Rohan Music!

[Theodred]

That's right! Thanks to the ingenuity of Barahir, board members can now upload files of .mp3, .wav, and .midi format. In other words, music! We will eventually be posting rules regarding the posting of un-original music, but in the meantime, check out the Hall of Bards in The Castle for original stuff from Barahir and I. Barahir's already posted three pieces, so check them out and be sure to comment.

For all those not in the Castle, I offer this soundbit as consolation. It's basically me practicing the acoustic guitar while leaning precariously forward at an odd angle to accomodate the mic. :p

[Arathorn III]

Cool! :D What song is that? :)

[Theodred]

When I Come Around. At least, it's the chords to it...

[Arathorn III]

Sounds pretty darn good. :)

[X Rogue]

Very good indeed. :)

[Barahir]

That was well played, but muchly rushed, after the first chorus, methinks. Play it through once, and then play it immediately after, and you'll notice a difference in tempo. Well done, though, in terms of intonation, from what I could hear - and we all know that intonation is everything (well... and dynamics, orchestrally speaking). :)c

[Baseloaf]

My computer couldn´t play it:(

[Barahir]

Well, that's odd.

Okay, this thing I'm posting now does not have any instruments playing. It's a recording of me singing. Beware: If you don't like The Monkees, dont' click the link. ;)

Of course, I must admit that I also rushed in this song...

[Barahir]

I guess it was just too scary.

[Calandriel Aurealin]

Oh I love that song! I'll try to listen to it, but my computer's real tetchy when it comes to media...

Wow. I'm impressed. When you guys do form your band, I will be one of the first to buy the LP!

[Theodred]

That was well played, but muchly rushed, after the first chorus, methinks. Play it through once, and then play it immediately after, and you'll notice a difference in tempo. Well done, though, in terms of intonation, from what I could hear - and we all know that intonation is everything (well... and dynamics, orchestrally speaking). :)c

I wasn't recording for show or anything. That was just a stupid mic test. Just strumming. Don't think I suck because of it. Because I don't suck...that much.

Wow. I'm impressed. When you guys do form your band, I will be one of the first to buy the LP!

I'm going to sing too. My voice is higher though, so I guess I have to sing back-up.

[Barahir]

I wasn't recording for show or anything. That was just a stupid mic test. Just strumming. Don't think I suck because of it. Because I don't suck...that much.
I figured you weren't. And of course we don't think you suck because of it. Well, I should hope not, at least. Of course, I'm sure a bunch of people now think that I suck, because of a little competition I was involved in, in which I performed poorly (it wasn't my fault - the mic wasn't turned up until I was halfway through the first chorus with electric guitar and keyboard - In Love with the '80s)...

Anyway, I'm getting a little off subject, I think. I hate it when that happens. :rolleyes

[Calandriel Aurealin]

I listened to your strumming too, Theodred! I enjoyed it very much and I look forward to your singing. I'm sure the two of you are going to be very popular some day. I may actually save the files awhile, despite my computer's crappiness... And that's saying something! I am thoroughly impressed!

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Well, i really enjoyed your strumming! I love listening to strumming, please post more!

Barahir- love that song! It's great!

[Theodred]

Breaking news! I have figured out a way to get stuff I recorded on my recorder out of the software desktop. What I'm doing is playing the file and then using another recorder program on the computer to record from that. Now that I can do that, some of the stuff I already have on the computer can be made into a WAV and then uploaded.

As you may (or may not) know, I played piano at a talent show back in February. My dad was sitting in the back with the recorder, so the performance was taped. As a Castle exclusive only, the bootleg of the peformance will be available tonight. Members of the Castle check the Hall of Bards for more info.

[Barahir]

Sweeet! :biggrin

[silverfox]

That was great.
I had a bit of trouble listening to the singing because my brothers blowing stuff up in a first person shooter in my ear, but what I could hear over the screams and gun fire was very good.

[Barahir]

Important Announcement!
You've waited, and anticipated hearing
the quality sound of The Sophomores -
Your wait is over! Finally, a nowhere-near-live
recording of Weezer's "Buddy Holly" is available for
your listening pleasure, as performed by
Rohan's own: The Sophomores!
All feedback and opinions are appreciated,
so let us know what you think.


