I grew up playing this piano at my home church. They are getting a new piano and reached out about giving the Baldwin a new home. It's a big instrument for the room, but we made it fit! I spent way too many hours to count practicing on this instrument and it has always been one of my favorite pianos. It's a dream come true to have it as my personal piano in my house!

Super Mario World Athletic Theme, never gets old to mess around with. Actually recorded this one for a friend, but figured I'll post here too. Super sloppy and poor quality along with a cheap keyboard sound, but figured some may enjoy regardless. One of the best pieces of music from all of Mario, IMO. I tune this keyboard to 422hz tonic for specific reasons, just to make aware in case that confuses anyone's brain.

The piece is Souvenir de Porto Rico. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to make a post asking for critique, but not today. I just play for fun, and MAN this piece is fun!

It's been about a decade since I last took piano lessons, and I feel like my playing stagnated a lot, so I was really proud of myself for learning this piece all by myself! It came up as one of many pieces we studied in music history class, and I fell in love with it when I first heard it, and thought "I could probably play this!" And then when I listened to the rest of it, I thought "alright maybe not...sounds way too hard" but it never left my head, and after a few years I decided screw it, I might as well just try it. And sure enough, this is where I am now, playing the part that made me think it was too hard! I know there's still a lot of room for improvement, but the progress I made to get to this point was huge for me. I can get so frustrated and discouraged sometimes while trying to learn a new piece, but the satisfaction of finally being able to play it is sooo worth it, and learning this piece was a good reminder of that :)

It's been a very long time since I've done a live performance, so reassurance (I'm rather nervous) and quick feedback would be much appreciated! Looking more for 30-minute fixes considering the timeframe, I don't have time to overhaul my entire interpretation.

Known issues:

1. I would like the opening fourths to be more legato and put together, but on stage I just know it's going to fall apart no matter how much work I put into them, so what will be will be.
2. Those damn trills.
3. Wrong notes popping up everywhere. If anyone knows how to reduce the number of slips that magically reveal themselves onstage please let me know!
4. Assorted phrasing indiscretions.

Ive been playing for almost 20 years, when I was at music school I remember learning so many pieces for various recitals/exams/comps etc. Memorisation was something I never even worked on because it came so naturally and effortlessly. Perhaps it was cause I am a lousy page turner so there was the extra incentive to memorise.. but compared to now it feels terrible. I can be working on a piece for an entire week and still need the music for the first page, I may know the first few bars but then I abruptly stop because I forgot the rest.

I find that I have to have many anchors while I’m playing to even have a chance at playing without the score. “ok this passage is in F and we transition to Cmaj then theres a dom7 followed by a scale run in G” this is the kind of thinking that goes through my head as I’m playing and I feel it kills the enjoyment because Im not really listening to myself in the moment. I don’t know if its because of my age or the fact I have largely transitioned to 100% reading music off my iPad (much easier to swipe than turning a physical page) that the need for memorisation just isn’t there anymore and I have lost the skill?? I’d love to hear anecdotes from other pianists if they have noticed something similar.

6 years ago is when I performed at my last recital. I played 40 mins worth of music completley from memory. I genuinely don’t think I would be able to do this now.

Over your lifetime as a pianist, which collection would you want to learn in its entirety? Would you even consider doing this in the first place?

For example, quite a few people learn the whole Chopin Etudes, or Beethoven sonatas. Has anyone on here done this? I'm not talking about learning only this one work in one go and nothing else, but learning it over a couple of years and keeping it as something to study over and over.

I'll go first. Collections I'm interested in (in order):

• Chopin Etudes
• Bach WTC
• Liszt Transcendental Etudes
• Debussy Preludes
• Beethoven sonatas

I'm quite drawn to Chopin Etudes for some reason. I think I just like figuring out the different techniques, and some are among my favourite Chopin pieces from a pure musical perspective (25/12, 25/5, 25/1, 10/9).

I'm reading through the whole WTC bit by bit. I've finished reading through book 1, and now I'm using it for warming up for my evening practice. I tend to spend some time on specific preludes and sometimes fugues, so I'll probably learn them all eventually. Plus is fascinating.

Liszt TEs are probably my second pick after Chopin's. The problem is how hard they are. I'm not entirely sure I'll ever be able to even get the hardest ones up to 80% or 90% polish, most likely not. And I'm not a big fan of all of them (no. 1 huh). But there's something about this work that's got a legendary aura and some of these etudes are peak music (no. 11 is my favourite).

