I got myself a used piano few months ago. Started learning a bit on my own. Still thinking if I should get a teacher to have formal lessons. Any self-taught pianists here? Any tips? I've tried some youtube videos for beginners, and also bought a couple of adult books. Still fumbling with reading the doh ray me.. haha.
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Hi, here is my video for my performance at Pianovers Recital 2018 held on 28th of December. Hope you enjoy watching it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kziAGT3whg
Just wanted to share my (what I hope are) value-added comments on my experience participating in this event:
a) Playing on a grand piano has a totally different feel; it was as if I'm on cloud nine. The touch for this Yamaha piano was... See More
Hi, here is my video for my performance at Pianovers Recital 2018 held on 28th of December. Hope you enjoy watching it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kziAGT3whg
Just wanted to share my (what I hope are) value-added comments on my experience participating in this event:
a) Playing on a grand piano has a totally different feel; it was as if I'm on cloud nine. The touch for this Yamaha piano was excellent; it was tuned on the spot prior to the Recital. Make full use of any rehearsal time you have so you can appreciate the feel of the piano, if at all possible. For me, I used the time to try out the sostenuto panel just for the last measure of my song.
b) Performing in formal wear has a different feel than playing in civvies in the comfort of your home. Make sure you feel comfortable in your getup and that you have space to maneuver your arms.
c) As this was a community driven event, I felt it was OK if you don't memorize your score; you probably wouldn't do this for a professional recital. I was sight reading straight from the sheet music since I am very comfortable doing that, but I will have you know, I did practice the piece probably at least 30 times already; not enough to memorize the song in its entirety, but enough for a great performance.
d) If you make a mistake during the performance, press on as best as you can. People might not even know you made a mistake, if you play on as if it's part of the show. Glaring errors are obvious, but try to recover as best as you can and move on. You can always tell Pianovers you want your video kept private if you feel embarrassed by your performance.
e) Pick a song you can manage. While, I noticed other performers on that night chose more difficult pieces that showed off their technical prowess, I felt very happy with my choice, a lovely song made famous by Josh Groban. Dont aim for something over the top unless you are very confident performing the piece. If it's an expressive piece, play your heart out. If it's a technical piece, play to impress.
f) Don't feel pressured by the audience or get distracted by the photographer. Focus on the performance and doing a great job. It helps if you have practiced a lot at home already. Definitely never come unprepared.
g) Bow once before your performance. Bow again after the performance. I felt I probably made a minor gaffe, I picked up my score and had wanted to fold it back before bowing right at the end. I felt I should have bowed first at the end, then picked up my score to exit the stage.
Well, that's it. Thanks for reading this far.
If you like to keep updated about what I am doing, you can follow me at https://www.facebook.com/gavinkoh1970
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There are a few versions to The Prayer. I like the Celine Dion + Andrea Bocelli. That's actually the first version I got acquainted with. |
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Yes, that is the best version. I heard that one right after Quest for Camelot's version sung in English only by Celine Dion. The lyrics are very meaningful, especially the Italian version, I have... See More Yes, that is the best version. I heard that one right after Quest for Camelot's version sung in English only by Celine Dion. The lyrics are very meaningful, especially the Italian version, I have even memorized that version of the song sung by Andrea Bocelli. Bellissimo! |
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Just watched the video. Nice, you got 100+ views! |
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That's a pleasant surprise! Thanks. |
The 2nd Singapore Raffles Arts and Cultural Festival – Piano Grand Finals will be held from 28th - 30 January 2019, at Singapore Raffles Music College and Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.
This festival is organized by Singapore Raffles Music College with the key purpose of providing like-minded musical talents a golden opportunity to hone their performance skills, learn from their fellow participants across the region as well as broaden the participants’ musical horizons and... See More
The 2nd Singapore Raffles Arts and Cultural Festival – Piano Grand Finals will be held from 28th - 30 January 2019, at Singapore Raffles Music College and Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.
This festival is organized by Singapore Raffles Music College with the key purpose of providing like-minded musical talents a golden opportunity to hone their performance skills, learn from their fellow participants across the region as well as broaden the participants’ musical horizons and networks!