Note: All future recordings, including original compositions will be posted in Theodred's Castle.

<woo-hoo!>

[Theodred]

In my opinion, that was a solid recording. Though it wasn't live, I think it's all the better because Barahir and I did it while living a thousand miles apart. I provided the guitar part that was the core basis of the recording, and Barahir sang his great lead vocals over it. Then, after doing some mixing, the recording came back to me where I added the falsetto back-up vocals. A particular part I'm fond of is how I recorded two takes and combined them into something like stereo for the "Woo-hoos." Overall, I like how it turned out. :)c

[Arathorn III]

Awesome! :D It was a long wait, but worth it! Good work, guys! Now I can't wait to hear more from the Sophomores! :D

[Poguemahone]

Its great, a little different, but great.

[Arathorn III]

Well, of course it wasn't the whole song. Maybe that'll be released later in the castle after the uber coole guitar solo is mastered? :)

[RW7427]

Good job! Very nice. :biggrin

[Tarcristiel]

My computer is getting really fussy about playing music and videos; I'll have to see if Dan will let me use his so I can listen.


”IAnd here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas.”

[silverfox]

that was great!
especially living a thousand miles apart.
can't wait for more.

[Arathorn III]

Let me express my concurations with silverfox! :)

(i.e. I concur) :p

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Omg! You guys rule! more more more!

My sepcial request- add some tambourine

[Theodred]

We sure do some oldies that have more mass appeal...

[X Rogue]

Well, I like it. Encore!

[Theodred]

I know we said that we'd post everything else in the Hall of Bards, but I figure that since:

A) Barahir has some singing here along with our collaboration and
B) We need more publicity for the Hall of Bards

So I should post something of my own. I didn't mean this to be a totally solo project, but since Barahir isn't around and since I was in the mood to record, I went ahead and did this myself. It's an acoustic cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven using only:

1) My horrible computer mic
2) The Audacity recording software
3) My old acoustic guitar

and my voice...I suppose. There are actually three guitar parts in the song to accomodate for the variety of parts used by the Cure: rhythm (bass/drums), rhythm (guitar), solo (lead guitar/synth keyboard).

Now listening back to my vocals...meh. I start out shaky and seem to get more of a feel as I go on, but they still aren't as good as Barahir's. Of course I can make excuses by saying that my throat is sore, or that I'm tired since I got back from DC today and it's now 3:30 AM. But really, it's just that I can't sing as well as he can. :p



Alas! The file size is too large! And my audio converter isn't working. I guess after all that prepping and hype, you guys will have to wait until tomorrow.
Well, I hope somebody here will listen to it then....I'm going to bed now - much too tired to think about audio converters...

[Barahir]

When I'm back on the computer (legitimately), then I can convert it for you, assuming it's still not done by then.

[Theodred]

When will you be back on your computer? :(

[Barahir]

Thursday. Next Thursday.

Bye.

[Theodred]

Well, that's too bad. :(

Bere converted the audio, so it's ready for upload! :)c To get more attention to the Emnets, I posted it in that forum instead of this thread. Here's the URL:

Theodred (http://www.landofrohan.com/forum/showthread.php?p=125473#post125473) - Just Like Heaven

[Barahir]

Here's me singing part of Into the West. I posted it in the Hall of Bards, earlier, but I felt like putting it here, for the heck of it. This is actually an extended and re-recorded, overall better version.

[edit - go to the next page]

[Barahir]

Here is a second version that I did, overdubbing a harmony by myself.

Once again, I really would like to know what you guys think.

[edit - go to the next page]

[X Rogue]

I'm sorry, I got some weird kind of distortion in there. Otherwise, I liked it.

[Barahir]

Hmm...

Since it's now on the previous page, I'll just re-post them here, now.


(I might be just a little flat on the harmony)


Once again, the first recording is just me singing the chorus repeated twice with both variations. The second is the same, plus an overdubbed harmony part, done also by me. As long as you don't mind hearing two of me singing at the same time, it shouldn't be too weird for you.

Let me know what you think.

And Theo: we should re-record the whole thing, only together this time.


