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@Mark that was really gorgeous!! Your playing is lovely!
(I wish I could play this... I just think Chopin is beyond me, probably for the foreseeable future. 
I just noticed how loud this recording is when you turn up the volume. I need to re-mix it at the very least. It's was recording with just the iPhone's built-in microphone.
I listened to it through a bluetooth speaker and I thought it sounded fine in terms of overall volume and all that. Your piano sounds great too!
@Steve-Miller oh wow!! What a saga!!! So glad you got it fixed! Esp because flickering lights are the worst!!!
This sounds like a very promising development, even if it's at the level 0f 20-40% right now.
@mik I'm glad your brother is having such success!
@AndyD I feel like lighting has gone over the top these days. Like, with an interesting light fixture, a little goes a long way. You don't need an unusual shade or statement light fixture in every room!
As someone who is involved in several of them, let me remind you that online support groups have a built in sample bias. Most people find them because theyāre having issues. That can make it seem like everyone has horrible issues with the surgery, when in reality most people who donāt have issues never find or post much in the group.
I know, and I totally get that.
But I do feel like there's a lot the doctors don't focus on, and it's frustrating to feel like you can only find about some of those things from random strangers online.
For example, the stuff I mentioned above about "prehab" (exercises, strength training I could/should be doing in advance of the surgery). And all the logistics. I received a big packet of info, and no where does it talk about renting a wheelchair or knee scooter, that kind of thing.
The doctors are only thinking about the spot they are going to operate on, but that spot is connected to the rest of me....
@Bernard said:
Yeah, you definitely would not want to hold tension in your hand for the duration of the arpeggios.
Exactly. I worked on this (score below) in one lesson with my teacher a bit and itās better in terms of less tension, but not great. Iāve found spots/ways to release the tension, but it seems to me there shouldnāt be tension in the first place. So I want to take it back to my lesson, but weāve been busy with my jury piece, so Iāve put it on hold until thatās finished.
But in this one (score below, which is octaves) and the other score I posted (which are the arps), I think my problem, or whatever it is Iām doing, is the same. My hand isnāt that small, I think one problem is that I might be stretching more than I need to. And then another problem is not releasing that stretch, so the tension builds. And then I think I need to use my arm, wrist, move my elbow etc., in ways that Iām not doing ā¦.
Thanks for listening everyone!
I'm now on the 3rd and final op post Nocturne by Chopin in class: Nocturne No. 21 in C Minor, KK IVb/8.
Oooh this is such a lovely and compelling piece!
It's a challenge because it's very repetitive, the first half page is almost all I chord alternating with V7. I can't find the climax of the piece--I'm not even sure there is one! It's almost a meditative piece. In this regard, it's just as hard as any of the others, but in a different way.
I can imagine! Chopin is always devilishly hard in any case, but thereās something about thisā¦maybe itās what you said, the meditativeness, lack of obvious climaxā¦
Have you tried recording yourself and listening to the story youāre telling, or trying to find the story you should be telling, but arenāt?
Ok I watched the video. that was super interesting. But now I need to watch it when Iām in front of my piano 
I wish she had talked more about releasing tension during octave playing.
Does she have large hands? Probably? I need to go to the keyboard bride so think more about itā¦
I have a piano jury coming up in about two weeks. This will be the āfinal examā for my piano class this semester. Since my biggest challenge now is perfomance anxiety, Iāve been trying to record myself as a way to add some pressure to my practice.
So hereās my recording from yesterday. I kind of fell apart at the end, but itās otherwise not too bad.
Miracles, by Alexis Ffrench
Link to videoBtw hereās that passage.
I play stuff like this all the time, but for some reason, this one is giving me problemsā¦.
@Bernard ooh, thanks for this, Iāll listen later today.
I donāt know if she talks about this, but thereās a piece I used to play (like, 20+ years ago) that I recently returned to. Itās mostly easy, but at the end there are several measures of arpeggios where the right hand is stretched out the whole time. I find myself having a lot of tension and feeling like my technique is making it harder for me. Iāve been planning to talk to my teacher about it, but weāre working on prep for my jury so I have put it away until thatās doneā¦.
@wtg thatās interesting.
Book clubs are not a common activity for most Americans, according to the recent survey
Were they ever common??
@Daniel physical therapy, with a good PTist, can be truly amazing. I highly recommend it.
If your PCP doesnt give you a referral, you contact your insurance to see if you can self-refer to PT, some plans allow that, esp. for knees, which is such a common problem.
Good luck!
But she made it upstairs the first night and was the poster girl for active rehab. She exceeded their milestones at every turn.
That's great!
hopefully all the weightlifting and cardio I've been doing for a few years will help me if it comes to that
I am sure it will! I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees, and I did get a shot in one knee last June. But the big thing that has helped me is all the PT and strength building I've been doing. It's been quite slow, but I've noticed a real change, esp. recently.
That's why I'm holding out hope that I can avoid this foot surgery!
