Piano Meditations Podcast

Hmm. I seem to have not uploaded the last episode or two. If you see the dates out of order that'll be why. My friend Paul came with his flute again tonight, and will come next week as well. We do have a sympatico vibe. I lean towards more chordal playing to allow space for his melody, but we are always listening to each other and adjusting moment by moment. A couple nods tonight; opening of Sound of Silence and a little Charlie Brown. Enjoy.

Thank goodness the piano was tuned! The cold and dry weather wreaked havoc, and my tuner said the pin block was at risk if I didn't get humidifiers going. Humidifiers are now going...
Small crowd tonight, more snow is on the way. My friend Paul Harris joined again, and I tried to give him open-ended accompaniments. We got into the groove right away, and danced around little motifs as we improvised. Such fun. Enjoy.

ooohhh, so sorry; I'm posting this, but damn is it out of tune! I didn't realize it was so bad. I'm grimacing as I'm playing, but the music had to happen! There was a variation on a Chopin Prelude in there; see if you can find it. 

Whoops. I didn't turn on one of the microphones... I mixed it in mono, added a little gain, messed with EQ and crossed my fingers.
Good crowd tonight, who wanted to clap, so I left it in. Went to some pretty lush romantic harmonies, and did one atonal piece (which always sounds like there is more tonality and shape when I listen back!). I think I quoted the theme to All Things Considered in there. One piece went sort of Musical Theater, Pippin style? You be the judge.

I was away for a few weeks without a piano, and once back still didn't have a chance to do much playing, so, interestingly, I thought I may feel rusty. But in point of fact I felt fresh and renewed! I paid a little more attention to the sound of the notes, and just enjoyed the harmonies as they rolled along. As a consequence, the music felt very organic and 'in the flow'. If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving me a review!

Paul Harris and his magic flute joined us again this week, and it looks good for more guests for next week as well! I have long wanted to share these evenings with other musicians, but like any relationship, sometimes there's more "chemistry" than others, especially when the stated goal is to make music completely on the spur of the moment. I'll let you be the judge, but I certainly feel a musical kinship with Paul.
I didn't even tell anyone, but if there are any listeners out there that went to Camp Wigwam in Maine, you will recognize "We'll Remember Wigwam"! At the very end, I was playing something that reminded me of the classic riff in Bruce Hornsby's "Just the Way it Is", so I popped that in there. Enjoy.

My friend Paul Harris joined me again with his amazing flute playing! Plus, we had a big group with several new people! When it's a large group I tell them it's fine if they clap after a piece; I ask people not to clap when there are only a few in attendance, because it just sounds sort of sad. Anyway, I also didn't edit out the banter in between pieces because I feel the whole evening was a unified feeling, so why not include it all?! You can hear Paul and I quasi-deciding on a direction here and there, and I roamed around the other instruments on one piece while Paul played flute. Enjoy!

A few new folks tonight; always fun to introduce them to this free improv thing! Got into some rhythm grooves and a wee bit of jazz. Not much more to say, but, enjoy!

Newly tuned by the great Victor La Gamma! Had a conversation with the guests after the music about the creative process. One person was talking how there are two approaches; one, to plan everything out and do your best to materialize exactly what you envision, a la Da Vinci, the other, to follow the inspiration where it leads and allow the creative impulse to guide you. Obviously what I do is the latter. I'm getting ready to explore non-spontaneous composition for a change, and see if I can bring the spur-of-the-moment approach to actually creating well-crafted instrumental music. I plan to start mining all this material from eight years (!) of doing Piano Meditations. Will be an interesting journey!

Tonight really felt "in the groove". There is a kind of freedom I feel when I get something solid rhythm-wise in the left hand, and the right hand can be free and not tethered to the beat of the left hand. Once I get into that vibe, the right hand becomes open to more spontaneous expression. Not sure how to describe it more than that, so let's just let it be what it is...

