though we're supposed to be piano here, the LH tends to drown out the RH if you let it. Don't.
  
• Measure 73 (2:05) - Slow down, then pause. Create the impression that the piece might end here. That would be confusing, because we've not resolved anything.
• Measure 74 (2:08) - Hanging just briefly on the pause, start anew. There should be a sense of relief here.

Ok, we're halfway through. And let me answer your question: "Yes, absolutely, every single one of these thoughts, and likely more, pour through my head every time I play this." It's a mess, and I'm thisclose to thinking something is wrong with me. But hey, maybe everybody goes through this? Or maybe the secret to playing this well is emptying your mind of these distractions? How do you get to that place?

At any rate, the second half of Le Onde is very similar to the first, and as such, most of the same thoughts run through my head. I'll be briefer now, detailing only the changes for the second half. There aren't many, but they are important.

• Measure 90 (2:36) - Constantly coming back to B on the LH creates significant tension here. Don't let that affect you. The tension is for those who are hearing the music, not you.
• "The tide is coming back in. But it's different this time. Are those storm clouds?"
• Measure 101 (2:54) - Finally, the LH moves off that B onto a D, releasing the tension. Everything feels familiar now, with the exception of those disconcerting pauses (measure 108, 117).
• "Yes, it is a storm."
• Measure 126 (3:36) - Blast away. When you went through this section the first time, you were loud, but relaxed. No need for that now. The music calls for ferocity here, even if my recording doesn't sufficiently convey that. So be it. Einaudi's recordings don't, either.
• Measures 147 - 149 (4:08) - The entire piece builds to these measures. Hammer the accents. This time, that RH is NOT a tie, so hit that D again in 148 with everything you've got. As before, hit the first note in 149 before deploying the una corda.
• Measures 153 to the end - I had quite a bit of trouble with this page. My saving grace is that Einaudi plays these measures slowly and carefully, so I did, too.
  
• "The storm is passed, the tide is going out, the beach is quiet again."
  

Anyway, thanks for reading this far. Live recital is in three weeks.

- Aw2pp, who feels like going out and running a 5k about now, even though he hates running.

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.

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.

Divertimento in D

I mentioned not too long ago that it seemed the pieces I am working on in Alfred's are easier than the fun / supplemental pieces I was working on. This was certainly true of the Clementi Sonatina, and, to a lesser extent, true of the Einaudi pieces I was tinkering with. (Made some good progress on Le Onde yesterday, btw... you'd recognize it, by this point, as Le Onde.) As a consequence, I was spending a great deal of time on short, simple pieces of music, trying to squeeze that last iota of whatever-it-is-I-was-supposed-to-learn from them. And, as a result, I have now been in Alfred's Book 2 for, oh, a year now, and am not even halfway through.

Enough of that. PT pointed out something last lesson that Gramma MA has been saying for a long time now... these Alfred's pieces are easy, let's bust through them for a few months, and see if the book will catch up with where I am musically. The good news is that you'll see recordings coming more often. The bad news? They'll be imperfect, as I won't be spending the time it takes to make them less so. The goal: 1 or 2 Alfred's pieces a week (6 a month). That might have me starting Book 3 in September (more or less... we'll see).

Case in point number 1, the Divertimento in D. It's ok, not great. It should be faster. It should have greater differentiation between the forte and piano sections. It should be smoother.

It will be none of these. I'm already on the next page. Deal with it.*

* - That admonishment is more for myself than anyone else... you kind folks are much more forgiving of my play than I am. Keep up the good work.

Box.net link - Divertimento in D

- Aw2pp, who respects The Pouch.

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.

Rock A My Soul

Rock a My Soul - Box.net link

We haven't had an Alfred's recording in awhile, which could cause you to question whether I am making any Alfred's progress at all. You'd be right to wonder about this, because I haven't. Over the last month, I have been focusing on the Clementi Sonatina, Christmas tunes, and, most recently, restarting Le Onde for the June recital. Given that I average maybe 4 hours a week of bench time, there isn't much room for Alfred's pieces there. Which is a bit of a shame, because I really want to finish these books, but I've been in Book 2 for a year now, and I'm not even halfway through. I had hoped to be DONE with Book 2 by now, and even that wasn't supposed to be an overly ambitious pace.

