Pianostreet Forum dying, how can we help?

[thalbergmad]

I know what we could do, let's invite Susan back ! Good idea Thal ? I reckon she’d fancy you with your new body.

She wouldht come anywhere near me unless i converted.

Would certainly increase the forum post count though.

Thal

[quantum]

A platform to do collaborative music would be a nice feature - realtime online duets, with the option of posting the result in the audition room after the fact.  Being able to do 2p4h across the internet within a community that truly appreciates the music and can bring forth meaningful discussion from it would be something quite valuable.  I would be interested improvising alongside a number of people on here. 

I've always liked the dark theme here at Pianostreet, out of all forums I regularly visit, this one is the most comfortable on the eyes.  Besides, dark mode appears to be in fashion - just look at the latest versions of macOS and W10. 

One of the aspects I really enjoyed about Pianostreet over the years, is the ability for detailed philosophical debate to take place without over moderation.  Tolerance and appreciation for alternate perspectives, over suppression upon discussions that reach a subjective threshold. 


***

With regard to locking editing of posts, I've voiced my concerns about this in the past but the currently policy brings the issue back.  Having a 10 day window to edit is certainly better than the period in the past when absolutely no editing was allowed.

For most sections of the forum it is probably a suitable solution, for the exception of the audition room.  The audition room contains intellectual property, in the form of our recordings, compositions and improvisations.  As this is a music focused forum, people here can appreciate the importance this intellectual property to the artists.  IMO creators should maintain control of their creative work at all times, and the editing lockout impedes this ability. 

There are some people who may have joined Pianostreet many years ago, and remain with the forum as they transition into different phases of their musical journeys.  What these people want to do with their old recordings posted in the audition room may change over time - it is a natural part of the artistic workflow.  At the very least Pianostreet should allow posters to edit audition room musical content without the need to contact customer service.

Personally, I have been hesitant to share my own music on here due to the editing lockout polices.  It does not mean I wish to stop sharing my music on here, it just means I think about it a little bit more before I do.  Out of all the music forums I frequent, this one has the most open ears and minds.  Pianostreet, has something special in that respect, and I hope this community of musicians will continue forward.

Understandably, there were some users in the past that abused editing posts, but those instances could be considered vary rare.  I urge the admins to consider updating the edit policy. 

[ted]

A platform to do collaborative music would be a nice feature - realtime online duets, with the option of posting the result in the audition room after the fact.  Being able to do 2p4h across the internet within a community that truly appreciates the music and can bring forth meaningful discussion from it would be something quite valuable.  I would be interested improvising alongside a number of people on here. 

How exactly would we make duet recordings of improvisation, Neil ? Leaving aside the musical aspect and my likely incompetence, what apparatus would I need ? Would I stick my iPad on the tripod and have a Skype connection ? How would the recording of it actually take place ?

[quantum]

It's just brainstorming at the moment, but I've seen bits and pieces of tech that makes me think this is possible, with all the individual components brought together as a whole. 

The following might be a starting point.  It uses MIDI data for the music, and a Skype link for communication.   What is happening is one person is playing a MIDI keyboard in one location, and that is controlling a Wurlitzer on the other end.  This is all happening across the internet in real time.  Watch both videos so you can see what happens on each respective side. 

[ted]

Thanks Neil. That is well beyond any apparatus I have at present. The only setup I can think of quickly, with what I have, is to improvise a duet live on Skype. That part would be easy, provided I could hear him decently and without a delay and he could hear me in similar fashion. It might prove necessary to redirect his playing through my hi-fi, and my playing through his, but that also is easy with bluetooth. If that turned out to be practical without feedback the recording could be done simultaneously using a separate device such as a Zoom, placed between my piano and my speakers, or similar at the other end of course. The other way would be to have both players use headphones, but then how would the recording happen ? I have insufficient knowledge of these matters.

[ranjit]

If I recall correctly, it is impossible to avoid some amount of lag video conferencing over the internet (about a second or so). I believe the reason had something to do with the speed of light.
This won't pose an issue if you're simply giving a performance over the internet, but would be a dealbreaker if you are trying to play a duet.

[ranjit]

Understandably, there were some users in the past that abused editing posts, but those instances could be considered vary rare.  I urge the admins to consider updating the edit policy.

+1
I've seen only one prominent case of this happening on Pianostreet (Mayla). Other than that, I don't think misuse of editing privileges has been commonplace at all.

It appears that people still can't make unpaid accounts on this site. I don't see the situation improving until that comes back. Why would people pay for a largely dead forum when you have facebook, reddit, etc.? Sheet music can be found on imslp and even concert pianists don't buy sheets a lot of the time anymore. I don't see any reason why you'd sign up for a membership. Their only selling point seems to be the Audiovisual Study Tool, which doesn't make it worth a paid subscription imo

Around 300 people are online most of the time, out of which less than a dozen have posting privileges. Change that, and you will see a lot more activity on the site.

[Bob]

It appears that people still can't make unpaid accounts on this site.

Whoa, yeah.  I just checked... dang.  You have to put a credit card or paypal in and pay for a membership option.

[lostinidlewonder]

According to Nils earlier on in this thread:

"The free Silver membership with forum access will be back later this year in a new version. But we will investigate the possibility to temporarily re-open the legacy version soon or turning some other knobs in order to increase the activity in the short term."

So perhaps we will hear something about this sooner now.