Welcome to the tonebase Piano Community!

Hi guys!

This is my first discussion within Tonebase, but since I really like this platform, it's time to jump in!

Where are you from and what's your favorite food from there? ;) 

I'm originally from Houston, Texas (now living in northeast TX), and fajitas from Pappasito's are hands-down the best Tex-Mex meal. I also second the creamy jalapeno dip from Chuy's- it is delicious.

What are you currently working on? 

I love Mozart, so I've been working on Sonata 12, K 332, for about a year now. It's been a labor of love between work and having two little ones! I'm also currently working on Schubert's March Militaire, Op 51 no 1, because I'm exploring other Romantic composers who are not Beethoven ;). There's also usually a "pop" song for fun so this semester's is a duet of Carmen I'm doing with my teacher. Next up will be Chopin's Preludes, and I'm excited for that. 

What are you hoping to get out of this community? 

I love the technical explanations from the instructors and have already grown a lot from those videos. I hope to be more engaged with live discussions and hear from others how their music is going, help others and myself stay accountable to their goals. Basically, as one of my favorite Peloton instructors says, "train hard, train smart, and always have fun"- great advice for a run and learning piano! Happy playing, everyone!

Hi I'm Aida from iran but currently living in Germany.

My favorite food is ghormeh sabzi

I've been playing piano for almost three years and I'm working on Rachmaninoff prelude op. 3/2 and chopin etude no 9 and no 21.

I hope i can improve my techniques here and learn new things because the level of music education is very low in iran and music is somehow banned from the government.

Hi everyone - I'm Maija from Finland.

1. Finnish food is pretty unassuming. I love some fish (salmon, brown trout, perch or pike-perch) with new potatoes, muurinpohjaletut (a kind of crêpe), korvapuustit (a Finnish cinnamon roll) and wild bilberries and strawberries fresh off the forest/meadow. 

2. I'm currently working on building repertoire for an exam that I'm planning to take by the end of this year. I just started learning Sonata K. 213 by Scarlatti, Allemande from the French Suite in b minor by J. S. Bach and Etude Op. 76 No. 2 by Jean Sibelius. I'm also working on some Finnish lied repertoire by Oskar Merikanto, Erkki Melartin and Toivo Kuula. 

3. I'm a passionate and somewhat ambitious amateur whose history with the piano is a little patchy. I've played since I was a child but my education was pretty lackluster, and as an adult I had a long period when I played rarely if at all. A few years ago I got into playing the piano again and started to take lessons with new teachers. I'm trying to patch up my uneven education and improve my technique, skills and musicianship so that I can hopefully progress to more challenging repertoire. Tonebase courses have been really helpful so far. I'm looking forward to learning more and being inspired by everyone! :)

I'm Mary from Columbus, Ohio, but originally from the Monterey Bay area in California.

Freshly cooked Dungeness crab (spare yourself the frozen stuff) served with real San Francisco sourdough bread and good butter is all I need for a happy meal.

I'm working on Sibelius Sonatina No. 1 in F# minor.

I played the piano from the time I was 13 till I was 18.  5 years ago, after a interruption of 55 years, I began to play again.  I found a wonderful teacher and more recently a good friend for 4-handed pieces.  A month's break while my teacher is away will allow me to see how I can fit Tonebase into my practice life.  So far I've appreciated the prodding to set and regularly examine goals as well as several lessons  on technique.  I'm hoping to supplement my in-person, 1-hr/wk lessons with more in-depth work on technique and analysis/theory.

Hi, I'm Bjarne

• Where are you from and what's your favorite food from there? ;) 
  I'm from Norway, my favorite food from Norway might be home-made meatballs.
• What are you currently working on? 
  Currently working on Mozart K 545, Schumann Träumeri and Debussy - Arabesque no. 1
   
• What are you hoping to get out of this community? 
  I havn't got any friends who share the same interest in music.  Hope this is a place where i can discuss music with other pepople who got the same interest. Hoping to learn alot from tonebase, both theory, but also how to play and make the piano sing.