Tonight I needed to be patient as I got into the music. It can be tempting to compose "from the ego", where I'm playing what I know will sound good but I've also done it a million times. It's a little harder to wait until the music suggests itself where it wants to go. The music may meander for a while, or be seemingly stagnant as I'm repeating notes or chords and waiting for a direction to follow, but eventually I find that flow state and I can almost sit back and watch the music happen. The second to last piece apparently was seriously quoting Star Wars; I knew it sounded familiar but I couldn't tell where it was from. 

Towards the end I played along with a pad sound on my iPad, but I also had a borrowed Theremin! I didn't record the other instruments on their own track, so they are far back in the mix, but I thought I'd include them anyway. Also, one of my microphones finally ran out of battery, so I recorded the music in mono using one mic. Hey, one does what one can...

Did a couple waltzes tonight. The last piece I took the opening motif from Beethoven's Fifth and had a bunch of fun with it. It morphed into Fiddler on the Roof and Fly Me To the Moon, so go figure. I had a couple note accidents; it is surprisingly difficult to play faster than one can think! ;)

One piece is definitely not relaxing, be warned. I started off just playing with staccato (light, separated notes) but didn't find my footing right away. At some point the left hand turned into a fast walking bass, then a kind of ragtime. My deal with myself is to practice "Yes, and..." when it comes to the direction the music is going, so I didn't fight it and just went for it. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was quoted a few times, too. Enjoy.

Quite the large audience tonight! I never know, nor does it matter, but it certainly is fun. I followed a common pattern of starting off with a few single notes which becomes the thematic material for the piece. Later pieces can have more energy and movement, and we bring it home with a simple tune to say goodnight. At the very end, I played a little phrase that took me into the final notes of "Where is Love" from the musical "Oliver!". I thought that was some subconscious at work. It felt good in any case. Enjoy.

A couple new people tonight; always fun. I felt in the zone tonight, and enjoyed composing as the music unfolded moment by moment, which has always been what I try to do! A few pieces felt like they could have ended a bit earlier but I was enjoying messing with them too much!

My friend and flautist Paul Harris joined me again tonight. It is always such a treat to play with him. It is rare indeed to meet another musician who can jump in to free improv, listen for harmonic shifts, know when to play and when to pause, take the lead and generate ideas for us both to develop, indeed a treat.
I have been away for several weeks, but back now for some time, so look for a new episode each week!
Tonight Paul and I did several pieces in solid diatonic territory, but we stretched out on one atonal piece, which was actually quite fun. 

All good friends who know the drill here tonight. I edited out the clapping. I spent most of today doing paperwork and purging emails, so I was in a blah state when people arrived. I told them there were no guarantees; the music may put people to sleep or I might start banging as loud as I could. Kinda did a bit of both! Enjoy?

Several new friends tonight! Had about 12 people in the the audience. The piano was tuned today by the great Victor LaGamma, so I naturally was drawn to the most sonorous of harmonies. I seem to be averaging about ten minutes per piece. That's not a plan, but an observation!
Some melodies were circling around in my head that might have been a nod to "Laura", "But Beautiful" and something else, but I never quite went there.

I was busy doing house chores and paperwork and din't have a chance to set up sounds for using the electronic music studio, so once again tonight is solo piano only. But hey, that's how this whole thing got started so I'm not worried I'm not meeting expectations... Anyway, had a good sized group tonight, and more than one person seems to have visual responses to my music, which I think is super cool. Enjoy.

My friend Paul Harris came again tonight with his gorgeous flute playing! This is the first podcast posting, however. I'm a bit backed up with a few evenings that I never mixed down. If you suddenly see three or four episodes on one day, that's what's going on.
We played Manha de Carnaval from the movie Black Orpheus, and chose an Arabic scale to mess around in, but otherwise improvised free together. It takes a special kind of musician to jump in like that, but I think we listened well to each other.  We did some talking between pieces so I edited that out. Enjoy.

Small but appreciative audience tonight. I stayed in the lyrical realm, using the first few improvised notes as the thematic material for the pieces. There was a Spanish-sounding piece (happens with the Phrygian Mode), a pop-chord piece at the end, some impressionistic arpeggios and something that was at times in 7/8. Enjoy!

