Piano, finally

We’re into the last three teaching weeks of the school year; final marking is nearly done, and I’m looking forward to a bit more time at the piano. 🎧 YouTube – Beethoven Literally Used Four Chords to Write Für Elise YouTube analysis channels can be a goldmine. Jazz pianist Charles Cornell – co-founder of Better Piano and author of Jazz Piano Improv – has a terrific breakdown of Für Elise . He loo...

G’day, I’m David Reidy. Welcome to Piano, Finally , a podcast by an old bloke who’s getting around to learning the piano, finally. This week was light on practice thanks to Year 9 camp at Lake Macquarie and the start of exam-marking season, but there was still some playing – including at camp – and some reflections on what it means to practise where people can see you . 🎧 YouTube – 5 Minutes on…...

Welcome back to Piano, Finally — the podcast of one bloke who’s learning piano later in life. This week’s episode is all about stepping up to new challenges and enjoying the progress along the way. I’ve been practising more than usual, working on three pieces — including my first “real” classical work: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata . It’s tricky, but rewarding, and I’m discovering just how much a s...

G’day, everyone—and welcome back to Piano, Finally , a podcast by an old bloke learning the piano, finally. This week’s episode recaps my trip to the Out West Piano Fest in Bathurst—a weekend of incredible performances, great company, and the best farm food I’ve ever had. 🎼 Review – Out West Piano Fest Held on Blackdown Farm and organised by Piano Plus , the festival brings together music, meals,...

🎧 This Week’s Competitions The Out West Piano Fest is just around the corner, and I’ll be heading to Bathurst for the weekend—my first planned break from the podcast. If you’re there, say hello! Details at pianoplus.com.au/out-west-piano-fest-2025 . For those who enjoy piano competitions, the Honens International Piano Competition is underway, with finals streaming live and available afterwards o...

Episode 69 – It’s Not About the Money Welcome back to Piano, finally, the podcast of one bloke learning piano later in life. This week’s episode was planned and drafted on the train to Sydney—an unusually productive commute at $6.90 each way! 🎧 YouTube and Podcast – 19th International Chopin Competition Stage One of the 19th International Chopin Competition has finished, with forty pianists progr...

Episode 68 – It Takes Time G’day, everyone—and welcome back to Piano, Finally , the podcast from an old bloke who’s learning the piano, finally. This week’s episode comes to you from Queensland, recorded on portable Rode gear via an iPhone and edited in Cubase on a MacBook Pro. It’s also a rehearsal for the upcoming Out West Piano Fest, where I’ll be recording on location. 🎧 YouTube Feature – 19t...

Episode 67 – If a job’s worth doing… Welcome back to Piano, Finally , a podcast from an old bloke learning the piano later in life. Term three has wrapped up, and with it my piano lessons for now. Devi has me back on Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase , plus a new piece—Kevin Olson’s Machines on the Loose —and Juan Cabeza’s Diversion 1 . Plenty to keep me busy through the break. 🎧 Podcast & YouTu...

🎙 Episode 66 – Nothing’s Wasted Welcome back to Piano, Finally , the podcast of one bloke learning piano later in life. This episode didn’t go quite as planned—I was meant to be sharing a recording from Devi’s piano showcase, but thanks to a calendar mishap, I missed it by a day. Disappointing, yes—but not wasted. The extra practice means I now have four polished pieces ready to play whenever some...

Episode 65 – Aspirations Welcome back to Piano, Finally , the podcast from an old bloke learning the piano. With the showcase just a week away, I’ve doubled practice sessions—half an hour in the morning, twenty minutes in the afternoon—rotating between the Kawai NV10 and Nord Stage 4. Devi’s electric Kawai will be the instrument on the day, so I’m aiming to be ready, even if the occasional wrong n...

🎙 Episode 64 – Purpose G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally . This week I had something like a first public performance—playing my four showcase pieces for a junior music class I was covering. They asked, I played, and it went alright. With just two weeks until the actual showcase, I’m ramping up practice but not aiming for perfection—it’s about learning, and sharing the journey. 🎧 YouTube Sp...

🎙 Episode 63 – Narrow or Broad Welcome back to Piano, Finally . Apologies for the break last week—I came down with Influenza A and even had to miss my lesson with Devi. Thankfully the antivirals worked, and I’m back at the keys (though you may still hear a touch of it in my voice). This week included some extra performances by senior students preparing for their exams—Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and...

