Introduction

[sonata58]

Hello, everyone!

I just joined this forum, and thought I'd introduce myself. I've often read many of the posts here and found them very interesting. Finally decided to join myself.

I have studied classical piano for about 15 years. I have been teaching private piano lessons for the past 5 years. I am currently working on my Masters in Music Education.

My favorite composers include Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. One of my all-time favorite piano works is Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in b minor, Op. 58 (that's where I get my username). I performed that piece at my college senior recital last year.

Besides music, I enjoy literature, history, and classic cinema.

Look forward to being a part of this forum!

[roseamelia]

Hey guys! Welcome to pianostreet folks!

[gaidheal]

Hi all,
I joined this site yesterday, after I found a problem while trying to work out a fingering for a certain passage. Twice I was about to post a question, but in the process of describing my problem, I figured out the solution! So now I don't have a question, just an introduction.
I'm in my final year of studying piano performance in university in Birmingham, UK.
The passage in question was a descending series of chromatic parallel (minor) sevenths in the left hand, which despite having sorted the fingering for, I'm still getting to grips with. It is from Grainger's Ramble on Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAlpgf-CDZY) with which I'm falling in love more and more as I learn it.
I've never managed to stay involved in a forum before: as this one's related to my passion, I'll hopefully hang around more!

[roseamelia]

Well You can figure out your problem here for sure! Pianostreet is filled with wonderful and gentle people.  Hope you can stay long.

[evitaevita]

Hello everyone!
Welcome to pianostreet!

Alhough I have been visiting this site for about the last 6 months, I never introduced myself before.
Well, I decided to join the forum, because I thought (and, of course, still thinks!) that it is a great idea to exchange opinions and ideas with other people. It is the only place where I can talk and discuss with so many people, a lot of which are really good musicians and pianists.
I'm still a student. I have been playing the piano for about 10 years. I love classical music. In fact, it's my favourite music genre. I enjoy playing music from all periods of music, from Baroque to contemporary composers. Apart from piano playing, I also like composing and singing (basically, I'm doing very well in this field, but I don't want to become a singer). Now, I'm practicing Beethoven's 1st Piano Sonata, Chopin Etude Op.10 No.1, Schubert's Impromptus Op.90 No.2 and No.3, Albeniz's Asturias (Leyenda), Preludes and Fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and some other shorter and easier pieces. Some day, I would love to play some of Beethoven's, Chopin's, Liszt's and Rachmaninov's greatest works. This is my dream repertoire! This year I'm a scholar in my town's Music High School. In the future, I want to become a professional pianist (and musician generally). Furthermore, I'd like to study in universities in England or France (I've chosen these countries, because I can only speak english and french). Other hobbies I have are ballet and literature.

Evitaevita

[shaggyy]

Schubert's impromptu's Op. 90 are so beautiful! I play the fourth, but I do want to learn the first, second and third one as well.

About myself; I'm 19 years old (since yesterday  ) and I've had lessons since I was 10 or 11 or something. I liked my lessons and playing the piano, but I didn't really had strong determination to learn certain pieces and had a lot of other hobbies, so I almost never practised. My 'hardest' piece was the first Arabesque of Debussy. Until last year, I don't know if it's the age, or because I started listening to Chopin and Schubert and many other composers, or to feel all the emotions in a piece (wich I couldn't as a kid because I never felt depressed or lost or whatever ), but then I suddenly became obsessed with piano music. I started a year ago with the Nocturne Op. 9 no. 2 from Chopin and the Impromptu Op. 90 no. 4 from Schubert, after that I played Clair de Lune, Turkish March, Liebestraum no. 3, Prelude in Cis and much more pieces. Nowadays I'm quite busy with college, but I try to practise on schooldays at least one hour a day on my digital piano, sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, and in the weekends, when I'm at my parents house and where I have my real piano, I play and practise all day long. I now printed out some stuff from Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte, and I would also like to play some more Chopin nocturnes (My favorites are the ones from Op. 9 and Op. 48). My final goal, wich I settled last year when I started playing piano seriously, is to play the first Ballade from Chopin. I can (after months and months of practise) play till the fifth page, though some parts aren't technically good yet, but I'm working on it and I'm now practising the presto con fuoco part, wich goes surprisingly well (though I still have to practise really much).