We have had several weeks with guest musicians! The downside is that I need to spend time mixing and editing, and the end result is procrastination. Tonight was just solo piano, however, so here it is. I felt like I was digging into the music tonight, and felt very focused on following the flow.

I know I've been less frequent with new episodes, and now the next won't be until March 27th. I'm actually leaning towards ending the podcast, and focus on recordings for albums on the streamers. Podcasts are inherently free, and it costs me over $300 a year for hosting. I don't have much hope for true income from Spotify, iTunes and the rest, but something is better than nothing. If you have enjoyed this podcast, please consider a donation, and/or look me up and stream one of my albums. In the meanwhile, here is some new music for you.

We are having people over every other week for the time being, in case you've noticed the episodes are less frequent. Tonight I played three live looping pieces, but only the last one recorded well, so I'm including it here. The rest is solo piano. Enjoy!

This episode only includes two rather long pieces. The second one began sounding like a Baroque melody I remembered, so I explored it without really knowing the whole tune. Afterwards I tracked it down, learning it was a Sarabande by Handel which was used in the movie Barry Lyndon. Go figure!

Well, I finally figured out how to record into the mixer while looping in the recording software on the computer. Here are two evenings put together, followed by solo piano as usual. If I were to try and make these into "finished" pieces, I would do some editing and better mixes, but at least you'll have an idea of where this is headed. 
In the solo piano section tonight, I fell into Gracias a la Vida by Violetta Parra. Not completely, but enough I should mention it. Enjoy.

Our whole family and romantic partners took a sound bath at a local studio. It was very relaxing. Tonight I wanted to try to use the piano as a sound vibration vehicle; much of the music was quite mellow, but of course a couple pieces had a natural build so I went for it. Enjoy.

Once again, big crowd! Still asking them not to applaud after each piece so the podcast can be just music. The first four notes reminded me instantly of Danny Boy, so I played with it thematically, and Stephen Foster's Shenandoah got in there for a minute. Tried a ragtime ditty and a waltz, a jazz ballad style and an impressionistic, sort of atonal thing. Hope you enjoy.

Small group, but one new person tonight. I kept leaning into a bel canto, faux operatic sound tonight. I think the theme to All Things Considered worked its way in there. I was enjoying hearing harmonies that flipped between major and minor. Enjoy.

A bunch of new folks tonight! I must say, the numbers are growing. We still have enough chairs, but it's making me wonder if we will get to standing room only!  Anyway, had fun tonight, doing a little more jazz progressions and quirky rhythms. Enjoy.

Not much to say this time; enjoy!

Small but dedicated troupe tonight. Glad for the presence of people actively listening; it keeps me actively listening as well. In recent weeks I've been attempting to go into harmonies I'm not sure I know what I'll hear, and I have to remain adaptable to split-second implications of the harmonies. It's fun! The results are some surprises and a few thunks. Enjoy!

I've had a bit of trouble with the audio signal on this episode; hopefully this will be the last time I'm replacing the episode in the podcast. It was a quiet night with just my wife in the audience; she got the covid. I stayed in a primarily mellow mood, with a few unusual (for me) harmonic explorations. One quote got in there but I don't know what is was, I just know it's something I've heard before! Maybe you can tell me? Enjoy.

WE had almost twenty people here tonight! Some new folks too. I stayed squarely in the tonal realm tonight, and did a few genre-specific type pieces. One started off like an old hymn, then became a pompous overblown operatic cliché! I still didn't record it, but I did have a successful looping improv that was meditative, and didn't include any equipment failures. Progress!

After the first piece I really felt like stretching a bit, so I did! I'm not sure if the pieces "worked" as well, but it is a good idea to just let the music be what it wants to be. I then did some looping but of course forgot to record it, so tonight's episode is a little short. Enjoy.

Our numbers have grown! WE had about twenty people tonight. I was buried in audio cabling issues until right before we began, but I was able to change gears and get into the music. I did a looping piece at the end which went very well; once I figure out how to record everything along with the piano I'l start including it in the podcast. 
I did a bunch of straight-ahead improvs, then did one that was pretty experimental. It morphed into progressive jazz/Gershwin kind of thing. Enjoy!

