Talkhaus Musical Instrument Thread

[Doctor Shemp]

Stuff

Wow, you should post a composition of yours here! I'd like to hear it!

Check the AZCT threads in the Collab section for some chiptunes of mine. I don't really like my earlier stuff anymore so I won't be posting that. Besides, some of the earlier stuff I did do that I liked in part has been reworked (which is a so much nicer word than recycled) for AZCT.

[Octagon]

Practical experience: 10 years of touching a piano rarely; 1 year of touching a piano somewhat frequently
Theoretical knowledge:relatively poor. I've paid relatively good attention in music class, which is unusal for me, but it was mostly about composition structures and music history, so it doesn't help too much. I can still kinda read the bass clef from when I've played the trombone (I quit taking trombone lessons due to frustration and lack of time a few years ago, and I should probably start again sometime... well, let's not derail this thread with the evils of brass instruments), but the treble clef gives me problems.
Started playing when: 7 or something
Took lessons:I've had a few lessons as a child, but it lead to nowhere due to my various teachers either being unreliable and lazy or way too expensive
What you play: I can play half of"Reminiscence" from Suikoden, and by ear, the lead melodies of some stuff e. g. from Chrono Cross and Touhou (not very well).
Public Appearances: ugh no go away
Composed pieces of your own? I've had some ideas, but since I'm bad at reading notes, I had to write them down as MIDIs, at which point they sound so horrible that I forget about how I envisioned them and they never get finished.

[Redsy]

Most people have troubles with bass clef instead of treble, so that's kind of weird.

I have troubles with tenor clef, and if anyone can read that fluently, let me know.

[Cup]

Composed pieces of your own?

Sure.

Duet for Two Pianos

I played a lot of Gershwin and could never seem to get him out of my head when composing my own stuff.

[Aposke]

Composed pieces of your own?

Sure.

Duet for Two Pianos

I played a lot of Gershwin and could never seem to get him out of my head when composing my own stuff.

Holy shit, I love how you incorporate the shifting of tonality throughout the two pianos. It's like a constant dialogue, nay, a battle between them. Especially love the rhythm going on at 2:30 and onwards. This, sir, is one of the best compositions I've heard in a while, and I think it has an outstanding amount of personality towards it that many other works simply lack. I was genuinely sad when the track stopped. Please, if you have any more, let me know. I love this stuff like I love Alfred Schnittke's work, except yours is way more upbeat and "catchier", in the typical sense of the word.

[Cup]

Unfortunately I don't have much! This was from back in high school and I haven't composed anything since. Most of my stuff got lost when my parents upgraded the old desktop I used as a kid. This only got saved because I had it on my ~7 year old ipod.

It's possible the rest of the stuff I did still exists somewhere, maybe sitting around on an external HDD in my parent's basement, but I don't know!

It was a fun hobby growing up though definitely. I did everything on Sibelius and really enjoyed it, so if you guys are looking for a sheet music interface to compose with, I tend to prefer it over Finale.

[Ashan]

Oh, man. I play a thing for the Long & McQuade music festival tonight. I'm surprisingly less nervous about it than I was a couple months ago when I registered. We'll see how it is when I get up in front of people and my foot starts shaking.
I've never been to one of these things so I don't know if it's formal or not. I'm pretty sure I'm only going to be there for an hour so I probably won't dress up.

Also, jeez, Cup! That was fantastic!

[Aposke]

It was a fun hobby growing up though definitely. I did everything on Sibelius and really enjoyed it, so if you guys are looking for a sheet music interface to compose with, I tend to prefer it over Finale.

Hahaha, I'm poor as fuck and on Linux so I'm using MuseScore to make my first baby steps right now. I know virtually nothing of composition though and generally just go for "what sounds good".

[Redsy]

Good luck Ashan~

Ahh yeah, I use MuseScore for things too, cause I'm poor and good notation software is insane expensive.
I don't even compose though, I just transcribe and/or arrange.
I'm not even good at it either >_>

[Ashan]

Alright, the thing went pretty well.

I ended up playing on a keyboard despite the fact that I thought we'd be playing on a grand, and I wasn't really a fan of the sound or the weight to it but then again I'm really picky with that so it probably wasn't as bad as I make it sound.

I got there and immediately noticed that I'm apparently the only male above 9 that plays piano. Seriously, out of the group of nine people playing, I was the only guy there. Also, one of the first things the person doing the 'here's the judges thoughts on your performances' said was 'at this age you're expected to have memorized your piece' and apparently they docked marks if you hadn't which I'm fine with since I can't read sheet music for crap. Not as I'm playing, anyway. I pretty much memorize every song I learn from sheet music and then work on the dynamics as I go.

I ended up coming in second, but as soon as the thing ended my piano teacher came up to me and said "you definitely should have won that. Every teacher in the back thought you should have won along with all the parents we overheard." and I mean, I don't think I'm great, but I can kind of see where they're coming from, as cocky as it may sound. I don't think I'm amazing by any means, but based on the other people I competed against, the girl that beat me out didn't exactly knock my socks off. She did Piano Man by Billy Joel, and it was pretty good but she ended up messing up on quite a few parts and it was kinda stiff overall. I'm trying to sound as unbiased as possible and also to not sound full of myself, but I'm mostly quoting other people.
As I was heading up the stairwell too, the girl that won was saying something along the lines of "I don't know how I won that! He definitely should have beat me!" so I think I can confirm that it isn't my bias talking.