[the89thkey]

I'm a concert pianist and part-time teacher. My favorite composer, by far, is Rachmaninov (I play just about everything he wrote: all the concertos, preludes, most of the Etude-Tableaux and the list goes on).

[nobutakashi]

Hi I just joined this site and it seems really interesting especially to be able ask people who know if I have an issue. I always wanted to learn piano but as a child it was never going to happen. Finally at the age of 40 I started lessons but my work once again took me elswhere so for a while I tried lessons at my new home alas my piano access stopped so I ceased. At 45 I bought an electric piano and decided to try and teach myself, I try, can't take lessons but practise a little at a time. I know the only answer is practise which again is difficult due to location but each time I am at home I sit for a while and try to practise. My point is I try but can't see my endeavours bearing fruit however - I just love tapping those keys

[vsrinivasa]

I am only just seeing this thread...

I've been on this forum for a month and a half. I am a 30 year old male, and I am an electrical engineering professor and amateur pianist. I have 1 piano student and might have another soon. I have been studying piano for 20 years and violin for 23, and also play the cello, viola, and flute (badly), which I have been playing for 11, 12, and 2 years respectively. I like the traditional music of East and South Asia as well as western classical music. I spent the first 10 years of my life in India and have lived pretty much all over the world since then. Besides playing music, I also compose and arrange music. My favourite composers are Debussy, Ravel, Chopin, Brahms, Chaminade, and Fauré. I also like Baroque music in general.

Thank you for your contributions to this forum,
V

[india1000]

Hi,
I am brand new here as you can see by my post number. I am a 13 year old pianist and am in ninth grade. I have been playing piano for almost seven years and am not progressing as fast as I want to, but I hope the pace will pick up with more practice. My favourite composers include Debussy, Brahms, Bach, and Mozart and my favourite piece is Mozart's Sonata in A Major, K. 331.

[cadenza14224]

Hey all,

I'm a 23 year old biomedical engineering grad student in Washington DC. I've played piano for the last decade or so, but didn't really make it a serious hobby till I was in undergrad.

I joined pianostreet because musically I am the oddball of my friends circle (which mainly consists of business majors who mostly listen to EDM and Hip-Hop). Im an avid clubber, and I practically live for the nightlife, so I love house and hip-hop, however I never really had anyone to discuss classical music with, so I thought this would be a great place for starters.

My favorite composers are Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt. However oddly enough, my single most favorite piece of classical music is the Violin Concerto by Sibelius.

My favorite pianists are Helene Grimaud and Martha Argerich.

Nice to meet you all!

[perprocrastinate]

I'm a 23 year old biomedical engineering grad student

How much time can you afford to set aside for piano, when pursuing that major? I'm going after a similar major, and am slightly bothered by the possibility that my learning rate for piano will drop dramatically, because I plan to not neglect my academic studies at all.

(Nice to meet you too)

[cadenza14224]

How much time can you afford to set aside for piano, when pursuing that major? I'm going after a similar major, and am slightly bothered by the possibility that my learning rate for piano will drop dramatically, because I plan to not neglect my academic studies at all.

(Nice to meet you too)

Hey man,

My learning rate is actually quite low; I tend to finish only 6-7 pieces a year, most of which are miniatures (chopin/rach preludes, brahms klavierstucke, etc.). Because of the work load i've faced in the last 5 years, i've never finished any larger scale works (such as sonatas).

Usually I set time after classes on the weekdays and practice at night. Weekends I devote to homework and going out with my friends.  On average I get about 5-7 hours of practice a week, which you may not think is much, but if you practice in a highly focused manner, you can get ALOT done.

Sure real life gets in the way, but at the end of the day I remember that its just a hobby, and my life doesn't depend on it, so it doesn't feel so bad moving a little slowly, piece by piece. Hopefully one day I can land a job that pays well and doesn't require copious amounts of work, so I can finally buy myself a grand piano and splurge on practicing!

[ted]

At almost eleven years of membership, I am probably the earliest joining member who still regularly posts. At sixty-five, having grown thoroughly weary of all classical and jazz, I do little except compose and improvise after my own inclination, and as writing music out seems more pointless with each passing day, improvisation is just about everything now. I hate performing but love recording, which propensity, I have noticed, is contrary to that of most people here.