Email us at event@ace99.com.sg or call us at (+65) 6368 5610 for more information.
Unleash your true potential today!
Should you have any queries please do feel free to contact our friendly staff directly for more information:
Senior Events Executive – Leanne Phay
Event Executive – Chan Siok Ting
Email: liyan@ace99.com.sg / siokting@ace99.com.sg
Tel: (65) 6368 5610
HP: (65) 9822 8496 (Do feel free to whatsapp us for a faster and more personal response!)
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Nice, we should have more piano competitions or piano activities in Singapore. Feel that we can still do more to promote arts and music in Singapore. Many parents still feel their kids can't... See More Nice, we should have more piano competitions or piano activities in Singapore. Feel that we can still do more to promote arts and music in Singapore. Many parents still feel their kids can't survive with a job related to music, and must die die have a degree first. |
I find that the world of pianists is very unforgiving towards adult learners. The moment they see an adult, they expect a certain level of playing.
What do you think?
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Gavin, does the forum here allow us to do the same thing? Post our video, and get feedback on how to improve? |
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Sure it does... but who's going to reply. Myself, yourself, Yoke Ping, and just a small handful of other regulars. The Facebook Group I mentioned has way more people from around the world... See More Sure it does... but who's going to reply. Myself, yourself, Yoke Ping, and just a small handful of other regulars. The Facebook Group I mentioned has way more people from around the world responding, especially if you request for feedback / critique. |
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I see, from the world, that will get enough numbers. Are there many sg people there? |
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Out of 5514 members, I counted about 15 Singaporeans, well that's for those who do update their country field. |
I originally joined Pianovers with intentions of chances for public performance and to make friends.
Never did I expect to fall in love with some classical music here which I originally thought was too dreary.
Here are a few favourites of mine and acknowledgements to friends who introduced these pieces to me:
1) Military March 1 in D major by Schubert, thanks to Jeremy Foo and Matthew Soh.
2)Prélude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor by Rachmaninoff, thanks to Jonathan Lam... See More
I originally joined Pianovers with intentions of chances for public performance and to make friends.
Never did I expect to fall in love with some classical music here which I originally thought was too dreary.
Here are a few favourites of mine and acknowledgements to friends who introduced these pieces to me:
1) Military March 1 in D major by Schubert, thanks to Jeremy Foo and Matthew Soh.
2)Prélude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor by Rachmaninoff, thanks to Jonathan Lam
3) Pictures of an Exhibition, Promenade 1 by Modestsky, courtesy of a mental health video I watched
4) Choral Symphony no 9, 2nd Movement by Beethoven, thanks to NUS Choir and the NUS Symphonic Orchestra!!
Next I might discuss the musicalities of these classical pieces to determine why I like them so much!
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It's good to explore different genres! I'm learning many songs from the many pieces played by you all each week. Kudos to you all! |
I just finished my twelfth original composition and released the piano solo sheet music, that to me is kind of a milestone.
The new piano solo piece is called "An Unforgettable Adventure". You can listen to it on SoundCloud by clicking the image below (don't forget to "Follow" me there to get updates). The background for this piece is where you have a truly memorable adventure, one filled with peaceful moments, reflective moods, and quite a bit of excitement.
A friend of mine... See More
I just finished my twelfth original composition and released the piano solo sheet music, that to me is kind of a milestone.
The new piano solo piece is called "An Unforgettable Adventure". You can listen to it on SoundCloud by clicking the image below (don't forget to "Follow" me there to get updates). The background for this piece is where you have a truly memorable adventure, one filled with peaceful moments, reflective moods, and quite a bit of excitement.
A friend of mine actually interpreted "An Unforgettable Adventure" as a monument to life. She said that the first part of the song reflects childhood and youth, the middle part is akin to sprinting through life in your career, and for me, I feel that the ending part reflects old age. Nevertheless, that's still an adventure to me. An adventure in life!
Hope you will like it. I might perform it at Pianovers Meetup one day. Thanks.