Regardless, I'm not super bugged by the fact I came in second place. I only signed up for the heck of it, and I got to perform for people which is something I need to work on as a personal growth thing. The experience was pretty neat too, so overall, it was a good night.

I might upload the performance later.

[lukaramu]

Aww, that's unfortunate! But seriously, I would say things like "at this age you're expected to be able to [insert something here] aren't appliciable criteria, I mean, not everybody starts at young age.

Personally, I know that I memorized all the pieces I play, just from practicing them, but when I play without sheetmusic, I'm prone to forget something, so I play with them most of the time, as a sort-of safety net.

Also, my concert at school is coming up, I'm playing cello in a oboe quintett, where we play a Padouana by Johann Hermann Schein (I didn't know him until now) and the Notturno in G by Johann Baptist Vanhal, then I play cello as basso continuo in a guitar concert (Concerto in D Major by Vivaldi), where our solist already studies guitar in Hannover. Then I'm accompanying a girl singing "Turning Tables" by Adele, and I play the Mazurka op.17 no.4 by Chopin (<3). So yeah, that'll be my tuesday.

[Ashan]

Alright, here's the video of my performance (sorry about the intro being cut off. That's not my fault. Also, granny's head is in the corner the whole time but I can't do anything about that either.)



I'm not happy with my timing on a few sections, but it went decent overall.

In the adjudication, the judge's only actual complaint she gave me was that there was no melody but I don't think she caught the fact that I did that on purpose. It was an instrumental, and adding in the melody kinda ruins the whole point of an instrumental. I've never been a fan of how vocals transfer over to piano, so I much prefer to play the raw piano track exactly as it was intended to be played. I suppose you could argue that it makes it all a little bland if you're not singing, but I don't know. I prefer it this way.

[Redsy]

Nice job!
Props on the dynamics in most parts. And staccatos and stuff. They were really clean.

I get where they were coming from with it being a bit bland though. Some of the parts with just plain old 4 note chords were kinda meh and zzz, but since it's an instrumental, that's just how it is.
Also some of the middle parts were all really a steady volume. You could've probably added some really dramaticized louds or softs to make it more interesting, since it is only chords. (seriously though, I'm not one to talk at all since I never really do that when I perform either cause it's not really what I'm thinking about, so you can ignore all that if you please~)

I ammm glad that you didn't roll a craptonne of chords though, like many many many many people do in their pop music covers (not that this is pop, per se, but it's popular, anyway. You get what I mean, probably.). So kudos on that.
I personally like crisp and clean chords rather than flowy and sparkly chords, in 9/10 cases.

Woo, yeah, good job~

[Ashan]

I get where they were coming from with it being a bit bland though. Some of the parts with just plain old 4 note chords were kinda meh and zzz, but since it's an instrumental, that's just how it is.

I actually left those empty sections like that in on request of my piano teacher. If I wasn't performing I would usually improvise something around that chord but my teacher wanted me to stick to the sheet music note for note and that was basically what the sheets said to do -- sit there and let the notes ring out. I wasn't a fan of how it sounded (best example: right before it gets to the chorus of We are the Champions and it does the 4 heavy chord strikes, I'd normally be rapidly hitting the bass notes so it didn't sound so anticlimactic), but ya know! Teacher knows best!

Also some of the middle parts were all really a steady volume. You could've probably added some really dramaticized louds or softs to make it more interesting, since it is only chords.

Yeah, I was trying to do that at certain sections (see: outro) but a lot of the time I was just doing what me and my teacher had planned like I mentioned earlier. Whenever I practised by myself I usually spiced things up more but whatever. I probably could have gotten away with more in the performance, haha!

I ammm glad that you didn't roll a craptonne of chords though, like many many many many people do in their pop music covers (not that this is pop, per se, but it's popular, anyway. You get what I mean, probably.). So kudos on that.
I personally like crisp and clean chords rather than flowy and sparkly chords, in 9/10 cases.

Yeah, I rolled out some, but it was pretty much only the ones that were actually MEANT to be rolled out (for example, the high chords in the intro to We are the Champions). Spamming a bunch of rolled out chords sounds really redundant. It's nice every once and a while but I know what you mean.

But yeah! Thanks for the constructive criticism! Any other improvement suggestions are much appreciated!

[Ashan]

I plan on starting working on this song soon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO209GwYCr8

Haven't even seen the film, but this song is super nice.