I am not a complete primitive, having studied with Llewelyn Jones, one of New Zealand's most respected pianists and composers, but to be honest, I wish I had ignored musicians and gone my own way much earlier in life than I did. I earned my living from computers and retired in 2008. I am lucky in that I have always had plenty of technique to play anything I want to play, and I have maintained the physical aspect with my Virgil Practice Clavier, a truly wonderful device now sadly out of fashion.

It saddens me that so few players seem really happy and stable in themselves and their music. Everything seems to be an ongoing battle for breath about struggle, comparison, envy, argument, angst and problems. I have no interest in that sort of nonsense, and my music has never given me anything but joy of a very intense and permanent kind. I have tried to impart this pleasure to appropriate people by encouraging personal improvisation as a primary creative direction - with limited success aside from one or two spectacular exceptions.

[lateromantic]

Hello, everyone!

Over the last roughly 8 months, I've been returning to the piano after a long absence.  My undergraduate degree was in piano, and I even studied for a year at Juilliard (without receiving a degree), but I was never able to make a real career of it and I ended up working in IT, as I still do today.  Later in life I did a lot of composing; as one might glean from my username, my style is late Romantic, tonal but highly chromatic. Eventually I got a master's degree in composition and a PhD in music theory, doing my dissertation on Rachmaninoff's harmonic structures.  I also authored a bio-bibliography on the composer.  But now that I'm in my sixties, my goals have become much more modest:  to play for my own enjoyment and for a few friends and acquaintances.  I'm still getting my technique back and retraining my memory (rewrapping the myelin around my neural circuits, if you've read about such things).  Later this year, I hope to put on a little musical soirée in my home.  Tentative program:  Bach's Italian Concerto; my own Sonata No. 4; and Chopin's Grande valse brillante, Op. 18.  That's presuming I can clear all the cobwebs (i. e., memory slips) out of my brain!  I expect to retire in the next few years, after which I expect to have a lot more time for music.

I've been lurking for a while on this forum, seeking some good pointers on technique and memory, and figured it's time to join in.

[oxy60]

Now a real heavy-weight has joined us! That is an impressive resume. When ever I read about a subject for a dissertation, I remember why I stopped with a BA. The subjects that would be acceptable bored me. I wanted the hear the "roar of the crowd." However as the public's interest waned in classical the roar now comes from the crowd in a nightclub.

Harmonic principles and musicality still stand in any type of music.

[lateromantic]

Now a real heavy-weight has joined us! That is an impressive resume.

Thanks, but to tell the truth, I feel a little out of my element.  Not only have I been unable to do anything professionally with my PhD, but in addition, unlike most of the whippersnapper-virtuosi around here, I haven't even tackled Rach 3.  (Okay, so the first 26 bars don't look too hard...) 

[andy1973]

I'm 39 and started learning the piano last February. Apparently I'm not serious about it though, because I only have a Yamaha-YPT230 to practice on. The sound reproduction seems okay, but it doesn't have weighted keys and only get one volume. Unless I turn the volume knob one way or the other. But seriously, I'd like to get something better soon.

I've been mostly learning from the book, "Everything Piano" by Evan A. Copp. I can play a few things pretty well. These are the types of songs I've learned and/or like to play:

When the Saints Go Marching In
All My Loving (The Beatles)
Brahm's Lullabye
Sleeping Beauty Walts (2-page easy version )
Star Wars Main Theme
Where do I Begin (Theme from Love Story)
When Johnny Comes Marching Home

I haven't found a teacher yet, so I'd be interested in a critique sometime. I'm able to hook my keyboard up and record directly with audacity (no midi cable yet).

My dream is to play before an audience. So I did that at Costco the other day. They had some demo digital pianos out, I played one and two people stopped for a few seconds to listen then walked away and picked up a megabigvaluepack of earplugs.

Just kidding of course. I play for a hobby, and don't mind sitting down to play in public if I happen to be somewhere there is a piano sitting in the room waiting to be played. A bar, an Amtrak station waiting area, a funeral home, or my Aunt and Uncle's basement.

[49410enrique]

welcome lateromantic! glad to have you around.

