Classical Piano

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With a newly tuned piano, I decided to record one of my favorite of Chopin’s preludes.  Prelude No. 4 in E minor, also know as “Suffocation,” is also one of his more well know preludes.  Chopin did not name his works and in fact would probably disapprove of them being name in such a manner.  Like all of the Op. 28 preludes, No. 4 is a very short piece.  Being only 26 measures in length, it easily fits on a single page of sheet music.  I recorded this piece on a Kawai GM-10K (pictured in the album artwork) I purchased last October.  I tried to accurately portray the true sound of the piano so I did little editing once the recording was complete.  At some point in the future, I’ll write about the equipment I used and how I used it to create the recording.  Believe me, there is a lot write about on the topic of how to record an acoustic piano and I must say I learned a lot in during the recording process.

-Tim

Fryderyk Chopin

I’ve been playing piano for about 5 months now and it has been a lot of fun as well as rewarding even though I’m not taking formal lessons.   I really enjoy classical music, especially works by Chopin.   My goal is to be able to play some or all of his nocturnes,  but I still have a ways to go.   That being said, I still wanted to play at least something he wrote.   So, I decide to try Prelude in E minor No. 4, Op. 28.   The first time I heard it, I thought it was a piece I could learn relatively quickly and I was right.     However, I will say that it is much more difficult to play than it sounds.   While I can play the entire piece, which isn’t long, I still need to practice.   There are a couple complex cords in the left hand I’m still not able to form as quickly as I would like, but I’ve got all the right hand parts down pretty well.   Eventually, I want to record my playing, but until I get the equipment I want to record my piano with, I’ll keep practicing.

-Tim