This is my updates thread for my piano violin duet with ThePersona or as I've come to know her the lovely Christine. She is a wonderful person who has unbelievable talent at her instrument, working with her has been a challenge but now that I'm here in Florida (yeah! We go to Disney tomorrow! I guess this could be called a date but I think she's taken) it should be a lot easier, I've decide to announce the pieces we will be performing and briefly describing why.

Resonance- MegaMan Zero 4
This song is a battle theme, and many of us here have been through what could be described as a battle, I'll let Christine elaborate on this one if she pleases because it holds more meaning for her

A Thousand Years- Christina Perri
This song is a song that for me represents my mother and her struggle against breast and lung cancer, it's also a song I feel can touch hearts with the profound lyrics (sadly neither of us can sing)

Mystery!
This one you shall need to wait to find out!!!

Thank you James, and James, I WAS taken, I broke up with him, and it's just a friend dragging you to a place you've never been, currently at least, it's a date if you wish for it to be.

Resonance
This song represents turmoil and struggle and defeat. We all have faced defeat before, multiple times whether we eventually succeeded or not, and the resolution of this song is the cliffhanger if success or failure.

A Thousand Years
I lost my sister a while back and this song is in memory of Theresa Nicole Delarosa and her daughter Emily Christine, because they will always be in my hearts forever. (Yes I said hearts... I'm a time lord, god don't be so rude!)

Mystery
Don't let James fool you, we haven't come up with the third piece.

Sounds great! Really look forward to hearing it! Definitely envious of the Disney trip, Disneyland Paris is the nearest one to me and I've still not been yet. Hope it goes well!

Christine Perri - A Thousand Years, I like this song a lot.

Resonance from MegaMan Zero 4, I've done a bit of research since seeing this thread and if it's the same track as the one I've come across (I'm ashamed to say I've not played a MegaMan game in a long time), this is sounding really good too.

An excellent pianist and I'm sure an excellent violinist! But don't feel any pressure about it, from where I'm standing you twos shouldn't feel 'you should record these and upload them to the thread as soon as possible', I'd say just have fun first and foremost! But I myself would be really pleased to hear them.

Quote from: ThePersona on August 02, 2014, 12:03:44 AM
Mystery
Don't let James fool you, we haven't come up with the third piece.

Update 1 Christie:

Just updating saying the pieces are coming along great! James is such a pleasure to work with and if I may say, that accent is gorgeous! Third piece will probably be a piece which has tons of meaning for what we feel is a bunch of people in this community, it's a self-written piece entitled "Scars For The Many" I wrote this piece in the lowest point of my depression when I was attempting suicide weekly and cutting more than daily. I'm very hesitant to play the piece for all to hear because it does have emotional meaning behind the piece. We have also decided to do a fourth piece which we dedicate to his mother.

Update 1 James:

Christine you're too kind. Yes we are going to do a fourth piece and we have decided it will be Rascal Flatts- Skin and we dedicate this song to my mother who died of breast and lung cancer. We may decide to do just three and leave the fourth out if we don't get to it in time for when I have to return to New York for school. Christine is such a right bloke and I love working with her, Disney was very awkward I'm gonna leave it at that. I love these pieces and love working with Christine, I really hope I can do another duet with her in the future.

Update 2 James:

Forgot to give a lowdown on the studio gear! So here it is, also please note Christine did not buy ALL of this gear and the studio belongs to her and a few friends.

Christine's Studio Gear

NS Design NXT-5 Fretted Electric Violin (4/4)

Carlo Robelli RV505 Hand Carved Violin (4/4)

Yamaha CBB101 Carbon Fibre Bow (4/4) x4

Line 10 Amp Violin Amp (although it's no different from a guitar amp just without a bass nob)

Yamaha Arius YDP-142 88-Key Digital Piano

1970's Vintage Fender 12-String Stratocoaster

Armstrong 303 Open-Hole Flute

Carlo Robelli 205 Cello (4/4)

Howard Core 1888VC Cello Bow (4/4) x2

EBS DPhaser Phase Effect Pedal (reprogrammed by her friends computer skills to fit a violins needs)

M-Audio EXP Universal Expression Footswitch Controller

Fender FT-004 Clip-On Chromatic Tuner




The Gear I Brought From NYC

Dolby Surround CAT542 Digital Recorder

Hartke FT50 Chromatic Tuner




Now you know all of the gear we are using, I probably should've left it out if we weren't using it. But I guess it's obvious what we are or aren't using. She has mostly used her Electric Violin but has somewhat touched the Acoustic.