[the_fervid_pig]

Hi, I've been lurking here for a few weeks and picking up lots of great advice so I thought I'd join up and introduce myself. I've been learning the piano for about 3 months now and enjoy playing Satie and Mendelssohn, though originally I intended to play jazz. I really like the drama of Russian piano music but suspect it's a little hard for me at the moment, any suggestions welcome though!

Thanks, Kath

[oxy60]

Thanks, but to tell the truth, I feel a little out of my element.  Not only have I been unable to do anything professionally with my PhD, but in addition, unlike most of the whippersnapper-virtuosi around here, I haven't even tackled Rach 3.  (Okay, so the first 26 bars don't look too hard...) 

You have done something with your Phd., you've enriched your mind. You are not alone. I haven't done anything with my BA either. However with what it took to graduate I can think through almost every problem and out think almost everyone. Period!

[ted]

Welcome to the forum lateromantic. There is a wealth of talent here, and possibly much more importantly, amazing diversity. I am also in my sixties and provided you have enough to get by on, I wholeheartedly recommend retiring. I too worked in IT and these days the pressure and nonsense take away any pleasure in programming. I say retire and plunge into an orgy of music. I hope you can see your way to post recordings of your own music here. We have a strong and varied group of performers and improvisers always ready to offer constructive comment, so don't be reticent.

[bronnestam]

Hi everybody. I'm 46, and I work as a technical translator and a fiction writer, and I also hold a M. of Sc. degreee in Applied Physics. When I was 11 I tried to get piano lessons at the municipal music school. The queue was long, but one day the phone rang and I was so happy! I had played the recorder for years but piano was my dream instrument and I envied my friends, who already had pianos and took lessons. I used to sit next them and listen while they were practicing.
So I ran off to my first lesson, without even owning a piano    but my parents promised to buy me one of course. The first semester I was very enthusiastic and proud and I made quick progress, quicker than my friends. So, I was talented, yeeha.

Then ... the usual story. Interest faded, progress diminished. I practiced less and less and my teacher was disappointed. But you see, I don't know how to quit. Literally, I don't know how. So I kept on taking lessons as long as I was allowed to be in municipal music school, and at my last lesson, at the age of 19, I wept bitterly. After all, I had loved to play the piano. I just regretted that I had not practiced more ... Still, I had also decided that a career as a professional pianist was not for me. I realized that I would never have the patience to practice that much, or the nerves to perform anyway, and I also had other plans for my life.

7 years later I bought myself a digital piano, a Yamaha Clavinova. It was one of the first models on the market, and I loved it. I could play with headphones on which meant that I "could practice as much as I wanted" ... well ... sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. What has annoyed me during the years after that, is that I not just didn't make any progress; in fact I got worse and worse. The most advanced piece I ever played in music school was Clair de Lune. I never reached beyond that level. In fact, I never learned to play Clair de Lune properly either. And so the years went by, with me learning absolutely nothing new.

Some years ago my old interest in music woke up again. First I went to some rock concerts and enjoyed it a lot. Then, due to some odd circumstances, I started going to classical concerts again, and I realized that I loved it. More than ever, actually. It was like I, at the age of +40, had developed musically a lot since the teen years - even though I was in the audience now, not playing myself. (Yes, I tried sometimes, but it sounded so terribly crappy.) I got to know a very talented concert pianist (Tengstrand) and I became "a fan" and a faithful listener, but I simply cannot be a fan of a living musician, nor anyone. I was a fan of ... the music itself. Suddenly the music started to touch me in a way it had never done before. I could sit in the audience and cry because the music triggered such strong emotions in me, like love, pain, sorrow.

Finally I started to wonder what those musicians had, that I apparently had not. Obviously I could ENJOY the music and hear the subleties as good as anyone else. Actually I had rather good knowledge of music, at least far better than my friends who all were into popular music. I asked myself whether I should remain a spectator, sometimes smiling like an old lady, saying things like "once, in my youth, I also played the piano ..." or do something else.

Late 2011 I took the brave decision to be serious once more, just give it a last fair try. So I started practicing again, with the first modest ambition to sit at the piano 20 minutes a day. It went rather well, actually. Or, at first it was like a cruel parody. My hands were stiff, it sounded awful, sometimes I had to mute the sound because I could not stand the noise ... And so the neverending voices from inside:
"This will NEVER work, why not listen to a CD with a GOOD pianist instead of torturing yourself?"
"You lack something, girl. Just face it."
"There is an upper limit for you. No matter if you practice for 100 years, you will never learn this and that."
"You suck. You suck. See, another error, you always make errors, and you always will."
"And here we lost concentration again, just like you used to do. Thinking of something else while you're playing - what's the point?"

