Recorded on April 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
23 April 2008, #4a. "Anabelle Gurwitch" - 4m07s
In this piece is another example of a treble pedal tone. It's an open fifth, which lets me imply either minor or major with the tune. You can hear it's clearly minor for the first minute, but then it becomes slightly nebulous.
I especially like the accented notes that fall before the beat. It gives an interesting rhythmic cadence, sort of a stumbling feeling.
I especially like the accented notes that fall before the beat. It gives an interesting rhythmic cadence, sort of a stumbling feeling.
Recorded on April 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
23 Apr 2008, #3. "Steve Inskeep" - 6m45s
Sometimes I like to start with just one note in each hand. It simplifies the texture, gives a lot of space, and allows me to think in melody rather than harmony or texture. In this case, it yielded a wonderfully simple bass line - D, F#, B, A, C, C#. As that line repeats slowly and methodically, I explored D major above it. I really like the simplicity of most of this piece, but I don't like the ending, when I think I got a little bored and copped out. (I considered fading out the recording, but that might be more of a cop out.)
Recorded on April 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
Friday, May 16, 2008
23 April 2008, #2. "Lakshmi Singh" - 3m38s
I needed to relax after the first piece. This is by far the most typically jazz improv I've done, just a little noodling over a standard progression. There's a little "Georgia On My Mind" in there, a little "Til There Was You," a few other things. It's like an afternoon stroll after a crazy energetic day.
Recorded on April 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
23 April 2008, #1. "Melissa Block" - 11m57s
The first effort of the day. Sometimes, when I sit down completely blank, I just try to get a harmonic feeling ringing in the piano and in my head. I start in E Lydian, a comfortable place for me. At 2:23 it settles into A major, with some borrowed chords from A minor. Actually, it's more like A minor with what I'll call the Picardy tonic, in that all the chords other than the I are from A minor. And that facilitates an easy transition (at 4:19) into C major.
This C major section is the first really interesting development, for me. The left hand plays an ostinato of f-g-a, and it feels like a rippling pedal point that flutters between the dominant and the subdominant; it is a pleasing discovery. I'm also quite happy with the tune I find in the right hand, and how I embellish it and eventually transpose it (for a few seconds at 7:08) into E flat major, before returning it back to C major and losing all semblance of the sub-dominant pedal – the left hand drops an octave and loses the f; the ostinato also changes from a triplet to a quadruplet, which solidifies the meter.
(At 9:39, you will hear something that, probably, you have never heard before: a piano string breaking. It was certainly a first for me. I didn't hit the key very hard, but apparently it had had enough, and the second strike broke the string in two. It is lucky that the note high enough that it is rarely played - as far as I know it is still unrepaired.)
The dominant pedal builds for a very long time (I count it at almost four minutes), building up the excitement, and when it finally resolves (11:20), it's C7, not a C major triad. This chord sequence suddenly struck me as familiar, and I couldn't resist the tongue-in-cheek quotation (more like a paraphrasing). Besides, how else was I going to end it? It had been going for so long, and had such momentum, I didn't know how to stop.
This piece runs the gamut of texture and emotion as much as any I have yet posted, and I think the chords at 10:26 are quite exciting and new to me. All in all, more than a few things to be happy about in this one.
This C major section is the first really interesting development, for me. The left hand plays an ostinato of f-g-a, and it feels like a rippling pedal point that flutters between the dominant and the subdominant; it is a pleasing discovery. I'm also quite happy with the tune I find in the right hand, and how I embellish it and eventually transpose it (for a few seconds at 7:08) into E flat major, before returning it back to C major and losing all semblance of the sub-dominant pedal – the left hand drops an octave and loses the f; the ostinato also changes from a triplet to a quadruplet, which solidifies the meter.
(At 9:39, you will hear something that, probably, you have never heard before: a piano string breaking. It was certainly a first for me. I didn't hit the key very hard, but apparently it had had enough, and the second strike broke the string in two. It is lucky that the note high enough that it is rarely played - as far as I know it is still unrepaired.)