Anyhow, Rock A My Soul is a fun, unserious* little piece of music intended to introduce the Key of D-Major*** (two sharps). I have found that Alfred's pieces get easy when they introduce something new, which makes perfect sense. If true, I should fly through the next three or four pieces until it gets hard again.

* - What, that's not a word? It oughtabe**.
** - See what I did there?
*** - That was off the top of my head this time! My theory is coming along after all... apparently, all you have to do is remember which note the corresponding scale starts with. Of course, this would be easier if I did scales.

First lesson of the year is tomorrow night.

- Aw2pp, who will rock you.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Christmas apparently arrives late when you live on the Plateau of Piano Mediocrity. Maybe they use another calendar here.

Box.net link - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Actually, the real problem is that I had quite a bit of difficulty with this piece. Listening to it (you are listening, right? go on, it's short...), you'll wonder what the fuss is all about. Trust me, it's harder than it sounds, and I would certainly tell you otherwise.

It comes from Bastien's Book of Christmas Classics, Book 4. Almost every piece in this book was a real stretch for me, either because of tempo or, fancy keys with lots of flats or sharps, or because it required sort of technique I hadn't learned. The latter is the case here. This piece required that I play multiple notes with the same hand (not new) and sustain some while releasing and moving onto others (new and strange). It took quite a long time to get this presentable, to say nothing of getting it good. But it's coming up on mid-January, and it's time to move onto something else.

Enjoy.

- Aw2pp, who bows to his Sensei.

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Here is another recording from the Plateau of Piano Mediocrity. PT tells me that this is traditional Japanese music played during tea time or something.

Sakura - Cherry Blossoms (Alfred's Book Two)

What I like about it: It took me two weeks to get this far, instead of three. Nice ending, too. Mordendo...

Why I consider it symptomatic of mediocrity: Rough in tempo and dynamics. This is an elegant, almost fragile piece of music. It sounds like I'm playing it with boxing gloves.

- Aw2pp, idol of idle youth.

Greetings from the Plateau of Piano Mediocrity!

I made a recording for you to commemorate my arrival here. Here, give it a listen, and tell me what you think:

Box.net link - House of The Rising Sun from Alfred's Book 2

The Plateau of Piano Mediocrity is not such a bad place, really. Quite crowded though. And from the looks of things, lots of folks have been here a long time... some seem resigned to spending the rest of their lives here.

Looking back, I see that my trip began down in the Valley of Piano Discovery. The road rises quickly at first, but then gradually settles onto the Plateau. The subtle decrease in grade makes it hard to pinpoint exactly where the Valley ends and the Plateau begins. But after awhile, there is no mistaking that, though you’re making plenty of lateral progress, the terrain isn’t taking you any higher.

Way off in the distance, I see the Hills of Piano Excellence, and, past those, the Peaks of Piano Virtuosity. I would like to think I am headed in that direction, but the way is shrouded in a deep fog, and I am not entirely certain how to get there from here. Michael Stipe says it can't be done. I guess I'll keep on taking one uncertain step at a time. At least I can see that far.

Ok, so the metaphor only works to a certain point, I admit. But the truth is, it doesn’t feel to me that I am making a lot of progress these days. Plenty of reasons for this, of course… mostly having to do with schedules, travel*, work… you know, life. But it doesn’t change the self-perception that I am pretty much the same piano player I was a year ago… certainly the same one I was six months ago… At this rate, Chopin and Liszt are going to have to wait a long time for me to catch up with them.

* I’m doing my best to squelch a whiny post about traveling for work… truth is, I should be thankful that I have a job. But be warned, I may lose this argument with myself, and whine in an unseemly manner.

What makes me feel this way? A couple of things. First, it seems to me that it is taking a longer-than-expected period of time to pick up new pieces. Second, the added time I spent polishing pieces I think I've learned isn't really making them sound that much better.