<boing!>

[Calandriel Aurealin]

You guys are amazing. And to think you completed that without ever having met each other face to face. I'm impressed...

I've been working on music a lot lately myself. I just got the strings to complete my guitar (so now it actually has six!) and I will be getting lessons over the Summer. It still is insanely out of tune, but it was quite possibly worse when my dad started messing with it. Anyway, I like making things up on it and yesterday I started playing this little thing which I thought was sort of pretty. I have recorded it, though it will probably have to be one of the only recordings I ever post because my microphone is so bad. I have done everything I can to make it as loud and as clear as possible, but I apologise for the distortion which still exists. Maybe when I actually learn how to play, I'll record something with a better mic. Until then, here is my attempt at electric guitar.

P.S. I had the hiccups very badly while recording, so that may have contributed to the horror.

[X Rogue]

Impressive....most impressive.

[Theodred]

Well, that's Barahir singing with an overdub of himself. However, you can save those compliments for when I actually add my vocals. :p

Another great job, Barahir. I will never be as good a singer as you. Alas, downgrade to backup vocals!

[Aragil]

Yay for Backup Vocals :D

[Barahir]

Well, you're honestly the better guitarist, anyway, so it evens out, as far as I can see.

But I'm having another 'jam session' with Casey ("lensky," first chair violinist in orchestra) , Michael (my stand partner in orchestra, who also plays electric bass), and Matt (first-rate drummer, part of the school band). Should be fun.

[silverfox]

it was really cracly on my computer, I could barely make it out. but it sounded good

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Really good guys :) Its great to listen to music here :d

[Barahir]

Can you write down the chords for that guitar piece, Cal?

Well, I recorded something last night and into this morning. It's from Weezer's new album, so chances are that most of you haven't heard it yet. It's called The Damage in Your Heart. I sure wish Theodred were on more often, though, so he could help me. It's not as cool as it could be, yet, since I only have one guitar part played out (though I did do the solo, and a little bit of the second guitar part). Yay for overdubbing.

It needs drums, bass, guitar 2, and vocal 2, though.

Theo, where are you?

EDIT: new song added.

[silverfox]

*applauds loudly
That was amazing.

[Aragil]

Curse you! And all Weezerites! Besides that, its good :D

[Calandriel Aurealin]

Would that I had, Barahir, but unfortunately, I know nothing of playing the guitar, and much less about writing music.

Wow, Barahir... I wouldn't have known that wasn't professional if I hadn't gotten it from here. You have got a real lot of talent. It's hard to believe it can get any better than it already is, though I know it's possible with Theodred adding to the mix. It simply amazes me the things you all are capable of. I am most impressed and also proud to know the lot of you.

[X Rogue]

They are cool, aren't they, Callie.

Perhaps a female voice in the mix, Barahir? I can't carry a tune in a sack, but perhaps one of our other lady Rohirrim can contribute...

[Barahir]

Thanks. :)

Hmm, you never know.

[Theodred]

Man, dude...that was great. I wish I had been around. That's a great track, especially from an album that hasn't been released yet. ;) Next time we're online together we've got to do something again.

[Barahir]

Tomorrow, yes.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

im afraid this is a very porr recording, but everyother time i tried it went wrong. :(

Opus 72 , chopin nocturne. Hope you like it

[Arathorn III]

Wow! That's awesome! :eek

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

:D thanks .

[Arathorn III]

I'm quite impressed. :)

[Barahir]

Oh, my friend took that to state contest, a few weeks ago. Very nice. :)

[X Rogue]

Me likee.

[Barahir]

I edited that piece, DoM, earlier today, to take out some of the static, and the sound at the beginning and end, in addition to amplifying it slightly. If you'd like, I can send it to you via MSN, and see what you think.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Thanks :D Thats great! Maybe you could just replace my one on here..?

[Theodred]

That's very good. It vaguely reminds me of Across the Stars...I wonder if Williams was inspired by Chopin...

[Calandriel Aurealin]

That's so beautiful. I had always wanted to play piano, but my parents wouldn't buy one. It's simply entrancing listening to something like this. You must have been playing for a very long time to play like that... This really is beautiful.