Debussy Preludes are also very very interesting to me. There's so much variety in them, and they aren't as hard technically as other collections. I'll probably read through all of them as well and maybe work on about at least half of them over time.

The last one is... tricky. So many people love all Beethoven sonatas, but I don't really see the appeal. Some of them are among my favourite pieces of all times, but some others are quite meh (I dropped Op. 10 no. 3 this year, I just didn't enjoy the first movement to put in the work). I might read through all of them slowly, but I doubt I'll ever try to properly learn them all.

There are so many other good choices. Mozart or Haydn sonatas, Scarlatti sonatas (I'm also reading through all of them, one a day, I'm at K179), Scriabin sonatas (this would be really hard plus I don't like no. 4 and no. 1), etc.

My personal pick would be Chopin Etudes. I think I could spend a lifetime on this and not get bored. I'd pick Liszt TEs second if it wasn't for its difficulty, so I suppose I'd pick the WTC (also difficult but in a different way).

What's yours? Is there any book or collection you love and have fully learnt or are planning to? Ideally around 1h or longer (aka. not something short like Brahms op. 117).

I'm secretly hoping that someone will say "all Czerny etudes" :D

I dont know how elso to phrase this question but i went to music school for 6 years during which i played piano. That was i think 5 years ago. Not long ago i picked it up again and my problem is that learning a song takes so damn long i lose motivation. I know this is a very bad question but how the hell do i get better at learning songs? My goal isnt to be professional piano player but i want to learn a couple songs i like and i dont want it to take an eternity. Is it just repetition? Because i honestly feel like i am very bad at playing and not improving at all, while not knowing what to do about it.

So I've started a cycle of preludes and fugues. My dream for this cycle is to have it played by a great pianist (Víkingur Ólafsson would be nice), for it to be something for fans of the WTC to add to their playlists, and to give fugue-loving pianists something new to play.

When I mention that I want to write fugues, an objection I have heard is: "What can you possibly do that is new? Bach has already done everything there is to do with the fugue."

Where some see a finished form, I see territory he never had the chance to explore. This fugue is a case in point. Modern fugues are often thought of as academic exercises, but what if we fuse a fugue with a pop chord progression, pepper it with little hooks like a pop production, and give it a sonata-form-like recapitulation and coda?

The accompanying video demonstrates many of the ideas realized in this fugue. The subject was built around I-IV-V with the idea that it could be repeated like a pop song; the song uses it to build into the climax by taking it away. Pop producers are masters at filling every moment with little hooks like ear candy, and I've attempted to do that here, increasing their frequency throughout, until towards the end where every voice seems to be nonstop hooks. In the "recap" (1:44 in the video), the subject re-enters in the same voices and tones as in the exposition, but with a new arrangement, leading into a coda (2:14 in the video) with new material, 3-voice stretto, and development of a figure from the answer. There are plenty more details for you to discover.

Some of you will hear a lesser Bach, and that’s a comparison I can’t win. I’d ask you to try hearing it as something else: a fugue with a melody that has subtle, modern influences, an approach that is both reminiscent of Bach yet something novel. I hope you will find ideas that maybe challenge the premise that there is nothing new left to do with the fugue and that it's possible to write a new fugue that's more than an academic exercise, something with a great melody and fun to listen to.

So what do you think of injecting pop and sonata-form into the fugue? And what are some other ways we might be able to evolve the fugue as a genre and potentially grow its audience?

https://reddit.com/link/1x8l5ok/video/v46c8lfjd3wh1/player

Hey! Me and my classmate are working on Debussy’s Petite Suite and we are looking for some new pieces to play right after this suite. Our teachers wanted to build a repertoire for comprtitions so after the Debussy it would be great to pick something from the Classic/Romantic era. They mentioned Brahms’s Waltzes Op. 39 and Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 6.

I would like to hear some suggestions from you, especially for the Classic era considering that Mozart Sonatas are very dangerous for competitions

I've been learning piano as a personal goal for myself since I was 16 back in 2021 and one of the things that I notice is that if you spend enough time on a piece you can play it better than you might think you might be able to. I just finished practicing a piece that I thought I would struggle and fumble through but it turned out it wasn't so bad and I thought I did ok on it. I think it's unusual because when my piano teacher wanted me to play it, I just about fumbled through it, but the practice session I just finished was the first time since then that I tried it again and it came out a lot better. I guess it could be that one of the things that they teach you are subtle, but important, but I have ended up surprising myself more than once this way. Anyone else notice that?

