Last month, I decided it was time for me finally get a piano here in Beijing. Since then, I’ve practiced almost every morning, which is a great feeling. My goal is to not only get back to where I used to be, but to actually become a decent jazz pianist.
I’ll occasionally post recordings of my playing here, to track my progress. This is my first one.
To start, I thought I should learn a technically demanding piece, and I picked Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin because stride piano grew out of ragtime, but in ragtime, everything is written down, so it would be a good start.
This recording isn’t the best I’ve played it over the last month (or even the last day), but I realized this morning that I’ve been trying so hard to make a 100% perfect recording that I’m sacrificing time actually improving my overall technique. Therefore, this is me playing Maple Leaf Rag this morning:
Any suggestions for something I should record next?
July 5, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Thank you, Michael. Please play some more! Mom
February 4, 2012 at 10:49 pm
I have also been quite keen to get a piano in Beijing. There as a piano shop very close to me in Shuangjing that I would indulge myself every night home but didn’t buy. I don’t know how to play but something says “do this! do this!”
February 5, 2012 at 12:18 pm
You definitely should get a piano! I bought a Yamaha P85, which is small, but has a full-size keyboard, weighted keys, and a good sound. It was around 2000 RMB on Gulou Dong Dajie. If you don’t know how to play, there are also a number of schools around (one of my friend’s wife is a teacher at one), but I haven’t really looked into which is best.