Here’s another recording from March, released after the fact! It’s a long-format one.

I’ve been thinking about why I typically choose the keys I do to play in. And what makes a key feel like it does? I find I gravitate towards flat keys, but what does that even mean? A-flat Major is technically the same as G-sharp Major. But I believe I always think of it as A-flat when I’m improvising. Similarly, I often think of D-flat Major, not C-sharp Major. B-flat minor, not A-sharp minor. Is this typical? I wonder! But I also wonder if my penchant for flats steers me away from improvising in keys that just have sharps in their key signature – like B Major and E Major…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

This was an improvisation inspired by a piece I wrote in elementary school called “A lot of Jazzy Jazz” (which was itself a variation on an earlier piece: “A little bit of Jazz”). Not sure how actual jazzy this ever was, but it was fun to play with!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

March 2015 – Day 31

Here it is  – the last post for March. I wrote Ocean Squalls when I was in late elementary school. On Sunday night, I read through it a couple times and then put my music notebook away. This is me playing it from memory, and taking a little artistic liberty. I hope you enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

March 2015 – Day 30

Only two days left in March, including today! I’m trying to decide how frequently to continue posting to this podcast. I recently went through all my files, and I have more than 200 recordings. They are not all ones I would want to share publicly, but many of them are. If I continue to record a few new piano logs every week, I should be able to post at least two every week for a long time. Stay tuned! What I’ve learned through the course of this month is that I love doing this podcast, so it shouldn’t be hard for me to continue!

Yesterday, I went through my tiny composition notebook from when I was very young. I was born in 1982, and there were little pieces in there from ’87 to ’92. My dad is a composer, and most of them are written in his handwriting. Many of them are very much in the style of the beginner pieces I was working on. The first one is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, but with “Mel Bass” instead of Alberti Bass. The last one is a piece called “Ocean Squalls”, which I was very proud of. I recorded that one yesterday as well, and I’ll be posting it tomorrow.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

March 2015 – Day 29

This piano was in a little courtyard at Harvard Law School. I had the feeling of being in a sort of room, even though I was outside. It felt oddly private. Perhaps as a result, I think this improvisation ended up sounding more introspective.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS