dear nils

[pianistimo]

it has come to my attention that the last rule for audition room is no digital piano except in exceptional cases.  can you call mine that?  i cannot record my acoustic piano (and probably never will without my husband's help).  oh please, please let me be an exceptional case.  remember that i have paid for year and not by month.  remember that i resisted the temptation to be involved in any way with the sdc and have only spent two minutes of one day over there.  and, btw, i keep thal in check.  if you didn't have me, no one would know God existed. 

and, for the record - i have been playing most things at the exact tempo i record.  otherwise - i do note that i sped up the recording in the message.  anyways - if a recording can be slowed down - more mistakes can be noticed.  most people's pc's can slow it down. and, also - what about the age that we live in?  i mean everyone has a computer and i pod and digital stuff.  it's like saying - stop using your computer and hand write everything.

i cannot do this with my limited time.  what if i become so good that i can record things at 200% and then slow it down. then, i am wasting time playing it at the correct tempo when i could have saved time. 

well, with all these reasons - i cannot fathom that you will say no to me.  (please don't 'make my day')  at least if you say no -- give me a few good reasons.  (pedalling - yes - that one is certainly true.  sound - yes - noone can beat the sound of a REAL piano.  ruins your technique - very true).

and yet - i scream at the thought of never using the digital again.  i mean it WAS a sort of expense so i could use it for recording purposes specifically.  i've never had this possibility before.  if i can't record - i'll be reduced again to 'can she play the piano.  i've never heard her play.  maybe she just goes on the forum to talk about other things.' 

ok. that's my reasons for really needing to play and record - becuase it's the only capabilities i have right now.  no recorder set up for the other piano.  plus - what if i stop practicng all because of you?  won't you feel a bit guilty?  like you ruined someone's piano career?  what if i fall into a serious depression because of it.  then people on the forum will start saying - yes.  nils did cause a depression.  it was a few years back when everyone said that digitals were out.  susan became so depressed that she started responding to everything alistair said with 'yes.'  she became neglectful of her family and spouse in particular.  claiming that if she couldn't play and record on a digital - she may as well just sit on the couch and watch tv and get fat. 

[rach n bach]

I second pianistimo's motion... 

We certanly don't want to loose her, or even worse, have her crack!

RnB

[pianistimo]

thanks.  well, i did get my order from pepper music and am about to crack anyways.  i ordered leroy anderson's piano concerto and what do i get?  the music i least wanted.  'strut' from cheetah girls.  yes.  i did order that for our elementary 'musical' - but why is the music that you most want is backordered or doesn't come first? 

[thalbergmad]

please let me be an exceptional case.  

There can be no doubt whatsoever that you are in fact an exceptional case.

Thal

[kartman]

I also second this motion!
I can very well understand that it's preferred to post acoustic audio recordings here, rather than digital.  There's no chance to create fake recordings by speeding up the tempo. It usually sounds better (although some digitals sound really good imo). And most importantly: it's just more authentic.

However, I think that people who only have a digital piano (people like me, pianistimo, and probably other people as well) should be allowed to post their digital recordings here. And even if someone has a digital and an acoustic piano: if he/she happens to have a great recording and that recording was made on the digital and not on the acoustic (for example: because he was recording just for himself, but the recording turns out to be great, so he wants to share it), I think he should be allowed, even encouraged, to post it here.

I mean, there are no prizes to win here with the recordings. It's all just about sharing your work, giving people the chance to listen to great amateur recordings, getting helpful piano tips from other pianists, etc. It's all there in order to enjoy it. Personally I really enjoy this subpart of the forum. I downloaded most of the recordings here, and I read all comments on it, and I learn a lot only from reading other people's comments. I tried to give my feedback on some of the recordings, and I posted 3 recordings of myself here (digital piano), and I was very glad with the helpful feedback I got here. It's just a unique experience for me.

I think the more people take part in this forum, the better it is. More recordings and more feedback. It would really be a shame if digital recordings are not allowed anymore. I don't have any problem with them at all, and I enjoy listening to them and judging them. They sound good enough and I'm not concerned with possible tempo-speeding-up at all as normal people won't do that, since there's just no point in doing that.

So, I hope you just meant to say that acoustic recordings are preferred, but if you can't create those, digital recordings are also welcome. If you really meant to say that digital recordings are not allowed, I really hope you'd reconsider that rule because of the reasons I explained above.

Or maybe you were thinking about synthesizer recordings? That'd be a different case. Those sounds very different from a piano, so I could understand if they are not allowed (although I personally don't really have a problem with the ones that were posted here).

- kartman

[quantum]

I think there are some important issues raised here.  The prevalence and increasing quality of digitals cannot be ignored.  There may be some very talented college students here wanting to post, and are playing digital because that's what they can fit in their dorm room. 

Let's put this into another perspective: organs.  With the advance in technology, many churches and organists are choosing digital organs.  Sure nothing beats acoustic but with the  savings and gain in organ specs digital would be the choice for many.