Really big crowd tonight! Some new people, and the piano is in a more central spot after we painted and I reconfigured the studio. Consequently the music was a little more all over the place! I kept almost playing a melody of a song I know but couldn't quite bring to consciousness. Maybe you can tell me! Enjoy.

Always exciting to have new guests! I stayed in the very tonal realm tonight, and was also feeling pretty mellow; we had our first fire for the fall! Some pieces began very muted but got pretty energetic. Some quotes emerged; "Trials and Tribulations" from Jesus Christ, Superstar, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Pachelbel's Canon in D, even Dancing Queen, which seems to show up rather frequently...
Enjoy.

One piece began in a very atonal, "contemporary piano" kind of way, but then I caught a groove and really dug into some unfamiliar sonorities. Maybe not good for listening while making dinner, but who am I to say?
Staying with piano only for the time being for the podcast; but for the guests who come in person I stop recording after 45 minutes and do an ambient/looping thing at the end. Building confidence!
 

Some new guests tonight; always fun to welcome them! Played some gentle explorations but also some pretty atonal energetic stuff. Not much in the way of quotes, but "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (melody by Chopin) made it in there for a moment. 

We are back at it! This begins year seven. I hadn't practiced with the looping since the last episode in June or July, so I stuck with the old Steinway. One friend asked for a piece with the equipment, so I obliged, but didn't record it here.
The music tonight was in several different harmonic realms; sometimes new-age, sometimes pop-rock. The pop-rock one had a bunch of quotes that I couldn't even list; You Can't Hurry Love, Dancing Queen, and others... enjoy!

OK! This is a bit of a benchmark episode. I still played solo piano for much of the evening, but I switched to the computer/looping setup and was able to keep the music going without running into tech problems, and today I succeeded in creating a simple mixdown of the different sounds and combining it with the piano recording. I cut out the gradual layering of the percussion instruments, as it takes too long to wait for a melodic element. Enjoy.

It's funny; I was all set to do more looping and synth playing tonight, but I just kept playing solo piano. I got a little carried away in the moment and a few times I stumbled over myself, but to tell the truth I almost like it, because it's not so "careful". A couple quotes were glanced at at the the end; Dan Fogelberg's Longer Than and Lloyd Webber's All My Tribulations from Superstar. Enjoy.

Small crowd tonight. I was just in a quiet, reflective mood, so I played accordingly. Sometimes it's nice to settle into an unhurried approach, and just listen more deeply to the tones and emerging melodies. Enjoy.

Small crowd and one new guest tonight. Felt like playing around with chords and arpeggios. I think "Dancing Queen" showed up, but other than that, not much else to say! Enjoy.

Dear listeners, I've been holding out on you; for the past several weeks I've been closing the evening with an improvisation with the studio equipment, using looping and synths to create different soundscapes or rhythm grooves. Tonight's piano music is shorter because I finally spent more time looping. I hope to incorporate this sound very soon in the podcast. It's not exactly "piano meditations" but "improvisations with studio equipment" just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Went to some more bombastic places tonight, but also some introspective places, too. Started to do a percussive, atonal piece but it turned into an old-style blues. Did a sweet little melodic thing that morphed into a schizophrenic ragtime. Go figure. 

I did a couple freestyle pieces as usual, but then I played a classical piece and followed it with an improvisation based on thematic elements of the piece. The pieces were Brahms Intermezzo in A Major, Mendelssohn Song Without Words in F# minor, and a Debussy Prelude, Girl With the Flaxen Hair. On the last improvisation, I took the descending thirds and reversed it. In the middle of the piece, I realized ascending thirds was actually the beginning of "I Loves You, Porgy", so I followed that thread for a bit.