[Barahir]

Here's the remastered edition. I also converted it to mp3.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Thanks barahir :) Thats great!

[Calandriel Aurealin]

I have just now recorded myself on the guitar after about a week and a half of playing. It of course isn't very good, nor is the recording of it, but I wanted to share this with you. It's an excerpt from David Bowie's 'Space Oddity,' among the first few songs I have learned. I am playing unplugged so as to be quiet while the rest of the house sleeps.

[Barahir]

Doesn't sound too bad. :)

Of course I'll be waiting to hear a version with the guitar plugged in, too.

[Barahir]

Well, Theodred and I have been working on a new original song for a while, now, and it's pretty much about to completion, as of now. Still working on the order of playing (like intro, verse one, chorus, verse two, or intro, verse one, verse two, chorus, chorus). It may be posted in The Hall of Bards, soon.

[Theodred]

I've just dug up some old recordings. I might post that talent show performance I did if I can edit out the static...

[Barahir]

Well... I think I posted this in the Hall of Bards long ago. But no one else has heard my piano compositions, so here's one.

(I hope that's the right one...)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

before i listen; is this you playing, or a computer programe? :brows

[Theodred]

I believe that one is a computer program. ;)

[Theodred]

Anyway, I was going through my file folders and I remembered that I had wanted to post my Talent Show Performance but I never got around to it. It was more of a Talent Showcase, so it wasn't for any prizes and it took place in February. I had my dad stand at the back of the room and record my live performance with my Digital WAV player. The sound quality was quite poor, so I tried to reduce the static. It didn't help that there was a mentally disabled kid eerily wailing the whole time. I also edited out a part at the beginning where I try to explain what I'm about to play. Other than that, the recording hasn't been tampered with.

As far as my playing goes, I'd say that it definitely wasn't my usual. I'm used to using an electric piano at home, and so when I sat down at a real one, I was overwhelmed by the reverberation. Thus, I had to make adjustments mid-performance to keep from hitting too many low notes and making the sound muddy. Also, when I get into what I'm playing I start looking sideways and wanting to stand up. Really though, I suppose that could be seen as an excuse. Quite possibly I was just nervous since that was the first time I've played anything I've written in front of an audience. Rather a lot of mistakes.

Anyway, my act was almost a medley, since I go into another song after completing the first one. The first piece is one I wrote last April. It was one of my summer demos that a few people received, but since then I think it changed a bit. For one thing, I've learned to play it a lot faster. For another, I added a nice breakdown/bridge part. The second piece is my own interpretation of Blink 182's song "Going Away To College. I hope you will enjoy.

EDIT: Sorry. That post was all for nothing. The database is down so I can't post it. :p

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

We'll look forward to it then

[minah]

I finally came across with a PC equiped with head phones! You gues are great! It makes me almost jealous that I can't play any instrument! I write lyrics though and sing a little (but not very succesfully :) ) so in case of a group count me in!

[Aragil]

Has anyone ever noticed we are most musically inspired at night time? I certainly do.

[Barahir]

(re-posting this, since it ended up the last post on page 4)

I have a demo clip of one of the first Sophomores songs we started working on. Some of you may know which one I'm referring to, though others may not. It was written on the day that Daylight Savings Time took effect, setting the clocks forward one hour, and thus throwing me off quite a bit on sleep. So we made it into a song. This clip basically features the intro, solo, and outtro of the song, and does not include vocals. It does, however, give you a taste of what the song 'feels' like, at least.

The players:

Barahir - Rhythm Guitar
Lensky - Lead Guitar
Michael (a friend) - Bass Guitar

(Theo wasn't around for this recording, unfortunately)

[Aragil]

Great Job :)

[Barahir]

Thanks, Aragil.

Any other opinions?

[Arathorn III]

Sounds like a good start - the finished product shall be eagerly awaited! :D

[Barahir]

Man, 18 people listened and 2 commented. :brow

[Barahir]

23 listened, still two comments.

Anyway, Lensky and I just got back from a gig, which I recorded with my video camera. I have turned the audio into an mp3 so you can have a listen, if you feel so inclined. Please excuse the errors (I think I only made two, myself) and the cellphone going off part of the way through, as it was a live performance, and these things are unfortunately expected.