Consider this recording I’ve attached. On the one hand, there is a lot to like about it. The phrasing is nice, and I added an 8va section (that's the higher part in the second half) that, to my ears, gives it a little bit of life that the original Alfred's version lacked. That's all good. Problem is, I worked for three weeks to get it to this point. One week to learn it, and two weeks trying to iron out wrinkles and eliminate pauses. Those two weeks produced no observable results. To me, it sounds hesitant and timid. It also sounds like another hour or two would fix that right up, but I'm telling you, it won't. This is as good as I can get it, and, until further notice, it ain't getting any better.

Likewise, it is taking a very long time to learn some of the Christmas pieces I’ve been assigned in Bastien Book 4, and also the Clementi Sonatina. It takes me a month or more to get those things down. In my mind, the music doesn’t seem that difficult, so it shouldn’t take so long. But the mechanics of making the fingers consistently go to the right places aren’t coming easily.

There is one more important point to be made here: I believe this is perfectly natural. Most learning involves an initial period of rapid acquisition, followed by a longer, perhaps even indefinite, period of perfecting some basic skills while slowly acquiring new ones. I get it. I am experiencing, I assume, the same feelings that everybody goes through when they pick up the piano later in life*. My hunch is that the vast majority succumb at this point, and accept that this is the musician they were meant to be. I’m going to continue to plug away, hoping to finish Alfred’s Book 2 some time mid-next year, and Book 3 another year after that.

* - Except for the select few who are naturally gifted… I'm looking at you, Tim Moriarty, hello!

Liszt and Chopin can wait for me. They've got time on their hands, to be sure. Good thing, because those Peaks are way far off in the distance.

- Aw2pp, who remembers something about slow and steady winning the race...

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.

Imeem, I am done with you

The whole point of embedding an Imeem player for recordings was that you didn't have to go anywhere else to hear the music. Then they started embedding ads in their embedded player, which I did my best to remove before posting. They seem to have figured that bit of trickery out, and now only allow you (me, anyone) to embed the first 30 seconds of a given sound clip.

Imeem, I am done with you. All further recordings will be posted using Box.net links only.

- Aw2pp, who originally posted this without adding anything here.

Streets of Laredo

Continuing with a relatively heavy posting schedule this week, I now offer for your approval my version of the next Alfred's Book 2 assignment. I actually had this one completed before Introduction and Dance (a pox on it), but the purist in me wouldn't allow the blogger in me to post it (Laredo) without having completed the earlier piece (Intro) first.

Box.net link - My recording

Streets of Laredo - Aw2pp

My favorite version, of the hundreds scores dozens one or two recordings I've heard comes from Nashville musician and self-proclaimed Last of the Full Grown Men: Webb Wilder*.

* - Not his real name, I'm sure.

By this point, my 30 second version of the song is surely done (you listened, right?), so why not hear a professional's take.

Box.net link - Webb's version

Streets Of Laredo (The Cowboys Lament) - Webb Wilder

It's simultaneously an interesting, sad, and perplexing song. Apparently all the following is true:

A cowboy is a drunken gambler lowlife. Said gambler is also a cheat, and got caught. So somebody shot him. At which point, while dead ("dressed in white linen and cold as the clay"), he wanders the Streets of Laredo, and comes across the, uh, narrator. Whom he doesn't know ("I see by your outfit* that you are a cowboy..."). So he (the now dead cowboy cheating gambler) spends the rest of the song describing what happened to him, finishing up with very specific funeral arrangements. Which the narrator (again, a stranger, mind you) dutifully follows, even arranging for a sextet of prostitutes to sing a song in his memory. And why? Because, shucks, that kid, that's just the way he rolled, and they all loved him like that.

* I can just imagine this conversation between two rough characters.

"Nice outfit!"
"Oh this? Just something I threw together this morning."
"No, really, it's simply dashing** the way it conveys your cowboy-ness."
"Uh, thanks. Say, your outfit is... unusual. Looks like some bedsheets. And come to think of it, you also look kinda pale. Is that a new base you're working with? Or is there a toga party I am missing somewhere?"
"Oh, that. Well, funny you should mention it..."

** Yes, they actually use the word "dashing" in this song.

That's quite a bit of inconsistency to try to digest. And yet? It's still vastly superior to "Those Were The Days". (I know, it's time to move on.)

The Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament)

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day
I saw a young cowboy dressed in white linen
Dressed in white linen and as cold as the clay

"I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy"
These words he did say as I boldly stepped by
"come sit down beside me, hear my sad story
Shot in the breast and i know i must die

Play the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

It was once in the saddle i used to go dashin'
Once in the saddle i used to go gay
Off to the dram house, off to the card house
Shot in the breast and i'm dying today

Beat the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

Get six strong cowboys to carry my coffin
Six pretty whoregals to sing me a song
Place bunches of roses on top of my coffin
So they can't smell me as they bear me along"

We played the drum slowly, played the fife lowly
Played the dead march as we bore him along
Took him to the green valley and laid the sod o'er him
We all loved our comrade even though he'd done wrong

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day

- Aw2pp, who tends not to let his freak flag fly.

Introduction and Dance

Sorry to have put you through this. But given the time that I spent on this miserable, accursed piece of music (more here, in case you missed it), the very least I could do is let you hear my recording of the final time I will ever play it. Yes, once this was recorded, I turned the page on this piece, literally speaking, forever. Enjoy.

Box.net link

Introduction and Dance - Aw2pp


- Aw2pp, who actively detests wistful songs about long-passed days ofyore

Festive Dance

I had a lot of fun learning this little piece. I had a maddening time trying to get a perfect recording (you know me). Instead, I leave you with this perfectly acceptable, yet subtly flawed version of this faintly Slavic thing-a-ma-bob.

Box.net link

Festive Dance - Aw2pp

Technically, I was done with this last week, but wanted to grab a recording before moving on. My Alfred's pieces are (at the risk of incurring the wrath of the angry piano gods) easy these days. I am able to pick them up in maybe 2 or 3 hours (which, these days, still translates to a full week... not getting much bench time with our new busy Fall schedule). I know Hava Nagila looms shortly in the distance, and that is certain to take me a week or three. But for now, I am putting one lesson after another in my rear view mirror.

To make up for this, PT has assigned me some of her standard stuff. So I am working on a Clementi Sonatina. Without going into too much detail at this point, it's a real pain. In the Alfred's stuff, the LH mainly plays chords or simple repetitive patterns. In the Einaudi pieces I have learned, where the LH is often playing a repeating bass line, allowing one hand (sometimes both) to go on auto-pilot. Not so this classical stuff, where I have to pay very close attention to what both hands are doing. And, uh, well, I can't. At all. So this could take awhile.

- Aw2pp, keeping it between the ditches.

Arrrr...

Next piece in Alfred's is the Tarantella. For those of you who haven't had enough pirate music in your day so far.

Box.net link

Tarantella - Aw2pp



- Aw2pp, who thinks this would make a really annoying ringtone.

In today's epdisode, I drive an ice cream truck

"The ice cream truck in my neighborhood plays 'Helter Skelter'."

- Steven Wright

I can play the Mexican Hat Dance. Listen for yourself, and see what I mean. The problem is, I can't quite play it Allegro, whatever that is supposed to mean. I can play it at a brisk Andante, but when I ratchet it up to 140 beats per minute or so, all sorts of wacky things happen, and frankly, it's best I keep those to myself.

But because I can play it, I tried, over and over, to play it at the tempo I thought it needed to be played. Over and over. And over again. And several times, I made it halfway, most of the way through, only to have some sort of fatal error near the end. Thankfully, the family was spared this, because I am sure it was annoying. But after awhile, it occurred to me that this endless repetition of an otherwise perfectly harmless song sounded very much like an ice cream truck. And I wondered to myself, "How do those guys" (they're usually guys, in my experience) "do it? Do they have a playlist of 4 or 5 songs that they rotate when they can't stand it anymore? Does the music in their truck ring through their ears when they go to bed at night? If one of their children had piano or violin lessons, and came to the ice cream truck music, would the ice cream truck man / dad say, "Um, go ahead and skip that one please?" I had to deal with this for only about 40 minutes until I gave up and uploaded this. I think those guys are wired differently from me, because at this point, I am not sure I want to play (or hear) this song ever again. Of course, I have to play it this afternoon for PT, but I think I can convince her it's time to move on.

