I think your debut here went good and do not need to comment in detail as Chris already did that . About simplicity and beauty. I understand what you mean and the key to make it sound beautiful is to make is sound relaxed. One must hear that it is played with ease so therefore, you must learn to play it with ease. Hope you get what I mean as it did not come out easy .

I understand what your wrote. You know your english is pretty darn good.
Once I finish writing (or should I say "BS'ing"?) this essay I will go back and work out the kinks. Maybe someday I will be good enough to land a spot on this website *insert evil giggle here*

Thank you.
-JG

With just a little more practise, these recordings will be good enough.

But I can tell you when too much avoidable plopping noise occurs in MY case (on a real piano):
1) If my fingers are not on the keys, instead in a distance above. One can play loud with two ways: pushing from a distant in the key, or pushing from keysurface, but more pressure into the key. The latter one is the preferred, because it will never sound harsh and banging, only deep and forceful. And makes no plopping noise.
2) If I have too long fingernails, and the bended fingers lead to clicking noise due to the fingernails.
3) The ivory piece on the key is loose and must be glued again. Happens all some months on another key on my grand

You played on a digital piano? Did you not use the line-out output to feed the Edirol? Then you can plopp with fingers and you will hear nothing?

On a real piano, point 1) is what I find really important, because it influences the sound much, not only the key hitting noise with fingers.

So I don't know if it helps, but perhaps nice to tell about ...

I have very short fingernails so the only plopping sound is of my short, little sausage-like fingers

I will check the back of my keyboard to see what size line I must use for the line-out to connect to the edirol. Thing is, I will have to buy a cable...and I am tight with cash because this little recorder was a big gouge in the checkbook

Thank you for your help.
-JG

Should not cost more than 5 Euro. And you can sing out of tune in the Glenn Gould style while recording the piano playing. With the advantage that it not captured... I wished Glenn Gould would have recorded this way.

Well I think I have cured some of the problems with my recordings (no I did not go out and buy a grand piano and no it is not CD quality ). But I turned up the volume on my keyboard and the input volume of the edirol (but I still kept it off the keyboard because it reduced, as well as turning up the volume, the key-plopping, but with some occasions it is still present)

The Liszt Waltz- I slowed down the tempo a bit to get the waltz "one-two-three" in time when the forte section is played. Though, (I will let you formulate your own opinion) there is still a little skip in the base, I think it is caused by that ornament in the right hand to interupt the audible waltz beat heard throughout the piece. I also tapped the pedal a few times to carry over the half notes and noted the accents and staccatos to the best of my ability and of my instrument. (again blame the key-plopping...well if you do then it is actually me and my shallow pockets to blame )

Tchaik Sick Doll- I held down the notes in the base for the full value (or what I conceive as "full") I also added a pinch of rubato to the stew at the end of part one (after the repeat) to the beginning of part two. I did not want to overkill (and get into the habit of using) the rubato. So it is minimal at best, but hopefully noticeable to a degree. Also at the end I started to slow down at 1/2 way through the long crescendo to the very end.

Tchaik Doll's Burial- Let see if this submission is louder than the first. It is hard (damn hard with a keyboard) to play "ppp" "pp" and "p" because there is a limit to the keys' sensitivity, eventually it will not even register, whereas with an accustic piano the range is far greater and far more sensitive. I observed the rests and the slurs (though the slurs are still a puzzle to me...I was never taught how to go about observing them, and my music dicitionary does not have the term "slur" in it ) I also retarded the LH in bar 15 and at the mirrored end.

I am leaving out the German Dance for a while until I can make major improvements....until then...

I am including a new submission of "In Church" from Tchaikovsky's series of Album from the Young (I think it is number 23). Hopefully I can get it right with only one submission. I think this number would sound better transcribed for the organ....eh Chris or even Joe (c'mon peer pressure c'mon,haha! )

I have been playing a couple of selections from Tchaikovsky for a while. Someday in the future I will complete the Opus. But I fear pieces like the Neopolitan Song will be a slaughter. It is already giving me trouble (the left hand....gah! I think it has a mind of its own!)


These are just some of my own opinions. By all means do not hold them as absolute. You be the judge, that is why I submit them here.

Thank you for your ears...again and your commentary...again

_the juuf

by the way. That Waltz was composed when Liszt was 12 years old (1823).

anyone????

Still reeling from the experience ....

Hold your horses, I was just busy listening and replying.

In the Church - I liked the first half, the chanting of Russian Orthodox monks. You are truly into the spirit here. A little more dynamics please, if your kb allows it. But, your rhythm is funny. Like bar 1 is ok, bar 2 is too short, bar 3 is ok, but bar 4 you play as 3/8 instead of 2/4, ignoring the dotted first notes. Not that it distracts much, chant is flexible, but it's wrong. Count to 4 in each bar, or use the metronome to find the spots where you do it (which is almost every other bar).

The 2nd half - tolling (rather than pealing) Russian bells. Despite marked pp, I believe this should (as from the repeated bass notes) sound more sonorous than the 1st half. You play it very wimpy, and cut the tempo as well. Be a bit more assertive here, and by all means use pedal - over the full length of the bar, except perhaps the few bars that modulate (but even then you can hold it as this the nature of bells). Don't be afraid to speak out ! The other thing is, if you start so very softly, you stand no chance for the perdendosi at the end.

The other items sound definitely bettter already. More steady in tempo - though not optimal yet. The keyboard does not actually sound too bad. This time I did not notice much extra noises, and also no great difference in volume. But I think you should not be re-submitting pieces after working on them for only two days.... Take some weeks and the difference will be amazing.

back to the dungeons! muahahaha

thanks for the comments.

Better stop playing that dungeons game and go practising

I don't know the Church piece at all.
I think your rhythm on the Liszt piece was better. Maybe the left hand is just a bit too heavy in the middle part.
I like the Doll Burial better. For one thing, I could hear it (I didn't have to turn my speakers up full blast) and I think you increased your tempo a little, which I like.
I found nothing wrong with the Sick Doll.