Lensky and I played acoustic guitars and I sung the vocals.

It might seem a little bit soft, volume-wise. Sorry.

[Aragil]

Wow, interesting. :cool

[Theodred]

DST seems to have lost all of my influence. I didn't even picture it like that. My rhythm, timing, and riffs are totally different.

The other song is interesting. I like Irish sounding stuff. I better start writing before Casey takes my place and leaves me out in the rain...

[Barahir]

Well, DST doesn't have to go that way. I don't have any recordings of you playing it, though, and you have only been on MSN once that I've seen, since you came back, so I don't have a lot to work with, here. ;)

Hmm... two comments saying "interesting." Interesting...

[Barahir]

Sophomoric Update:

We have finally re-recorded and edited our cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven, and it is ready to hit the public. After more than eight vocal takes, we were able to narrow it down to just the right selection. Having removed all external noise, as well as possible, and converted the file to mp3 format, here is the current version of our cover. Let us know what you think. :)


The Players:

Theodred: Lead and Rhythm Guitars
Barahir: Vocals

[Calandriel Aurealin]

I'll tell you in about a hundred years when it finishes downloading.

Wow... That's so pretty... It's even prettier than the original, I think. The guitar sounds really hard in it too.

[Theodred]

Sorry. I tried to soften it up with some muting, but my acoustic is really terrible. The hard, twangy sound is unavoidable...

[FlamingoSoHotRightNow]

well, I think it sounds great. Excellent work, guys

:)

[Theodred]

Thanks. And thanks Calandriel too. I don't know what I was thinking with my above comment. For some reason I interpreted "hard" to mean "harsh" and went off talking about the bad sound of my strings. :p

Thanks for the compliments. ;)

[Calandriel Aurealin]

Ha Ha That's okay. When it's the internet, you're bound to make that kind of mistake. Anyway, I think it's really great. If you're going to do a cover, you better do it like this. It doesn't ruin the original and it shows off your talents while changing it up a little. I like it very much.

[Barahir]

Thank you, both of you. :)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Feedback from me:

Can't wait to hear the rest of daylight thingy- it's coming on well!

Letters from Kilkelly- I loved this... it was really lovely... I don't know the song. It really reminds me of stairway from heaven though. I've listened to it al least twice already

Just like heaven-... i liked the other version better.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Okay, this is one my G7 piece i've finally got around to playing for you.... threes against twos is a nasty rhythmn to play...It's quite a bad recording- lots of buzzing... but i hope it's okay :)

It's Greig, form his Lyric pieces, and called Nocturne.

[silverfox]

I've played Nocturne before, That really is a very beatiful performance Dom.

[Arathorn III]

Yes, yes, I agree with that statement, silverfox. Well played, Dom. :)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Thank you :)

[Barahir]

Oops, I listened to it yesterday but forgot to comment.

Well done. :)

[Aragil]

Excellent! :)

[Barahir]

Well, as some of you may know, I basically stopped composing piano and orchestral pieces about a year ago. However, last week I finally wrote another piece. If you've heard my terrible Elgies, I'm sorry. This is my third Elgy, though, and it is nothing like its predecessors, fortunately. I put more time into it, for one.

Also, as you may or may not know, I do not ordinarily compose contemporary music. I compose in the style of baroque, heavily influenced by J.S. Bach, and that is what I expect this piece will also reflect, if you know much of his works.

Please let me know what you think of it. I can still change things on it, at the moment.

[Barahir]

Comments? :sad

[Aragil]

Hrm. It sounds somewhat like FFX music.

[Barahir]

*sigh*

Have you heard of this guy called JS Bach? Listen to his stuff, and then listen to the above piece. It's baroque, not video game.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Johan and I are great mates ;)

Very good :-)

But i hate digital pianos. Play it real

[Barahir]

Well, that's the problem. One of two problems, that is. For one, I don't own a piano, right now. The other thing is that I'm not skilled enough to play anything I've written.

However, if you're interested, I can send you the sheet music, and you can try playing it. I'd absolutely love to hear a real pianist play it, rather than my computer. :)c

Of course, if you don't want to, or don't have time, I can understand.