Update: my podcast host has started playing ads; I noticed there were ads in the middle of the podcast which have now been removed. 
Living room was full tonight! I'm happy people feel fulfilled enough to come so regularly. Tonight I started off with a couple freestyle pieces like I usually do, but then I alternated between a classical piece and an improvisation loosely based on the same piece. I stream these concerts with my phone to FB, and a bunch of the evening was muted out because of copyright claims! I filed a dispute, but I have to say I'm flattered; the claims were from famous concert pianists! As if I had played their recordings instead of playing the pieces myself! So, thanks FB, but no, I'm not Yuja Wang, nor am I playing her performance....

We've been getting a nice crowd in recent weeks; 12 this time. I'm glad these evenings are appreciated, and I'm realizing it's a wonderful opportunity for people to forget about everything else, not look at phones for an hour, relax and enjoy a live piano. The audience helps me stay focused and intentional, and I get a podcast out of it. Win win!

A bunch of new people tonight! We had to bring chairs in from the dining room! The only quote that showed up (that I'm aware of) was Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Always fun to have new listeners! I started with a typical arc; a few notes to serve as a theme, expand and explore. Then a more energetic piece but very straightforward tonally, then a harmonic voice-leading kind of thing. I played a bluesy piece and the crowd was quite enthused! So, I did another jazzy piece, "Manhã de Carnaval". The last piece turned into "Tender Shepherd". Enjoy!

Getting better at trusting my instincts, not doubting the value of what I'm doing. The first few notes contain so much information; theme, energy, tonality, mood. Realizing the music can go anywhere doesn't mean it has to go everywhere. Staying with a few elements and seeing how deep they go seems to be helping me create more coherent pieces. 

Had a nice crowd tonight. Went to some fun places; played with time signatures, drones, tension, and simple harmonies that kept suggesting existing tunes. I had no idea I'd be doing a mashup of "Send in the Clowns" with "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", but, there you go. Enjoy.

BTW, I'm not naming the episode number any more, because it already shows up in the podcast interface, and I'm always off by one number somehow.
I was planning to do some looping at the end of the evening, but after playing the piano it seemed like a big jump to a whole different musical style, so I skipped it. One of these days...

New friend and guitarist/bassist Marcus DaSilwa joined us tonight! We stuck with the "no plan-plan" and played together with no for-thought about what happens next. While it definitely kept us both listening intently to the other, we both agree that to feel better about the quality of the music, we really do need to have a plan, aka charts! When I play solo, I can explore, meander, jump at random to something new, but playing with another musician changes all that. If our musical vocabulary was more textural or atonal, new paths could emerge, but we both are more drawn to harmony and chord-based music. I did a solo and Marcus did a solo on bass at the end. Enjoy.

Went to some minor places tonight, and then fell into a crazy atonal piece, and ended with a super tuneful ballad. Trying to think in somewhat orchestral terms. 

Not much to share about tonight; I find it a bit funny that when I hit "clunkers" as my dad used to call them, to me they sound spectacular, and not in a good way! It somehow seems like I walked right up and did a Splaat! like it's a gag or something. Well I had a few of these tonight. All I can say is whaddyagonnado... Hey, nobody gets hurt, so it's all good. The only quote that popped up tonight was Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy", and only briefly at that. Enjoy.

Notice the title; I had to delete episode 212 because somehow I made a final mix of just the metronome for 45 minutes. My apologies! Anyway, tonight was a bit of an early birthday party! Some new people came and afterwards, cake! Leaned toward classical sounds tonight; some spooky chord progressions, a little ragtime tag, kind of all over the place. Enjoy.

I decided to shelve the looping efforts for a while until I have better chops. I can rely on my friends in the living room to stay with me on this journey of discovery, but I think it's unfair to ask this of podcast subscribers! When I listen back and even I don't want to keep listening, the answer is obvious.
Please enjoy, and I'd love to hear your feedback as a comment, or even better, a review!

Every week I learn something new and I have new problems! Something happened where all the files were bound together, making it very hard to split the tracks and take out dialogue. Just fast forward a bit near the beginning, sorry.
I started with a few looping/computer music pieces then went to solo piano. The piano sounds amazing after being regulated. The quietest pianissimos, a thundering bass, I'm in love all over again. A little Pink Floyd crept in tonight; see if you find it!