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Thought I'd just share this interesting article I found on Spotify at https://insights.spotify.com/fi/2015/05/06/most-popular-keys-on-spotify/. It shows a pie chart that presents "The Most Popular Keys of All Music on Spotify." So, is C Major the most popular? Wrong.
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Strange, no Bb or Eb, I thought they should be quite popular. |
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As for the chart, you should look for the enharmonic. A#/Bb and D#/Eb are slices of the pie. If you go here, you can also see how popular is a key. It appears there are not as many songs in... See More As for the chart, you should look for the enharmonic. A#/Bb and D#/Eb are slices of the pie. If you go here, you can also see how popular is a key. It appears there are not as many songs in A#/Bb and D#/Eb. |
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I vaguely remember there are many pieces written in c# minor, but it's only 2.1%? |
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If Spotify is biased towards modern music and not classical music, then it's missing out on a big part of history. And, hence, that may be why you think the data is skewed. Numbers are numbers... See More If Spotify is biased towards modern music and not classical music, then it's missing out on a big part of history. And, hence, that may be why you think the data is skewed. Numbers are numbers after all, and their context is "All Music on Spotify". So take them with a pinch of salt. |
Time to share my 5th "nugget" of musical knowledge:
Chordify is a website that automatically transforms music from Youtube or Soundcloud into chords. Relying on deep neural networks to output chords for your song, they are geared to help pianists, guitarists, and ukulelists. So, if you rely on chords or play by ear, then save some time with Chordify. Paying members can transpose and even play around with the tempo. If you don't wish to create an account, you can use their search tool... See More
Time to share my 5th "nugget" of musical knowledge:
Chordify is a website that automatically transforms music from Youtube or Soundcloud into chords. Relying on deep neural networks to output chords for your song, they are geared to help pianists, guitarists, and ukulelists. So, if you rely on chords or play by ear, then save some time with Chordify. Paying members can transpose and even play around with the tempo. If you don't wish to create an account, you can use their search tool for free to check whether chords already exist for your favourite song.
For example, here are chords to Broken Vow, a lovely piece from Lara Fabian.
https://chordify.net/chords/lara-fabian-broken-vow-marcopantoja
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This sounds interesting. How accurate is this? Have you tried extensively? |
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Good enough... there was one week where I used it to quickly get the chords I needed for a Hari Raya performance. Accuracy seems reasonable. But if you want more features, like transposing and so... See More Good enough... there was one week where I used it to quickly get the chords I needed for a Hari Raya performance. Accuracy seems reasonable. But if you want more features, like transposing and so on, you have to pay. Read here for a better idea: https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/comments/22e7dy/chordifynet_has_any... |
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Thanks! I've read the link you sent. On a technical note, I reckon the software analysed the frequencies? I mean, there's nothing in the mp3 file, except frequencies, right? |
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You can read about how Chordify works by looking at this answer in Quora. You can read about how Chordify works by looking at this answer in Quora. And unless you know about Artificial Neural Networks and terms like neural weights, back propagation, and recurrent/recursive neural networks, it's going to be tough understanding what happens under it's hood. |
Guess the Score #3 - This parchment of music looks like a work of art. It is part of a set, so do you know which number it is, the title, and composer?
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Correct! Well done! |
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I won't be able to guess from the bunch of messy notes! Is Bach that untidy? |
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This is considered very tidy already. Try reading Handel’s manuscripts. |
Piano Trivia Time #10 - Answer 10 TRUE/FALSE questions. Please provide your answer as a long string. For example: "FTFTTFTTFT"
TRUE OR FALSE
01. The Church Organ is a wind instrument while the Piano is a percussion instrument.
02. New pianos need fewer tunings than older pianos.
03. The world record for most number of people playing simultaneously on a piano is 16.
04. On a piano, the naturals have always been white, and the sharps/flats have always been black... See More
Piano Trivia Time #10 - Answer 10 TRUE/FALSE questions. Please provide your answer as a long string. For example: "FTFTTFTTFT"
TRUE OR FALSE
01. The Church Organ is a wind instrument while the Piano is a percussion instrument.
02. New pianos need fewer tunings than older pianos.
03. The world record for most number of people playing simultaneously on a piano is 16.
04. On a piano, the naturals have always been white, and the sharps/flats have always been black.
05. The piano has 88 keys and 88 strings.
06. There are 4 types of vertical pianos: spinet, console, studio, and upright.
07. Pythagoras the mathematician was credited as the person who discovered the perfect interval, which is a ratio of 2:1.