[Maedhros]

Hey, you should be able to play the things you write. Thats cheating!

[silverfox]

I'll give it a shot if you want. It sounds really good.

[Barahir]

Hey, you should be able to play the things you write. Thats cheating!
Yup. I cheat in video games, too, sometimes.

I'll give it a shot if you want. It sounds really good.
Thank you! :)

Anyone who can play piano and wants to try out my piece is free to do so. Make your own recording and show me what it should sound like! I'd be most grateful. Feel free to play it with whatever expression you want. Ignore the fermata, leave out the ties, whatever.

I've attatched the sheet music.


edit: I forgot there's a fourth page. *posts*

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

that looks pretty easy apart from some obvious things- some of the chords are larger spread than my hand. If you find anyone who can streach the chord in bar 10, please inform me :p I'll have a wack at it sometime

[Theodred]

Yeah, another thing about not being a piano player and writing piano music is that you don't know the limitations of the human hand. :p

[Aragil]

I'm too sexy for my gun, man.

[Barahir]

Dude, what does that have to do with Rohan music, Aragil?

[silverfox]

Dom's right, that Chord in bar 10 is to big a stretch. My brother might be able to play it but i'm two notes short

[Barahir]

Well, I've seen it played, but I didn't know it was less normal for it to be playable. You can leave off a couple notes, if you can reach it, I suppose.

My hand only reaches just over an octave, anyway.

[Arathorn III]

An octave + 1 is literally stretching it for me. ;)

[Barahir]

Well, at any rate, if anyone wants to try out that piece, and post it on Rohan, that'd be cool.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

My piano teacher had a go at playing it cause it was inside my book.. she said it was a good attempt and baroque.

[fingolfin jones]

Bar' have you considered downloading some soundfonts (crescendo comes to mind). I hang out (not literally) at classical midi sites just about all the time and have about 2200 files on my hard drive, mostly classical). There are some works out there that sound pretty dang close to the real instruments (strings and violin are still somewhat behind and sound a little synthy still).

I don't know if you mentioned this beore, but are you using midi software? That would also shrink down the file sizes quite a bit. The bigger files that I have rarely go over 300 kb with most solo piano works around the 10-30 k territory. plus I have a Pines of Rome 32 track midi file that's fairly small.

DoM - That was really nice. I'm beginning to appreciate Edvard Grieg more and more lately. I love the recording - it's a little crackily and reminds me of the old 78's Rubinstein, et al... Good job! :biggrin

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Thanks Fingol

[fingolfin jones]

No problemo sexy orc chick. ;)

You know what would really make me happy...how about a Chopin piece? :D

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

You're joking? :-o I played one earlier in the thread i think....
edit: yes, on page 3

http://www.landofrohan.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=272

[fingolfin jones]

Wow. You're so talented. I love Chopins Nocturnes (that was the opus 27 number 1 right?)

How long have you been playing?

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

opus 72 if that's the way round you meant that, yes, number one:D HOw did you know that?No one knows Chopin like that in recent years to my meeting.... :D:D:D

I've been playing since i was 6.. so about 10 years now:)

[fingolfin jones]

Ack! I'm so dyslexic sometimes. yes, I meant 72. :p

Chopin happens to be one of my faves. I have the Nocturnes CD's.I plan on purchasing the entier 13 disc Ashkenazy set eventually. Kinda' spendy though.

Do you have a personal teacher?

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Of course.. one can only teach oneself so much… at the moment I have half an hours lesson a week, but as soon as my exam is over, I’ll be back to 30 minute lessons. I pretty much self taught myself grade 5 trumpet though… and then I had real lessons and that made me want to give up:p

[fingolfin jones]

I bet that was hard on your lips? :p

Er DoM, isn't half an hour and 30 minutes the same thing? :lol

Does your instructor ever give you suspicious leers like mine used to and say, "So you practiced before this lesson?" She obviously knew I hadn't. ;)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Yes i did mean an hour... lol. Oops.

