Good question! It means that whatever information we feed to our brain, the brain repeats that information for us in order to make it permanent. So when we practice something, it's important to be aware that whatever we do at the piano, our brain is going to make that permanent (and that includes our mistakes).

Thank you!! I love your channel by the way - I discovered Kenneth Leighton and many interesting pieces thanks to you!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano Thanks for your kind words !! Do you plan to play more Godowsky??

@@LeSheetMusicBoi Oh yes, absolutely!! If you're interested, I've posted a few other Godowsky recordings on this channel (without the score), like some movements from Renaissance, a couple of the Schubert/Godowsky song arrangements, and the "Wine, Women and Song" Strauss paraphrase. But there will definitely be more Godowsky score videos in the future - he's one of my all-time favourite piano composers/arrangers!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano That's amazing, I did check your videos on the channel. Godowsky is also one of my favourite piano composers, hence the lot of Godowsky videos on my channel too!! If you do plan to record some obscure underappreciated music then we could perhaps do a collaboration video. Let me know.

@@LeSheetMusicBoi That sounds like a great idea! I'd love to collaborate on a video. I plan on recording tons of underappreciated/lesser known piano music (including Godowsky's Menuet no. 1 which I also discovered thanks to your channel a few months ago), so I'm sure we can find some good opportunities to work together :)

Wait wtf?

Thank you for listening! I'm glad you enjoyed the pieces :)

Indeed - short and sweet!

They're really cute and fun pieces, eh? :D

To each his or her own, right? I think that in order to enjoy arrangements, especially when they differ quite significantly from the original piece, we sometimes need to forget about the original work for a moment and just try to take in the arrangement for what it is. Otherwise, we'll almost always be disappointed because it's not what we expected from the original, or our criticisms of the arrangement all end up referring back to the original as opposed to criticizing (or praising) the effectiveness of the arrangement as a piece on its own terms. This isn't really fair because a Beethoven-Liszt symphonic transcription, for instance, can never literally be a Beethoven symphony (you would need to listen to the original orchestral work to experience that). I've seen people say the same thing about Rachmaninoff's Kreisler arrangements - "over-the-top, destroyed the charm, grace and simplicity of Kreisler's original pieces, too many chromatic harmonies and embellishments added everywhere." Personally, I adore Rachmaninoff's Kreisler arrangements, but everyone has their own standards for what is too much and what is just enough. Anyway, I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts about the piece!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano "I've seen people say the same thing about Rachmaninoff's Kreisler arrangements - "over-the-top, destroyed the charm, grace and simplicity of Kreisler's original pieces, too many chromatic harmonies and embellishments added everywhere.": Right, that's is why I mentioned him. I think it all comes down to the question of taste. It is an elusive, personal thing, and there is no formula that give the right/wrong answer. As a student of composition, to SVR I give A+, to Godowsky maybe a B+, for his cleverness and harmonic inventiveness. Incidentally, SVR was not immune to going overboard. I do recall that he had one of his early pf. pieces chromaticized at the end of his life--way too much, almost as if he was doing a task he set for himself -- "can I do it to the utmost?" Well, "utmost" he did, but it was not a success musically, again, for my taste. And my taste ain't that bad 🙂 -- kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oOCqfthmuK3NY5s.html

I wish this stuff were taught to all students in schools, including everyone studying an instrument! It's so important to know and can make such a big difference in how we learn. Our brain is only trying to help and be efficient - it doesn't "know any better." It's up to us to decide what information we feed it when practicing!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano It certainly is vitally important information, and it's something I never heard before. It is "funny" to walk through the halls of a music conservatory and listen in as students go about their practicing. So often just playing some difficult passage over and over again at too fast a tempo, thereby making the same mistake(s) over and over and thus solidifying the mistakes in memory. I did that myself countless times over the years, no doubt. It's not always easy to slow down when you are an impatient person and/or are eager to just play the piece and skip practicing. But what you related provides the motivation to be more deliberate!

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm delighted to read that you enjoyed the performance and appreciated those details!

That's so true! It's really hard to do in practice, but whenever we can discipline ourselves to just focus on a little chunk at a time, it always pays off in the long run :)

Thank you, Tim! I'm so glad you got something useful from this video! It all certainly applies to the guitar as well :)

Thanks, Tim!! I always appreciate you noticing details like that! The extreme contrasts make it a really fun piece to play :D

That's one of my favourite parts to play too! It's like a fairy tale :D

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's such a fun and peppy piece :D

들어주셔서 고마워요!! ^^

Thanks, Mark! I wish pianists would perform Grainger's music more often - it's so effectively and beautifully written for the instrument!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano It is certainly effective and a treat to hear, but it's often physically taxing--that might account for why the music isn't played so often. We know Grainger had large hands, and his music often includes lots of filled-in tenths. Grainger was an athletic pianist who reveled in those challenges. As are you, wonderfully so! It must be a blast to be able to play Grainger's music so well!

Thanks so much, Tim! For such a short piece, it's surprisingly tricky because of all the detail Godowsky packs into his arrangement (as usual haha), but I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed it and that you like the sound quality!

Thanks, Mark! I sure hope this video helps spread the word about this delightful little piece - it would make an attractive addition to just about any concert, even as an encore!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano I agree! You're playing here just sparkles, and it is Godowsky at his most charming! I can't see how this piece wouldn't attract a lot of pianists. This falls into the love-it-immediately category for me!

