Instrument players - come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

I thought we could have a thread to chat about playing! I play the piano (not as badly as I fear but not as well as I hope) and have recently tried my hand at chamber music. Would love to hear what other people are doing.

CoteDAzur Here's a picture of the instruments they used in Rameau's Dardanus.

I like it too, Broken -I've got further learning the piano than I ever thought possible! I'm not sure I'd have persevered as a child. My 12 year old learns pieces much quicker than I do and he is definitely better technically (and his hands are bigger!) but I'm better at interpreting the more emotional pieces. His teacher commented that he tends to go for happy and upbeat. I'm just determined to play something by Chopin one day!

MrSlant It is indeed normal piano-playing, but you still have to learn it! I remember many moons ago, sitting at the piano learning to play a 3- pr 4-part thing by Bach, and realising that what you need to do is to hear the parts. Instead of thinking in terms of right hand and left hand, you think about the piece as an ensemble, with each "part" played by a different instrument, and you go through the piece many times, each time listening out for a different instrument. (And you can pretend to be the conductor and tell them off if they don't play seamlessly. )

It is quite obvious here: Three instruments, one singing, one provides the bass, and one the accompaniment. And it's actually not that hard technically because all the roles are set. It's when you do Bach that's when things get tricky ...

(Sorry. Someone tell me to bugger off and do the washing up instead of pontificating.)

That is some lovely Schubert and some very skilled playing. He could have done with a ladder so I could watch his technique better though . I love the ensemble analogy, I already have to watch my hands so the melody sings out because I'm left handed and it can dominate if not kept in check, just need to practice getting my R hand to both sing the melody and accompany itself. I foresee another happy day of no housework!

My teen and 10 year old both learn pieces quicker than me, I try not to hate them for it. They both got near perfect marks for their pieces in the exams as well but I nailed them on the scales, that's proper grown up, practicing your scales well (although the not being so nervous you mess up your pieces wasn't very mature was it?).

Everyone should have a ladder thing.

Please keep on pontificating Never!

Thank you for your thoughts on the silent piano. The quality of sound is very important to me and I would rather not sacrifice beauty to convenience. Yes, I'm aware that will cost money but I plan to rent at least for the first 2 years so it won't be such a big commitment.

I have an exquisite Hoffmann upright piano that I got second-hand, which sounds much better than the new ones because it was made in Germany and the newer models are apparently made in Czech Republic. I looked into adding the silent mechanism to it but was told that the sound will not be the same, so just decided neighbourly relations are overrated anyway (Our building is well insulated and piano is at the center of the floor plan, so no complaints yet, thankfully).

But for this new piano, I'm thinking that it would be great to practice at night, after kids go to bed. If I can buy a piano that will sound good when off the silencer.

My 8-year-old learns pieces incredibly fast, too. He's lucky I love him

Lapsed grade 8 piano and violinist ! Loving this thread. Recently joined local orchestra (yet to attend) and on the hunt for a piano!!

I so envy people who can join orchestra!

Cote The piano shops I went to all say you can add the silent mechanism for a small matter of a few thousand pounds. I guess perhaps it's easier for a modern piano. And not all modern pianos are bad.

DS1 learns slower than me (about grade 5 level) because he WOULD NOT start slowly. Silly boy. But he has got bigger hands and better teachers (and me) and will probably end up playing better than me.

Ds2, on the other hand, is an unknown quantity/quality. He learns incredibly fast, but will not practise.

He performs well - with a quality of danger in it that makes it quite at-the-edge-of-your-seat type exciting.

Off to my lesson! See you later!

"The piano shops I went to all say you can add the silent mechanism for a small matter of a few thousand pounds"

Oh yes you can add the mechanism to any piano but it ruins diminishes and changes the sound, apparently. I would never do that to my beloved piano!

Enjoy your lesson! Mine was yesterday. My teacher was surprised at how far along I got with the Gavotte but the next sections will be very challenging!

Welcome! If you aren't fussed on quality (^^like the purists up there ) you should be able to get a piano free like I did because people are always trying to get rid of them. If you have a local 'free ads' or FB selling page there are normally some in there. I got ours to 'just see' and now it is so much part of family life there can be a queue to use it! As the piano tuner said it is very 'honky tonk' and ancient but much beloved and I can't see myself upgrading it now as planned because it's part of the family.

Cote Then you might just have to try the pianos that already have the mechanisms put in... The choice is more limited, but until you look you don't know if you'll find one you like, I guess.

MrSlant We gave away our old piano. It was given to us free, but it couldn't be tuned up to pitch and was about a semitone lower. I couldn't play it... I don't have perfect pitch, but I can hear near-perfect enough to find that completely discombobulating.

I will be doing the Rameau Gavotte. And I'm going to have another go at this:

Or the irrepressible Valentina Lisitsa

This is my piece, so utterly frivolous compared to yours

My piano is untunable too but I don't have anything near perfect pitch so it doesn't matter unless I try and accompany DS3 in which case it's just unbearable. If that becomes an issue later on I'll have to think again.

, I think. (About 5 minutes in.) It's lovely.

What are these untunable pianos you speak of? How can a piano be impossible to tune?

The one we had had a cracked sound board. Couldn't take the strain of being tuned to pitch.

It was not played much and in the end we had to get rid of it.

Thanks to this thread I have ordered some books of studies - Czerny, Hanon and some other one other one that doesn't have the name plastered across the front of it in giant writing.

I loved playing from a ratty old book of studies my mum had. I'll have to pick that up next time I'm visiting her as well. I don't know what it was as I only remember it had the word pianoforte on the front, which... helps.

Mine is in tune with itself, so to speak, but cannot be tuned to 'concert' pitch. I doesn't matter how much I faff with the headset of DS3's flute I can't get an A on his instrument to match the piano. Really with a physics/music background I should be able to tell you why but I just smiled and nodded at the tuner when he came. Needs doing again soon now it's all settled in so I'll ask the him properly then.

"in tune with itself"

I don't have perfect pitch either, but an instrument that is not well-tuned really grates and disturbs me for some reason I can't explain. Maybe I am in tune with not just myself but also the universe, but I just don't know it.

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