Permutations of 88 – a series of piano improvisations

1 September 2008, #5. "Goose" - 6m07s

2009-05-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

This seems to be developed from Crane II, which was recorded immediately previously. It also sounds related quite a bit to a harmonic theme in "Glacier Discovery" (the third track on "Passages") – it shares phrase lengths and harmonic relations. But it is more florid, more active, and ultimately more mistake-ridden and uninteresting — it ends up sounding too much like noodling. Hence my dropping the F-bomb at the 3:20 mark (parents, cover your children's ears!). Then I glissando, to figuratively wipe the slate clean and start over.

I'll say, though, I've no idea how I got the sostenuto pedal and the low register depressed in the middle of the improvisation. Literally – I don't remember. It makes for a fascinating and shimmery texture. But if people don't realize that what you are doing is organic, they think it's just some Enya effect. And I will admit that it makes me play a little like Enya. By which I am less than thrilled. And you can hear it when, at the end, I realize just how banal I've become and have to wipe the slate clean again.

Why am I posting this? Maybe to show you that sometimes the good stuff just won't come out.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on September 1st, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

1 September 2008, #4. "Crane" - 3m16s

2009-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Let us continue through these outtakes, these aborted takes. This one gets its overdone reverb effect from the magical middle pedal of the piano, the one that's rarely used. It is called the sostenuto pedal, it keeps raised any damper that is already raised when the pedal is depressed. This means you can sustain some notes while keeping others dry. However, I prefer to use it in a subtler manner.

If a key is played softly enough, the hammer does not strike the strings, but the damper is lifted. So the strings are left ready to vibrate. When other strings in the piano are played, the wonderful phenomenon of sympathetic resonance causes some of the open strings to quietly vibrate. Only the closely related notes will ring sympathetically. That is, if I strike a C, the others C's will ring, as will some G's (not as loudly) and a few E's (quieter still). (It's a little more complicated than that, but I don't need to get all technical on you...)

I like to prepare the lowest and/or highest registers of the piano, the ones that I rarely play in, and let them be the resonators. That is what you hear in these next two recordings.

Crane I - 2m37s

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on September 1st, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

Crane II - 39s

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on September 1st, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

1 September 2008, #3. "Albatross" - 4m50s

2009-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

I love how austerely this piece begins. It is open and empty. I left the sustain pedal down for much of it, giving an extremely wet texture. It doesn't stop, either — as I throw more notes in, leaving the pedal down, they all mix together in a swirl. Unfortunately, I lose it and abort the piece at 4:35. So I suppose this is what's called an "outtake", but the beginning was too lovely not to post.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on September 1st, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

In Memoriam Andrew Wyeth.

2009-01-17T01:57:00.000-08:00

Andrew Wyeth passed away yesterday, at the age of 91.

"Christina's World" (1948) by Andrew Wyeth
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

"Winter, 1946" (1946) by Andrew Wyeth
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

1 September 2008, #2. "The Humming Bird" - 7m18s

2008-12-31T01:35:00.000-08:00

Here, just for you, is another brand new improv, one that is not on either CD. I really dig the rhythm in this, how the two disjointed hands mesh together to form something cohesive. You can hear, though, that at times my hands and brain could barely manage to stay together and in time. The ragged (and repetitive) nature of this piece is why it didn't make the cut for the new CD, but the energy is so great that I wanted to share it.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on September 1st, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

New CD's!

2008-12-31T00:07:00.000-08:00

Dear loyal listeners,

I am pleased to announce that my new CD's have arrived from the printer, safe and sound, and are now ready to head out into the world and be listened to!

The first one, Palettes, is comprised of the session I did back in August, using artwork as inspiration – the eleven tracks from the van Gogh to the second Wyeth. You have (presumably) heard all of those. Still, you haven't heard them sound like they do on this CD, mastered to perfection, nor have you seen the handsome CD artwork and insert it comes with.

Still, Palettes is outdone by the second disc, entitled Passages. Passages includes four previously unreleased tracks, including what may be my favorite of all (Track 3: "Glacier Discovery"). Besides the sparkling sound (thanks to Eric Ames at SuperDigital for a great mastering job), the package is fantastic. Vibrant original artwork by local artist Justin Potts, and a little jigsaw-type CD surface/tray art as a bonus!

Bluster aside, I am terribly pleased with how these CD's came out, and proud that I've finally created something tangible. I want very much to share these with you who have been so supportive over this past year (almost exactly!). If you have enjoyed my music this past year, do think about buying one or both of these records; you can get them here: http://www.montchrishubbard.com/store.html

Finally, lest you think that I am through with this blog, think again! I will continue to post improvisations while I've got them. The upcoming posts will be brand new – they are not album cuts. I have a few more until the well dries up; when that time comes, I think I will record some more, but maybe not on the piano. Don't worry, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, the next post will be up in a few minutes, with an energetic little ditty.

Sincerely yours,
Mont Chris Hubbard

Hiatus.

2008-11-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

It has been three weeks without a post. I'm sorry for that, and I shall explain. I have been busy compiling recordings and preparing to release them on CD – two CD's, actually. One CD will be composed of the last eleven recordings on the blog. The other will have some older stuff, as well as four new improvisations (which, not to mince words, are awesome). I am very excited to be able to put these out in plastic form, and I will let you know as soon as they are available.

The future of this blog, then, is unclear. I have no plans to record new improvs at the studio. The blog will likely be silent for a time. I may do more improvs at home on my keyboard and present them on this blog with fake piano sounds (that sound real). I have also considered trying out some synthesizer improvs. If so, I will have to change the blog's title.

No matter what is coming, I would like to thank you for listening during this past year. I have appreciated being able to share this music with you, and look forward to doing so again soon.

Sincerely,
Mont Chris Hubbard

12 August 2008, #11. "Winter, 1946" - 4m03s

2008-11-09T17:21:00.001-08:00

This is the last piece in my "Paintings" series. Coincidentally, the painting for the first piece was also by Andrew Wyeth - I am pleased at the symmetry. I am also pleased at how this piece turned out. I found a very interesting motif and explored it thoroughly, but I don't find it belaboured. The piece does not settle into a standard key and avoids standard cadences. It is open, cold, and harsh.

