Fields of Gold

Posted by: john smies

Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 02:34 AM


Notwithstanding the fact that I recently purchased the Korg PA900 ( hard decision to ignore the "buggy " PA4X) I have been concentrating very much on learning how to play the piano. Up till now I have used the very old Yamaha P80 but a new one is in the pipeline, most probably the Kawai ES8.
During the Christmas period I recorded two songs with our eldest daughter (24) with the exclusive use of the piano. The results were mastered by my good friend Carlo who also did a lot of mastering on my previous CD "Silver Moon ", some tracks of which can also be found on my youtube page.
Carlo also sorted out the images to go with this recording of Sting's impressive ballad "Fields of Gold " made immortal by the rendition of the late Eva Cassidy. Anyhow this is our home recording...
https://youtu.be/W0BryTfmO9M

regards,
John
Posted by: broker22

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 05:40 AM

That was beautiful John thanks for sharing Cal.
Posted by: Dnj

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 05:59 AM

clap
Posted by: hammer

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 08:56 AM

Nice stuff John,
Deane
Posted by: tony mads usa

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 10:06 AM

Sounds very nice, John ... both vocally and instrumentally ... clap
Just my thoughts, but as nice as the video is, I enjoy seeing the performers ...
Posted by: travlin'easy

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 10:54 AM

clap clap clap clap
Posted by: DonM

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 11:20 AM

Your usual excellent work John!
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/02/16 01:08 PM

The piano is just fine, doesn't sound too elementary, this rather simple way of accompanying works well with this song. I think I just detect a very slight irregularity of tempo within the first minute, piano seems to push forward a little in relation to your daughter, but not very noticeable. Great vocals, I wish "my" classical soloists could switch to this kind of pop singing style whenever it fits, but as they learned a different technique it's difficult to switch a button and sing differently...
Posted by: john smies

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/03/16 12:12 AM

Originally Posted By: rosetree
The piano is just fine, doesn't sound too elementary, this rather simple way of accompanying works well with this song. I think I just detect a very slight irregularity of tempo within the first minute, piano seems to push forward a little in relation to your daughter, but not very noticeable. Great vocals, I wish "my" classical soloists could switch to this kind of pop singing style whenever it fits, but as they learned a different technique it's difficult to switch a button and sing differently...


First of all thanks to all of you guys for your thumbs up !
I guess part of the beauty lies in the imperfection Rosetree smile
I hear what you are saying though and you are right. However as I mentioned I have only just set out on learning how to play the piano and after 25 years of keyboard playing it is not as easy as one would expect. I am still awed though by the sound results of the ancient yamaha P80 with a full rom memory of 11Mb. (!!). As to my daughter's singing, I agree with everyone who says that she has a great voice and I only wish she would record more with me but unfortunately singing is not one of her priorities. Nevertheless we also recorded "Hallelujah" and I will post the results later on when the final mix has been done.
Thanks again for your reactions.

regards,
John
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/03/16 03:33 AM

Originally Posted By: john smies
Originally Posted By: rosetree
The piano is just fine, doesn't sound too elementary, this rather simple way of accompanying works well with this song. I think I just detect a very slight irregularity of tempo within the first minute, piano seems to push forward a little in relation to your daughter, but not very noticeable. Great vocals, I wish "my" classical soloists could switch to this kind of pop singing style whenever it fits, but as they learned a different technique it's difficult to switch a button and sing differently...


First of all thanks to all of you guys for your thumbs up !
I guess part of the beauty lies in the imperfection Rosetree smile
I hear what you are saying though and you are right. However as I mentioned I have only just set out on learning how to play the piano and after 25 years of keyboard playing it is not as easy as one would expect. I am still awed though by the sound results of the ancient yamaha P80 with a full rom memory of 11Mb. (!!).


Well, my assessment was meant positively all in all, in the beginning you emphasized you weren't experienced in piano, and I said it doesn't sound too elementary. As a whole, your rendition is very high-grade when compared e.g. with those Tyros videos with hundred thousands of clicks where the playing is rather elementary and based on downloaded midi files which the player has not even made himself (how absurd). I clearly prefer yours, it sounds professional especially with the vocals, and it's 100% self made. Nevertheless, in general I think it is useful to also mention what could be further optimized instead of only saying how great everytthng is.

Regarding the 11 MB, yes, it sounds good, and meanwhile I've completely stopped being impressed by high MB figures, even more now as I nearly bought a Kurzweil PC2r rack with top notch orchestral sounds and a very good piano. The entire orchestral sounds have 16MB, the internal waveROM including the piano is 16MB, too. Ridiculous figures, great sound.
Posted by: guitpic1

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/03/16 03:57 AM

Very nice.
Posted by: newday5229

Re: Fields of Gold - 01/04/16 10:35 AM

John, thank you for sharing; great job father and daughter together.
Already Looking forward to the Leonard Cohen song next.