08. All pianos start on an A key, but there are pianos that go even lower than that.
09. Una corda means you must depress the soft pedal, which is usually the leftmost pedal.
10. ThePiano.SG website was officially launched on 8 Aug 2015.
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FFFFFTFFFF |
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Just like the game of Mastermind - 3 wrong, 7 correct. |
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The answer (which can be discussed further) is TFFFFTFTTF. 1) TRUE. The Church Organ IS a wind instrument that produces sound because of the passage of air through pipes, and because the... See More The answer (which can be discussed further) is TFFFFTFTTF. 1) TRUE. The Church Organ IS a wind instrument that produces sound because of the passage of air through pipes, and because the piano has its key struck by hammers, it IS a percussion instrument. http://www.innovateus.net/content/there-difference-between-piano-and-organ 2) FALSE. New pianos needs the same (or more) number of tunings as older pianos. Piano strings have very high tension on them, and they just plain stretch as time passes. Hence, the need for tuning. http://www.betterpianoservice.com/how_often.html 3) FALSE. As of this writing, the world record for most number of people playing simultaneously on a piano is 21. Take a look at this feat achieved earlier this year in March: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR3e71OO1tY 4) FALSE. Pianos by the original inventor - Bartolomeo Cristofori, were based on harpsichords. Cristofori's earliest pianos carried this same colour scheme: black naturals, and white sharps. You can read about it here: https://www.quora.com/Why-were-the-colors-of-the-piano-keys-reversed-in-... 5) FALSE. The piano does have 88 keys, but it has more than 88 strings. The treble pitches of a piano have three unison strings, the tenor range uses two unison strings, and the bass strings use only one string. The end result is that for 88 notes, there can be as many as 236 strings. http://www.piano.christophersmit.com/strings.html 6) TRUE. This statement is true; there are four types of vertical pianos: spinet, console, studio, and upright. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-difference-between-types-vertical-p... 7) FALSE. This part is true - Pythagoras the mathematician was credited as the person who discovered the perfect interval. However, the ratio of the perfect interval is 3:2, not 2:1. http://www.phys.uconn.edu/~gibson/Notes/Section3_2/Sec3_2.htm 8) TRUE. Not all pianos start on a very low A key. Bösendorfer pioneered the extension of the typical 88-key keyboard, creating the Imperial Grand (Model 290), which has 97 keys (eight octaves); this piano starts on an ultra-low C. Listen to the "Imperial" bass keys here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIOQ2Fwto8k 9) TRUE. Una corda (or rarely due corda) is used to signify that the soft pedal should be depressed. The leftmost pedal in a piano is usually the soft pedal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_pedal 10) FALSE. ThePiano.SG website was officially launched on 8 Aug 2014. The answer to this can be found on this page: https://www.thepiano.sg/about-us |
Do you have any music apps to recommend for sight reading? Guess it's better to ask from someone who has been through, rather than ploughing through the apps in the store! 🤣
Thanks in... See More
Do you have any music apps to recommend for sight reading? Guess it's better to ask from someone who has been through, rather than ploughing through the apps in the store! 🤣
Thanks in advance.
Well, I have tried for fun non-paid versions like Sight Reading Trainer and Note Trainer Lite. There also paid versions, but never tried them. So, really it's up to you.
Hehe, of coz I'm trying the free ones first. After a day's work, I'm actually quite tired, and it's challenging to get myself to the piano.
Hope I can make it. *cross fingers*
For myself, progress is faster after starting lessons. However, that may also be because my instrumental teachers have always been a very strong source of motivation for me to practice, coupled... See More
For myself, progress is faster after starting lessons. However, that may also be because my instrumental teachers have always been a very strong source of motivation for me to practice, coupled with the fact that I have to put in financial resources for the lessons. Before that, I just played at my own sweet time.