"Winter, 1946" (1946) by Andrew Wyeth
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #10. "In The Car" - 3m35s

2008-11-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

I don't think my piece fits this painting at all. It's not sleek or hip or cool. It is rumbling and bluesy.

"In The Car" (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #9. "Man Sitting - Back View" - 5m23s

2008-10-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

The first time I tried to channel a Thiebaud painting, I failed. This time, however, I had the image in front of me, and I must say I was much more successful. This improv is peaceful and slightly melancholy. It has a nice arc and doesn't overreach.

"Man Sitting - Back View" (1964) by Wayne Thiebaud
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #8. "The Gulf Stream" - 2m02s

2008-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

I did not know what to do with this painting by Winslow Homer, other than to do my best to evoke the teeming, whitecapped water and the imminent violence.

"The Gulf Stream" (1899) by Winslow Homer
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #7. "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" - 3m31s

2008-10-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

"Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" (1971) by David Hockney
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #6. "Night Burn" - 8m05s

2008-09-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

I thought longer than usual about how to render this painting, "Night Burn" by Sidney Goodman. I decided after much contemplation to imagine this act, frozen in time in the painting, in an unusual way. Instead of the tragedy of a man burning, I wanted to focus on the spectacle of the flame. I imagined the man as a work of art himself, comprised of deeds and experiences, and tried to capture the solemn beauty of the destruction of such a piece of art. Like the best funerals, it became a celebration of life.

I noticed that this piece shares a lot with the last two minutes of "Nighthawks." I was still quite enamored with the tonalities I had discovered in that effort, and found the right opportunity to explore them further. (The similarity in titles is surely coincidence.)

"Night Burn" (1986-87) by Sidney Goodman
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #5. "Figures in a Landscape" #2 - 5m59s

2008-09-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

As I finished interpreting Sidney Goodman's "Figures in a Landscape" the first time, I wasn't altogether satisfied. I felt like I had not done a good enough job of capturing the melancholy and foreboding that I felt in the painting. So I decided to try again. I think that my two efforts taken together are a better counterpiece to Goodman's painting.

"Figures in a Landscape" (1972-3) by Sidney Goodman
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #4. "Figures in a Landscape" #1 - 6m57s

2008-09-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

I won't say much about this one. I was affected by the stagnation apparent in the painting, and did my best to bring that out in my playing.

"Figures in a Landscape" (1972-3) by Sidney Goodman
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

An acknowledgement.

2008-09-10T02:39:00.001-07:00

I ought to acknowledge my friend Beth Champion, who suggested all of the paintings for the session; she is much more passionate about art than I, and picked some wonderful (and fruitful) pieces of art. Thank you, Beth!

12 August 2008, #3. "The Bricoleur's Daughter" - 5m23s

2008-09-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

"The Bricoleur's Daughter" by Mark Tansey (1987)
Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

12 August 2008, #2. "Narcissus" - 6m13s

2008-08-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

I took another literal approach to start this piece (inspired by Caravaggio's "Narcissus"). The positions of the first four notes in the right hand are reflections of the corresponding notes in the left hand (I'll leave it to you to determine which note is the axis of reflection). In fact, the first fifteen notes are all reflections. (They are not chromatic reflections, but rather remain diatonic.) Having found and established a feel and motivic ideas for this piece, I could then leave the rigid rule behind and flesh it out. I do return to the reflection motif often (though not always about the original axis).

I am pleased with how delicate the piece begins, and I like that it becomes very traditional sounding. As I move away from that, it gets a little sloppy, unfortunately, but I'm able to pull it together and wrap it up nicely.

Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

Notes on "Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies"

2008-08-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

A few notes about my musical interpretation of Vincent Van Gogh's painting, "Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies," (posted last week here):

- This was my first attempt of the day, and I started in a literal fashion — the opening chord, an upward glissando, represents the path that runs up the middle of the field. All of the repeated figures of half- and whole-step relationships are the crows, which look on the canvas much like musical ornaments.

- I have recently been taken with playing more chords out of root position; that is to say, leaving the root of the chord off (e.g. an F major triad with an A in the bass). You might notice a preponderance of these types of chords in many of the recordings from this session. When they are not part of a conventional cadence, they can sound ungrounded, but calmingly so.

- I was more aware than ever during this session of the length of my improvs. More often than not, the first piece of a session has stretched to over ten minutes, but I was consciously trying to be more succinct, and not continually quest for new ideas. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that my inspiration was concrete and limited. It certainly worked.

problem solved...

2008-08-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry, everybody – I had a freak glitch on my server, and, for a day, none of the recordings were available! Now, though, everything's back, so listen away!

– Chris

12 August 2008, #1. "Wheat Fields Under Threatening Skies" - 5m50s

2008-08-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

Click on the painting to open up a larger version in another window.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on August 12th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

11 June 2008, #6. "The California Zephyr" - 4m26s

2008-08-11T02:47:00.000-07:00

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

11 June 2008, #5. "The Empire Builder" - 5m20s

2008-08-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

The second in this three-part series of non-paintings. I named them after the fact because I thought they had a similar touch, a shared something...

(On this one, the touch ran out at around the 4:40 mark and the piece fell apart, but I liked the rest of it, so I kept it. Please forgive the ragged ending.)

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

Server back up!

2008-08-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Back to business...

Server troubles.

2008-08-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

I must apologize sincerely for the disappearance of my improvs. There is some sort of problem with the server that hosts my website, and until it is cleared up, my recordings are not accessible. I am contacting the appropriate people and I dearly hope that whatever it is will be resolved quickly. Until then, I have nothing to offer you. If you need to listen to something, and you have not yet listened to any Keith Jarrett, I'd like to direct you to his Köln Concert, ten minutes of which can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzqMJWlKMsY

Repost: "The Orange Blossom Special" - 10m38s

2008-07-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

A note from the artist.

2008-07-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I can be forgetful. I can be so forgetful, in fact, that in taking a short break after playing three improvs inspired by paintings, I can forget my initial goal and sit down at the keyboard with an empty head. So, the session is not completed, but there are no more paintings to be seen.
I do think that the artwork idea is an interesting one, and for my next session, I will try to adhere to it, but in the meantime I've got three more pieces to post – three uninspired (in only one sense, I hope!) pieces.