Hi Mathieu! I see that you put this up with the volume level "normalized"--good! In any case, I look forward to seeing your at-the-piano demonstration of the relevant concepts that you mention here in relation to the "Black Key" Etude. Chopin's music sometimes seems to require a very flexible hand, and I can't help but wonder to what degree that is something that you need to naturally gifted with as opposed to something that you can acquire with mindful study. In any case, I would love to see you demonstrate some of the technical challenges that you have solved thanks to your new ways of approaching piano playing! In any case, I enjoyed this video--and I envy you for the beautiful setting in which you made it!

@@Radiatoron88 Thanks for your comment, Mark! I'm looking forward to putting up a video on the Black Key Etude at some point as well - I've been working on it again recently and made a few new discoveries to share. I think flexibility can be improved, but it requires some careful practice and patience (*groan* haha).

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano Patience??? Did you say PATIENCE??!!!!! (^0^) Not exactly my forte. But I still look forward to hearing and seeing whatever you have to share on the "Black Key" Etude. Chopin's music is so frustrating to me. How much I love it, but how awkward/impossible it is for my poor hands--right hand in particular!

Indeed! One of the best overall books on piano technique that I've come across.

How lucky you are! Sandor's methodical approach to solving technical challenges is invaluable.

Thank you for watching - I'm glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful!

Thanks, Derek!

Thank you!! It's a wild piece, eh? xD

Let's go, team Alkan!

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano I also play Alkan! Please watch it if you don’t mind. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h7SjatR1kt26gIk.htmlfeature=shared

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h7SjatR1kt26gIk.htmlfeature=shared

@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano I also play Alkan. Please listen to it if you don’t mind.

Thanks, Mark!! I really appreciate your supportive comment and I'm thrilled to read that you've developed such a liking for the piece!! It sure takes a lot of careful practice and dedication, but it's all worth it in the end to be able to bring this amazing work to life!

I must admit that when you first told me about the piece, I doubted that I would be able to get to know and love such a long work, but thanks to you I'm getting to know it better each time I hear it and enjoy it all the more! It is truly a work for virtuosos. I truly can't imagine how anyone could remember all those notes, much less be able to perform them. But you have done it! I'm honored to know you--that's all I can say!@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

Thank you for the kind comments on both videos, Mark! I'm so glad you enjoyed the performances! I hope to get a few more videos up in the next few days, so stay tuned for those. The thumbs up on the other video might not have worked because there's a "copyright claim" on the video that I haven't been able to remove since the button isn't working (very frustrating!). But I really appreciate the thought! And what you said about the name Musikbaum makes a lot of sense considering all the wood used in the design of the hall!

It's always a treat to see videos of your piano playing. It always fascinates me how everything you play seems to be so manageable for you, regardless of how hard the pieces are! It must be great fun to be able to play the piano so well and and so seemingly easily! I look forward to your next videos and will keep an eye out for them. Strange about the copyright claim and its affecting the thumbs up function! "No! You must not like this video! That is forbidden!" What??? Strange! Anyway, I hope that gets resolved! And I hope there will then be many thumbs up for this delightful video. In the meantime, thanks again for another most enjoyable chunk of Baroque as formulated by Godowsky!@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

@@Radiatoron88Very strange, indeed! I finally managed to submit a "protest" against the copyright claims, so fingers crossed that everything will be cleared up soon.

I hope your "protest" resolves the copyright issue. Seems like it shouldn't be an issue since Godowsky passed away a long time ago and since you are not showing the score in the video. But I guess somebody somewhere is feeling they won't be getting money as a result of your video?? Doesn't make any sense to me. Anyway, here's hoping your video be "thumbs up-able" before long! @@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

That's a good question! On the RCM scale, I would say it's probably grade 10 to ARCT level, but part of that would also depend on how quickly you play it. Grainger himself takes it extremely quickly (even faster than his own metronome marking, if I remember correctly). Let me know if you end up learning it! It's a ton of fun to play and audiences always seem to enjoy it :)

Thanks for watching - I'm glad it was helpful!

Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment!

I'm so happy you enjoyed the recital! The Irish dances are tons of fun to play - I really wish they were performed a little more often!

lol, it's 210 not 110

@@WD_GXLol, oops! You are correct. Apparently I was just paying attention to the last 2 digits of the anniversary, haha 😅!

I'm glad that KZfaq brought you here! The algorithm does something useful once in a while haha

Thank you for the great performance.

This piece has always been a favourite of mine as well! It's served me well over the years and I'm happy to be bringing it back again after having left it aside for a long time. The biggest challenge is fixing (bad) old habits, but it'll get there eventually!

I have to laugh when you wrote "it'll get there eventually." If after a couple years (or decades, more likely) I could play this as well as you play it in this video, I'd be a very happy "camper." Anyway, I'm so glad that you are turning your attention back to your old H.R. friend. I really hope you will get the whole 12th H.R. recorded at some point. I would love to hear (and see) what you come up with! @@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

Thanks, Mark!! It really is a blast to play - I'm having fun bringing the piece back again!

It's a treat for the ears and the eyes, this piece, and I love the "fireworks" ending! Really enjoying your work on it! @@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

Coming soon! :D

It would be wonderful if these pieces caught on and started getting played more often! Once I get a decent recording of the whole thing, I'll upload it with the score to hopefully draw more attention to the set.

I look forward to the whole shebang and any practice videos you share here along the way! @@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

Thank you, Mark! I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's a lot of fun working on it again and trying out some different ideas with the rhythm and phrasing.

You are bringing a lot of life to it! This piece is a keeper--I hope a lot of other people will feel the same way!@@Mathieu_Poirier_Piano

The whole of renaissance is a keeper, you will love the capriccio no 11​@@Radiatoron88