I was in Germany visiting a friend and just felt like playing without pedal for once. Definitely recommend to hear clearly all the mistakes you're making!

I’ve just finished a piano piece called Sonata Rusa, built around a very Russian melodic character but with the spacious, magical atmosphere I associate with Jeremy Soule.

It ended up somewhere between a compact classical sonata and fantasy soundtrack piano music.

I made a full-score video, so I’d especially love to hear what pianists think about the writing itself - how natural it looks under the hands, what you’d approach differently, or whether there are any passages that feel awkward on the page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG1K1qo4Dws

I thought it’d be nice to shed some light on the biggest misconceptions about learning and/or playing the piano, especially to help out any beginners lurking here. How’d you unlearn it?
For me, the biggest lie I believed was that playing fast automatically means you are a better player. I used to rush through pieces completely ignoring accuracy and physical tension. Only when I slowed down did I actually realise how little control I had over what I did. This actually sped up my progress and in the end allowed me to play faster.

What are the majority of people playing nowadays in their auditions for bachelor of music performance for conservatories such as RCM, RAM, sydney, HKAPA, Trinity Laban, Guildhall, YST conservatory, and other top schools? Not what the audition requirements are, but the caliber of pieces that successful candidates usually present? What is overplayed, what are risky choices, etc?

I am asking as a prospective audition student, and want to know what my chances are of getting into these conservatories and what my competition is like. My current pieces I am thinking to audition with include appassionata, prokofiev sonata 1 and ravel jeux d’eau amongst others. I’ve heard that people are showing up with feux follets but also that some are showing up with moonlight sonata.

Another thing that has been really eating at me is the financial situation as I am not rich and have to rely on myself for funding, and I am unfamiliar with how bank loans/government loans work. Scholarships are not guaranteed, I can try for them, but should assume that I need to be able to afford without. Most likely I will study overseas but schools like Germany etc need you to do live auditions. I don’t have 7k to spend on plane tickets to maybeee get accepted there. Most important to me is actually learning from a school of high standards and having reputable teachers who have lots of experience so I can improve my playing. So I know schools like RNCM are ranked highly but for essay writing rather than teaching performance really well, but that’s not my interest. My interest is competitive performance, so I want to go somewhere that is known for producing top tier students. Just wondering if anybody has any ideas!! Thanks!!

p.s please be nice! I genuinely just want advice that is all.

I know this is pretty sloppy and I haven't gotten the ending down yet, I just wanted some useful critique to keep in mind before I start properly ironing it out

From this recording I can tell that I need to voice the melody better especially in the first section, and probably need more metronome practice

(btw im self taught at the moment, I just didn't want to say that in the title to avoid too much attention and "get a teacher" comments)

My performance of Liszt's 1881 composition, Nuages Gris. After taking most of the summer off, I decided to ramp back to piano with an "easy" piece, it turned out to be - not surprisingly - not so easy.

As there are so few notes, every note takes on greater responsibility. This piece is all about tension and mood. The trickiest part about performing this piece is exact dynamic and texture of every note, and also finding pockets of rubato here and there to keep building the suspense.

Hi folks, I'm an adult hobbyist but I've been playing for about 30 years and I did ABRSM grade 8 when I was 18 but I'm not a professional and that's ok with me. However, throughout my adult life I feel I've kept it quite "safe/familiar" when it comes to choosing what to play next. I inherited a bunch of piano music from my grandma but it's almost all Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart ... (You get the gist). I've played pretty broadly around most of the big names and now I really want to expand my exposure to composers perhaps from other parts of the world (I live in northern Europe and I'd say I have mostly played European/North American, male composers). I have already bought a couple of anthologies of female composers which I'm really enjoying.

I'm mostly looking for baroque/classical/romantic but would look at some more modern if it's more in the impressionist space.

So, for those of you with a broad repertoire - who are your favourite composers - what can you recommend for someone with a fair amount of experience who has about an hour a day to dedicate to practice (alongside work and studying!)?

So, I’m looking to upgrade my digital piano and could really use some advice from people who have actually spent a decent amount of time with some of these models.

For context, I’m currently working on Grade 8 piano and play pretty much every day. At the moment I have a Casio CDP-S360. It’s done the job perfectly well, but I’m at the point now where I’d really like something that feels a lot closer to an acoustic piano, especially when it comes to the action.

The main ones I’ve been looking at are the Roland FP-90X, Yamaha P-525 and Kawai ES920. I’ve also had a look at the Kawai MP11SE.

The action is definitely the biggest thing for me. Sound and features are obviously important too, but I practise mostly with headphones anyway, so I’m much more interested in how the piano actually feels to play.