The dominant pedal builds for a very long time (I count it at almost four minutes), building up the excitement, and when it finally resolves (11:20), it's C7, not a C major triad. This chord sequence suddenly struck me as familiar, and I couldn't resist the tongue-in-cheek quotation (more like a paraphrasing). Besides, how else was I going to end it? It had been going for so long, and had such momentum, I didn't know how to stop.
This piece runs the gamut of texture and emotion as much as any I have yet posted, and I think the chords at 10:26 are quite exciting and new to me. All in all, more than a few things to be happy about in this one.
Recorded on April 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
New session and update.
Dear listeners, thank you again for your patience. I have been on the road and unable to update this blog, but finally with a few spare moments, here is the next session. I have to pace myself, though, lest I run out of material to post before I get back home and have a chance to record again.
This session was recorded in late April, a few days before I hit the road, and I felt very stressed. Initially following the session, I was pretty unhappy with what I thought I had played — I felt like I was only rehashing old ideas — but upon further listening I have found some unexpected and interesting music, with some more mature improvisations. What do I mean by "mature?" I'm sure I don't know!
You may notice, on the right of the screen (scroll down a bit), a list of labels. So far it is limited to length of pieces: "short" is less than four minutes, "medium" is four to seven minutes, and "long" is over seven minutes. I also labeled one piece (the one in which I played the strings with pens) "experimental," although I'm not thrilled with that. I intend to go back and catalog each piece more thoroughly with descriptive labels. What I ask of you is suggestions for labels you would like to see. Whether they be descriptions of modes ("Lydian"), or textures ("block chords"), or structures ("blues"): how would you like these pieces to be organized?
Finally, a number of you were pleased with the NPR names of the last session, so I have continued with that theme.
This session was recorded in late April, a few days before I hit the road, and I felt very stressed. Initially following the session, I was pretty unhappy with what I thought I had played — I felt like I was only rehashing old ideas — but upon further listening I have found some unexpected and interesting music, with some more mature improvisations. What do I mean by "mature?" I'm sure I don't know!
You may notice, on the right of the screen (scroll down a bit), a list of labels. So far it is limited to length of pieces: "short" is less than four minutes, "medium" is four to seven minutes, and "long" is over seven minutes. I also labeled one piece (the one in which I played the strings with pens) "experimental," although I'm not thrilled with that. I intend to go back and catalog each piece more thoroughly with descriptive labels. What I ask of you is suggestions for labels you would like to see. Whether they be descriptions of modes ("Lydian"), or textures ("block chords"), or structures ("blues"): how would you like these pieces to be organized?
Finally, a number of you were pleased with the NPR names of the last session, so I have continued with that theme.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
11 Feb 2008, #8b. "Alex Chadwick" - 6m00s
(Another repost, because I keep embedding the wrong audio! Sorry! Without further ado, the real "Alex Chadwick"...)
This piece is the complement to the last, having been played only with my right hand. My right is much more dexterous than my left, but there's still only so far my fingers can reach at one time. Most artists will tell you that setting artificial limitations such as this can be an excellent way to free up creative energy. I tell my writer friends, when they are blocked, to try writing with one hand – it can really help!
This piece gets a bit nervous, a bit deranged, as I try to settle into a comfortable one-handed rhythm, but I never get there; in fact, I get less and less comfortable, and it eventually peters out.
This piece is the complement to the last, having been played only with my right hand. My right is much more dexterous than my left, but there's still only so far my fingers can reach at one time. Most artists will tell you that setting artificial limitations such as this can be an excellent way to free up creative energy. I tell my writer friends, when they are blocked, to try writing with one hand – it can really help!
This piece gets a bit nervous, a bit deranged, as I try to settle into a comfortable one-handed rhythm, but I never get there; in fact, I get less and less comfortable, and it eventually peters out.
Recorded on February 11th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.
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