Chopin, Nocturne, E minor, opus 72 #1, Piano Solo

[Wevitox87]

Never heard this before and even though I'm not that into this kind of music, I really liked this piece. No wonder why Chopin is a favorite.

[JPWISERS]

Did experimenting with drugs in college years attribute to the creation of the MAM? Watching these reminds me of numerous hallucinogen trips I've had.

[smalin]

@JPWISERS Yes, those experiences did lead to these animations, but not in a direct way. I've added an "about" link to the info for this video; if you read the recent interviews there (the ones from this year), you'll get a pretty good idea of what led to what.

[snotsbuttwax]

@smalin Wow.. Did not see that comin.

[dagorlad3]

smalin, I think I'm in love with this style of video, you should make framed prints of this, its really awesome.

[hubba1944]

II, also love what you do................you can now say you're the perfect blend of

the artist and technician.

[torylinnangel]

literally the color of music. beautiful peice.

[zinglonsale]

Are you a synesthete? Is that why you chose the colors that you did (tonic blue, dominant red etc.)

[DieuDesDouze]

Sometimes, I pretend I'm Mario running up and down the blocks of notes.

[TheMooseman300]

@DieuDesDouze lol epic

[dianahobart]

Amazing!

[TimFreud]

This is excellent, Mr. Malinowski. Congratulations.

[fleurtastic]

WOW >.<

I can't play this piece, much less write a software. Bravo!

[marphaman]

I am addicted now to your videos. Great work both in visual and performance.

[dannes22]

One of  my favorites so far, it really has an calming effect.

[AntuQum]

I am repeating myself, amazing! Great colors great shape great play of the light. New form of art.

[73saxman]

@smalin you should do a saxophone piece like the Creston sonata. that would be awesome. I love what you do by the way. its very amazing

[originofdespair]

inspiring



[ceahgal24]

What program do you use?

[smalin]

@ceahgal24 I use software I wrote myself.

[xlinkx1234]

I would like to speak on the behave on all that listen and those who understand.

Thank you.

[BlindSoothsayer]

This is wonderful.

[fjn219]

You played this piece? I really like your performance!!

[smalin]

@fjn219 Thanks!

[jegawaeyo]

Hello,

I wonder how did you come up with "Fryderyck Chopin", what kind of spelling is that? You're always such a perfectionist therefore I may be the one to err.

[smalin]

@jegawaeyo  Chopin was born in Poland, and that is the Polish spelling of his name.

[jegawaeyo]

@smalin If you meant Polish, the correct spelling is Fryderyk. I live in Poland and it caught my attention. Other than that, great performance. Btw. are you Polish (based on your surname, it could have Polish origin)?

[smalin]

@jegawaeyo Oops, my mistake (I'm slightly dyslexic, so I didn't see that).

My father's parents were born in Poland and came to this country before the First World War. His father died before I was born, and I only met his mother a few times when I was very young. My father didn't learn any Polish from them. My only connection to Poland is that I ate some food that my mother cooked based on recipes she learned from her mother-in-law.

[bachopinberg]

@smalin I'm wondering how your being dyslexic has to do with your great work on music. I think I'm a little dyslexic too (and that's not so good when you earn a living by reading music) and I've done a hard work on myself and I like your post so much! Good job (and sorry for my english, I'm italian)

[bachopinberg]

@bachopinberg *postS

[aSongScout]

Looks like a bunch of little vuvuzelas

[rleb09]

@aSongScout HAHAHA.

[smalin]

@MareAustralis68 Don't worry --- I already have enough ideas for videos to keep me busy for many lifetimes.

[Mentord]

Bravoooooooooooooo

[NickRobo1994]

im assuming this a human interpretation, and if so, you should do more.

[guitarninja86]

This is gorgeous playing, sir. Very well done. I can't stop watching this.

[mysterioso2006]

I've been looking for some music to help ease my internet-insomnia. Thank you, smalin, for yet again providing such a calm, musically beautiful piece.

[ikschrijflangenamen]

Have you ever considered the Carmina Burana from Carl Orff?

[smalin]

@ikschrijflangenamen Sure, I've considered pretty much every well-known piece by every well-known composer. I don't think Carmina Burana would gain much from being visualized (at least, not by me).