Normally I just trim the beginning and end of the evening's recording, but tonight I had a bunch of false starts and a computer restart, so I edited out anything that wasn't music. I'm aware that my levels need work, but hopefully you'll see steady progress as the weeks go by. I did a couple of my rounds tonight, and with a looper it's easy to sing all the parts! My son Julian joined me on drums again which is always terrific fun.

A good crowd again tonight; the evening is evolving to include more audience participation! Some are dancing, others pick up handheld percussion and join the beat, and it's really turning into more of a party vibe. I'm fine with it, but not sure how it will be perceived by people listening to the podcast who may be wanting relaxing piano music. 
This has always been an experiment, so hopefully people will stay with me on this journey! 

Twelve people tonight! I finally did a more substantial dive into the looping equipment. It's still a steep learning curve, but each week it gets a little more comfortable. I really appreciate everyone's willingness to stay with me on this journey! 

What a treat to have our son in town, and to have him join in on drums! Also, a new friend Marcus came and played guitar. I only have two mics, so I just used them as room mics, but I'm afraid it didn't do a great job of capturing all three of us. Nonetheless, the evening was terrifically fun, and many in the audience picked up handheld percussion instruments and joined in as well. Let's see where this goes!

OK I had to start sometime. The first piece incorporated my looper, the Boss RC505. In the coming weeks you will hear more attempts at layering sounds with instruments I have around the house as well as synths in the recording software. 
It took me a little while to "get into the groove" but I know enough not to force it or judge it, and just keep going till inspiration arrives. I somehow found myself quoting "Dancing Queen". Felt the urge for ragtime. Went back to my roots playing for modern dance classes. Enjoy.

I came so close to using the looper/computer tonight but ran into last-minute routing issues. I spent the half hour before start time dealing with it, and then having to just let it go and get into the mental space for improvising. Anyway, I kept to sonorous harmonies for the most part, but the second piece was a bit "Halloweeny". The last piece fell into the first three notes of a Chopin Nocturne (or is it a Prelude...?) for the thematic material.

It took me a little while to settle into a flow tonight. I found myself leaning towards repeating the thematic material of the prior piece, so I was working against myself! I finally just let it meander a bit, then it felt much better. Some quotes showed up tonight; "But Beautiful" by Bill Evans, a tune from Fiddler on the Roof, and apparently I played part of a song by Queen, but it was news to me! Enjoy.

Some new guests tonight! Always a treat for me. At the end one shared that they felt transported, and surprisingly un-distracted. She said she's usually thinking about something else whatever is going on, but tonight the music kept her in the moment. I consider that a high compliment! But that is the goal; if I can truly follow the musical impulse and allow myself to become totally absorbed in the flow of the music, perhaps those listening will come along for the ride. Sounds like that was achieved tonight! Enjoy.

Nice group tonight. It's also our anniversary; 36 years! I started with Thomas Pond, a piece I wrote when I first met my future wife and felt I had to do anything in my power to impress her. Gotta play to your strengths, right?
Anyway, had fun with some cinematic sounds tonight, some spritely jaunts and some slow jazz jams. Enjoy.

Went with triads to start, threw out a waltz, tried a steady bass groove and resisted changing the chord till the very end, and riffed on a Bach piece. Enjoy!

We're baaack! I still plan to start working with loops and computer equipment, but why not also just make up music on the piano? (rhetorical question)
We had a nice crowd of friends and neighbors, so it feels great to host and have a format for people to enjoy each other's company and also listen to music for 45 minutes. I was leaning into impressionistic harmonies tonight, which is kind of my jam anyway. Enjoy.

We did it! 200 episodes over four (five?) years. I started this project to practice allowing the music to flow through me, and trust the process. I've gained confidence that the music is good quality and something interesting seems to have happened every week. Taking a break now till after the summer. In the fall I plan to start again with a different format. I'd love to hear your comments, please leave a review, tell your friends, you know the drill! See you in September!