All sounding really good, that is some very impressive gear that you have at your disposal including that studio. Talking of accents I looked at Rascal Flatts - Skin, they have quite heavy Southern accents don't they! A good song though, I look forward to hearing it if possible. I hope it goes well Christine and James! 

p.s. The best of us are awkward so don't worry!

Quote from: jamboe89 on August 04, 2014, 05:56:35 AM
All sounding really good, that is some very impressive gear that you have at your disposal including that studio. Talking of accents I looked at Rascal Flatts - Skin, they have quite heavy Southern accents don't they! A good song though, I look forward to hearing it if possible. I hope it goes well Christine and James! 

p.s. The best of us are awkward so don't worry!

It's a shared studio I only bought what I use and the cello, the piano was a joint buy and the flute is my friend Sherry's

Unrelated update James:

This update is actually to say I had no idea Christine wasn't out to some of her friends and still dressed and went out as a guy sometimes (first time I'd seen her as a "guy" and she looked more like a girl in guy clothes) and so we were with a few of her friends and she introduces me and says we're doing a duet together and one of her friends starts complaining about being a girl (you know typical girl complaints about their gender and how they wish they were a boy) and of course you know they don't mean it but I could tell it was making Christine really uncomfortable and then she just snapped, she turned to her friend and almost in tears said "Stop complaining about being a girl, I've spent 20 years wishing I was a girl!" And just loses it in tears! It was quite a sight to behold, with an early transition I never faced much hiding my gender expression and this was just so much of an eye opener for me.

Quote from: ThePersona on August 04, 2014, 10:03:47 PM
It's a shared studio I only bought what I use and the cello, the piano was a joint buy and the flute is my friend Sherry's

I'm very impressed. You have such potential with all of this stuff! I hope that it is all working out well.

Quote from: JCardiff on August 05, 2014, 10:09:07 PM
Unrelated update James:

This update is actually to say I had no idea Christine wasn't out to some of her friends and still dressed and went out as a guy sometimes (first time I'd seen her as a "guy" and she looked more like a girl in guy clothes) and so we were with a few of her friends and she introduces me and says we're doing a duet together and one of her friends starts complaining about being a girl (you know typical girl complaints about their gender and how they wish they were a boy) and of course you know they don't mean it but I could tell it was making Christine really uncomfortable and then she just snapped, she turned to her friend and almost in tears said "Stop complaining about being a girl, I've spent 20 years wishing I was a girl!" And just loses it in tears! It was quite a sight to behold, with an early transition I never faced much hiding my gender expression and this was just so much of an eye opener for me.

Ah, don't feel bad Christine, you still have your whole life ahead of you, keeping in mind you saying 'I've spent 20 years wishing I was a girl', so I guess you're about 20..? I am quite early in transition so what you said James about Christine looking more like a girl in guys clothes, (than guy in guys clothes) it is heartening!

Update Christine:

Hey guys just got out of a psych ward, yeah, long story rather not talk about it. So we ran out of time cause I got admitted so we'll be uploading two pieces, Resonance (Falling down in resonance) and When I Was Your Man, sorry we couldn't do the other pieces we had to keep it simple cause James go back to school really soon (he's actually probably on his way home now)

All I can say is keep strong Christine, you're not alone! Will be great to hear those ones you mention, I'm sure they're great. Will be great to hear how they turned out, but again truly don't feel any pressure about it Christine, James, just whenever you feel comfortable.