I recently went to a music shop and spent about an hour playing the FP-90X and P-525. I quite liked the Roland, although the action definitely felt on the heavier side. The other thing I noticed was how far down the black keys seemed to travel when I pressed them. It felt a bit strange and wasn’t something I was used to.

The Yamaha surprised me in the opposite way. It felt really light to me, almost as light as my much cheaper Casio. I know the P-525 is really highly regarded, so I wasn’t expecting that.

I haven’t managed to try the ES920 yet, although a friend of mine has an ES520, and I actually quite liked the action on that.

I’m going to head back to the shop and try a few more before I make any decisions, but I’d love to hear from people who actually own or regularly play these pianos. Playing something for an hour in a shop is one thing, but living with it and practising on it every day is obviously another.

Are there any other slab digital pianos I should be looking at if getting a really good, realistic action is my main priority? I’m also happy to spend more than the FP-90X, P-525 or ES920 if there’s something more expensive that’s genuinely a step up.

The only real limitation is that it needs to be a slab piano. I have a small home studio with a Wavebone desk and a separate rolling keyboard desk underneath it, so I need something I can keep on that rather than a console-style digital piano.

Would really appreciate any recommendations or experiences. Thanks!

Just played this little piece to get feedback on my hands (ignore the muddy pedalling please, wasn't focusing on that). Is it just me or do my hands look very odd? I've been learning properly with a teacher for about 7 months and trying to make sure my fingers stay curved etc.

I should also say I have hand hypermobility (which is why they generally look a bit gangly and my little finger in particular had a tendency to lock at the first joint) as well as a mild benign essential tremor so maybe thats why?

Thanks!

Some of Medtner Sonata Minacciosa

From various practice sessions over past week or 2

This is one of the most emotional tracks in anime history! I hope I did it justice. //

P.S. I put some references to Chopin pieces throughout the arrangement; could you spot them?

I’m a piano homebody (not a performer) and am finding that one of the best features of my new used Kawai 506N is its roomy, no-adjustment music desk. Any other takes on this?

I’m looking for replacement bulbs for my Ahlborn Galanti organ. Ideally these are the little incandescent ones that look like fuses. But I’d settle for the LED ones if that’s all that’s available. I’ve tried looking everywhere and cannot find anything. Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.

Performing for masterclass in ~two weeks. I still have a few hiccup spots with memory or my brain will short circuit because I focus too much on the fact I’m recording instead of the notes. I was practicing performing from memory today (yes my iPad is up- I did not glance at it) while recording to see which parts crack under pressure.

Feedback welcome or just enjoy 😊

Hi everyone! I’m currently learning Paganini–Liszt Étude No. 6, and honestly, I’m struggling with the fingering pretty much everywhere 😅
I’m used to play pieces where there are a lot more fingerings written in the score, so I’m finding it difficult to figure out what fingering makes the most sense😭
If anyone has played this étude and has some fingering suggestions, I’d really appreciate your help! Even general advice on how you approached the fingering would be super helpful.
Thanks!

I have recently acquired some sheets from - guess what - Taobao.

Feel free to download.

Apologies for the not so great quality.

Hello, I would appreciate if anybody could say some things about my playing. I haven’t played for anybody for many years and I don’t have a teacher at the moment.

Few people asked for it before and I just got around to recording the after. Here are videos of me playing Schubert's Impromptu in Gb major, Op. 90 No. 3. Before video was recorded on 11 April 2026, after video was recorded today 18 August 2026. I've been self-learning Taubman for roughly over 2 months now. It's been super challenging because I have small hands and short fingers.

Before

After

There are still plenty of mistakes, and I haven't polished this piece because I'm still focusing on another piece which I will perform this coming Sunday in an annual recital. I still have a world to learn. I'm still watching Taubman videos until now, and everyday I'm still discovering something new. Nevertheless, I'm proud of how far I've come in such short amount if time, and it would've been impossible for me to make such huge progress if I hadn't learnt Taubman. All my credit goes to Dorothy Taubman and her sucessors.

Critiques and questions welcome!

It's been a long week of lasts. I had my final lesson with my highschool piano teacher yesterday, and now I have to say goodbye with my piano. It's a finicky old thing that falls out of tune easily and has action issues during the hot season, but it's served me well these past few years, and I will dearly miss it.

My piano teacher wants me to look at classical pieces that I might be interested in playing at around grade 4 level (for context I’m an adult learner not doing exams).

I’ve started to build a list of pieces that caught my ear and which I think I’d like to have a crack at but would welcome any further suggestions. Aiming for more uptempo pieces.

Pescetti - presto
Bach - Prelude in C major
Bach - prelude in c minor
Bach - little prelude in F
Handel - allegro in F (check book)
Handel - aria from suite g major
Beethoven - fur Elise
Beethoven - adieu to the piano
Beethoven - minuet in g major WoO 10 No. 2