A lot of the piano music out there can be performed on a digital with satisfactory results, so why create exclusivity for those who only have or can afford an acoustic.   



I'd also like to know why external links to files are not allowed?  We must not forget that some of the best recordings ever posted here were external links.  Why would you prevent an artist from linking to their own site, where one can read more and explore works further?  This does not make any sense. 

If we want to tell about a great new commercial recording, we link to the artists website (where one may also be able to hear samples).  If we want to tell of a recording we personally made, why cannot we link to our own website - where samples can be heard.  As I see it this is discriminating against the pianostreet community. 

[ganymed]

Can I ask you something ? why is it forbidden to post stuff recorded on a digital piano?

[ail]

Can I ask you something ? why is it forbidden to post stuff recorded on a digital piano?

I too second Susan's request for the sole reason that I own a digital and could never afford more than that. I'm here to learn and to show others what my current state is so they can give me advice on how to improve. Although I'm still new to recording, this can be a blessing, and this last year sure was for me a turning point, solely because I had the chance to be heard and evaluated by professionals. If I can't talk with more pianists about how I play, life will surely lose a lot of meaning for me. The piano is, after all, my ultimate frustration: something I love so deeply and yet could never pursue as I should. turned out to be a computer scientist instead 

I wonder almost every day: could I ever have been a pianist? can I still be somewhat of a kind?
This audition forum is my only way to improve at the moment and to battle a bit more each day to answer those questions affirmatively... at least the first one.

Alex

[pianistimo]

alex - if you are a computer scientist and only play piano right now as a hobby - you are very bright.  never fear!  you can do anything you set your mind to.  and, good thing you got the computer degree - because even when you do play piano really well - it's a constant thing to get 'gigs.'  a secure job allows lots of freedom.  i'm really glad my husband is a computer guy, too - even though he has a fantastic baritone voice.  i think weekends is when that 'comes out' and also - we just have fun at it instead of making it a really stressful thing.  music is one of the best stress relievers - as someone else said.  you can sit down and entirely forget whatever is troubling you.  and, when you go back at it - you have a fresh perspective.  i went back for a couple of more semesters (3) of piano lessons.  it was worth it to me - even if i don't become a concert pianist.  i just love playing and i want to play and teach to the best of my ability.

[iumonito]

I didn't know there was a rule for no digital pianos.  Isn't the rule rather no midi recordings (which by the way, I think would be better to make a rule that midi recordings must be identified as such.

It is not true that an accoustic recording cannot be sped up.  I shall post a demonstration this weekend just for fun.

[check here https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,23857.0.html]

Midi can be done very artistically, and I am thinking more and more that there should be an outlet for musical thinking that is beautiful and valid, even if it is not created in real time with one's two hands alone, but the fruit of labor away from the piano (kind of like a painting).  I do prefer Hatto's fabricated recording of the Godowsky etudes to the original (also at times sped up) Grante and the (likely not sped up) Hamelin original.

[ail]

alex - if you are a computer scientist and only play piano right now as a hobby - you are very bright.  never fear!  you can do anything you set your mind to.  and, good thing you got the computer degree - because even when you do play piano really well - it's a constant thing to get 'gigs.'  a secure job allows lots of freedom.  i'm really glad my husband is a computer guy, too - even though he has a fantastic baritone voice.  i think weekends is when that 'comes out' and also - we just have fun at it instead of making it a really stressful thing.  music is one of the best stress relievers - as someone else said.  you can sit down and entirely forget whatever is troubling you.  and, when you go back at it - you have a fresh perspective.  i went back for a couple of more semesters (3) of piano lessons.  it was worth it to me - even if i don't become a concert pianist.  i just love playing and i want to play and teach to the best of my ability.

Thank you for your words, Susan. You're really comforting. I've never really lost my love for the piano since I learned how to play when I was a child. But I only bought a piano three years ago. That was when I convinced myself I could really tell people I played the piano, since before that I only had a 44-keys organ. I tried to play several piano pieces on that organ with many transpositions to make them fit, and basically that's how I trained during all these years. So, the piano was never more than a hobby to me. After all, I grew up with that notion 'study for a job that pays, music won't feed you'.
And that's it. But you know what hurts more? Is that each day that passes I feel I really love the piano, I love the music, I love playing for it, and playing it when I need to weep... It's a comforting shoulder, it's a friend, it's someone that will listen to you and help you through the depressions or that will celebrate with you. And I'm so happy when I play the piano that I really need to share it... and I look around, I'm in my room, there's no one listening save perhaps my wife, who sometimes must be simply fed up with what I play... And then I consider all the amazing repertoire that I would like to play, to express through myself and then... and then I feel I don't have the right training, nor the time, nor the knowledge to reach there someday. And even if I do, who will know of it? Who will share of my happiness, or of my views? who will pat me in the shoulder? my friends don't appreciate this kind of music, at least it seems so, and I feel bad trying to impose me on them.......
sorry for loading you with my problems. this is a big unresolved issue within me, I feel it. but hey, it was much worse 3 years ago!

Alex