Goldberg Variations, Vars. 7-13

[awreckingball]

Very nice! is the touch soft enough to play bach easily? On the Kawais and Yamahas I find the keys too stiff/hard to play to play trills and fast runs.

[pianoglen]

@awreckingball I can't compare it -- I haven't tried it on Kawais or Yamahas. But I was reasonably satisfied. The action was faster than the real Baldwin upright I had owned before I got this keyboard.

[Achtelnote]

very good.you deserve a real piano.

[pianoglen]

@Achtelnote Thanks, Achtelnote!

[HOMEOPATICWOMAN]

bach es genial.. muy bien tocado..

[Bosterd]

omg, thats amazing, you made my day, and I usually am very difficult in apreciating the goldberg variations.

They are my favorit piano pieces but I usually have the feeling the pianist misses the point that is valuable to me =)

Amazing!

[pianoglen]

@Bosterd Thanks so much, Bosterd!

[Bosterd]

@pianoglen

I can't wait to start playing them myself its kind of my goal in piano.

I'm playing for almost 3 years, but without lessons, but the last year I play 1-2 hours a day.

I'm pretty sure I can get started on the Aria, and I will very soon, I don't care if it takes a long time, I never get tired of messing with Bach even if its far above my level.

But could you by any chance suggest which variations would be good to start with?

[pianoglen]

@Bosterd I think it's great that you're learning the piece. I'm not sure where is best to start. I started with the second variation because I liked it and then went through in order from there. One person has made a table ranking the variations by how difficult he thinks they are ... that may be useful to you. Google "Bach's Goldberg Variations demystified." Best of luck!

[HerrWarja]

Tempo di Gige, my favorite! :-D I also like the fugetta and no. 14 very much.

[pianoglen]

@HerrWarja I like these as well!

[itchyb00]

Can i ask you? How long have you been learning music before posting this video? I just started learning piano for about 1 week now. How long you think till i'll be able to play like you? Oh yea, i'm learning my music off the computer.

[pianoglen]

I wish I could give you a good answer to how long it will take you, but I really don't know. It definitely depends on how much you practice. It took me two and a half years to memorize this piece, but I had been playing piano for a long time before that. I'm sure some people could learn it faster, and others slower, but it depends on a lot of things. Anyway, I think the goal is to enjoy the learning process, regardless of where you end up. Good luck!

[4martijn]

Nice! But next time: try hitting the harpsichord-button on that machine of yours! I get the feeling it would help you in interpretation too...What a great piece of music this is, right?

[pianoglen]

Thanks for the comment, 4martijn. I actually have played it with the harpsichord sound, and others too. I happen to like it on the piano best, although it's of course a personal preference. Anyway, yes, an incredible piece of music.

[mlintin]

AMAZING! heres a tip: try to get in to the sort of groove, ur a little to stiff and ur playing it roboticly,like ur hands arent a part of ur body. try to get ur hole body into playing the peice, regardless, u still play it amazing!

[pianoglen]

Thanks, mlintin!

[ChloroformKip]

Amazing. You sound like you are pro, are you a music college student or already earning a living giving recitals ?

[pianoglen]

Thanks very much, ChloroformKip! I'm no longer a student, and I don't earn a living from this -- it's just a serious hobby, something I am passionate about.

[juanboecke]

wonderfull !!!!

thanks for your music

[pianoglen]

Thank you for the kind words!

[museIKplox]

I just ordered an FP-7. I hope it turns out to be perfect for me.

lol. The part where you had to cross over was cool lookin'.

[pianoglen]

muselKplox: good luck with your FP-7! Thanks for your comment.

[cirro1]

You would have done better buying a real piano.

I have an FP7 myself. It's ok but has a very noisy keyboard!!

And the keyboard is like all Digitalpianos only a very little similar to the original piano!