• I was born and raised in South Africa and moved to the USA in my 20’s, living first in Washington D.C. for 8 years before moving to Saint Louis, MO.  Hello Dominic!!!  South Africans LOVE to grill/barbecue so I grew up eating “Boerewors” (farmers sausage) and “stuiwe pap” (a South African staple) and Bobotie!. St. Louis is known for its barbecue, so a family favorite.  
• I am currently working on a LOT of repertoire in preparation for the upcoming academic year.  Czerny Etudes, opus 740 #11 and 12, Bach: Prelude and Fugue in Bflat #21; Rameau “L’Egyptienne”, Beethoven Sonata in F Major Op. 10 #2, 2 Mozart Concerti and a few Rag/Jazz/Blues pieces ….. and Bolcom Graceful Ghost Rag.  Probably more than enough for the summer!!
• I hope to improve my skills, and daily practice routine, grow as a pianist supported by a friendly, supportive and motivating community where we can share ideas and discuss the many wonderful facets of music.  

Hi everyone!

• Currently residing in New Orleans but I'm from San Diego. I've always been a sucker for good fish tacos.
• Currently I am working on two Debussy Preludes ( La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin & Bruyeres) as well as Chopin's Nocturne in G minor Op. 15, No. 3.
• I'm hoping to take advantage of as many learning opportunities as I can as I become a better pianist. I began taking lessons as an adult 3 years ago and have become more and more obsessed! 

Jason

• Where are you from and what's your favorite food from there? ;) 
  I am Dagmar from Nürnberg, Germany. Most typical food here is 3 tiny sausages in a bun with custard, but to be honest my prefered food is Italian ;) And I absolutely love my mom's way of making apple strudel, which is not how it is supposed to be done. She bakes Crêpes and then wraps them around apple-cinamon-compote and I drown them in vanilla sauce :D
  My piano is called "Poldi" (named him after Leopold Mozart) and he's my best friend! We really share the struggle :D haha.
• What are you currently working on? 
  I've been working on Maple Leaf Rag for 3 months now. I have been playing for 5 years, so this is still way above my level, but so much fun, and it turned out better than I'd ever expected. Of course I coudn't get it to perfection, but I can play it at slow pace and have lots of fun with it. Now I need to find something else to really commit to, which might take some time. I spend these "in between two beloved pieces" weeks usually with easier pieces, atm it's an easy Bach minuet (III in G major) and a Haydn German Dance. But these change every 1-2 weeks, because I am participating in the 40x challenge.
  My current lesson piece is Brahms Waltz 39.9 in d minor... I know I learn something from it, but it's not a favourite of mine. 
  My biggest weakness is my sight reading, I am far too slow for the repertoire we work on technically, and this waltz especially really depressed me, because there's hardly any notes on the sheet, but I can't read along because the leaps force me to look down :( I practice sight reading regularly with Pianomarvel, my SASR is around 620, and it feels like I should be able to read much better. But although I work on Cory Hall exercises, Paul Harris exercises/Books and regularly read new easy pieces for the 40x challenge, I improve at such slow tempo.
• What are you hoping to get out of this community? 
  I am really looking forward to watch all those wonderful videos. I am a theory lover and I really like that the content is at a more intermediate/advanced classical level, because most videos you find usually explain Jazz content, or are on the "everyone can play piano without reading notes"-base. I want to grow and nourish my musicality. I also hope for good tutorials on repertoire, that help me get more out of my pieces than I would on my own. 
  I have a wonderful teacher, too, but the more I can figure out on myself the less we have to spend the lesson time on those things, and my money is spent on the really important aspects like my technique/tone/relaxation etc. which needs direct feedback.

Hi everyone - I’m John from Oak Park, California (Ventura County near Thousand Oaks).   I’m a true foodie, so my food tastes are eclectic, but if I HAD to pick a fav it would be Italian.   

Currently I’m working on Schubert’s B flat major sonata (D960) and love every minute of it!   Will I ever say it’s ‘finished’, probably not as it keeps on getting better and better.   It’s all about the process.   I’m also working on Brahms Rhapsody Op 119/4, ballade Op 118/3, and Intermezzo Op 117/1.   I think these pieces combined make a nice grouping played in ballade/intermezzo/rhapsody order.  I’m also always trying to maintain a “go to” repertoire for those impromptu moments when someone says, ‘Hey John, play something for us’ and would love to hear suggestions from all of you as to how you keep up your repertoire.  

I love playing chamber music, and piano duets and duos, so if anyone out there lives close to me and would like to “jam” please reach out.   

I would like to know how to reach out to other members and the Tonebase staff with questions about specific pieces and get your opinions.   Here’s my first question.  In the Chopin Impromptu Opus 36/2 do the fast scales beginning at measure 82 have to be played in tempo with the beginning of the piece or can they be taken down in tempo slightly?   

I look forward to getting to know you and participating in the community.