[ikschrijflangenamen]

@smalin Not by you? Do you mean anyone other than you could do it better?

*mind crashing*

[smalin]

@ikschrijflangenamen Sure --- someone who was more into impressionistic, creative visualizations. As a composer, I'm more interested in revealing the structure of the music than in providing a personal interpretation or addition to it.

[e22design]

Amazing work.

But, why did you choose to upload a digital interpretation of yours at the expense of the beautiful harmonics of a recording, as you used to do before?

I know it takes more time, but the result was perfect.

[smalin]

@e22design By doing it this way, I could include the dynamics accurately.

[e22design]

@smalin That's why you are the man that makes the videos, and we are the people who see them. haha

Thanks again for your channel.

[Fuzzy3676]

I like the other renderings better. I feel cheated of some essential quality with this one. I know I'm not, but somehow the other renderings convey the composition much better to me

[smalin]

@Fuzzy3676 By "renderings" are you referring to the graphics, or to the performance?

[Fuzzy3676]

@smalin visually the graphics in your other videos seem to satisfy the music more than in this one.

[smalin]

@Fuzzy3676 I agree. This was the first experiment with this new design. I'm working on a piece by Debussy now, in which it plays a smaller role (but with more notes and thicker outlines), and I hope it will be more effective there.

[fountainmusicstudio]

I really like being able to see the upcoming notes - this is a grand graphic example to my students (and me!) of how we should be reading at EVERY ability level - you're playing *here*, but you're looking/thinking ahead *there*. I'm exam-prepping this one myself and enjoyed your refreshing 'minimal-pedal, minimal-rubato' approach (though I'll be adding a wee bit more pedal, I think ;)

[muffinsarelife1]

You need to do more chopin.

[smalin]

@muffinsarelife1  I hope to do all of it.

[Sapphira514]

Can you make a video for Chopin's "Aeolian Harp" Etude if you haven't already? It's one of my favorite Etudes :)

[ArchaicMusics]

How would it look if you couldn't see the notes about to be played but see the ones already played? I like these bars a lot :)

[smalin]

@ArchaicMusics Cover up the right side with a piece of paper and see for yourself.

[ssimmons0602]

I can't play a note and don't know anything about music but I enjoy your videos very much.

[DonnieTheKing]

This is definitely going to be the next piece I learn; thank you for sharing!

[flippert0]

Stephen, this attack-decay Design is remarkable yet unobtrusive, One can still Tolkien without distraction. nice Performance, btw.!

[Blostma]

@smalin Have you studied light's effects on music? You're videos are very calming.

[goldenhog]

incredible!

[Wootve]

i love it, nice animation :)

[forscyvus]

This is a good idea for the strike-decay nature of piano notes. I like the design.

[killinusoon]

just out of curiosity, is there anyway this software can be used in real time? It would be pretty interesting to see a visual representation such as this as a piece is being played

[smalin]

@killinusoon Well, yes and no ... and also maybe. Yes: you can play from a MIDI instrument into the software. But No: it won't show you what's coming. And Maybe: I'm working on a version that will allow you to synchronize a preexisting animation with a live performance.

[killinusoon]

@smalin thanks for the reply, I was interested in the maybe part. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with...

[sunnywiz]

Thank you for doing this. i look forward to your videos... there is so much classical music out there its overwhelming... so i use your feed as a way to narrow it down, and I can then SEE how it relates. Its beautiful.

[FuzzyConstant]

This is amazing! Thank you so much! I can see how it got 152 likes in 17 hours, 

[triclops20]

Incredible! What algorithm did you use for width, because it looks like a width = c/x + a (where c and a are modified by volume), but I am not sure.

[smalin]

@triclops20 I measured the envelopes of 240 sample notes (these varied by pitch and key velocity). For a day or so I tried to model these accurately, but finally decided that they were too irregular to be worth the trouble, and went for a simple model: decay rate varies by pitch, and starting loudness varies by key velocity and pitch. I started off mapping to dB, but because it was in log space, it was too linear, so I added a power function. (In other words, I just faked it.)

[triclops20]

@smalin Well, it worked well, this is probably my favorite out of the ones you have done. Also, may I ask what lib you use to get the raw data input, or is it a custom one?