Repost: 11 June 2008, #3a. Thiebaud - 2m01s; and 3b. "Nighthawks" - 5m58s

2008-07-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

The bad links have been fixed; you should be able to listen to these pieces now. Sorry for the inconvenience!

The next artist I wanted to try was Wayne Thiebaud. He is one of my favorite painters. He is famous for his cakes and candies, but I like his landscapes, especially his cityscapes. The problem was that I did not have the image of a specific painting in my head, only the style he works in. Here is one of his cityscapes, "Hill Street (Day City)" that is similar to what I was imagining (click on it to enlarge):

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

As you can hear, this piece never goes anywhere. I was not satisfied with where I was getting, and when my left hand started walking without me into a blues, it tripped and, well, I put an end to that right there.

I should have realized that using such a hazy, unspecific image in my head would not work, but I didn't, so (after a little shake out and sip of water) I tried again, with a different, more melancholy tack.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

I was not far into this new improv when I realized that I was no longer imagining a Wayne Thiebaud painting. Instead, a different painting had crept into my head, one which I could see specifically: Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." Here is the painting (click to enlarge):

The melancholy of this piece did not fit the sunny Thiebaud style at all, and latched onto another urban American painting with a more personal gloom. Strange how the subconscious works, isn't it?

11 June 2008, #2. "IKB 191" - 6m14s

2008-07-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

For my second painting, I chose Yves Klein's indelible "IKB 191." That's actually a fib. I chose International Klein Blue, and "IKB 191" is one of a number of monochromatic paintings Klein made with that color. Here is the painting:

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

There is a physiological/psychological phenomenon called synesthesia that affects a great deal of people. Synesthesia is defined as the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body. Different people experience it in different ways - for some, it means associating different words or letters with different colors ("Tuesday seems rather bluish!"). Some people will see colors and imagine them having particular textures. It's not just imagination, either; the person will actually feel the color, or smell it. It is a fascinating condition, and I recommend that you read more about it.

So, without listening to it, I bet you can guess that this piece will be the most synesthetic by far of my painting improvs. While for "Christina's World," I mainly used the image as a launching pad, a font of inspiration, with "IKB 191" I grabbed on to the bright blue idea, and kept it in the forefront of my mind. Now, I am not a synesthete, so this piece is not a transcription of what I heard as I imagined the painting. But I did my best to translate the viewing experience into music, and throughout the entire piece I tried to play the painting, play the blue.

Still, there seems to be an arc, a dramatic line to the piece; I'm sure it is harder to avoid in a time-based art. (I suppose I could have just played a big, fat B flat major chord.) After all, it needs to start, and it needs to finish. "IKB 191" (the painting) is dazzling and upfront, but it doesn't feel abrupt to me. So maybe the music fits after all.

June 11th session - Paintings!

2008-07-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to a new session of Permutations of 88. With this session, I tried a few new things. First of all, I went in to a recording studio - The Magic Closet, in Portland. That provided challenges in itself: I had to schedule my inspiration, then wait for mics to be set up, levels to be taken. Though I was playing in a room by myself, there was an engineer sitting (listening!) not fifteen feet away.

The second thing I tried was manufacturing inspiration. A friend had suggested that, in order to engage the listener (you!) more, I might try pairing each pieces with an image, perhaps a piece of visual art. I didn't want to do so after the recording was done, for that feels artificial to me (in the same way that I don't give titles based on the feel of the piece). So my friend suggested using paintings as inspiration. I was resistant to the idea, preferring to let the pieces burble up of their own volition. However, when it came time to record this session, I was not feeling inspired. So I dusted off the paintings idea in my mind and sat down to play.

I did not have actual images in front of me, only in my mind's eye, so I had to choose paintings I am quite familiar with. This process wasn't perfect – it was easy to forget what I was supposed to be imagining as the music would carry me away. But it did give me a bit of a foundation for each piece — a jumping-off point.

So for these next few improvs, I will give you the painting to look at while you listen to my music. Let me know if it is more or less engaging, and any other interesting effects you may experience. I am also curious if you notice a marked improvement in sound quality with these new "studio" recordings, as opposed to my previous lo-fi ones. Please keep me informed so that I can continue to make improvements to this blog and podcast.

Thanks!

11 June 2008, #1. "Christina's World" - 11m49s

2008-07-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

For my first attempt, I envisioned the famous Andrew Wyeth painting Christina's World. I know this painting well, so it wasn't difficult.

Here is the painting (click on it to open up a larger version in another window).

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.

The piece starts delicately, which seems appropriate, but I am surprised at how strong it gets at 1:49. It becomes so vibrant and vital. The tune at 1:49 (which I absolutely love) sounds very American, very New Englandy. It becomes delicate again, and swirls into a minor contemplation. Suddenly at 3:32 it begins swinging, picking up steam. The left hand falls into a repeated descending line (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in F# minor), and the right hand flashes rhythmically above it before they die together.

At 4:32 there is a fundamental change, a modulation from B major to E flat minor. The tone becomes much darker and more ominous, much more rhythmically steady. The left hand begins an ostinato that lasts for practically the rest of piece. The right hand continues on violently through the ninth minute before it settles down and, in the tenth, delicately becomes E flat major, slowly dragging the left hand to a stop.

P.S. I hear in this piece at least three direct references to other pieces of music: "El Condor Pasa," by Simon and Garfunkel; "Take Five," by Dave Brubeck; and the theme from The Terminator, by Brad Fiedel. Do you hear them? Any others?

P.P.S. The score for The Terminator (as well as for its sequel) is brilliant, one of my favorite original film scores of the last 25 years.

23 April 2008, #8 "Noah Adams" - 7m06s

2008-06-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

This piece is pretty much just two chords, D and G, with a five-note motive above them (d, c#, e, b, g), elaborated and exaggerated. It also climaxes in the first minute and a half, and spends the next five winding down. It was definitely the last piece for the day.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #4b. "Alex Cohen" - 7m41s (update)

2008-06-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

I ended the previous piece on an open chord, and begin this one with open octaves. It quickly becomes an F minor texture. I think my attempt was to express a tonality without a meter. It's kind of like windchimes, with a limited tone range, ringing at unpredictable times. Such a "random" effect is hard to achieve with fingers used to playing predictable patterns, especially when, at the same time one is trying to move one's fingers as randomly as possible, one must still stay within a prescribed tonality (F minor).

