WTF-Beta

@AndyD said:

22c in the sitting room where I am with piano on the NW corner.

You’re going to have to sleep in the piano room…

@AndyD oooh I like the Hough version best. By far!

Thanks for posting those, it’s fun to compare!

@andyd I don’t have a favorite version, but the two videos linked above are where I started. I’m going to play the easier version just because I don’t want to spend too much time on it. I think the harder version would be doable for me, but I have a whole list of other pieces I’m trying to finish as well.

Also, the easier version is quite sweet and I think it’s a fine piece on its own. But I’d love to hear you play the Liszt version!

Happy Birthday @realplayer !!!

@AndyD yes! That’s the harder one. It’s lovely, do you play it?

Ok here’s the main video:

Link to video

And here’s the “Overtime” video:

Link to video

P.S. I don’t want to sound like a total naysayer. I hope this new method is successful and if it results in more kids/people continuing with piano lessons, then that’s great. And I agree that the world of “piano lessons” probably needs a significant overhaul.

One example is the community music school I attended here before entering the uni music program. As far as I could tell, it didn’t seem like they have a curriculum, they didn’t seem to have kids composing, they just seemed to do the “scale, pieces, recital,” rinse and repeat. Boring.

Ok I watched one video, apparently there’s another but I find their website and method of “presenting” videos to be all but impenetrable.
(Not sure why it should be that complicated, but at the end of the video it says there’s another video but for the life of me I can’t find it…. Whatever)

Anyway, I would still love to know more details, the video sort of gives you an idea of how their method starts for beginners, and how it works for more advanced players, but what happens in between is not clear. Also, how/what students practice outside of their lessons is also not clear.

Learning the piano, or any instrument, is a very complex undertaking. You have to learn the mechanics of it, learn physically how to use your hands, you also have to learn the “music” of, and at the same time (hopefully) you also develop the literacy part, reading etc. Each of these elements can and absolutely should be made accessible to the learner. But one question I have for this method is, in their focus on making it “fun,” how do they avoid dumbing it down?

Also, the idea that learning should be fun comes up in all kinds of fields. When I taught English in Japan, that was all people talked about, that learning English should be fun and that the primary job of a teacher should be to ensure that students don’t end up hating English.

I don’t necessarily disagree with that, I mean I agree, a teacher or method that results in students hating the subject material is probably doing something wrong.

But learning is also hard work, and we shouldn’t shy away from that in any subject.

Sometimes after a lesson with my teacher, my brain is just done. We’ve worked so hard that I feel like I’ve given my brain a work out, the way you feel after a physical work out.

That is incredibly rewarding, and at this stage in my life, I do find it fun. But I don’t think I would have called that fun when I was a kid. But that is where learning happens, that is where growth happens.

So I’m a little conflicted. Because I do think that teaching should be set up in a way that makes the activity rewarding, and certainly that’s “fun.”

But whether it’s piano, a foreign language or some other subject, I feel like we’re doing children a disservice if we give them the message that something should be fun or else it’s ok for them to not want to do it. What will they do when they get stuck, when something is really hard? It’s no longer fun. How will the student get past that?

I guess that’s what’s missing from the 60 Minutes story — they only shared the successes, but they didn’t talk to any families where the children weren’t happy or didn’t continue lessons or quit piano.

@wtg thanks i’ll look for that’s yesterday I was on my phone and didn’t see it.

@wtg thanks for posting that! There was a post about this in a FB piano group (some piano teachers were taking offense at the suggestion that their lessons aren’t fun!) but I couldn’t access the link there. I could read this one and there’s an additional one as well.

It’s interesting. Basically I’m happy about anything that creates buzz about piano, but I’m really curious about the details here. Also I think the idea of composing early and creativity etc. is not so unusual in contemporary piano lessons.

But one of the articles talked about how his students are sweeping some composition content, which is interesting and suggests it’s not total bull at least!

@jon-nyc said:

Maybe you could try that?

You already have Dewey and Mik within a two hour drive and me and Ax who often get on airplanes for piano parties…

That would be amazing! Although I’m not sure I can throw a good enough party to merit people traveling for it! (It might trigger a whole new kind of stage fright!

@Big_Al said:
senior living facilities.

Good idea. I know of two that have pianos, but I’m not sure about any hospitals with the pianos

@Mik said:

Nice design, I love MCM, but the music desk is impractical.

Yikes, I missed that. But yeah, that’s a terrible set up for the score.

And yes, their price is a bit … overly optimistic, shall we say.

@Rontuner I just finished practicing it. It’s super easy. You should try it! It’s quite melancholy though.

@chas you could whip up a recording and submit before you go on vacay?

Here’s what I’m listening to:
Stephan Moccio, pianist.

https://www.stephanmoccio.com/releases-archive/vol-4/

I’m obsessed with this piece:

Link to video

and plan to play it, but I have to clear out (e.g., polish) a few other pieces in my practice queue before I can start it.

@wtg this reminds me that I have a two volume set of Beatles scores (organized by year) in really nicely done solo piano arrangement. When I first bought the books (when we still lived in Japan!), the arrangements were too hard for me. But probably not anymore…

I should check out the scores again.

Thanks @axtremus and @jon-nyc

@jon-nyc said:
And awesome that they can afford a space in the mall.

The board is this big alliance of local people and I think there are some big donors in the background, I’m not really sure. Also, like many malls, this one is struggling and has lots of empty storefronts, so I have to wonder if they get a huge deal on their rent or something. The piano was donated as well.

