This is some great piano playing:)

And what great sound in them keys. It sounds soooo goood. You're a good pianoplayer Mr. Stebbe.

I only wish it lasted longer....

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love that almost harp sound in the beginning to go with the rest of some
of the best music that has been on this site.

A real treat John, your getting high marks from me.

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Tastefully played, as always, but, like thoddi, I wish it had gone on a lot
longer. I'm not sure why it's as short as it is; the long intro seems to
be setting up a much lengthier piece. But, as I always tell my students,
better to leave 'em wanting more than vice versa.

This is a mighty impressive piano sound. Never heard anything like it!

I'm curious about your recording process. Do you just hit "record" and
begin playing, or do you do some editing after the fact? Your playing
always has a wonderfully natural feel to it.

Looking forward to more!

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Thanks a lot, Clark. Yes, it's rather brief. It just comes out that way
sometimes.

Do I just hit "record?" Well, yes and no. I hit "record" several dozen times
before I get a take that I like. Even then, I go back and do some editing here
and there.

I have found that practicing without the record button on does me no good.
(Unless it's the very early stages of rehearsal.) I have to believe somewhere
inside me that this might be the take that other people hear. It's the next
best thing to being in a live performance situation. When I used to teach
piano lessons, I would sometimes tell my students, "Record yourself playing
this piece on a cassette tape, and when it's as good as you can make it, then
bring that tape to me." The students who took this advice seriously invariably
improved markedly in that one week. Sometimes you just don't know how
bad you sound (or how good, to be fair) until you hear yourself played back
on a recording device. That's what makes this age of computer music and
super-high fidelity recording so wonderful for performers. They have more
tools than ever before to critique themselves, and to learn from hearing their
own performances.

---
My jazz piano CD on the<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=79324809&s=143441"> iTunes Music Store</a>.

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Excellent playing, John.
So does this preset have an extra low octave like a Bosendorfer?

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Thanks, Mungo.

Sounds like you really know your pianos! I wonder how many other MJers
know about that unique aspect of the Bosendorfer.

All the pianos in Ivory can be transposed down, lower than the ear can
appreciate. (Or up.) But as to whether the creators of Ivory actually sampled
those extra low notes on a real Bosendorfer? For that kind of money, I hope
so! But I don't know.


---
My jazz piano CD on the<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=79324809&s=143441"> iTunes Music Store</a>.

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John, thanks for answering.
I look forward to hearing more of your work utilizing these samples.

---
Ars longa, vita brevis.

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Well, ok...Yes. I guess I am.

From the first notes of this piece, I was thinking 'wow' at the sound, but
that was quickly replaced by 'wow...listen to him PLAY!"
Beautiful, and such skill at the keyboard. You just glide over those notes
and it sounds so effortless.

Waiting for the next one. :)

Thanks for this one!


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YOU are one smooth cat...love your chops. I wanted more

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settled down in some dark and smokey cocktail lounge somewhere sipping on my black russian and..... the music ended!!! john!! please!!! the bear and i need this piece again but with three times (at least) more in the middle - come on - i've got a drink to finish here!! xxx

ps - it is another d/l and i love it - just make it longer!!! x

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wow - sounds like it's worth all those dvds!

brilliant playing! sounds great.

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Kicks total ass. I don't consider it jazz, is much more classical, but
sounds fantastic and is extremely well played and written.

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The tone is real fine as is the playing!

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The tone is real fine as is the playing!

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DANG, man! Those samples are just STUNNING! Are these all on your base
hard drive? How big exactly IS Ivory 1.5?? Amazing! Just amazing! Makes
everything else pale in comparison! Great job on the tune, too!

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40gb, and it's on an external LaCie drive. Even if you had enough room on
your main HD to store it, it would not work there (so the Ivory tech people
told me). You have to store it externally. I think the reason is so that
workload of reading the MIDI data, sending that to Ivory, having Ivory create
the sound, and having that sound bounced to disk, would be spread between
the two hard drives. My eMac can just barely keep up with it, although I do
have sufficient resources to drive it (barely).

But if you're a pianist who likes to make recordings regularly (and cheaply), a
program like Ivory (and there are a couple of other similar titles out there)
becomes indispensable after you've used it for awhile. I wonder how I got
along without it for so long!

Software like this is pricey (around 350.00), but compared to booking "real"
studio time, it's a bargain.

Thanks for the kind words, Cantor, and everyone else.

---
My jazz piano CD on the<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=79324809&s=143441"> iTunes Music Store</a>.

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Incredible. That's a piano period. Forget about it, and keep up the
beautiful work!

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Incredible. That's a piano period. Forget about it, and keep up the
beautiful work!

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Thanks again for this piece. I love the texture and the style. NIce to
hear you again. I always look for your stuff first, and am never
disappointed.

Love the sound of the new Ivory. Thinking that may be my next
purchase.

Very nicely crafted with just the right amount of flash and color. I like
the tenderness and chord voicings after the whole tone scales. Then,
just to fool us, a little funk added for good measure. I would love to
hear you develop this tune and add a trio in the back.

Great playing, as usual.




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But now I have something to download. Short, but nice. That keyboard
sound in combination with your playing is smoooooooth. Your playing
sounds so natural, yet sophisticated. I really loved it.

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Well, first of all the Synthogy Ivory instrument sounds outstanding! The
sustain and resonance is amazingly realistic.

The piece itself is well beyond my meager musicianship. I'm not much
one for solo piano pieces, but this is infinitely enjoyable. The transition
into the jazz vibe feels completely natural. I too wish this piece was
longer and continued to explore the relationship between the jazz and
classical elements. This is a fine composition exceptionally well-
rendered.

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Things have come a long way for keyboards. I remember an odd colored
Vox that my friend Doug had. How he would have liked to have this
machine.

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Outstanding sound and playing. Good writing too.

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