Brother sent me this and I figured I'd post it here to see what other pianists think of it. (He sent it with the caption idea #15)

Hi piano community, I’m a little further along than beginner but still classified as such. I’m grade 3 RCM. I’ve done well in exams so far and my teacher said my sight reading is excellent/above average (mostly thanks to her to be honest as she removed all the crutches I’d been using ex writing all the notes on the sheet etc). I’ve played some pieces from memory in exams and usually still keep the sheet music for the baroque ones…however since I’ve become a great sight reader I find myself unable to approach a piano and just sit and replay my pieces without sheet music. This is usually in between grades when I’m out of practice a bit.

We went piano shopping today and I was a little embarrassed as it seemed I could barely play because I just didn’t learn the piece looking at the keys, I learned it looking at the sheet music. I got some basics but it felt like I was drawing a blank. Has anyone else ever struggled with this? Should I just be trying to add fully memorized ones into my permanent repertoire? Appreciate any advice!

This is Celebration by Gaudet and I am really proud of myself for learning it! I got very frustrated and pissy on here yesterday about not being good fast enough, but I genuinely do really enjoy the piano.

I've recently started playing a lot more boogie woogie, and my arms get tired. It's not the hands, its the forearms above the wrist. It helps to try to reduce tension, keep my shoulders down, and play less loudly, but it's still an issue. Age (73) may be related. The longer I play an improvised tune, the more tired they get.

Any tips for reducing the fatigue? Thanks.

I thought it would be fun to look back one day and see how my interpretations of these pieces have changed. So I documented my practice sessions. I’d appreciate any feedback on my playing or the video itself.

https://youtu.be/yRW9FdZ1iLo?si=ESWW9mmrqDJ-1wdU

This was quite bad a performance and there are numerous parts that need significant improvement, but any advice (aside from getting a teacher which I am in the process of doing!!) would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! I have the opportunity to buy a 2017 Wilh. Steinberg 118 PE for €2,200 or a 2016 Samick WSU 131 for €3,000. Which one is the better deal?

I’m trying to learn alkan le chemin de fer with 3 months experience and i’ve gotten pretty far at around 150 bpm but the left hand is just awful I can never play it at full speed or 200 which is what I want.

I’m learning this for a video game i’m making to add to the soundtrack but i’m releasing this on one of the maps in a year or so.

Piano tutorial for reference: https://youtu.be/lUVvSXqNEG4?is=EaEGEADSam5gio6q

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand how to interpret a sempre staccato marking placed between two staves. The upper staff already has its own individual staccato markings. Te example is from Danse des Mirlitons (it's a score from my Roland book).

Does the sempre staccato marking apply to both staves, or only to the lower staff? Why is it written like this?

Thanks in advance!

Any tips for solving some of the high keys keep hanging ?

I totally cleaned the whole piano, also under the keys .. Is it something that is fixable by a piano tuner?

Any tips would be great, thanx !

Hello,

My daughter needs a piano for practicing. She attends the music school and practicing piano for 5 years now and she is about to go to next level. We have a Yamaha p125 with p1 three pedal system installed in her room for practicing but her teacher says it is not going to suffice from now on. She is suggesting that we aquire an acoustic piano but there is no way to move an acoustic piano in my house. It is on the second floor and there is no way a crane can approach the building. I am looking for a suggestion for a good system that will help my daughter practice at home for as many years as possible so that she can get as close as possible to a piano diploma without needing to upgrade any more. Budget is irrelevant but 6000 and above will be difficult. We need her to practice with headphones on preferably. Any advice welcome

Thank you all in advance

My teacher keeps saying to learn a romantic piece ( lyrical and cantabile).

I played beethoven pathetique sonata full ( perfecting 1st mov.), sonata no25 op79, bach prelude fugue no6, no2(except fugue), czerny etude op740 no16, and flight of the bumblebee. My teacher says I am fully capable of playing un sospiro, moment musicaux no.4, chopin nocturne op.48 no.1.

The thing is that I don't want to learn nocturne op48 no1 because it is not too catchy for me and I don't "feel" it. The notes seem kind of non pattern, unlike sonatas which I played. I like un sospiro but seems too long for me because I don't like too much slow pieces. He also suggested me some easier chopin nocturnes, like op9 no 1 but I feel that wouldn't push much to my musical or technical limits.

Are there any interesting, or nice slow romantic era pieces which are not too long ( less than 5 minutes). I'm asking this because my teacher is also thinking about other pieces, because I said Im not interested. Thanks.