A dozen people tonight! When we have a good crowd like that, we open it up for applause; if it's just a few people it sort of sounds sad, so I play straight through without applause. I don't think any quotes came into the fingers tonight. Definitely digging into more energetic playing.
Next week will be the 200th episode. After that I plan to take a break for a while, regroup and start again in the fall with more prepared pieces. I hope to incorporate computer sounds and looping techniques, and possibly create composed music from previous episodes.

Small group tonight; I was feeling more introspective and just went with it for the most part. I also felt a little disconnected from the "muse", but I didn't want to fall back to tried and true sonorities, so towards the end I just started playing really randomly and didn't try to "make sense" of it. At some point I just went with the energy and it kind of turned into a strange Stravinsky-meets-Cecil Taylor kind of thing, with a touch of Rachmaninoff thrown in! 

I've been exploring more rhythmic and energetic playing. Part of it is knowing I have some dancers in the dining room, and others tuning in and moving to the music! The "Meditations" part of Piano Meditations is really about my attempt to get into a flow state and let the music literally flow out; it is not so much about providing music for meditation! A lot of my playing does tend to be more introspective, but that's because it gives me a little more time to listen to the direction of the music. It's more challenging to play fast and still stay "in control". 

Drummer Dan Burke joined us again! Once again, the music went in totally new directions with the addition of percussion. Most of the music was still completely free improv, but I went in a more jazz sound and played a blues (or sort of a blues!) and a rendition of When Sunny Gets Blue. It feels strange to ask people not to clap (so that the podcast is just the music), so you'll hear that. But hey, it's living room concert!

As I was playing the first piece, I realized I was touching on Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", so I just went for it. Later, the first two chords reminded me of Stephen Foster's "Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair" so I went for that too, but somehow it turned into a rag! I played one piece that was pretty atonal, which sometimes helps me get out of "functional harmony" habit. It was fun. 
We are in the countdown to a pause, and a change of sound. We will probably go to a monthly format, and I'm planning to share a bunch of my songs, as well as integrating electronics and looping for a more orchestral approach. Stay tuned!

After two weeks away from the piano, there's a feeling that I might not be in my best form, but often the opposite happens, as it did tonight. I think it's because my ears are more attuned to the notes because it seems fresh and new. 
Not many quotes tonight, but one was pretty funny; I was doing a waltzy thing and somehow "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" popped up. Go figure.

It's my wife's birthday tomorrow so we invited a bunch of our friends for a quick celebration before the music. 14 people! I started with the piece of music I wrote for Sharon when we first met, "Thomas Pond" (didn't practice it first; whoops!). Then I did an improv on the same piece. I was feeling my old ballet accompaniment roots, so lots of steady rhythms and four bar phrases! 

Except for one piece that was sort of atonal, I felt pretty good about most of the music tonight. It's unrealistic to expect myself to be inspired on every piece! Sometimes I'm just not sure what I'm doing, but now I keep going rather than bail out. It's like riding a horse; sometimes there's a great connection between my brain and my fingers, sometimes not. 

What a treat to have a guest musician! Sometimes you don't realize just how much you're missing until it comes true. Drummer Dan Burke fully embraced the totally-free music-making, and provided a rhythmic foundation to every piece. His support gave me a sense of confidence with my own rhythm, and I felt the music went in a whole new direction! We had a big audience, too, so it made sense to include the applause. 

I was wearing a very bold striped shirt tonight and a few guests mentioned barbershop quartets, so of course the music was influenced! Most of the pieces had a "functional harmony" feel, and I tried a jazzy walking bass kind of thing. Enjoy.

I keep diving into romantic harmonies! Rachmaninoff is a big influence, so why the hell not. One piece was a one-off jazz ballad. I ended the evening with a new-agey, impressionistic Garden of Eden kind of thing. Enjoy.

Fresh tuning; sorry about the last few weeks! Had a boisterous crew tonight, so I felt like diving right into something dramatic. After that I was in the mood for a waltz and a rag! I played a piece that borrowed a feel from Mendelssohn's Songs without Words, and a quasi 5/8 piece that borrowed a left hand riff from Chick Corea. Also played a standard I love, When Sunny Gets Blue. Enjoy.

