3 of my own composed pieces

[pianojohnw]

heres the links to the 3 pieces the 3rd one was an improvisation hope you like

https://soundcloud.com/john_wilson-1/john-wilson

[ted]

These have moments of real romantic power. Your phrasing, in particular, appears ingenuous and heartfelt, in the best sense of the words, and you don't play the Lisztian figurations because you cannot think of anything else to do. The second piece is to my mind the most effective, especially the section roughly following 0:30.

If you have really only been playing for four years and have taught yourself, then you have done very well indeed in your chosen romantic idiom. You already know you are very good, so there's no use repeating that as it won't benefit you.

There exist a multitude of romantic hand and finger figurations aside from  surging arpeggios to propel phrasal intensity. Any number of rapid notes outside the primary harmony can be inserted into grips, after the manner of physical convenience. Off-beat accents within hand grips can be allowed to occur for the sake of rhythmic propulsion and counterpoint. Dialogues can occur between the hands, which can operate as one ten-fingered machine instead of channelling the musical thought through one of them.

Players rarely discuss these things, but in the creative aspect they make all the difference in bringing power to the expression of your ideas. There are hundreds more I could mention, but I am just making a general point.

It might pay you to do some work with your left hand, the positions of which seemed a bit peculiar to me. These technical things have a habit of causing bother later on if we don't correct them at once. Classical players on the forum might want to comment here; my teaching knowledge is minimal.

Lastly, I would prefer to hear you play in a less reverberating, more intimate room. That is a purely personal observation.

Overall I am very impressed, but don't rest at one style. Keep working hard and never lose sight of your musical soul in the flurry of technique and performance. If you can do this after four years, who knows where you might be in twenty or thirty years.

I would also suggest doing two other things. Firstly I would learn to read and write music even if it seems a chore. I am no big fan myself of notation these days, I hasten to add, preferring to improvise and record it, but to do your talent full justice, to enable the possibility of your playing other people's music more readily, and to facilitate other pianists' inclinations to play yours, it would not involve much work. About two or three months probably, but the dividends could be worth it.

Secondly, I would find a suitable teacher, one who also possesses enough  creative drive to do justice to your talent and who can nurture it. Improvisers and composers who teach are rare but they do exist. For an old fart like me, lessons are a complete waste of time, but at your age there is really no substitute for regular, one-on-one contact with a more experienced musical mind. But you would need one with special attributes, and therein lies the difficulty.

I've just listened again, several times. I find that phrasing, texture and harmony in the second piece 0:30 to 0:50 and repeated later in developed form, really superb. In fact, I have downloaded all three pieces onto a memory stick to play through my television and hi-fi.

  

[ted]

I have just listened to that second piece on the hi-fi a further eight times; I keep wanting to hear it. There is something about it takes me the same as when I first heard David Thomas Roberts. Very difficult to put into words but the effect has been sufficiently rare over the course of my sixty odd years of listening to make me sit up and take notice.

[pianojohnw]

Hi thanks for your post, thank you very much for your feedback on my pieces im really happy you like the second piece I put up, and am very happy with your positive feedback. Yes I have been considering learning to write music so I can write my music down, although it does seem like it will be a real chore to do, and I wouldnt want to ever go to lessons were you learn just how to sight read notation, unfortunatly it is probably very hard to find any piano teachers who are Improvisers and composers around were I live.

[francescalhall]

Wow these are stunning. If you really have only been playing for 4 or so years and are self taught you put the rest of us to shame! Got really cross when I read on you tube someone's suggestion that you put lyrics to your composition- I guess some people just don't get it.  I do however. Simply beautiful.  I love how you use the range of the keyboard. Elements of Debussy and Ravel.

[pianojohnw]

Wow these are stunning. If you really have only been playing for 4 or so years and are self taught you put the rest of us to shame! Got really cross when I read on you tube someone's suggestion that you put lyrics to your composition- I guess some people just don't get it.  I do however. Simply beautiful.  I love how you use the range of the keyboard. Elements of Debussy and Ravel.

Thank you very much, im really happy you liked my pieces of music and thanks for your feedback on them :-D