They encourage people to become “members” to support the art alliance (it’s a small annual fee), so I did that, and I’ll try to attend their other events as well to get to know people connected to the shop.

It’s an amazing space, apparently it used to be a Victoria Secrets (which is kind of funny), so it’s huge and has two lovely arched entryways (the piano is near one), and a big event space at the back of the store. The artwork is all really cool so it’s quite inspiring to play there!

And the cool thing is that they actively encourage people to play, which is wonderful.

Do you ever have piano parties? Or is it just you playing at a gathering?

I don’t have a community of musicians here yet so usually it’s just me playing at a gathering. I make sure people are fed well in exchange for listening to me play!

Last year, we had a party and I played with a violinist, but she’s gone now (moved back to Japan). And in late July, I’m planning to play with a cellist, we’ll do three pieces together plus probably both of us will play some solo pieces. But he’s a student (doctorate of music) at the music school here so he won’t be here forever. But it’s a start.

What I really want is to meet people locally who play, hopefully being connected to the art shop will help.

We’ve lived in this town for almost three years now, so we’d like to start making more connections beyond work!

Some of you may remember that there’s a “newish” (maybe two+ years old now?) piano forum that some former PW folks made after PW was sold. It’s called Piano Tell. They do online recitals, similar to PW, but one of the recitals at PT is a little different. It’s called “Play It Your Way,” and everyone plays the same piece, potentially in different arrangements, and then uploads a video or audio and the recordings all get posted at the same time. I sometimes participate in the PIYW recitals, depending on what the piece is.

For the next PIYW recital, to be posted on July 15th, the piece everyone will play is Chopin’s Wiosna. There are two arrangements (possibly more), the original version is the easy one, and the other is a Liszt (and/or Godowsky?) arrangement, which is (not surprisingly) harder. I will be doing the easy one!

Here are videos and links to score:

The original version (grade 3)

Link to video

Score: https://imslp.org/wiki/Andantino,_B.117_%2528Chopin,_Frédéric%2529

The Liszt versions (grade 6)

Link to video

The score: https://imslp.org/wiki/6_Polish_Songs,_S.480_(Liszt,_Franz)

(Remember that for both of those scores, you can obtain them for free through those links, up just have to click through.)

Here’s the link to the PIYW thread:
https://forum.pianotell.com/d/2404-play-chopins-wiosna-spring-your-way-piyw-9-july-2026

Attn @chas @bernard @big_al @jodi @axtremus
@kluurs @mark @jon-nyc
(And anyone else here who is actively playing)

Would any of you be interested in participating? The deadline to submit is July 15, if you’re interested and have questions, please ask me!

Well, closer to 35 actually… That’s what’s in my “playable repertoire” right now, in other words, polished and presentable, ready to play for people. (That’s seven pieces, each of them are around 3 to 5 minutes long.) Thwt might not sound like a lot, especially thinking about longer classical works, but it’s a lot for me and my “post classical” repertoire.

I can’t remember if I wrote about this here or not, but there’s an art shop at our local mall, they sell only artwork created by local artists (including paintings, jewelry, sculpture works etc.) It’s a really neat place actually, it’s run by a non-profit board and in order for an artist to have their work sold in the shop, they have to pass a jury (made up of the board), and then the artist has to volunteer in the shop (basically as a salesclerk) for some hours each month. (I think that’s because the shop takes very little “cut” from the sale of the artwork). A lot of times, one of the artists will be sitting in the middle of the shop, either making something or just there to answer questions etc. It’s a really neat shop.

They have a small grand piano at the front of the shop which they like to have people come and play. They recently rearranged it so that there’s a little seating area next to the piano. I’ve played there three times in the last few months. I originally went as a way to prep for my jury piece, and playing in a public space like that is great practice for my stage fright.

I always ask the person at the register if it’s ok to play, and I always thank them for letting me play before I leave. The first two times I went there (when only played two pieces) they both said “you can keep playing!” And “please come and play again.”

So this past Wednesday I went and played my whole “set.” In the middle of my first piece, the artist who was there came over and sat next to the piano, and he stayed there the whole time I was playing, just listening. At one point, a couple was walking through the store and they were at the entrance and getting ready to leave (just off to my right and a little behind me) and one of them said "Can we stay here until the song ends?" and the other said "Yes, of course! I'm enjoying it too!"

After I finished playing and was collecting my things to go home, the artist sitting next to me and the person working the register both came up and complimented me and thanked me for playing.

The whole experience was so affirming and such a boost for my confidence as a pianist. As I was walking to the parking lot, I realized my hands had hardly shook at all while I was playing.

Now my plan is to try to add to my “set,” without letting any of those pieces fall out, and maybe get to about an hour’s worth of rep. I’d like to try to go there regularly (like maybe once a month).

I also would like to have people over for a music party at my house where I play a longer set (usually when I play for people at my house, I only play 2-3 pieces). Like people could come and sit in the living room (the piano is in the “dining room,” which opens to the living room) and chat and I could play, as opposed to having to set up like a formal concert. We’ll see how that goes, Mr SK points out that people might not feel comfortable talking if I’m playing, but I don’t necessarily want to force my friends to sit still for a 30 minute concert.

Anyway, this (lengthening my playable repertoire set and using it) feels like a nice goal for summer.

@CHAS oh my! Congratulations!!!

It looks beautiful, even more so in your lovely room!

I bet it sounds just as beautiful!

Also happy birthday!!!