But I made progress anyway. I started to regain my old "skills". Then we got serious family matters (illness) and Real Life simply forced me to abandon piano playing for a while. During summer 2012 I started playing again, and I was happy to realize that I had not "lost it all" again.

Then the passion finally hit me. After all these years, I fell in love with PLAYING. I am still a crappy piano player but I don't care, I just love sitting there, playing and practicing. Some months ago I bought myself a new digital piano, this time a Yamaha Baby Grand. (Acoustic? Please, not in this little house. No way, unfortunately.) I adore it, and my children complain a lot in these days: now you're playing the piano again, Mummy. You are ALWAYS playing the piano!

Yeah, cuties. I always do, because that is what I love to do. Finally I'm learning new pieces, finally I'm developing. I also found this site, that was very helpful to me. From here I have got some valuable advice, free sheet music and the link to "Fundamentals of Piano Practice" which gave me some insights in what I have done wrong during all these years. Well, I am not a good piano player, but I certainly have made all the mistakes there are to make, and such an experience is not a bad thing either. You wanna know what NOT to do? Just ask me ...

Right now I work with music by Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy and Bach, plus some popular music songs. My biggest dream is to play the Appassionata Sonata, the greatest sonata I know. Well ... at least I don't think it is impossible anymore. Give me a few years, and I will make it ...

OK, so you got a lot of rambling here, but what else to expect from a novel writer ... 

[ted]

Welcome to the forum bronnestam, and well done you for returning to the piano. You will find plenty of helpful ideas here from a diverse and broadminded group of people encompassing a big range of talent and taste in music. Someone here is bound to be able to help with any question you are likely to ask; don't hesitate. 

[oxy60]

Those slices of practice time are tricky to arrange, especially for family members. The 20 minutes a day is fairly easy to set up but 40 - 60 will be difficult. I have been able to squeeze it out and if over a period of a couple of weeks I can keep the hour a day, real progress can be made.

I get the impression that I loose the skills faster than I gain them.

Welcome to everyone over 40 returning to piano. You won't regret the effort!

[audiomuse]

Hello Everyone!

I'm a composer/arranger who plays the piano. I also do a lot of music notation publishing. From time to time, I compose orchestral-style film scores for student films, which is sort of the area where I want to move towards.

In terms of piano music, my favourite composers are Bach (I love Baroque music), Chopin, and Balakirev. I have been composing and playing piano for 19 years and currently hold an ARCT performer's diploma in piano performance. Although I don't practice piano as much as I used to, I still play from time to time either for fun, or to prepare for a performance.

I maintain a YouTube channel where I showcase my piano arrangement work of music from popular culture (e.g. video games, films) and also my advocacy for music notation. The videos I upload aren't traditional videos that depict someone playing the piano, instead they are like slideshows that synchronize stills of digitally-typeset music notation with computer-generated audio. While I am a decent pianist, I want to promote myself more as a composer, freeing myself from the burden of having to perform a piece flawlessly before the composition itself could be shared with the world. In doing so, I shift the audience's focus to the actual composition itself, with computer-generated audio as a supporting medium.

One of my dreams is to be a composer for video games. (Nobuo Uematsu is my hero!) I have composed and produced numerous pieces in that style, but so far, I haven't come across any real opportunities to associate my work with an actual game.

I also keep a website where I blog about music-related topics and showcase my work from YouTube; many of those works are available for download as PDF scores. Please check out my website if you are interested. I would love to hear your feedback on my work.

Have a great day!

[kakeithewolf]

Wow, I just noticed this thread.

Well, I'm Steve, though I more commonly go by my artist name, KakeiTheWolf. I compose for numerous instruments and play piano, though the latter not so well. I am a little over 20, but I certainly feel thrice that, without doubt.

I maintain a YouTube channel under my artist name, and also have a Bandcamp under my artist name. However, most of what I have made is of quite laughable quality, as I only discovered form, MIDI recording capability, and tonality a few months ago.