Eventually I settle a ostinato in my right hand (c, g, c, f, e flat), discovered at 3:32, but not settled on until thirty seconds later; I noodle restively underneath it. Finally it finds a pair in the left hand, and they roll to a stop together.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #7. "Jack Speer" - 11m45s

2008-06-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

I found this improv to be quite meditative for me, and fascinating to listen back, in a completely different way from most of my pieces. You'll soon notice that I repeat the same progression many times. E flat major, B flat major, E flat major, B flat major, E flat major, Bflat, F, C, G, D. I give two bars to each chord. It is a very slow cycle, almost a minute long. I stay diatonic for the first cycle, but then soon my right hand is playing all sorts of wrong-note harmony, and eventually hangs out for a while a full step away from the left. It is dissonant, but completely predictable dissonance, and I find that to be peaceful.

In the eighth minute of music, the progression is finally halted by the right hand, and it smolders a bit – the bass stays on D, and the right hand burbles in E flat. It's a lovely dark feeling that doesn't occur anywhere else in the piece.

And then suddenly the hands come together on a brilliant D major, and the progression restarts, going backwards. D major. G major. C major. F major. B flat major. E flat major... There is one small difference: the B flat and E flat get half as much time as the others (and as in the first half).

It truly feels like a slow unwinding of everything that came in the first seven minutes.

Presumably I could have unwound all the way, and then wound again, then unwound, wound, unwound, forever. Instead, after two reverse progressions, I continue (along the circle of fifths) to A flat, a key that has not been use yet in the piece, and then expand into C major and die.

Both progressions travel along the circle of fifths, but in the opposite directions, and they feel connected but contrasting. At the end of the progressions, when they restart, the first lifts (D to E flat) and the second falls (E flat to D); the former pushes forward while the latter pulls back. These intricacies (of the simplest of progressions) and their psychological implications are fascinating to me, and I could write more but I will leave the rest of the analysis to you if you so choose.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

Where are the analyses?

2008-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

During my road trip (which is ongoing), I have been unable to do much more than quickly update this website and my podcast feed with pre-typed blurbs and html. Unfortunately, these paragraphs were saved on my computer, which fell into a coma about a week ago and has yet to recover. Luckily, the recordings were already uploaded to my server, so I can direct you to them, but my brilliant analyses have been lost, and darn it if I haven't got the time to relisten to my improvs and analyze them. At the end of my trip (in a few weeks) I will sit down and either get my computer the medical care it needs, or do new analyses for you. In the meantime, enjoy the recordings, free of any blather from me.

23 April 2008, #6. "Linda Gradstein" - 5m43s

2008-06-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

After I play a particularly long, lush, and dense improv like "Margot Adler," I usually begin the next one sparsely and simply, as in this piece. It is light, simple, unaggressive, and unambitious. It is a little bumpy (by design - I didn't want it to be smooth and soothing), but not jagged. The blues progression provides even more predictability.

Finally at 4:30 it begins to build, but not in drama, only in rambunctiousness, ending energetically.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #5. "Margot Adler" - 10m07s

2008-05-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #4a. "Anabelle Gurwitch" - 4m07s

2008-05-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

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.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 Apr 2008, #3. "Steve Inskeep" - 6m45s

2008-05-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

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.)

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #2. "Lakshmi Singh" - 3m38s

2008-05-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

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.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 April 2008, #1. "Melissa Block" - 11m57s

2008-05-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

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.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

2008-05-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

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.

11 Feb 2008, #8b. "Alex Chadwick" - 6m00s

2008-05-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

(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.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #8a. "Madeleine Brand" - 5m02s

2008-04-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

(This is a repost, with repaired URL's for the correct mp3. Take another listen!)

I felt like I needed something firmly in a minor mode. How much more minor could I get than C# minor? The answer is none. None more minor.

Spinal Tap references aside, this piece is interesting mostly because I played it all with my left hand, partly as an exercise, and partly because my right was exhausted. You can hear the one-handedness in the deliberate feel. My left fingers are definitely not as dexterous or gentle as my right. Also (obviously) there is a little pause in the treble whenever I have to jump down to play a bass note. The melody, when there is one, is quite fractured because of this. It makes for a unique texture.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #7. "Michele Norris" - 4m08s

2008-04-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

After the tango, I stick with a Latin feel (with a little Mario thrown into the intro). Unlike most of my improvs, this has very traditional phrase lengths and harmonic structure. It sounds like I'm playing from a chart.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #6. "Mara Liasson" - 3m50s

2008-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

After a herky jerky start, I fall into a little tango number. I realized after the fact that it is a reimagining, one half step down, of a previous improv ("Beatrice," from the January 7th group). Compare the two – it's interesting to see the similarities.

This is for all my good friends who like to dance a fine tango now and then. You know who you are – can you dance to this?

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #5b. "Ira Flatow" - 3m01s

2008-04-16T05:02:00.000-07:00

I find this to be Satie-esque, with little modules barely tied together.

#5b. "Ira Flatow" (to download: option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #5a. "Neal Conan" - 8m48s

2008-04-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is another attempt to play only chords takes me two minutes in, where I find a tonality to explore, and leave the chords behind for melody. And what comes out? A Christmas carol! It sounds very New Englandy to me, with a little Writer's Almanac thrown in (in keeping with the NPR theme, though I didn't know it at the time!).

I have to break up the saccharine nature, and start with a Lydian idea, and keep moving my hands apart (harmonically) until I get to a very interesting C major against A flat major. That is explored for a while, and then I drop into a bit of a groove in A flat, with a few (purposefully) wrong notes. Again, I follow the wrong notes away with my right hand, keeping a serene ostinato in A flat in my left.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

11 Feb 2008, #4. "Corey Flintoff" - 2m46s

2008-04-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is an experimental track.

I am playing the strings with two pens, with the dampers lifted. At 1:46 I drop a pen onto the strings, and use the keys to bounce the pen around the piano, introducing an element of randomness, as the pen flops unpredictably along the strings. At the end, the pen falls through the strings onto the soundboard, and I call it quits.