[smalin]

@triclops20 I'm not sure which "raw data" you're referring to. The data from the sample notes (from the Acoustica Pianissimo software) were saved as .wav files and read into Matlab, where the amplitude envelopes were extracted. But the performance data was stored in a MIDI file, and read by my animation software.

[triclops20]

@smalin The former. Thanks for the info! Now, if only I could afford Matlab :D.

[smalin]

@triclops20 Yeah, it is pricey. The last company I worked for provided it for their engineers, and I got to like it. When I left, I had to ask myself: is it worth it? I decided it was, but when I was younger and poorer, I would have gone the other way.

[triclops20]

@smalin It is unfortunate that I am about to head into college, I won't be affording anything for a long time.

[EffTheSystem]

@triclops20 You could always get lucky at college; the computers in the lab at my school have Matlab installed and are available 24/7.

[ZucchiniSky]

Excellent visualization! The colors are a bit too subdued, however--it's too hard to see them without full-screening the video.

[smalin]

@ZucchiniSky Yes, agree (that's why I put the note in the "Show more" section). This was my first experiment with this new visualization mode, and it's still got a long way to go. The next one using it should be better.

[kingdomatthi]

Thank you so much! You saved my day again!

[Madgod112]

This looks absolutely thrilling and I believe it would look even more so if, say, the finale from Piano Sonata op 58 were involved. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

[orendi2]

Il y a là une telle adéquation musique / image que l'on pourrait presque parler d'hynose. Bravo Mr Malinowski et merci. Full screen in dark room is perfect !

[pbalwaysinformed]

very beautiful. I hope you make more from chopin.

[melof29]

Beautiful.

[FFRPianist]

This is definitely my favorite visual style so far. Awesome. :)

[Mhorstable]

This is a fantastic effect! Wow! This and the Flying Thread that wraps around the little circles are my absolute favorites!

[TomasMikaX]

Have you considered doing this with some more challenging music like Schoenberg for example?

[smalin]

@TomasMikaX I try to stick with music that I understand.

[TomasMikaX]

@smalin Would you say you don't like contemporary classical music?

[smalin]

@TomasMikaX No ... just that I am not familiar with much of it. There are some contemporary classical pieces I know and like.

[jeroen556]

Great piece

[KyotoMelody]

You are so creative! Thank you!

[sophlover]

Thank you for your work. It is appreciated. 

[joseramon1402]

Absolutly beautiful. Very good the animation. 

[RayasNegroOvejas]

Have you done Schubert or Schumann?

[MagicDolphinGO]

@RayasNegroOvejas i second this nomination

[smalin]

@RayasNegroOvejas No, but I probably will eventually.

[sirhonestharry]

@smalin You should really consider "Serenade Stanchen" (umblot on second a) by Franz Schubert... its a really beautiful piece. it was one that Franz Liszt transcribed.

[MaxedMusicArts]

Thx for this new upload. Wathcing your videos while listening to chopin is heaven :D

I enjoyed the new animation style allthough i prefer the spheres. Here in this video you couldnt recognize the 16 th notes or anything faster than that, They were just small dots or a big mass of colour.

[pattyfromtoledo]

I LOVE the graphics on this one ~ the colors are stunning (and I could certainly watch this one even without the music) ~ you are a beautiful artist!

[Menegoth]

This was beautiful. I wouldn't mind seeing some more Satie, though ;)

[Shade1453]

Favorite Chopin piece in the world. Thank you so much for posting it.

[CANELAYCHOCOLATE]

i´ts beatifull

[MayorAmazing]

Fantastic

[XArcane]

There's an interesting way of viewing this. If you hold "CTRL + ALT + RIGHT ARROW" and hit full screen, you can tilt the screen on an LCD to 'erase' the unplayed notes, and you will see a simpler view, the piece as a pianist plays it. Then "CRL + ALT + UP ARROW" to go back to the normal view, the rises and cadences of the actual music. Gives a nice visual experience on the whole.

[RicSantiagoBrasil]

When I watch these Smalin videos, I like to try to identify how sound qualities are being represented.

Here, I see represented one factor that seldom is: the intensity of sound pressure. Stronger played notes have larger bars. Great!

If I may be so bold, I would suggest that, instead of each note's color being completely ramdomly assigned, they were assigned on a "rainbow scale" (A to Red, B to orange, ... G to purple) and that lighter colors be used on higher octaves and darker on lower).

[XArcane]

@RicSantiagoBrasil The colours aren't randomly assigned btw. And the intensity of sound being displayed isn't new, in other videos the intensity of sound is depicted by the vibrancy of colour. This is just a much stronger way of depicting sound intensity.

[RicSantiagoBrasil]

@XArcane: Ok, if you say the colors aren't randomly assigned, would you be so kind as to enlighten me what is the criterium for the assignment? For instance, why green just above purple on the 4th and 5th first notes that are played?

And, yes, I concur that intensity being displayed is not never-seen-before. That's why I said "seldom" instead of "never".

[smalin]

@RicSantiagoBrasil The colors are not assigned randomly. The pitches from the musician's "circle of fifths" (the order that shows a fundamental harmonic relation) is mapped one-to-one to the artist's "color wheel." I'll put a link to a fuller explanation in the descriptive text accompanying the video.

[awsomedrummer100]

i would like see an animation like this for chopin's revolutionary etude

[smalin]

@awsomedrummer100 I hope to do all the Chopin etudes eventually.

[AlanKey86]

I like how you experiment with the animation so much. This style is partricularly beautiful.

[Rargeful]

Another beautiful animation

[cacai35]

heart wrenchingly beautiful! you are a genius, stephen.

[dmitrybachinsky]

Hi there! Thanks for this very interesting interpretation. What piano did you use for this recording?



[smalin]

@dmitrybachinsky The Acoustica Pianissimo software.

[ApsisApocynthion]

That is good....

[TheNineinchsnails]

Smalin is one of the few youtubers I would pay almost any fee to watch his videos.

[smalin]

@TheNineinchsnails  Feel free to throw money.

[Vesivian]

@smalin How about doing some Schubert? :) Such as the A minor d.784 sonata? :D

[nannymac47]

@smalin I concur with nineinchnails.

[nannymac47]

Beautiful! Enchanting! Visually stunning!

[AWiddit]

@TheNineinchsnails $40?

[nannymac47]

@TheNineinchsnails I concur.

[Telltolin]

You should do some liszt

[smalin]

@Telltolin I would if I were a better pianist. My DVD has Liszt's best-known Hungarian Rhapsody on it (performed by Miles Graber); it looks wonderful (the chromatic passages are especially effective).

[amadeus5889]

Simply gorgeous.

[Astrobrant2]

What a marvelous piece of music! I thought at some time during my life I had heard just about everything Chopin wrote, but this one doesn't sound familiar at all. You just made my day.

I couldn't help thinking how wonderful this would sound on guitar, if it can be done.

(Now to listen to it again. This time without the video. I know you understand why that's not an insult.)

[smalin]

@Astrobrant2 The last time guitarist James Edwards (I've done some videos with his performances) came to visit, he plied me with liquor and got me to play a bunch of Chopin. He'd been thinking of forming an ensemble to do arrangements of Chopin's music, and he came away more enthusiastic about the idea than ever (I think it's a great idea too).

I don't mind you listening to my videos without watching them. The music is primary; the video is just a way in for people who need it.

[Astrobrant2]

@smalin Since posting, I found a guitar duet of this. As I anticipated, it sounded very Spanish, with the couple of Chopin clues in it. If a piece is just too difficult to do with one guitar, then do it with two. So much of Chopin's music would lend itself so well to guitar ensembles. But *what* a serenade one guy could make out of Chopin alone!

I always watch your videos first. The graphics are a great complement to the music. It doesn't distract nearly as much a watching a performer.

[hoopssheaffer]

I always love your uploads, your channel is a true inspiration to me as a musician and computer scientist!

[DontFearGrim]

@hoopssheaffer I'm not a musician or a computer scientist, but I certainly enjoy good music.

[6efektif2008]

Splendid :]

[Thejin2027]

Thank you so much for uploading this. You're work is always appreciated by many including me. Please don't stop making these. Through them, I'm learning to appreciate music more and more each day.