Chopin Nocturne op 9 no 2

[sevilla775]

I recently started learning how to play piano about 9 months ago and am self taught. I started learning this piece in may and this is my progress now. I have a yamaha p45 and used garage band to record it. I don't really know what the best way to record piano is. I am just looking for a bit of feedback with what I need to improve on.

[lelle]

Honestly I think this is pretty good for 9 months, and you should be proud of your progress here.

Of course, there are always things one can improve. The things that would help you make the most noticeable improvement of this piece is IMO
- pedal: listen carefully that you are changing the pedal cleanly. You know how the left hand plays a pattern in groups of three? Often, a new group of three has a new chord than the previous group. Make sure you change the pedal when this happens, or you'll blend the sounds from the previous chord with the sounds from the new chord, which sounds a bit muddy/dirty and dissonant.
- melody: listen carefully to how you shape the melody and think about how it's kind of a person reciting a speech. just like in a speech, music has sentences - a sequence of words that form a coherent thought, ended by a dot - and in music these sentences are called "phrases". Listen and consider where the commas and dots are in your musical sentences, and shape how you play accordingly. Just like when you talk, you sort of take a breath when you end a sentence, before you start the next one, while during the sentences, your speech flows freely. Don't overthink/overdo this, just listen and feel out what seems natural, and experiment!