Warning: at the 40-second mark, there is a loud noise.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

11 Feb 2008, #3. "Nina Totenberg" - 7m34s

2008-04-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

In this improv, I take my obsession with the Lydian mode to an interesting place. My left hand is playing a very simple line in A, and my right hand is a fifth away, in E. That in itself would be like playing in A Lydian. But in fact, I am playing in E Lydian (and B Lydian when the harmony changes). This yields a lot of A against A#. It doesn't sound quite as dissonant as it might, however, since both notes make perfect sense in their respective lines.

I apologize to the readers who didn't understand that. Listen and tell me whether you find the dissonance unsettling or pleasing, or perhaps not dissonant at all.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #2. "Linda Wertheimer" - 7m03s

2008-04-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Another modal piece, in C major, based on the four-note, appoggiatura riff. A pretty standard blues progression at first, and then a standard vi-V/V-V-I progression. Finally, in the last twenty seconds of the 7-minute piece, I play a blue note, a B flat.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

11 Feb 2008, #1. "Robert Siegel" - 13m58s

2008-04-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's been far too long since I posted last, and I am sincerely sorry for that. Here, then, is an improv of almost 14 minutes to make up for it, and I will post new improvs every day for a week as penance.

This piece is the first of my most recent session ("recent" is, of course, relative - it was recorded in February). Of all of the sessions, I think that this one shows the most Keith Jarrett influence, specifically his Köln Concert. (If you are still not familiar with that recording, I highly recommend it.) I can hear him all over these improvs; I'm okay with that.

So, on to the first piece, entitled "Robert Siegel"*. I like this piece a lot. Here are some of the reasons I like it, in the order in which they occur:

- the regular phrase lengths, tempo, and meter of the first section, yet irregular ostinato and accents.
- the strict modality of D major. Yet notice which note I don't play at all? C#. And yet almost every phrase ends, harmonically, in V (A major). They're ALL suspensions, but they sound really natural. I don't introduce a C# until I've wound my way into B minor (actually B Dorian).
- the seamless transformation of the 3/2 meter into a 12/8
- the unrelenting yet delicate ostinato of the arpeggiated B minor (first inversion) chord in the left hand
- the unpredictable accents and wrong notes in the right hand against said ostinato
- the obvious return to D major in the right while the left stubbornly continues to insert the B minor
- the triumphant "return" by both hands to D Lydian. It sounds like the piece finally found its home.
- the open, probing ending

This piece is 14 minutes long, the longest that I have posted, and it doesn't feel too long.

* The suggestion to name these pieces after NPR personalities came from my brother. It was good one, I think.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

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.

23 Jan 2008, #11. "Baseball Cap" - 5m20s

2008-03-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

This was the last piece of the day for me, and I needed a little relaxation. I started with a tune cribbed from a Joanna Newsom song, and soon found my way into what was close to a straight cover of the end of Part I of Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert. I'm not surprised that his music finally showed up so plainly in my improvs. Like I've said, that record is by far the biggest influence on this work.

download
(option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

Recap: my favorites...

2008-03-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

90 days into my project, I have posted 36 pieces, almost 190 minutes of music. Some of them I am even quite fond of. You and I surely disagree on what the best ones are, but I'd like to offer my opinions now. Here are my favorite improvisations from the four sessions so far, recorded over the past three months:

"Nunavut" 6m43s

"Ophelia" 9m28s

"Beret" 7m22s

"Beatrice" 5m30s

"Juliet, part II" 6m38s

"Cowboy Hat" 5m30s

P.S. The Flash program I was using as an embedded .mp3 player is sounding funky, so please just use the direct links to the files. They sound much, much better.

23 Jan 2008, #10b. "Captain's Cap" - 3m30s

2008-03-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

This piece (and its partner, "Panama Hat") is performed with the sostenuto pedal depressed to keep the lower half of the keyboard undamped. I tried to get as much resonance out of the piano as I could. If you notice, this is basically three and a half minutes of florid plagal cadences. IV-I, IV-I, IV-I. It's a pretty good cadence.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #10a. "Panama Hat" - 4m30s

2008-03-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

This piece (and its partner, "Captain's Cap") is performed with the sostenuto pedal depressed to keep the lower half of the keyboard undamped. This provides some interesting sonorities. Again I went for consonance, and stayed within C major.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

Correction! "Newsboy" and "Fez"

2008-03-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

I had linked to the wrong improv in the two previous posts – they are now corrected. Please do give the new files a listen!

23 Jan 2008, #9. Fez - 4m10s

2008-03-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

After "Deerstalker" and "Newsboy," I needed some consonance, some tonal simplicity. This whole piece is E flat Ionian (major scale).

It is also a good example of my least favorite tendency as a pianist, which is to rush things. If you listen to this (and many of the other improvs I've posted), you'll hear a marked increase in the tempo over the course of the piece. I get excited — I don't know if I can help it. I wonder if I should play with a metronome next time.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #8. Newsboy - 3m49s

2008-03-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I stuck with the dark mood for this piece – a lot of tri-tones, a lot of borrowed notes. I tried to increase the unsettling nature later by jarring the rhythm. The piece didn't have anywhere to go, so it didn't go far.

(Note the Debussy reference at 2:42. Who can name the piece I'm paraphrasing?)

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #7. Deerstalker - 3m51s

2008-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today's second post is far more interesting. The right hand plays the same figure again and again (with only a few minor variations). It is almost like a pedal tone, while the left hand explores different harmonies beneath it. It is an unusual inverted relationship, and so I like it. I also like it because it is unabashedly dark, unlike so much of what I've been playing.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #6. Beanie - 0m31s

2008-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

First of all, let me apologize – it has been too long since I last posted. So I will post twice today. However, the first post is a mere palate-cleanser, a 31 second amuse-bouche.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #5. Fedora - 6m21s

2008-02-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

After "Beret" and "Cowboy Hat," both overwhelmingly diatonic, it seems pretty obvious that I tried to cleanse my palate with the first two minutes of this piece, which are just me trying not to make much sense at the keyboard. From there, it takes on a restless feeling; I think it is caused by the C# ostinato pedal.

(See if you can catch where I get mixed up and switch the top and bottom C sharps.)

