Really nice piece, Tobin. It sure sounds good when you
have the full range of the piano sampled. Very full sound.
Lovely melody. Reminds me of listening to George
Winston in the winter when I was going to school in
Colorado.

There are some points where I wish for a gentler touch on
the keys, but mostly the performance sounds like just the
right touch.

[ Reply to This ]

Thanks. About the amount of light/heavy touch used in this piece: It was a
choice to tend toward the confident as opposed to the sweet, to keep it from
becoming too sentimental, if that makes sense. There is a kind of anthem
quality to the piece, but the Bosendorfer samples spread or splash a bit when
pushed. Yet my commission's ears, after hearing my first version, wanted it to
show more passion, so this is what I wanted to achieve, a sense of boiling
beneath a restrained surface. I've listened to recordings of Bosendorfer
grands and this actually compares very well. What people often forget is that
the AU necessarily emulates a recording of a piano, not the sound a piano
makes live. A piano is very difficult to mic. So the AU must be compared to a
recording, not a live performance. Also, the AIFF has much more resonance in
the bass than this mp3.

[ Reply to This ]

I love this piece, and the lower range, the bass notes are
stunning. For me, in the mid range, the piano sounds a
little thin, or tinny. Maybe this has something to do with
the 'compression' you mention in the description. It lacks
the warmth of a real piano--and I'm guessing that is in
the recording, not in the playing.

Beautiful, moving work.

[ Reply to This ]

It was my experience with this compressed mp3 file that it sounds much
better in headphones, where the hammer action and other audio details can
be heard. The AIFF is much warmer. But thanks for noticing the warmth in the
composition itself. That is what is really important, for me.

[ Reply to This ]

This piece sounds really really good and is a pleasure to
listen to. Download worthy! :-)

[ Reply to This ]

Thanks. I love it how your ears appreciate everything.

[ Reply to This ]

Lovely piece...very moving as stated above- very beautifully done.

[ Reply to This ]

The piano sound is very good, and respectable in its tone
quality.

It especially comes alive when you include bass notes,
though. The mid-range by itself, to my ears, is ever-so-
slightly dry.

Could this be remedied somewhat by a little more sustain?
Or would that be too muddy?

I really like the voicings you use on this piece; they are
very rich and full.

This is definitely an excellent example of New Age piano
composition and playing.

You captured Suzanne's impish facial expression perfectly
in the song art. (ducking)

[ Reply to This ]

Thanks for noticing the voicings. I paid special attention to them in this
composition. As for the use of hold pedal, I wanted to keep it at a minimum
for contrasting reasons, in that many other pieces in this series use a lot of
sustain pedal so i wanted this one to be slightly more present. I tried to
capture a chamber room ambience, nothing larger.

[ Reply to This ]

This is really moving. I'd like to hear some strings added.
Excellently played.

[ Reply to This ]

I enjoy a good piano tune and this does not disappoint. :)
I see that someone bombed this song. It almost looks like a 4-bomb - I'm not very good at reading those little charts . lol

[ Reply to This ]

it shines with softness and beginnings, with simplicity and unp[osken passion, spoken with restraint from a precious genius. when you started this solo piano series, you told me you were asked to write songs that "opened up the spirit." for me, this piece does that and more. all these comments about the sound of the piano plug in, aren't they beside the point? makes it sound like you are the sound designer of the AU instead of the composer/performer of the song. i let myself hear your music and it truly opens me, like a morning whisper. thank you for this.

[ Reply to This ]

Hi, Suzanne! When Tobin first submitted a piece using this piano sound, I was
under the impression that he wanted comments and observations about it. I
think it sounds very good for the most part, and I truly enjoyed Tobin's
composition and performance on this. In no way did I mean to denigrate.

[ Reply to This ]

thanks. oh, and that is me in the far right corner of the photo... I look much more like me in the 8x10 version. cape cod is my favorite place on earth.

---
morning girl

[ Reply to This ]

Cameron's right, I had asked for AU reviews when I posted the first three
songs of the commission on my ArtsForge website. Now that I've played with
the AU more, I'm not using the Ivory Bosendorfer any more, since I don't
really like its mid-range responsiveness, even tho I think it is on a par or
better than several Deutsche Grammophon recordings I have. As I move
forward with the series of songs, I am concerned only with composition,
though; and performances that highlight the music well. (Oh, Suzanne,
thanks for making Cape Cod one of my favorite places too.)

[ Reply to This ]

It seems like it is always a treat to go to your music.

The picture is so beautiful.

The music is blends in nice with the photo.
Great job as usual!

[ Reply to This ]

Nice piece. It definitely has a "take you there" quality. I must, being me, however agree with pgreenstone...I was distracted by the forte treatment of many of the passages.....there was a dynamic surge to the rhythmic ebb and flow to be sure, I was wanting a less-heavy touch.

[ Reply to This ]

This sounds real good to my ear. My ear is not so
nearly fine-tuned to the nuances of piano as others,
so I cannot suggest any way this can be improved.

Technically, the things I listen for are the singularity
of notes and chords vs. reverb/sustain levels,
quantization vs. floating rhythm, and overall
frequency response. Artistically, I am hopeful a song
can evoke a feeling. This composition satisfies both
hemispheres of my brain.