My piano teacher usually says: ' you've obviously been working very hard this week' and im like... yeah *rolls eyes* then when ive done loads she asks me when i last bothered practising:p

[fingolfin jones]

All piano teachers must come from the same mold. My first was tougher, but I learned much much more. The second was in love with her violinists, giving alot less time to the pianists. I have to give her credit on my playing the bass though. She kind of talked me into it. Also talked me into taking the harp :rolleyes. Interesting year that was.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

I'd LOVE to play the harp. We looked into it, but we couldnt afford to by a harp.

[fingolfin jones]

Luckily the school provided it. And also luckily, they brought in an outside teacher. Interesting name she had: Jaren Nine. :)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Hmn...

Anyway! 6days till my exam!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Since you are all fine classical loving folk, what shall i play when the exam is over?

[fingolfin jones]

Islamey by Balikirev? (muahahaha)

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

huh?

[fingolfin jones]

Never heard of it? It's supposed to be one of the tougher works for pianists (at least that's what some folks said at another forum). I was just trying to challenge you. :biggrin

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

:D

i love a challenge. I'm going to play Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor cause Bere's old piano teacher used to and I intend to level him:p Plus my piano teacher said it was diploma level and that sounds COOL!

3 days to go...

[fingolfin jones]

Which one? Opus 3, no. 2 or Opus 23 no. 2? I'm guessing the first since it's the famous one. I love Rachs' piano concerto no. 2 :heart (okay, a little bit sissy that heart was...)

[Maedhros]

I really like Chopsticks and I can play it really well too. lol

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

okay people! NEW MUSIC!


Me messing about singing the first part of may it be, maybe ill do a whole song sometime:p

[fingolfin jones]

Sheesh, you sing too?! I think that you need to follow that dream, DoM. Nice. :D

[Arathorn III]

Beautiful voice, Dom. :)

And..here is another one by her...I'm going to try to upload it cause it didn't work before.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Thanks Ara- this is Fantasie in D minor- Mozart, beautiful piece, took me almost 6 minutes to play and i iscrew up the last few chords. NO chance of re-recording sorry.:tired


hope you like....

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

What dream fin btw? And thank you:)

[Arathorn III]

I did like, very much! :D *claps*

[Barahir]

That was very well played. I envy your skill, Dom. Bravo.

:)c

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

:) Thanks

[fingolfin jones]

Oh, I just thought that you wanted to follow an arts (music, painting)field and I threw in a little corny saying: "Follow that dream." I should have been more serious when I was younger and tried to be in bands with better musicians. Plus, I should have practiced more. Family members and friends always commented how musically inclined I was. I'm pretty good at playing songs by ear. Maybe I needed to follow that dream...*stares wistfully into space*

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

No.. i dont want anything to do with the arts.

[fingolfin jones]

Do you play an upright?

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

I play a grand kawai. It's my favourite object in the world.. there was a picture of me playing it on the pictures of you thread.

I JUST PASSED MY GRADE 7!!!!!!!!!

[Arathorn III]

Yes! Let me be the first to congratulate you! Again! :D *hugs* Very well done! Grade 7...wow...I can only dream of that. :)

[fingolfin jones]

Grade 7 must be differnt elsewhere in the world. Grade 7 in america is around 11-12 year old kids. Aren't you like 16?

I don't remember a picture of you playing a piano... :/:

[Arathorn III]

No no no, this is piano grading. It's different than school grades...much different. 8 is the highest. ;)

[fingolfin jones]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Oops...that makes more sense. I couldn't figure that a Tolkien lover wold have been kept back 3-4 grades. :P

Well that's good then. :)c

[Arathorn III]

I've been kept back 2-3 grades, lol, but lets now talk about that here. :lol

[fingolfin jones]

Really? I would have never assumed that for a minute. You're alot smarter than I am....

[Arathorn III]

I don't put school grades at any importance when it comes to smartness. Actually though it's only cause I'm home schooled.

But I doub't I'm smarter than you. ;)

[fingolfin jones]

Oh. But doesn't home-schooling follow the same basic grade structure as public schools?

..and I doubt that I'm smarter than you. :P More experienced in different things that life has thrown at me, maybe...