Had a bunch of people over for chili and homemade bread before the music!
I tried to approach the music with an image in my mind, and thought it could be an inspiration for what to play. It didn't work. The music itself took over. 
Enjoy. 

Felt like stretching harmonically tonight, which was fun. Hearing two different chords simultaneously helped to open my ears to some new directions. Enjoy!

Stretched a bit on a couple pieces, and it reminds me of the balance between playing it safe and going out on a limb. The pieces felt a little uncomfortable and awkward, but I've learned not to bail to and just power through. I'm including them because that's kind of the point of this podcast! You might hear some melody snippets of songs you know; will leave it to you to find them!

One of the pieces began like Paul Simon's Sound of Silence, but I went elsewhere. At the end, some chords evolved into rising thirds, which reminded me both of Silver Bells and Blue Monk, so... I kind of played both at the same time!

Tonight I dug into the kind of sonorities I was wanting to hear, reminding myself that so much of this project is to do exactly that. Sometimes I try to challenge myself to go into unfamiliar styles or genres, and that is a good exercise, but I feel most at home with a particular sound that seems to draw my ear into it, and I more successfully become absorbed in it. I also messed with the mixer settings which may have helped with some of the ringing in the audio. This piano does create a LOT of overtones, but everything else is so wonderful I'm not complaining!

I didn't feel very psyched to play tonight, and I wondered if the music would feel stiff and unimaginative. I didn't share this with our guests and started playing as usual. Sure enough, the music just kind of takes over, and everything felt fine! 

Three people here tonight. Went in several different directions tonight; started a rolling thing that turned into a tribute to Stephen Sondheim. One piece became an epic 50s ballad, and the last piece began as an imitative melodic counterpoint which somehow evolved into Simple Gifts. Enjoy.

Felt like playing faux jazz standards tonight. I attempted to create melodies that sounded like songs! I suppose it was inevitable that real songs would show up. First came Oh What a Beautiful Morning, which associatively led to America, which led to Imagine. I'll leave it to you to figure out those associations.. It was a little shorter tonight, sorry!

Ten people here tonight! On the night before Thanksgiving! Pushed myself a bit tonight; tried a few new pathways, and hit a few stumbly notes! Hey, it's all grist for the mill. Went back to my days as a ballet accompanist and played a boisterous waltz. One piece was all about how chords can spill into each other. Another piece felt a little Russian folk, perhaps? 

Really dug into some thematic elements tonight. A motif of a few notes really can be the fuel which propels the music forward. It's also a balancing act, because you also don't want overdo a theme and render it boring. It's certainly fun to play with the balance! Enjoy.

Nice group tonight! Worked with some motifs and explored different harmonies with them. Towards the end I started a blues, but I wasn't really feeling connected to a "free blues" so I segued into a version of God Bless the Child. After that I still felt like staying with a jazz sound so the next piece was Manhã de Carnaval, also known as Black Orpheus. Enjoy.

I do tend to follow a certain arc to each evening's music; the first one is a rolling piece that evolves gently, then I tend to dig a little deeper into some more complex harmonies, then try a rhythmic  thing that moves and builds. After that I often do a more simple, easy thing, then maybe another energetic piece, or a very somber dirge. Whatever the particular flow, I try to have variety and some development over the course of the set. Now watch me mess with it now that I've described the "usual"! Hey, whatever; enjoy! 

Something happens when you don't question your choices. The confidence to own your choices creates a kind of inevitability of the music, and by allowing it to happen, it somehow generates music that has a deliberate quality to it. The more I explore this kind of expression, the more it takes on a life of its own. Thanks for joining me on this exploration.

Ok, tonight felt a bit like catharsis. Maybe self indulgent, maybe not, you decide. I wasn't in the best mood starting in, so I just went with the feelings that were there. The second piece just went wherever it wanted and I let it go! Probably not the most "meditative" but it was nonetheless still in "flow". Curious if you have comments!