[hirstern]

I just bought Roland FP7 and when I set volume to +75% and make fortissimo with accent on the lowest sounds (Touch: Medium). I can hear some noise in speakers. So I cant play Chopin polonaise on full volume because I'm afraid I can break my speakers :(. Do you have the same problem as me? Maybe my FP7 is faulty? Sorry for my bad english.

[pianoglen]

I'm actually not sure, hirstern -- I never set the volume above maybe 60%. I attached the keyboard to an amplifier, with external speakers and a subwoofer. So I never make the volume too high on the keyboard itself. But the internal FP-7 speakers are not the best, I think. The clarity is very good, but I would not be surprised if they can't do full volume. I don't know though.

[hirstern]

Maybe I'll buy some external speakers either.

What model do you have and which do you recommend?

[cyshtoph]

hi, I have the same question as hirstern, which speakers do you use?

[pianoglen]

I'm using a Velodyne VX-10 subwoofer and two Polk Audio R150 bookshelf speakers. These are not high-end speakers, but I think they sound nice enough. I use them in combination with the keyboard speakers. But I don't know too much about speakers, so I'm not sure what to recommend.

[cyshtoph]

thanks, I'm looking for something for my piano too. I really like your vids and approach to the playing, although I didn't play any Bach music for quite some time. cheers

[predoje]

Ok you play this.. you should know ... So, do you know why do you cross your hand?? If you dont know, i will tell you.

[pianoglen]

Thanks for commenting, predoje! One reason I cross my hands is to maintain the separate lines. The right hand plays one line, the left hand plays another line, and that remains true regardless of where the lines move on the keyboard.

[predoje]

NO!!! Thats not real reason! J.S.Bach is composed this for harpsicord, and harpsicord have two manuals- two keyboard.And thats way you cross your hands!! Now you know , its beautifull peace :).

[wiciousbeasts]

whoa, you have spiders instead of fingers. it hurts my brain to watch this!

[pianoglen]

Thanks very much, wiciousbeasts! I assure you, they are fingers, not spiders.

[wiciousbeasts]

well, it's awesome anyway!

[pianoglen]

Thanks!

[zhouzhengtop]

Thats great job mate,

ur vedio broght me a lot of sense in FP-7, which i love best, so I bought one for myself, love that sounds and real keyboard feeling. Have you tried yamaha p140, how did you feel of that?

[pianoglen]

Thank you, zhouzhengtop! I think you will be happy with your FP-7. I can't remember if I tried the p140. I did try some Yamahas, and I liked them, but I liked the FP-7 touch more.

[tombombadl]

ok....that is very nice ..

my favorite piece is no. 8

but i just get the first one ...

i wish that sometimes i will play like you all

of this great work

[pianoglen]

Thanks, tombombadl!

[kbcaz]

Thanks for this. Any more coming?

[pianoglen]

Thank you, kbcaz! There are five other videos up so far, containing the rest of the Goldberg Variations. I'm planning to put more videos up in the future as well ... but it may be a few months before I have something ready. Anyway, thanks for viewing!

[imholding]

Good playing , hey man i was wondering... is the fp-7 a good digital piano, i mean , im studing performance and i need something that feels close to a real piano, im between the fp7 and the kawai mp8 what is best you think?

[pianoglen]

Thanks for the comment, imholding. I think the fp-7 is great. I feel more in control with the fp-7 than I do with many acoustic pianos. That said, it's a matter of personal preference. I never tried the Kawai, so I'm not sure which is better between that and the fp-7. Good luck with your purchase!

[pianoglen]

Thanks, blockleg! To answer your question, I was learning these on my own for around 2.5 years before I posted the six videos. (If you've only seen this one, there are five more!) I still play the variations and continue to try to improve them. Anyway, thanks for the comment!

[blockleg]

Thats great work man, Keep working on them, there are sections where it gets a little muddy but thats okay, youre not Glenn Gould. lol. Are you learning these on your own or are you taking lessons? Either way excellent job, ill look forward for your next upload.