[pony] [piano] Princess Twilight

[AndrewClocksin]

Hey guys! I wrote this piano song because I really like the idea of Twilight becoming an alicorn, and I wanted to express how epic that would be. I also wanted to physically play a whole song for once. What do you think? Please subscribe if you like it!

[Alycs]

I don't know whether its intentional or not, but you were gradually speeding up your tempo throughout the song, especially in the 0:20-0:58 section. Playing piano myself, I know that speeding up is annoyingly hard to prevent (I usually have a metronome going on my computer and wear headphones so it doesn't interfere with the audio).

Also, while you seem to be really good with hitting the notes and composing melodies, you need a little work on your touch. At the very beginning, your notes were really hard, like you were hitting them with the tip of the finger. You can be loud without being sharp. Try playing the notes with the flat part of the finger (you know, do that thing the teachers tell you never to do, that thing) and instead of pressing the notes, stroke them down (this particular technique was used by Chopin in his songs to produce the rolling melodies and harmonies characterized by his music).

Another thing you might want to try is (I'm only guessing based on sound here) is to "slouch" more. From the sound you're producing from this song, you seem have really good piano posture, and are playing with a straight back. This is unnecessary, try moving with the song a little; you'd be amazed by how different a song sounds depending on how you are sitting.

Overall its really nice. Melody and overall song-wise, it was wonderful; there are just a few technique things that could be worked on.

Good job.

[AndrewClocksin]

I don't know whether its intentional or not, but you were gradually speeding up your tempo throughout the song, especially in the 0:20-0:58 section. Playing piano myself, I know that speeding up is annoyingly hard to prevent (I usually have a metronome going on my computer and wear headphones so it doesn't interfere with the audio).

Also, while you seem to be really good with hitting the notes and composing melodies, you need a little work on your touch. At the very beginning, your notes were really hard, like you were hitting them with the tip of the finger. You can be loud without being sharp. Try playing the notes with the flat part of the finger (you know, do that thing the teachers tell you never to do, that thing) and instead of pressing the notes, stroke them down (this particular technique was used by Chopin in his songs to produce the rolling melodies and harmonies characterized by his music).

Another thing you might want to try is (I'm only guessing based on sound here) is to "slouch" more. From the sound you're producing from this song, you seem have really good piano posture, and are playing with a straight back. This is unnecessary, try moving with the song a little; you'd be amazed by how different a song sounds depending on how you are sitting.

Overall its really nice. Melody and overall song-wise, it was wonderful; there are just a few technique things that could be worked on.

Good job.

Wow! Thanks for the detailed critique!

Speeding up was intentional at the beginning after the short intro; that's the main part I wanted to build up the tempo and volume in. I tried to vary the tempo a little bit throughout the song for the different sections, as opposed to having more of a fixed tempo.

I see what you mean about the notes. I will definitely work on my technique; honestly, I haven't played much piano for the last several years, and I only took lessons for a very short time. I don't really read sheet music, I just compose and memorize my own stuff. I'll try the techniques you mentioned to help smooth out my sound.

Ironically, I actually have been trying to slouch less when I play (normally I get into my songs a lot and I lean forward over the keys, I guess it's sort of an expressive posture for me) but it does make a lot of sense to "move with the song" and relax a little bit. I'll take note of my posture next time I play and see if it's affecting my playing.

Also, I did use a little bit of compression on the recorded track to make the quieter sections more audible, which also could have lead to some notes sounding too loud or sharp. As it is, my microphone is still rather low-end, so the quality suffers a little bit.

I really appreciate that you took the time to make these notes and let me know your thoughts on my work. Thank you, and I'll definitely take all your advice into account for my future piano songs!