In terms of composers, I prefer Bach, Liszt, Ravel, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Sorabji, and Rachmaninoff. Bach primarily for his organ, Beethoven for his works as a whole, Vivaldi for his concertos, and the rest for their piano music.

I, quite honestly, have pretty little hope I will become good with the piano. I have never been able, in my life, to gain fluency and mastery in a skill, and piano is no easy one to master. Working against me further is the fact that I have autism, an incredibly short attention span, trembling hands, bad penmanship, and very poor fine motor skills. Composing is something I have a chance at, but playing... not so much.

[dima_76557]

I am Dima from Moscow. I am advanced student of piano conservatory. Study also with Paul, for me - best teacher in the world. Nice to meet other pianists and practise English.

Greetings from Paul to his friends!

[maitea]

Priviet Dima! And welcome! Greetings back to Paul from me!

[eggman]

Hi Everyone.

I wanted to introduce myself.. I'm 27 from Bandung, West Java - Indonesia, and my musical journey is complicated enough until I realized that I'm very comfortable playing piano. I'm very familiar with the piano since the age of 8, but I was really able to enjoy it after I graduated from college and began to study it seriously because of my desire. Now, playing the piano is the most fun time for me. I listening everything music, which I think are good and great, no matter what the genre is.
An now I'm enjoying listening Romantic age music. And for now Chopin is being tophits in my playlist. And then I found this forum. I'm very happy!!   

(Ouch! pardon me about my annoying English)

[lollonapo]

Hello everyone!

I'm 20 and I come from Italy ( Napoli, in the south ). I took the diploma last year in the "Conservatorio S. Pietro a Majella" in Naples.

First of all i would like to improve my english that, as a true italian, is really bad(If I wasn't so worried about my English, i would write additional information). 

Thank you for your patience!

Nice to meet you all! 

[iansinclair]

I've been posting and reading on here for a while, and it is truly a wonderful forum; I regard it as a privilege to have it to enjoy!

A word or two about me, though -- it never occurred to me to look at this thread before (silly me).  I am 71, and a thoroughly amateur pianist -- playing, since I am retired, quite precisely what I like to play (some cocktail lounge type popular music entirely by ear; some Schubert, some Chopin, a little Rachmaninoff...) mostly for my own enjoyment, but also family and friends.  I don't have a music degree (geology, would you believe?!) but ever since I left college I've been involved as either a church organist or a choir master (or both...) with liturgical music.  I still have access to a good pipe organ, but I've really switched to piano.  While playing organ, my favourites were Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (fantastic stuff), Bach (of course...), Buxtehude.  And Langlais and Widor (again, fantastic stuff).  My preferences as a choir master were either Renaissance or good relatively modern (e.g. Honneger, Randall Thompson, F. Melius Christiansen).  Of course, in the church music world, one does play an awful lot of music which just needs to be played, whether one likes it or not!

I live in an old (for our part of the world) house in New England, USA.  My instrument is a wonderful 1898 Steinway A in a nearly perfect acoustical setting (the room was designed and built in 1893, to have a grand piano in it).  I regard myself as being very fortunate.

[birba]

Yes, you are!  Welcome!

[harrisonh]

A little about me. I'm a 20 year old psych student in the wonderful southern USA. I've a little background in music, I played clarinet for a year in middle school followed by two years on the electric and contrabass. When I went to college I picked up the bass again and took lessons for two semesters and played in the orchestra. Then I finally realized that the bass was no longer for me.

On a whim, I decided to start taking piano lessons two weeks ago and and currently working through the Alfred books. I'd wanted to try out piano for a few years and I finally had the chance, so here I am!

[birba]

You hear a lot about these "alfred" books.  I guess they're the john thompson and michael arron books from the middle ages...

[birba]

Oh, welcome to pianostreet!  Hope you have the  stanima to last it out here.  It's not a site for sissies.  