[Ashan]

Hey guys I did a song


I don't usually sing. Also recorded straight from my laptop cause I don't know if I have an audio interface anywhere plus I'm lazy

[tovarischkrasnyjeshi]

EDIT: Dammit, the point of me posting was to tell Ashan that he's pretty good and stuff, and I forgot what I was doing FailFish




Practical experience: ~ I guess 10 years?
Theoretical knowledge: Pretty high. Took actual music theory classes in highschool; I know things about counterpoint all the to microtonalism
Started playing when: 10ish
Took lessons: from 10 to 17. If I stayed another year I would have graduated, but I wanted to focus on school-school. I didn't graduate school-school either.
What you play: I'm absolutely horrible at maintaining a repertoire. Currently it's filled with Gypsy (Romani) music, Russian folk songs, Zelda music, and sections of my own compositions. And that's not a lot. And most non-Zeldas have a tonic-mediant/dominant-m/d-m/d sort of bass line :( Also I added Lomir sikh Iberbetn to it recently, a Yiddish song. I like balkan music

Public Appearances: Several, but school/piano class related.
Skill Level: Damn low. Wouldn't say middle. I could dime out a few bucks on a street corner or at a restaurant type of thing if I knew how to jazz but most of what I enjoy playing is hijazi (puns), and not really having more than one go-to bass line complicates things because a lot of my music sounds the same to me, especially the Russian stuff.

Composed pieces of your own? Several, though I don't usually restrict them to piano, I tend to go all out with them...

One of my latest compositions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp5Owk4xnJI WARNING really long terrible slow rhythm sections for theoretical reasons. But this was midi. I can play the dancy part myself though, it's just getting everything in there takes a lot more than I have

Here's something I'm playing with my keyboard, using a bell sort of soundfont https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkR2Ous-Te8

[RedMageSusie]

For someone who usually doesn't sing, you have a very pleasant voice. You should do it more!

I don't play piano much (guitar is my instrument), but I know how hard it can be to play and sing at the same time. Pretty solid cover all around.

[Ashan]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm working on my singing. I hope to improve, cause right now I feel like I'm talking with melody.
I actually don't have much issue with singing and playing at the same time. Piano already involves a lot of multitasking so the thing I'm most focused on is making the singing sound not completely awful.

[BlueWizrobe]

Practical experience: 5 years
Theoretical knowledge: I know my my theory pretty bloody well I'm gonna say, I know my scales, modes, intervals, chords etc
Started playing when: 18
Took lessons: Nope, self taught based off theory
What you play: I started with Erik Satie but nowadays I play more rock like Pink Floyd, Jonathan Coulton and Faith No More
Public Appearances: 3, first I was given 4 hours to learn an original written by my partner, the second was at a cafe where I performed 30mins of JoCo songs and the third was last Tuesday at a local pub where I was more of a keyboardist accompanying a rock band.
Skill Level: I'm not the best, I know my stuff but I have stupid fingers. Its an accomplishment if I can play something polyphonic with both hands. Generally I'm just chords and bass note or chords and melody.
Composed pieces of your own? Yes!

[Ashan]

Which JoCo songs do you do?
I was thinking about covering Still Alive at some point but I've been lazy lately

[dr_vblschrf]

Practical experience: 12 years
Theoretical knowledge: Took theory as a music composition major for two years, but had taught a good amount to myself before that. So I'd say pretty extensive.
Started playing when: 11 for viola, 13 for keyboards though not seriously until I was 18, 15 for voice, 16 for bass guitar, 19 for percussion
Took lessons: For viola (in school ensembles for 9 years, privately for 3 years), piano (as a music major), and percussion (as a music major).
What you play: Nowadays it's pretty much just my own music and improvisations. Used to be pretty much the whole gamut of classical, from baroque to avant-garde. I've played in my church band for about 7 years now, playing viola mainly but filling in for whoever's missing when needed.
Public Appearances: Far too many to count. Most of them on viola or bass, but once on piano and once on glockenspiel.
Skill Level: I'm no virtuoso at anything I play, more of a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none sort of musician.
Composed pieces of your own? Yes. Started writing at 12 years old. Current count's somewhere around 200 pieces? Maybe just shy of it. Now if only I could get over my writer's block...

[BlueWizrobe]

Which JoCo songs do you do?
I was thinking about covering Still Alive at some point but I've been lazy lately

I think you should definitely post Still Alive when you get round to it. I'd love to see peeps post stuff they play here, even if they don't think it's that good, it'd be cool to see.
I generally gravitate towards The World Belongs to You, A Talk With George, Blue Sunny Day, Today With Your Wife, Space Doggity and the stuff he did for Ze Frank. There's a lot of his stuff I'd like to learn on guitar but I have "stupid fingers".

[Ashan]

Here's a cover I did of a track called Photograph from the movie, Her

[Rwars]

Hey there guys I play violin.

Practical Experience: ~2 1/2 years now.
Theoretical knowledge: I know most major keys, know most musical terminology, and know the fingerings for each note, in first position..
Started playing in:: uh.
Took lessons: Have been playing in orchestra classes the whole time
What you play: Stuff that's been handed to me, but sometimes I like to play videya game pieces
Public Apperances: Mostly stuff in concerts and stuff, but I have played once or twice at a mall.
Skill level: Novice. An expert would cringe at me, but not as much as when hearing someone play the violin for the first time.
Composed pieces of your own? Haha, if I wasn't completely tone deaf and actually creative, then maybe I could compose.