Episode 44 - Choosing for the Year

🎹 Episode 44 – Choosing for the Year
Welcome back to Piano, Finally, the podcast by an old bloke finally getting around to learning the piano. In this episode, I share a bit of everything – from an odd experience learning the school song to choosing my piano pieces for the year ahead, and even a book review for those exploring pop piano.

🎵 The School Song Saga
I kicked off the holidays with a curious challenge: trying to play the school song. Despite knowing it well, my first attempt sounded way off – but, oddly enough, it fixed itself the next day. Still working on the fingerings, though.

📺 Stage+ – A Treasure Trove of Classical Documentaries
I talk about the value of Stage+, a high-quality classical music streaming platform from Deutsche Grammophon. It offers not just performances but excellent documentaries, including “Magic Moments in Music” and stories about greats like Bernstein, Karajan, Tsujii, Lang Lang, and Trifonov.

🎼 Choosing My Pieces for the Year
Devi and I selected four main pieces for the coming months – all aimed at expanding my technique and musical range.

1. 🎶 Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (Mozart / arr. Barrie Carson Turner)
   A bright, fast piece introducing Alberti bass and runs in G major.
   🎧 Listen here
2. 🎹 A Wild Chase (Wynn-Anne Rossi)
   Tricky fingering, dual bass clefs, and a fast tempo – definitely a challenge.
   🎧 Listen here
3. 🕰️ Going Baroque (Glenda Austin)
   My first foray into baroque-style music, complete with counterpoint and complexity.
   🎧 Listen here
4. 🎤 Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley)
   From the Rockschool Contemporary Piano book – a modern piece with a strong rhythmic focus.
   🎧 Listen here

📘 Book Review – The Pop Piano Book by Mark Harrison
A Discord recommendation, this 500-page book is a full course on pop piano playing. It starts with theory and moves into genre-specific chapters like R&B, gospel, and rock. The book’s practical but bulky – maybe the PDF version is the way to go.
📖 Find it at Harrison Music

🎧 Progress Report
Two pieces are now performance-ready: Spindler’s Canon and Türk’s Bagatelle in F. I’m still working on Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues – both tricky in their own ways. Recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8’s U4 upright model.

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