All Episodes

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!