🎙 Episode 62 – Why Are We Playing? G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally . This week included two very different performances: Circa and the Art of the Fugue at City Recital Hall, and Radio Luxembourg at The Joan in Penrith. Both highlighted the power of live music, from Bach’s intricate counterpoint to the raw energy of 1960s rock and pop. 🎭 Performance Reviews Circa and the Art of the Fugue...

🎙 Episode 61 – When Are We Going to Use This? Welcome back to Piano, Finally , where I share the ups, downs, and sideways detours of learning piano later in life. This week’s opening note: if you contact me via Buzzsprout’s FanMail, I can’t reply—so if you’d like a conversation, please send an email to david@pianofinally.show. It’s Science Week here in NSW schools, and between showing science demo...

🎙 Episode 60 – Choosing Six Welcome to Episode 60 of Piano, Finally , a podcast about learning the piano later in life and enjoying the journey along the way. This week, tickets went on sale for the Out West Piano Fest . It will be held in October at Blackdown Farm in Bathurst and features five concerts over three days with meals included. Wynona Wang, prize-winner at the 2023 Sydney International...

🎙 Episode 59 – It’s Our Job Welcome to Piano, Finally . This week brings a few changes in how the show is recorded. The entire episode has been produced in Cubase using Steinberg’s SpectraLayers for audio processing. Recording the MIDI data from the Kawai NV10 directly into Cubase has improved the quality of the piano sound—now I just need to work on improving my playing! A warm welcome to new lis...

🎙 Episode 58 – Listening In G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally —where a bloke learning piano later in life reports in from yet another theatre foyer. This week’s episode was written from the Northern Foyer of the Sydney Opera House, in the sunlight beneath John Olsen’s mural Salute to Slessor’s 5 Bells . A pre-concert talk with Jaime Martín and Genevieve Lang turned out to be one of the high...

🎙 Episode 57 – Reading and Writing Welcome to Piano, Finally , a podcast about learning the piano—later in life and without the pressure. This week’s episode has been recorded a day early as I head off to the Opera House for another concert in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series—more on that next week. 🎧 The latest episode of the Chopin Podcast focuses on the Polonaises, including...

🎙 Episode 56 – Leaving Evidence G’day, and welcome back to Piano, Finally , where each week I share the detours, lessons, and progress from learning piano later in life. This week’s episode was written from the foyer of the Bell Shakespeare Company’s theatre, ahead of a performance of Coriolanus —more on that at the end. 🎭 Term’s over, holidays have begun, and with piano lessons on break too, I’m...

🎙 Episode 55 – Play Like No One Is Listening G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally , where an old bloke keeps learning the piano, one step (and one podcast) at a time. This week’s script was written in the foyer of Carriageworks ahead of Aphrodite , a world premiere chamber opera by Nico Muhly. The venue, with its industrial charm and bold programming, is perfect for discovering new voices—and...

🎙 Episode 54 – Under Pressure Welcome to Episode 54 of Piano, Finally , the podcast of one old bloke making his way—note by note—through learning the piano. It’s been a big week at school with the Creative and Performing Arts Showcase on Wednesday and a packed end-of-term schedule coming up, featuring the walkathon, carnival, and Battle of the Bands (yes, I’ll be in the dunk tank again). The week...

Episode 53 – A Community G’day and welcome to Episode 53 of Piano, finally , the podcast of a bloke getting around to learning the piano… finally. This week finds me writing from the foyer of the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, not the Opera House this time. I was waiting for Shake & Stir’s touring production of 1984 , and I have to say, it was an impressive adaptation—just...

🎙 Episode 52 – A Dangerous Business G’day, and welcome back to Piano, Finally —a podcast from an old bloke finally learning the piano. This week’s episode was written once again from the busy foyer of the Sydney Opera House—where Vivid’s light show and some eye-watering appetiser prices ($825!) set the scene before another performance by Sir Stephen Hough. We begin with an update from the Cliburn...

Welcome to Episode 51 of Piano, Finally ! This week, I talk about how my piano practice was affected by long work days, debating competitions, and the occasional musical side quest — like programming the Nord Stage 4 to sound like the iconic synth from Van Halen’s Jump . (You’ll hear my first attempt in the progress section.) In the spirit of broadening musical horizons, this episode’s recommendat...

G’day, and welcome to Episode 50 of Piano, Finally ! This week marks one full year since the podcast began, and in that time, fifty proper episodes have made it to air. In this episode, I take a moment to reflect on the journey so far — from consistent recording and practicing, to discovering the joy of small but meaningful progress at the piano. As I write this, I’m sitting in the Sydney Opera Ho...