I didn't know how to end it.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #4. Cowboy Hat - 5m30s

2008-02-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

For this improvisation, my one stipulation to myself was to only play chords. No single notes, no melodic lines. It's all about changing harmonies. A series of tone-colors.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #3. Beret - 7m21s

2008-02-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

Some of the improvisations thus far have spent the majority of the time exploring one tonality, but none have been so single-minded as this one. I begin with an F major triad and repeat it with different voicings, though the root remains the F. After 30 seconds I incorporate Bflat into the mix, then D, then E, then finally G to complete the F major scale. I consciously avoided any chromaticism – there are absolutely no pitches outside of the mode. There is a constant F pedal tone throughout the entire piece. There is a steady eighth-note rhythm, but no clear bars or time signature until past the five minute mark. More than anything, this is simply a study in F major.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #2. Top Hat - 4m29s

2008-02-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

When I come up with an interesting melody, especially if it's a bit unusual, I often have trouble remembering it. Such is the case with this piece. 46 seconds in, I come up with a measure of tune, but the fifth time I repeat, it gets changed just a little. It's like I'm playing Telephone with myself.

So, I took the mistake and ran with it – it became an excuse to play anything. What came were the relentless, ever-searching eighth notes in the right hand, over a methodical bass.

I realized that this piece was becoming circular and wasn't going to end well, so for the first time I consciously decided (as I was still playing) that I would fade it out on the recording.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

23 Jan 2008, #1. Bowler - 8m52s

2008-02-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Brought to you by Orville Redenbacher.

I should clarify. It tickles me that the section starting at around 2:30 sounds like popcorn popping. I suppose it could be hailstones falling, but the rhythm is more unpredictable, closer to popcorn. And, like popcorn, it stops after about two minutes. From there it finds a plodding, slightly ominous sound.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 23rd, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #7b. Helena - 5m23s

2008-02-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

I wish that I had had three hands for this one. It started off very promisingly, but I think I bit off more than I could chew. Starting at 3:57, my hands want to do more than they can handle – my right hand is doing all the work, while my left hand just sounds confused ("Buh!") – and the piece suffers.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #7a. Hermia - 5m11s

2008-02-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

Until the ragtime ending, I'm not sure what's going on here (but I like it). Can you tell me what this is? What dance rhythm is this? Tell me more!

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #6. Viola - 4m56s

2008-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I like the opening Mixolydian feel to this, the slightly exotic opening chord that is rolled again and again, the two minute build until I find a syncopated but smooth groove that eventually (big surprise) hits a blues progression. There are more wrong notes than I'd like, but who cares?

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #5b. Kate - 5m50s

2008-02-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

A bluesy take, over only two chords and one pedal tone. Like the previous piece, definitely not "A" material, but semi-interesting.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #5a. Bianca - 2m50s

2008-02-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

I had just played about 20 minutes of the most flowing, emotional music, so this piece is a rebellion against all of that. I tried to make it as disjointed as possible while still stay in a rhythm. It's ridiculous, and I realized it quickly. Still, I'll leave it in as a sort of palate cleanser.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #4. Ophelia - 9m27s

2008-01-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

First, I want to say that this might be my favorite yet. It has a wonderful arc, and a lovely, swirling, sad feeling.

As with "Miranda," I came into this piece knowing the first few measures. I composed a piece a few years ago that started very similarly, with repeated downward arpeggios, with the same inversion of a major triad for the first chord. That piece had quintuplet arpeggios, so I thought I'd try quadruplets for this one. Both pieces are about changing one note at a time, very slowly moving through a harmonic spectrum. (Using arpeggios instead of block chords gives them, paradoxically, both more movement and a more placid feeling, because there are many more notes per second, but they all run together so that the sound does not decay unless I let it.)

In this piece especially, I really just followed my fingers.

I spend the first 6 minutes almost completely above middle C, and the drop down is a relief, almost a comfort although the harmony is quite unsettled. The relief doesn't last long. This section (the last 3:35) feels utterly connected to the first six minutes, but it's completely different. I am no longer wandering from harmony to harmony; I've found my chord progression, and settle in to embellish and exhaust it. You could think of the last two or so minutes as one long Picardy third.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

New layout

2008-01-30T22:51:00.000-08:00

I wanted to quickly thank Felicity J. Mackay for the wonderful photograph of my fingers that now adorns this blog! (Hopefully the new look won't turn too many people off.)

7 Jan 2008, #3b. Juliet, part II - 6m38s

2008-01-28T03:02:00.000-08:00

I was almost embarrassed and disgusted with myself for playing something so cheesy as "Juliet, part I," so I wanted to continue and play something purposefully strident. I'm thrilled at what a tempestuous result I got, just from being actually angry and not holding back.

I could only keep up the pounding for so long, so I reined myself in and recalled the later tune from the first part, but reharmonized it sounds wonderfully pained and wistful.

(By the way, what I write here is usually not what I was thinking as I was playing. The ideas just come out of my fingers, and sometimes I don't even realize when I tie pieces together. They are wonderful subconscious accidents. Here at the blog I explain how those accidents must have happened.)

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #3a. Juliet, part I - 6m46s

2008-01-28T03:01:00.000-08:00

My third goal was to improvise while thinking about something specific (holding a specific picture in my mind - I'm not telling what). After two experimental starts, my hands just have to play something calm, normal. And so out comes this. Terribly sappy, isn't it?

Midway through I came up with a great groove in 5, but when I'm improvising, it's hard sometimes to remember that I'm in an odd meter, and my fingers got confused a bunch of times.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

Correction! "Saskatchewan"

2008-01-27T13:49:00.000-08:00

A kind listener informed me that in my post for "Saskatchewan", I linked by mistake to the recording of "British Columbia" instead. I have fixed the original post (http://permutationsof88.blogspot.com/2008/01/10-dec-2007-1c-saskatchewan-8m06s.html, if you'd like to read about it again), and I have put it here, too. (For you podcast subscribers, don't worry – there was no mistake in the podcast feed, so you have heard the correct recording.)

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #2. Beatrice - 5m30s

2008-01-24T02:47:00.000-08:00

I must confess something. I had already composed the first two bars of this piece when I sat down, and I also was thinking about the first two notes in the treble clef. But it quickly became much more than was in my head. Again, I started in a more experimental style, and yet I fall back into the blues mode. And, again, I am especially pleased with my failure.