So, Tobin, you really had a hand in developing New
Age music? Awesome.

[ Reply to This ]

Thanks for your lovely comments. About the New Age scene, yes. When I was
just out of college, after my Third Wave jazz days had run their course, I
began experimenting with a different style of playing. I wrote some
incidental music for theatre, solo piano and cello pieces in this style,
thinking I was doing something unique, and was stunned and thrilled to hear
others developing the same sound. It was like a parallel muse was moving
through us all. Something about the times. Trying to find a way to express a
vision of fulfillment, a sense of the power of peace, an alternative to
improvisation yet wanting to create a free floating sense of structure within
highly composed pieces. So we shared and inspired and cross-pollinated. I
am enjoying revisiting the feeling playing like this brings.

[ Reply to This ]

We'll call you Historic Tobin! Bravo.

Ah, but you are a man for all seasons. You continue your musical journey and
we at MacJams are honored to help you in the dispersal and collection of new
seeds of inspiration.

---
www.schletty.com/indwellings/

[ Reply to This ]

Ok, I've never sat behind a Boesendorfer, but I've played
occasional Steinway Ds, and these bass notes don't sound
real to me. The midrange sound fine, though.

[ Reply to This ]

I've sat behind one and, yes, the sound does not compare to the experience
of playing live. One of the things I had to get used to. Now I merely want to
experience a great recorded emulation, not a live sound (or feel,
sense you can feel the sound of a real piano in the air, too). Truly, before any
bouncing to disk is done, the sound I get from this AU while playing is
excellent. The very sounds inspired me to keep playing. But the process, from
iTunes to mp3 conversion, all takes away from the total resonance. As I have
wished throughout my years in the studio, I wish everyone could hear what I
hear before mix down, right off the pre-master. (By the way, the Yamaha
grand in Ivory sounds better than both the Bosendorfer and Steinway, so go
figure. What the Bosendorfer gives you are a few extra keys in the bottom
range, which is fun.)

[ Reply to This ]

Beautifully played Tobin.

SlimGirlFat

[ Reply to This ]

I can understand your frustration at not being able to
capture the original richness of tone in the final
mixdown, but the soul of the piece comes shining
through regardless. A lovely performance.

[ Reply to This ]

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I have to comment on
the S&M Typo in the song name... "Whipsers"? Maybe only
I thought that was very funny.

But on to the music. Beautiful... very expressive and
flowing. The really low notes are indeed almost too rich,
and are on the verge of synthetic sounding, however, that
brings up a point you and others touched on in these
comments. My step-daughter plays piano, and mentioned
that one of the things she loves about playing is the
visceral tactile feedback she gets from the vibration of the
instrument back up her arms and resonance in her body
from being right there by the instrument (this is really
true of all instrument playing, not just pianos.) Listening
to a sampled piano, no matter how well played, can never
capture the vibrant intamacy of "being there." Tobin,
you're right that a lot of "soul" gets stripped out when you
squish a piano through MP3 compression, and the listener
just hears vibrating paper speaker cones instead.
However, your dynamic style of playing shines through
and the rich sound of the piano sounds very good, and
the composition is gorgeous... so, um, I liked it a lot! :-)
Suzanne's lucky, she can stand there and get that piano
buzz.
ttfn,
Drakonis

[ Reply to This ]

like George Snads, i prefer to lay underneath, or sit on the floor. good vibrations. and lucky, yes. i thank my lucky stars.

---
morning girl

[ Reply to This ]

drakonis, nice catch on the title typo! (I fixed it!) And thank you for your
wonderful comments. I definitely feel more than just the sounds when I play.

[ Reply to This ]

Man, you have the greatest chord changes. So effortless, and so subtely complex. Love the rhythm between 4ths, 5ths, 6ths. Do people really get how difficult that is? to write? Sure, this is masterful new age piano writin, but its beauty transcends emulation. I can tell you were in the front lines of this genre, before it became soft jazz. This is original, as are you.

[ Reply to This ]

This piece was a beautiful as a New England sunset on the
Cape Cod coastline. Absolutely stunning photograph as
well!

[ Reply to This ]

...and didn't I come upon this tune tonight by
happenstance, with a bit of artwork that looks like it was
shot from the cottage at which we stayed...

The tune is pretty nice, too. It has the George Winston feel
to some extent, and in my headphones it sounds quite
rich, full, yet clear, which can be hard to do with a piano
recording. There is a speck of some sort of distortion
when some notes are pushed, but I bet I don't hear them
in the open air over speakers...

Downloaded in any case.

[ Reply to This ]

Way cool. Do you recognize the exact place I was standing when I took the photo? Wonderful spot. I re-recorded this for the CD, by the way, so there's no distortion on the actual track.

[ Reply to This ]

Since I grew up with a musical family,although I spent more time painting, this is a great song, performed in the best quality I have heard in years.
thanx for all you all have allowed me to hear again.
Seamus

[ Reply to This ]

I write very visual music and was happy to hear you are also a painter. Thanks for listening with open eyes!

[ Reply to This ]