All that said, enjoy my version of the Mexican Hat Dance, recorded for your listening pleasure at about 80% tempo.

Box.net link

Mexican Hat Dance - Always Wanted to Play Piano



- Aw2pp, whose kids can't hear me when I ask them to clean their rooms, but they can hear the ice cream truck from a county away.

Crunch time

I'd say it's 50-50 whether I will get an acceptable recording of I Giorni before Friday's deadline. Sue says I am being too hard on myself. I know I won't have a perfect recording, but I'll need to do better than I have so far if I am going to turn something in.

That said, I have two mystifying problems recording. First, Red Dot Forever installs fine on my ThinkPad, but for some reason, doesn't seem to be able to record anything. No idea why this would be. It works fine with Sue's, although, come to think of it, we just shipped her machine off to The Shop* to be fixed. Hmm. This could be a problem.


* - That would be her brother, Marty, who is good at this sort of thing.

Second problem is that the ginormous piano soundfont I have been using (the 939 megabyte "maestro_concert_grand_v2.gig") produces only static when using the New! Improved! version of Synthfont. Reverting to the previous version (1.124) solves this.

- Aw2pp, reluctant Cub fan.

Theme from Solace

Here's a new recording for you. I'll give you your links, you can fire them up, then read on as I yammer about what I've done here.

Box.net link for AnthonyB and others: http://www.box.net/shared/v1zqczr6vd

Imeem link, just in case you've a preference for it:

Theme from Solace - Aw2pp

I began this piece a couple weeks ago, when I beaten I Due Fiumi to smithereens. SO I guess you are hearing two week's worth of progress here. It was slow going at first, mainly because I was not the least bit familiar with the tune. (" 'Solace?' Is that some sort of chick movie I missed?") But PianoNoobAlexMan's recording on Youtube got me off and running. There were two measures that I had particular trouble with (right around the 40 second mark is the first instance), and I had to CC Chang those measures to get them down. Thankfully, Joey and Rowan expressed a great deal of patience with me while I played those measures over and over and over and...

Only other comment: I think the repeat is totally and completely superfluous. Listening to the recording, at about the 1:25 mark or so, I say to myself, "Good grief, finish this piece already." Just in case you are saying that to yourself as you are listening along, I want you to know that I am way ahead of you.

- Aw2pp, who just turned on the AC last night for the first time this year. It was the humidity, mind you.

Another recording - my ABF Recital Submission

Thanks for the warm welcome back. I owe you some thoughts on the job search, and the position I ended up with. Maybe later this week. But one of my to-do's prior to getting on the plane tomorrow was to record and submit my Quarterly Recital Piece (my second!). And here it is.

I Due Fiumi - Aw2pp

Box.net link

Things I like:
- No major errors. Unlike Ombre, my first recital piece, there were no obvious hesitations or missed notes on this recording. Which is good for me. It's not perfect (hold that thought), but if I played it this well for my actual recital in June, I would be happy with this.
- The music. After playing it probably hundreds of times, this piece is still new and fresh to me. My attention span isn't so good... music tends to bore me quickly, so that is really saying something.

Things I don't like:
- I may have mentioned before that my Pianissimo virtual piano, which came with a Christmas present, was only a trial version. This MP3 was made with a free soundfount, the Maestro Grand Piano. It's a very large file, but still, I think the recording sounds artificial. It's obviously a digital piano. Wish it sounded more lifelike, but then again, I am not willing to pay for something that does.
- No major mistakes, but a couple of minor ones. A couple of pedaling errors that Monica K and Anthony B might notice, because they know the piece so well. And I wish I had come in stronger with the RH at about the 3:04 mark.

But all in all, this isn't bad for me, and I am reasonably happy with it.

Mom3gram... bananas? I hereby make a promise to you that I will eat a banana on the way to the church (where our recital will be). I found, during the 10 or 15 takes it took to record this version, that a good deep breath (combined with a bottle of Zinfandel... not White Zinfandel, mind you, but the real stuff) is a very helpful relaxer prior to the first measure. I'm all for trying other proven methods as well, because I bet I will be a bundle of nerves on recital day.

- Aw2pp, who hopes the Hilton in Toronto has a piano somewhere.