(Here's where this project is meant to help my stamina: it is pretty obvious that, four minutes in, my left hand gets too tired to keep up the ostinato, so I give it to my right hand for a while, and my left hand struggles with some quarter notes. Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to play something like this without wearing out.)

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

7 Jan 2008, #1. Miranda - 7m14s

2008-01-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

A month passed between sessions, across the new year, and I listened to the Canada pieces many times, thinking about what I would do differently when it came time to record again. I had a few specific goals. First, I wanted to be more conscious of the length of the pieces. I wanted to try to wrap each one up before it reached the six-minute mark. I didn't plan to use a clock, but I hoped that my internal timers would work. Secondly, I wanted to be more adventurous in style, and commit more to each style. That is to say, I didn't want each piece to meander as much stylistically.

I finally got to record again on January 7, 2007. I don't think I reached all of my goals, but I couldn't be happier with the results.

For this effort, the first of the day, I tried to stay as far away from pop/blues as possible. I picked out a four-note motif, and was off. The cadence at around 3:15 I began regretting before I even played it, knowing I'd have to, but I think I made the best of a bad situation, and immediately searched for a dissonance to counter it.

The swung section at the 5 minute mark I am especially pleased with, even though it means that I failed at keeping it one style, and couldn't keep my hands off of yet another blues progression. Looking back, of course, it didn't help that my four-note motif outlines a E flat dominant nine chord. I guess that's where my head is.

download (option-click for Mac users, right-click and save for PC users)

Recorded on January 7th, 2008, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

10 Dec 2007, #1e. Ontario - 4m30s

2008-01-20T01:05:00.000-08:00

The end of "Manitoba" left me with a little compound ostinato for my left hand – three against two. After over twenty solid minutes with no break, my hand was a little tired, and the riff mutated from five to four notes (two on top, two on bottom). I tried to play with it, change from straight to swung, go back and forth from three against two to regular 4/4. I also tried to do a little phasing, just with one hand. Phasing one hand against the other is pretty difficult; phasing your left thumb against the rest of your left hand is REALLY difficult; and though I think I achieved something interesting, I didn't actually phase. It ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

This is one of the few pieces so far that I've edited quite a bit. I went on way too long, so on the computer I cut off a few (boring) minutes at the end. Trust me, it salvages the piece from the trash heap of dullness.

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

10 Dec 2007, #1d. Manitoba - 6m39s

2008-01-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

Again, I start with some exploration. This time I'm stacking fifths into ninths, and I walk myself down into G, and back into a blues feel. The left hand is very laid back and comfortable, while the right has a little fire.

After about five minutes, this piece suddenly changes from cool and controlled to bustling, swooping, exciting – much like how I imagine Manitoba to be.

(For the best effect, go straight from "Manitoba" to "Ontario" with no break.)

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

10 Dec 2007, #1c. Saskatchewan - 8m06s

2008-01-16T01:03:00.000-08:00

The Lydian mode is probably my favorite mode. For those of you non-theory inclined, a mode is simply a group of notes around which you can base a piece of music. Do you know your major scale? Then you know a mode. The Lydian mode is the major scale, except with a raised fourth degree. For instance, C Lydian is C major but with an F# instead of an F. Pretty simple. I like Lydian because it has a very airy feel, and sort of anticipatory, as if you're almost somewhere, but not quite. (That's because of the raised fourth, which makes it sound like we're in IV of I and are ready, at any moment, to resolve to I. But we don't. Because we're already in the tonic.)

This piece, "Saskatchewan," starts in B Lydian. Adding to the dreamy, uncertain quality is the rhythm of the ostinato, which can either be in 6 or in 3, depending on what you hear. It's not until 1:41 that the first "dissonant" (out-of-mode) note is played, and it's another minute before the next, which actually was a mistake, but convinced me to begin exploring outward. There's a long way to go from there...

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

10 Dec 2007, #1b. Alberta - 3m34s

2008-01-16T01:02:00.000-08:00

I can start a good groove going, but I always have to give something up when I want to start improvising over it with my right hand. This groove was simple and spare enough that I could add a melody without losing much at all. Maybe because of that, there wasn't much I could find to do with it, and it didn't take long for me to look elsewhere...

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

10 Dec 2007, #1a. British Columbia - 3m12s

2008-01-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

And so we start the second day of improv sessions, recorded six days after the first. I sat down with great aspirations to go in a different direction. I set my fingers off on what I hoped would be a atonal, Hindemithy journey, but they quickly found something much more comfortable.

(I can tell that this was the first thing I played that day, because I sound relaxed and fresh. As each session goes on, I tend to get more frenzied, of course sloppier, but also more/too inventive, to a point where it is almost predictably inventive, if that makes any sense.)

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 10th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

Canada II - the second session

2008-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone for listening, commenting, and demanding that I continue with this project! I am still trying to find the right balance of things – I haven't yet settled into a perfect routine. It was suggested to me that long pieces (over 6 minutes or so) are less appealing. Of course, then, the one good piece from my December 10th session is 26 minutes long! (It was disheartening that my second session yielded less than half what I got from my first, but never fear, my recent third session got me another hour of usable improvs.) The 26 minutes wandered from style to style, so it was easy to chop it up into five digestible pieces. Of course, it's best if you line them up in iTunes and let them flow, uninterrupted, but I understand if you can't do that.

P.S. I had five perfectly good provinces left, so these will be grouped as Canada II. After this, though, each day's sessions will have its own category.

P.P.S. For whatever reason, one of the H4's microphones (of the stereo pair) was clipping like crazy, so all of the Canada II recordings are mono.

4 Dec 2007, #6: "Puerto Rico" - 2m01s

2008-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is the last thing I played in this session, a little dance for my fingers, kind of like a dessert for them after a tough day's work. It's simple and silly, but some fun rhythmic play. The throwaway nature is why it doesn't get a Canada name, and the Latin in it is why I am calling it "Puerto Rico." Listen closely for the Ice Cream Truck theme.

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #5c: "Nunavut" - 6m43s

2008-01-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

My favorite from the day's sessions, by far. So atmospheric and cool. I did a good job of sticking with the three-chord motive all the way through the piece. I'm also really happy with the dark harmonies and the dissonance. It never got away from me - meanderings in the right spots, to provide space. I feel like I fully explored the possibilities with those chord combinations, but it doesn't feel repetitive. A complete success, in my book.

