Hey peoples, as by the title I have some great news !!

Brief history.. I was on job seekers,.. I got myself off job seekers to focus purely on piano experience!
Now job seekers referred me to Careers Wales.. who got me an interview with the arts manager in S.E Wales.

Interview with arts manager, (he looks after all sorts of art venues research and funding/support for art groups of all kinds of art)

We met up in the local Theatre/miners institute.

We had our introduction and I gave him a brief story on my playing in churches and my dream of being a concert pianist..

1st thing he does.. gives me free access to 3 pianos, 1 grand, 1 acoustic and 1 electric!! GREAT!!
and possibly access to a grand piano with in one street of my house!!
2nd thing he does, is get in contact with local choirs etc to get me experience performing in public and promises to research some development grants.

then we take a tour of the building, I play a piece for him on the electric and a piece on the acoustic (the grand out of commission due to panto Christmas season with the actual theatre)

3rd thing..He asks me as a return favour of practising for free.. if I would perform in Caerphilly Castle for an arts festival!! ~

The delight !! ~ I cant tell you how this makes me feel in a realistic manner!
I have been worried about my performances for over a year, knowing that an electric piano (casio AP 65 R)
wont get me a true performance,~ heading toward grade 7 its vital that I get acoustic piano time,
All I wanted was practice time.. at the minimum.. but no.. I tell you all what I told my teacher... Its like this guy has become my manager!

He even tried to encourage me to perform at the castle.. saying it would look good on my CV.. ~ Not that I need encouraging!

I just feel I can truly achieve a career goal and this 2nd to the church is part of the journey, ~ but the pressure is on!! ~

Now I need to build up the reputation with the county I live in!! Maybe one day I will be able to suggest groups of us to play at lunch time concerts or forum event type things throughout S.E Wales!!

Everything little thing I do, I want to do it as a step to one day go the RWCMD to study! Afraid of messing up, but I cant think like that really, Replace the fear with practice!

That is brilliant. Hope this is the start of more good things to come!

Sounds fab

Very pleased for you, Martin. No excuse for not practising now!

I wish I had some public performances to really focus my practise on

Thanks alot !!

I look at it this way, im 24, Ive been learning for nearly 3 years (will be next month)
March April, im hoping to be ready for grade 7, then straight on to grade 8, (which im already learning)

The majority of people are sceptical someone my age learning, of becoming a concert pianist!
I will do everything possible to become a concert performer... the doubts are scary, there are many other branches of playing I enjoy.. If I dont make it!

Piano is the first thing in my life ever that I felt I could achieve something with, ~ I can be bit obsessive at times, over practice, then think Ive lost my interest.. but a few days later it comes back.. and I get back to my piano.. hour after hour hammering away!
If that means I live off little money.. so be it, my love is with the music.. not with the money ~ I know when I reach my limit of my ability to learn.. that I can start focussing on my income and steady out my career.

Chopin Prelude n.26, taken me 3 months to learn the notes, my goal with that piece is to get it up to performance standard!

Right now I know I physically just cant get the hang of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx6-Z0nsWnw
but Fantaisie Impromptu seems far easier to learn. I dont plan on giving up !

Great Stuff Martin, I admire your dedication !
Despite getting an ALCM at 16, I always realised I would never have the will and patience to practice sufficiently to make it as a performer, hence my decison to read Chemistry at Uni (I retire from the industry at end March). You have this application in abundance ! Of course I have kept music as a hobby and still play to about that standard.
So good luck with your endeavour. I will never play that Chopin Etude on the clip !

Martin - may I just ask how does your teacher see your technical ability? I am hoping to be around Grade 8 standard around one-two years from now, currently a Grade 6-7 standard pianist, playing lots of repertoire as well as exam stuff.

Thanks, ~ there is one bit of comfort with that Chopin Etude, ~ theres a recurring theme, its just crazy! ~ After yesterdays weather It lead me to think about that piece of music!




