Beethoven op 27 no 1, 1st and 2nd mvt.

[Derek]

*edit* How silly of me, I got the movement numbers wrong.

Ok, I have decided to finally start posting my classical playing in the audition room. It is rather difficult for me, as an amateur who has only ever been in two recitals and a handful of master classes, to perform a classical piece with the knowledge others will hear it. So, there are a lot of mistakes, but I decided to just post one of my attempts anyway in an effort to get past that. I'll treat the members of this site as a "piano teacher," who will see every struggle I go through as I learn these pieces. I know there are a lot of talented members here and I hope to learn something from you.

This is one of my favorite beethoven pieces. I am able to perform it much better when not recording, but hopefully after several more attempts I will get over that. Thanks again!

Secretly I also hope that doing this will help encourage others to try improvisation. Don't be afraid of being timid or beginnerish, at first, at a skill you're not that experienced with. (in other words, I'm posting this piece to say, yes I know I suck at playing pieces, but I don't care I'm here to learn)  

[kellyc]

Hi Derek. Congratulations for posting.  This was very nice to listen to and I for one hope you post to this board more often. Ill only point out one thing. Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to play loud without banging. Work on that. Increase your volume , but don't bang. Also, don't apologize in advance about mistakes , or anything else. It is our privilege to listen to you.

Kelly

[Derek]

Thanks. Good comment. Perhaps I ought to make my p's and pp's softer, so I don't have to bang out F and FF. I'll post a new version in a few days or however long it takes. Hopefully I can relax now that I've posted my first one.

[starstruck5]

Apart from the last 30 or so bars, which were  bit of a trainwreck - - I enjoyed following the score and listening to you play.  You probably realise you need to aim for a higher tempo -but well done for playing at a tempo you are comfortable with right now.

(There were times when you rushed the tempo a little, especially when the music called for a crescendo -)

Nevertheless you can be proud of your progress so far imho.

[Derek]

Oops, I meant 2nd movement up there. Here's the 2nd movement recorded a second time, and now the first movement. I've also been working on the 3rd, which is really an intro to the last. I haven't started work on the last yet, yikes! I hope to eventually though.

[kellyc]

Hi Derek. The next movement was very nice. I enjoyed it very much so. Its a good thing you play better than you post  . Just Kidding. Keep up the good work.

Kelly

[Derek]

Thanks, any thoughts? I'm here to learn. It's true I do get nervous when I record for this site (except when improvising). But I think I'm already adjusting.

[littletune]

I think it's VERY nice too! (But of course I can't give any advice.) Just wanted to say I liked it!!

[pianoplayjl]

I think maybe do a bit of slow practice towards the end? other than that, there really is nothing I can point out.

[Derek]

Here's the 1st mvt again, re-recorded. I think I especially improved the fast part in the middle. After years of thinking I was good enough to play classical pieces without a metronome, I've now been practicing almost exclusively with one.

[rachfan]

Hi Derek,

I believe this re-recording of the first movement is quite good!  A couple of thoughts: First, in taking those loud chords in the LH--to avoid harshness, rather than striking them from above, try sinking into them with relaxed arm weight instead.  You'll find it will render a richer and more musical sound.  Right now those chords sound somewhat forced.

Secondly on the use of the metronome, it does have some valuable uses.  For example, 1) you can straighten out a tricky rhythm in a passage with it.  2) You can use it to get an idea of the tempo.  3) After sufficient practice one can play through the entire piece with the metronome to take a measure of security in playing.  If snafus occur along the way, bracket those with a pencil for intensive practice afterward.  You see, whenever we approach a difficult spot, the tendency is to slow down slightly in order to accommodate the problem; however, in doing so--and we might not even notice the slowing--we can fool ourselves into thinking that the piece is playable.  That's when the metronome informs us otherwise. So it's a way of smoothing out the long, continuous line of the music.  4) Finally, another great use of the metronome is to increase speed over time to get the piece up to desired tempo.  To do this, we play the piece each time by adjusting the speed upward by only a couple of notches or so.  The gradualism fools the brain, that is, the increase is so nearly imperceptible, that the brain isn't really conscious of what we're doing.  Along the way, if a few of those rough spots rise up again, then they get intensive therapy yet again.  If we make a lot of mistakes, that's a signal that we've exceeded our current speed limitation and need to drop the speed downward to meet our capabilities at that point.  Then we repeat the process to increase the speed on another day.  

But now having said all that, here's the important point: We should use the metronome to accomplish specific tasks, but once we succeed, it should be turned off immediately.  The less we have to play with the metronome, our playing will be less robotic.  That is, it will have a better natural flow and fluency.  So the metronome has to be used only for the exceptions, not as a general rule.

I hope this is helpful.  Keep up the good work!  I'm glad to see you posting here.

David

[goldentone]

Good work, Derek.  I listened to your re-recording of the 1st.  I would work on playing with freedom, just as you do when you're improvising.

[Derek]

rachfan, Thanks for your thoughts. The extensive advice on using the metronome affirms my recent experience that it can dramatically improve playing a difficult piece. I was too stubborn to accept this for several years. Perhaps some people, my father included, are able to develop an "internal metronome," but I never did so it is turning out to be an invaluable tool for me.

goldentone, that's a bit subjective, but I'll try to keep it in mind. (I may already have felt free, though perhaps a bit nervous since I'm not used to recording pieces for others to hear, yet)

Any thoughts on pedal? I have been a bit cavalier with it in this piece. Sometimes, there are notes that are immediately followed by a rest that I think I may be holding out too long. My instinct, going forward, is to avoid pedalling in these spots---but when there are those soft chords (such as the first two chords at the beginning of the piece), to pedal just the legato connection of these two chords and then release the pedal as the little 8th note figure comes in.

[emill]

Hi Derek!

I must say your rendition is a refreshing one, gentler and more easy flowing especially in the second movement where my son Enzo plays it more "agressively". It is NICE to my ears and contributes to my education as to how the same piece can be played correctly in 2 ways. THANKS! 

I am sorry but I can not comment on the technical aspects as I do not play the piano, but must admit I had an overdose of this beautiful and challenging sonata the whole month of October 2009 when Enzo was preparing for a national piano competition here. The piece won him the prize and I think it is still posted here in PS.