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #5b: "Northwest Territories" - 4m16s

2008-01-09T05:02:00.000-08:00

The restart didn't necessarily work – there is still a rather urgent feeling to it. I found a restless pulse in it, and soon enough, it became a blues.

(Notice at around the two-minute mark, I haven't perfected tapping my foot and playing at the same time.)

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #5a: "Yukon" - 2m02s

2008-01-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

Definitely an "In a Silent Way" vibe. I think that I was trying to stay away from the bombast of the previous takes. It still got away from me a bit, so I think I ended it quickly and tried to start over, in 5b, with a calmer energy.

download (option-click for Mac users)

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #4b: "Labrador" - 6m58s

2008-01-06T04:01:00.000-08:00

I seriously considered releasing the first 3 minutes of this as its own piece, titled "and." It's just an exploration of space. There's a lot of silence, and only two chords, IV and I, kind of a plagal cadence repeated over and over again with slight adjustments. Finally at around 3:12 it settles into a groove and gets a little funky. That's the "Labrador" part. You can hear my foot keeping time. I think I had some left over energy from "Quebec," because I end up banging pretty hard (and it will probably clip a bit – sorry about that).

The pianists among you will know that F# major is close to the most difficult to jam in. I don't know why I picked it.

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #4a: "Newfoundland" - 5m41s

2008-01-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

First, let me say that in the first 24 hours of this blog, I am really happy with the response! Thank you to everyone who has already listened and written me. So I figure I'll post the next piece a little sooner than I had planned. As in, right now...

This is a twelve minute piece that I have split in two. The first section, in F# major, starts very peacefully. About two minutes in, I add a little Mixolydian flavor (some flat sevenths), and it seems to shake the piece out of its doldrums just a bit. It keeps churning and settling and churning, with additional notes outside the mode adding some unrest, but the climax is pretty much just Mixolydian. It dies down, and segues directly into #4b: Labrador.

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #3: "Quebec" - 10m42s

2008-01-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

I had just sat down for about 15 minutes and ripped off a killer improvisation, only to get up and realize that the recorder was not recording. So I sat down again and played this. I don't remember what I lost, but I must have been cheesed off about it, because I start pounding the keys pretty hard.

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #2b: "New Brunswick" - 5m48s

2008-01-03T02:01:00.000-08:00

Immediately much bluer than #2a (Nova Scotia); in fact it's a sort of blues structure: I | I | II | IV . I think I tried to stay as calm as possible, but it began to build up, and the blues noodling got bigger and bigger. I went out on a slightly manic riff over repeated descending bass line.
(At the beginning, I had a little trouble playing the syncopated rhythm with just my left hand, and kept switching accidentally between a syncopated right and left.)

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #2a: "Nova Scotia" - 6m06s

2008-01-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

This was my first real attempt. I began by outlining a G major chord, found a rhythmic ostinato, and slowly added notes in the scale. I then began changing the harmony from IV to I a few times, then to V, and back to I. The only notes outside of the mode are a few F naturals in the bass line. Eventually I found a scrap of the ostinato to focus on and embellish with some Lydian noodling, and it became IV and V of D; I ended it suddenly.

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

4 Dec 2007, #1: "Prince Edward Island" - 0m28s

2008-01-03T01:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first take from my first improv session. It is mostly to get to know the piano, and to calibrate the recorder and my fingers. Short and sweet.

download

Recorded on December 4th, 2007, at Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, OR, with a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. Edited with Audacity music software.

Introduction

2008-01-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

          Welcome to this nascent blog and podcast! Permutations of 88 is, like it says, a series of piano improvisations performed by me, Mont Christopher Hubbard. Each one is completely off the top of my head — nothing is planned. I sit down at the piano and let my fingers do the thinking.
          So far, my process when I improvise is to find a simple feeling, perhaps in a mode or chord progression, and slowly explore it. Over time certain ideas will emerge, evolve, and/or disappear. It tends to be a slow process. There is a lot of meandering, passing by ninety-nine notes before I continue through the hundredth. With practice I may reduce that number to 50, or 25. We will see.
          My inspiration is largely Keith Jarrett's 1975 album, The Köln Concert, a live recording of an improvised performance. I suppose it is the gold standard for this sort of thing. Other influences you may hear: Eric Satie (repetition), Charles Ives (discord), Dmitri Shostakovich (rambunctiousness). I'm sure you will hear others which I am unaware of.
          I started this project mostly to get myself to play more and improve. Of course, though, I am also hoping that people will listen and be stimulated in some way by these recordings, either intellectually or emotionally. If it is either, I hope you will share your thoughts and questions by posting comments on entries. If this prompts any sort of discussion on the art of improvising, or music in general, I will be pleased as punch! (Also, if you have ideas on how to improve this blog and podcast, please do not hesitate to suggest them.)
          So let me thank you in advance for listening. To start us out I have posted 23 minutes of music in three pieces, from my first session, in December. I have another 24 ready to go from that session, and 26 from a second December session. I will try to post new recordings every week, and I can only hope that you will come back to listen each time. To make it easier, I'm also releasing the recordings as a podcast - the links can be found to your right.

Sincerely,
Mont Chris Hubbard

Notes:

1. You'll probably notice the titles I've given to the pieces. It was suggested to me by my brother that they needed more than just dates and numbers. I tried naming them based on content, but it was too serious, and they were silly names, like "Blue Morning" and "Daylight Suprise." So instead, each group of pieces will get their titles from well-known groups of things. The first group is Canadian Provinces (plus one that's not).

2. Here is all of the technical info: The first two sessions were recorded on a Zoom H4 Digital Recorder. I had a few slight issues with the gain; as a result, there is a bit of clipping which can't be fixed. I felt that the clipped recordings were still worth presenting. The files were edited using a program called Audacity. Most of them are basically untouched besides cropping of opening and closing silence, as well as some gain adjustment. However, there are a couple stops and starts edited out. If you can hear them, I will admit to them.
     I have hopes that future sessions will be of higher quality, but for right now I must make do with what I've got.

3. Finally, I must extend a large thank you to Kerby Lauderdale and Peace Church of the Brethren, in Portland, Oregon, for allowing me to record there.