I think the top-down piano videos are beneficial to some students learning to play. But I think this is a step or 2 backwards for you. I'd rather see you play a few more movements of the Brahms piano sonata #3 op 5 on a real piano. You did a nice job on the first movement of this sonata performed on a real piano. Or play this Chopin etude on a real piano. Your performance here was very good from what I can tell.
I have to concur... there are too many people out there with those idiotic synthesia style coloured dotted videos... it's nauseating to watch and cheapens the playing. Your other videos are very good, and I'm currently listening to your Liszt Concerto 2 for 2 pianos. Don't be one of those awful piano players who resort to the Piano-hero style videos... it's beneath you.
First off, thank you for the kind words on the Liszt concerto! I know this crowd appreciates the real meat and potatoes... I think my next upload will be a performance I gave of the Brahms 2nd sonata for violin and piano, with my friend from the NY phil
To respond to perfect_pitch and others... I think I generally agree. I found/still find these videos pretty cringey, and it's unsettling to me that a single robotic midi-file upload of a great masterpiece like a Chopin ballade or Beethoven sonata can have more online views than the entire collection of great recorded interpretations COMBINED...
B. Could they possibly sound a little more human and express an artistic interpretation? (sort of... Check out the top channels doing this, some of them are absolutely horrendous if you want to know my real opinion).
I hate them. People upload them because they know that suckers will spend HOURS AND HOURS rewatching over and over, bumping up their uploaders views. It looks flashy and I'm sure people gawk at the pretty colours but it turns the piano into some idiotic 'Piano Hero' style joke (like masterraro mentioned). I avoid them like the plague. Again, it's not because of the performer as usually the performer can play with a very high degree of nuance and pianism (and technical ability), but the sound is usually awful (as you said, VST's don't sound the same as a real piano), so it brings down the quality of the video. I don't ever click on them unfortunately... ever.
I disagree that there is anything wrong with presenting your playing in a way that appeals to people I mean why not? I enjoy music being mixed with visuals - I think music is very colorful and goes together well with colorful visuals - including "piano hero" style visuals. If it helps you get eyes on your playing and increase your income - and you personally have nothing against it - why not do it?
Because it's sad to see now that people are watching these types of videos for the cool colours, glowing keys and stupid VFX - not to take in the actual level of piano playing.
People don't care about the piano player, they care about the pretty lights. If that's the way to get subscribers, then I won't *** myself out like that and do it. It's like Gigolo work - sure it pays a LOT of money, but you could never live with yourself afterwards.
But I just love looking at this, for example. Wonder if anyone here shares the sentiment.
Lol...So this Chopin etude I posted was my one and only attempt at making such a video. Reflecting on it more, I think the biggest issue with these kinds of videos plaguing YouTube is that they are mainly very poor interpretations, rigidly unmusical, and worst of all - fake. So many of these videos are grossly sped up and have the notes edited. Does anyone really believe that there are all these exclusively YouTube-pianists out there that can play the complete Chopin/Liszt etudes perfectly clean and at blistering tempi? Where are Rousseau or Kassia's live performance videos? Btw, Paul Barton is a massive offender of this too, I noticed it years ago. Many of his Chopin etude videos are crazy sped up.I feel like I might make one or two more of these just to continue to the experiment, but my channel is comprised 90% of uploads of performances that get like 3 views, so I'll likely just stick to that
Well, I still maintain that I like the synthesia videos.
Paul Barton is a massive offender of this too, I noticed it years ago. Many of his Chopin etude videos are crazy sped up.
I hate to break it to you, but there's no flaws in Paul Bartons videos, and they are NOT sped up. It's rather obvious when people speed up videos, and I've seen many of his videos. If he was guilty of that, I'd have known a long time ago. He's a very respected pianist, and has been playing for decades. I'd like to see just one video where you think it's sped up.
Yes, I found this puzzling as well. The tempo seems fairly normal to me. I've heard that Paul Barton was trained to be a concert pianist, but left that path midway.
I wonder how many more people are interested in classical music thanks to the mostly poorly done videos. Could these top-down actually be a good thing that introduces many to classical music that otherwise would not be introduced??
I think there's a lot of validity to this. I also want to add that the top down angle can be very useful to check out fingerings and hand movements. The flashing lights and midi roll distract from this most of the time
Does anyone really believe that there are all these exclusively YouTube-pianists out there that can play the complete Chopin/Liszt etudes perfectly clean and at blistering tempi? Where are Rousseau or Kassia's live performance videos?
I'm quite certain Rosseau's videos are sped up by how fast his hands disappear from the keyboard, but I know Kassia has unlisted videos with clocks ticking in the background whilst playing some of her more popular and faster works. Slowing some down show her playing isn't flawless either. Edit: I should state that I don't really worry about the graphics of videos. I tend to avoid visualisations like the plague, but I'm willing to at least listen to Kassia because her playing can be nice at times.
Kassia is a good pianist, but again, I find the graphics are way over the top. Rousseau offers music to the lowest common denominator and it in his sound. The playing is almost clinical, scrubbed from any sort of human qualities.
I agree, though I have to admit Kassia's interpretations aren't bad (studied piano at University, I believe). Rosseau is boring, nothing more.
I DONT KNOW if anyone else left this comment but...Just do overhead view with sheet music on a real piano.Best for students, you get to use real piano. and can get a lot of views. Just do some educational pieces, there aren't many high quality performances of bach invention with hands above, stuff like mozart sonata/kuhlau sonatina, stuff from childrens albums etc. That can get you a good viewer base and not really selling out + probably doing something fun that won't take as much time, and OFC you can upload major rep in this format as well, but, it could be more challenging and the key to youtube is to be uploading frequently I believe.
I haven't read the entire thread but I am guessing that a lot of people must have expressed their dislike towards such videos. I gotta admit I even got encouraged to learn to play certain pieces by watching some of those.
Whatever gets people interested in classical piano music is good
I enjoy watching them sometimes, if the visuals are pretty and the pianist plays well. Different strokes for different folks I guess? Personally I think it's wrong to say that people are wrong for liking them or making them. Kinda elitist.
I suppose so. But at least make visualized videos with decent playing. I suppose Kassia is good. Traum is okay and has amazing technique. Rousseau's stuff just sounds like it went through a midi file. The OP, masterraro, plays the etude in this kind of video brilliantly. I wonder what these videos would look like when famous pianists (not famous youtube pianists. I mean even Martha Goldstein has a wikipedia page. Does Rousseau? no.) use them. There must be a reason why they don't...
But many of the ones where the pianist is playing some etude or something have clearly been tampered with eg sped up and overly enhanced. A prime example of that is that guy called ‘Rousseau’. Obvious fraud yet the general public totally buy into it.
Topic: What are your thoughts on these kind of "visualized" top-down piano videos? 