[Arathorn III]

Yes, but I started late...in fact the first real grade I've taken was this one, Grade 10, which I finished yesterday. ;)

[fingolfin jones]

Wow, I wished that I could have jumped to grade 10. :lol

I guess, related to music, I took about 6 years of serious piano lessons before I jumped to guitar. I try to tell anyone that I know that they need to take at least a few years of piano to learn theory.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

It's really annoying americans don't use our grade system in music... sorry.

there's 8 difficulty levels, 8 being the hardest and most extreme stuff ever, after 8 there comes diploma. To get higher than a 5, you have to do grade 5 theory (theory of music) and from 6 onwards you start getting university points for each grade you do:)

[fingolfin jones]

Well, I'm sure that we have our reasons why we don't use your style of grading and I'm sorry that you find it annoying. I don't know, I think that the U.S. has put out many fine pianists throughout the ages, despite not having the 8 grade system.

I really don't know where I would have fit in on the 8 grade scale when I played. Oh well, I don't play piano much anymore anyway. :ohwell

[Arathorn III]

Strange that they don't have it there...what kind of piano grading DO you have? I'm pretty sure we have the 8-grade system in Canada.

[fingolfin jones]

Let me clarify. When I was taking piano lessons we didn't use an 8 grade system. Maybe it was in effect, but my teachers never used it, or at least told me about it. I did on a few occasions played before an adjudicator (sp?) who would listen and then talk to my instructor and I about my performance, and what I needed to do to improve. Maybe those were grading exams, who knows?

To be honest, I have no clue what is used in the US. I'd imagine it would be of some standard that would make it simple to relate to those in other countries. You have to remember, I haven't taken piano lessons for over 30 years, nor have I really kept up with what is involved in learning the instrument. I just play for personal pleasure and family sing-a-longs nowadays, if at all.

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Well it's good you still play:)

[Barahir]

Okay, I have a cover of Behind Blue Eyes, which was originally done by The Who. Theo was also planning on doing a cover of another song, so we could release them together. I don't think he's going to get that done, though, for a while.

Anyone interested in hearing what I've got, in any case?

[fingolfin jones]

Sure, Bara'. That's a great song. Are you going to upload it here or is it at your site?

[Daughter of Mirkwood]

Upload it at your site so you get more visitors:p just tell us when it's there:D

[Barahir]

Sorry, I forgot to post it.

The Sophomores - Music (http://www.thesophomores.com/music.php)

Just scroll down, and you can download Behind Blue Eyes, there. If you want, you can go to the home page (www.thesophomores.com) and leave a comment on the current news, or comment the guestbook (http://pub33.bravenet.com/guestbook/2825172088/). :)

Also, it would be helpful if you could go to our Purevolume (http://www.purevolume.com/thesophomores) page, and give a listen, there, for the sake of increasing our rating. ;)

Thanks in advance!

[fingolfin jones]

Nice job! Have you had Behind Blue Eye's on your site for awhile? I think that I've already listened to it before. :confused

[Barahir]

It was on my purevolume page for a while. You should listen to it there, and comment on my home page, that way I get more listens for purevolume and more comments for thesophomores.com, and both look better. ;)

[Baseloaf]

Nice work. :) I couldn´t post in the guestbook, though. There came pop-ups and error messages. :(

[Barahir]

You can leave a comment on the main page, if you click on "comments" at the bottom of the most recent news update. :)

[fingolfin jones]

*bump*

I think that I did.... at least some site that had your music on it. :confused

[Barahir]

www.thesophomores.com has my music on it. And I think I remember you commenting, there, at one point. ;)

Theo and I have also finished another song. It's updated, and it includes acoustic guitar, cello, and vocals. You can find it either here (http://www.thesophomores.com/music.php) or here (www.purevolume.com/thesophomores). :)

[fingolfin jones]

Is that the same version that I listened to a few weeks back?

[Barahir]

If you heard it with cello, then yes. So probably so.

[fingolfin jones]

Funny, it sounded a little bit different. I think that the mp3 that you sent me had more clarity. Maybe the Purevolume player weakens the quality a bit? Theodreds guitar sounded clearer oddly enough.

[Barahir]

Could be. I have the basic purevolume account, wich is "good" mp3 quality. Purevolume subscribers get "great" mp3 quality.

[fingolfin jones]

...and lurkers like me get "crap" mp3 quality? :lol