[mhkemo]

Well
I'm Mhkemo, come from Egypt and 30 years old, played since I was 15, I like this forum
Thanks
Mhkemo

[iv0rytickler]

bugger me, somedude stole me fav pseudonym that i've used for decades (ivorytickler) ... so here's a bottoms up from the original ... now demoted to iv0rytickler. .. refer post, Reply #2 on: May 28, 2002, 01:13:51 PM
anyone need help with anything piano just holler, we've been serving the international music community for well over 40 years. first keyboard gig in an established r&b 4 peice band in 1968 'midnight rain' .. B series Hammond w/- Leslie box, & a suitcase rhodes to lug. 4 years at uni in the 70's (majored in performance untill i broke right scaphoid on the race track, eurythmy & compositon prevailed) various teaching positions, directorships, standard charts, jazz bands & solo gigs etc etc now run a sole prop. analogue (read old fashioned) business downunder & in western europe called pianotech. no spamming please !
still perform, teach/ lecture & mentor a little.
mid life decided to take on an apprenticeship in the gentle art of piano restoration & tuning .. never been the same since for some reason
also dedicated to travel, surfing, anything motorcycle, creative writing /wordsmith & one woman at a time. in that order.
piano/ cello duets (concertos etc) are my passion along with anything oscar peterson, bill evans or the valdés family to name but a few heroes.
martini oclock. ivorytickler

[mitenka]

Hello everyone!

I'm glad there's an introduction thread up and going. Anyway, I'm currently 17 years old and reside near the Philadelphia area. I have been studying piano for about 13 years now and I'm hoping to continue at a college level. I'll be applying for schools this upcoming fall, so wish me luck! I'm really glad that this forum exist. It's nice to know that there is a community online of piano enthusiast. So far, I've found piano street extremely helpful and also fun as well. Well, that's about it!

[roseamelia]

Every new member here at piano street Welcome!

I'm Rose, I am an advanced piano player now for 2 years.

[ashlin]

Guyz I'm new here.

Though I don't really play piano. But my whole family does. And for me it's simply the most wonderful thing ever invented and it's a huge part of my life! And I don't really play can you imagine?

We used to have big competitions at our house. All of my sisters and my brother would practise and practise their pieces for weeks just to do a one night competition between themselves! It was a highly competitive environment! And they are all crackin pianists! They all have their own instruments in their rooms. 3 sisters and a bro. Imagine the noise in the house!

I was obviously never participating in the competition but was always cooking a huge feast with mom. It was always a big event and aawww I would just adore listening them play! From the bitter and frustrating start till the magnificent end! Beautiful.

Well they're all away from home now pretty much living their own lives and here I am way the youngest one in the family left without the magic of music and not knowing how to play myself ( apart from plank plank plank - just empty melodies ). Haaar!

This is why I like this forum. So far just reading your posts and listening to your skills and talents! I really like it! And I decided to start posting comments. Cause you're all a funny lot! So different so diverse so freakin interesting. See you around! Cheers!

[outin]

Guyz I'm new here.

Though I don't really play piano. But my whole family does. And for me it's simply the most wonderful thing ever invented and it's a huge part of my life! And I don't really play can you imagine?

Welcome!

So why don't you start playing now? It's never too late and now that the others are out of the house you might find it a bit easier to practice 

[ashlin]

Welcome!

So why don't you start playing now? It's never too late and now that the others are out of the house you might find it a bit easier to practice 

Lol! Yeah that would be an obvious sollution!

The thing is I was put on a piano chair shortly after I learned how to walk as were all my siblings. Learned to play and everything but the problem was I was way waaaay to active! I couldn't sit still! My legs! They just have to move! Could do a keithjarret with my upper body true but the feet? Yap they need to do a lot more. So I started ballet which is an obvious thing in a situation like this. Learned the technique but had to switch to jazz ballet because it was more free and active. So I dance.

Nothing better than a good lyrical dance to a good piano impro. Aaahhhh!

But yeah. Empty house. Will somebody practise today? Somebody? Anybody??? Well I'm by myself now lol! I do sometimes dance to impros posted here on the forum! Great warmup!

[birba]

Guyz I'm new here.

Though I don't really play piano. But my whole family does. And for me it's simply the most wonderful thing ever invented and it's a huge part of my life! And I don't really play can you imagine?

We used to have big competitions at our house. All of my sisters and my brother would practise and practise their pieces for weeks just to do a one night competition between themselves! It was a highly competitive environment! And they are all crackin pianists! They all have their own instruments in their rooms. 3 sisters and a bro. Imagine the noise in the house!

I was obviously never participating in the competition but was always cooking a huge feast with mom. It was always a big event and aawww I would just adore listening them play! From the bitter and frustrating start till the magnificent end! Beautiful.