Sounds like we have similar time frames, ~ How does my teacher see my technical ability in a general sense, he has never said.
He tells me how great it is to go to a student that actually practices. ~

He trusted me to be an accompanist for his wifes violin students exam!
I mainly judge my own technical ability at the moment my challenge is in op53 Polonaise, ~ octaves, ~ being able to keep the hand relaxed while playing octaves for 2 & a half pages.

My teacher tells me that the Mozart Presto is ready for exam, all I need to do now is a few technical things, ~
there are issues with dynamics ( thats the easy part) ~ but also issues with fast semi quaver passages, which some of the time I lose a touch of pace.

Many congratulations - what a fantastic opportunity and such an exciting time for you.

The fantasie-impromtu has been set for ATCL (I'm not sure if it currently set).
'Winter Winds, is beautiful, but harder.
Just because it is set higher than Grade 8 does not mean you can not achieve it. I started learning it about 10 days ago, and there are patterns in it that are eminently learnable in time.

What a wonderful opportunity. Can I also commend some of the Nocturnes to you as they are beautiful, and if you are playing an evening concert certainly create atmosphere.

Other pieces I particularly like for moments of calm: Schubert Impromtu in Gb major. Debussy Arabesque no 1

There are plenty of pianists on this thread who can put their two-pennyworth about suitable repertoire.

Good Luck.

I endorse all those Jod has suggested.
Whilst on 'Moments of calm' consider Liszt Consolation No 3 (Not too difficult) or 'Au Lac de Wallenstadt' from Annees de Pelerinage' (Suisse)
Dont ignore Baroque period, you might soon be able to tackle one of the Bach Partitas or the Tocaata in Eminor (Thats if you dont like Well tempered Clavier), or some Scarlatti Sonatas (Plenty to pick from).
Also try some 20th C stuff like Bartok, Prokofiev (eg Visons Fugitifs) or Shostakovich (Preludes Op 34 or Preludes and Fugues Op87). All good stuff for repertoire development

thanks for all the suggestions, the pair of you !!

I have been going through some Nocturnes, ~ the one Im playing for a Christmas concert on the 18th is
John field, Nocturne in Bb Major

I have 2 by Chopin and a Mazurka, although they arent my current focus.
As for Liszt cosolation No 3, I have played part of that as a Medley to the song No more Night.

Beethovens Fur Elise and some other short pieces by him ive studied.
A couple of Schumann pieces, ~ Traumari is a nice one.

Scarlatti Sonata, K380 im studying.
Daquins Coo coo
Bach ~ Allemande ~ French suite no.4 (BWM 815)

as for 20th century I have done very little for.
Rachmaninovs 23-5 im working at.. at the very most.

I study about 10-15 pieces a day, never a dull moment.
Just been working at Etincelles, and that winter wind etude. Neither of them fun, ~ time to spend some time with Mozart!

The John Field Noctures are nice - No. 6 in F was set for grade 7 in 1982 and I had a book of the Nocturnes which I worked through back then.

I've been playing the Fig Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin which is on the current TG Grade 8 list. It's lots of fun, although I was amused by a note on the edition I'm using which is "Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast. Composer" and then has a metronome speed of crotchet = 100 - it's mostly semiquavers right hand and lots of big chords! No chance of me playing it fast at the moment!

Can't be that hard if she can play it in her nightdress whilst asleep

In all seriousness, though, it's great that you've got this support. Having access to practice, is great, but having the motivation to practice can only come from within, and it sounds like you are bursting with it!

All the best!

Well, looks like im doing a special item for church carol service now on Friday!

Going to sing a modern piece by Kendrick.. with some classical interludes ~ Clair de lune & Tchaikovsky ~ piano concerto 1, ~ some sort of medley im sure.

Martin - you sounds like you are going to become very busy, well done

Yes, I hope so.

Right, my father believes I could stretch a 10th or 11th If I can overcome reflexes in my hand!
I couldnt believe my eyes when he showed me how flexible his hands are, "double jointed" as the theory goes!

Time for a ton of research on how to flex!