@jose2 @Hayden @Pierrot
Thanks so much, Pierre, Hayden, and Jose! Very much appreciated, especially the constructive criticism from Pierre (we need more of that). Pierre Iāll look forward to hearing your quartetāIām jealous, because where I live itās hard to find people to play with.
P.S. The Stanford workshop canāt be too selective because they accepted me earlier today. Hayden and Tuomo deserve all the credit!
@gregb great job as always!
Ugetsu is a difficult song, with interesting and challenging harmony and a bit unusual form.
This is definitely a song we could talk for a long time; it has modal sections, as well as some tonal movements, which are common in Cedar Waltonās compositions.
Just curious, when you have a moment, can you do another take where you just play with your right hand and donāt comp on the left? This is an exercise I find helpful when dealing with difficult changes; it gives me more focus on the melodies, and later on left hand is easy to add to it.
In general, great work as always!
-Tuomo
Thanks so much, Tuomo! Iāll try some RH-only practice for awhileāseems like a great suggestion in general.
For anyone whoās interested, thereās a few versions of this tune available but the one I liked the best is a version from Cedar Waltonās Trio Vol 3 album:
Hi everyone 
Hereās a little preview for my seminar later this week where we will be working on the tune āThe Nearness Of Youā:
Iām also working on a new cocktail piano course using this tune which will cover both harmony and improvisation.
The seminar on Wednesday will be harmony focused - hope to see you there!
Itās been awhile since Iāve shared anything in this threadā¦
This is a version of Spring can really hang you up the most that Iāve been working on as an exerciseāthe assignment is to apply the āPeace pieceā comping pattern to a ballad of oneās choice. Itās a work in progress and a little bit off the beaten track of my usual fare. Iāll be interested in any feedback/advice/comments.
As mentioned in another thread, this is recorded with a Garritan CFX VST, which I think works well for ballads.
It sounds awesome @gregb - Iām always impressed by how clean your pedal work is.
The approach tones that you add into the bass are really nice too and add some interest into the lower registers.