Well they're all away from home now pretty much living their own lives and here I am way the youngest one in the family left without the magic of music and not knowing how to play myself ( apart from plank plank plank - just empty melodies ). Haaar!

This is why I like this forum. So far just reading your posts and listening to your skills and talents! I really like it! And I decided to start posting comments. Cause you're all a funny lot! So different so diverse so freakin interesting. See you around! Cheers!

you were very lucky to have one hell of a family.  Hats off to your parents.

[outin]

Lol! Yeah that would be an obvious sollution!

The thing is I was put on a piano chair shortly after I learned how to walk as were all my siblings. Learned to play and everything but the problem was I was way waaaay to active! I couldn't sit still! My legs! They just have to move! Could do a keithjarret with my upper body true but the feet? Yap they need to do a lot more. So I started ballet which is an obvious thing in a situation like this. Learned the technique but had to switch to jazz ballet because it was more free and active. So I dance.

Nothing better than a good lyrical dance to a good piano impro. Aaahhhh!

But yeah. Empty house. Will somebody practise today? Somebody? Anybody??? Well I'm by myself now lol! I do sometimes dance to impros posted here on the forum! Great warmup!

Playing is not easy for me either, it's not my legs that are over active, but my brain 

Just wait, I also came to this forum with no intention to play the piano (or any other instrument) ever again, I was just looking for suggestions for interesting new piano music. Then suddenly I tried on an old digital, bought a piano, started lessons and now practice every day with some ridiculous goals...

[ashlin]

Playing is not easy for me either, it's not my legs that are over active, but my brain 

Just wait, I also came to this forum with no intention to play the piano (or any other instrument) ever again, I was just looking for suggestions for interesting new piano music. Then suddenly I tried on an old digital, bought a piano, started lessons and now practice every day with some ridiculous goals...

It grabs you doesn't it. Maybe someday for me as well but right now I'm too busy with school and dance. I sometimes find myself in my sister Natalie's room. She used to play and sing to me when I couldn't sleep so I still wander into her room at night. And then sit down and open her piano stare at it for a while and yeah lol I always put my hands on it. But after a first couple of notes really it sounds horrific! No emotions no touch like seriously it wakes you up rather than puts you to sleep. Naaaah. I really wish my fingers would feel the same while pressing keys as my legs feel when they dance.

And yeah my family is amazing and I'm extremely lucky! And our parents' goal was to make everything easy for us so we could really develop as artists without worrying about money. Not many people have that chance! And it's kinda tragic that all of my sisters and my brother are very successful on their own have great jobs and nice life but none of them does anything with music. It's terrible.

Cause my parents are the same. My dad was a very successful piano player and could really be a professional but he's an architect and it takes all of his time and my mom was a ballerina but she got involved with charity work and thought this would benefit more to the world than her dancing in some ballet company. Well it probably does doesn't it.

Anyways they wanted something different for us kids but it went exactly the same! This is why I promised myself to become a pro dancer! But I don't think I'm good enough! It must be tough once you're in the business! I admire professional piano players so much!!! There isn't enough of you out there!

[novelsky]

-

[lighthand045]

Hello everyone of this great piano forum!

I had another account which i believe its lost. This is a new one which i just started posting with.
Here is a short autobiography :

I played piano for half year while i was 5, took piano again when i was 10, jumping from a Clementi sonatina to Chopin's Scherzo 2 . My teacher taught me the notes, then i learned everything by myself practically and playing pieces a really enjoy. My family has been very supportive. And at that time I was very familiar with most popular classical pianists. Then at 12 I met Alkan and i learned his Allegro Barbaro which i still play. I'm now 14 and i have increased my musical taste a lot in short time; currently my piano idols are Scriabin,Horowitz,Hamelin,Art Tatum,Oscar Peterson,Thelonious Monk and Alkan. I live in Mexico where the culture isn't strong at all and it's hard to find a good school. This summer i'll be in the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, i'm really looking forward to it. To end this short bio of myself, I also love Math and Physics, and Quake.

[birba]

Welcome!  What's "quake"?

[lighthand045]

A first person shooter from 1996. A google search should clear that up .

My mistake, i meant the BEST fps of all time(sorry for fanboyism, but i guess this forum isn't really interested on it).