Piano Meditations Podcast

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!

Pretty big group tonight, but Facebook didn't allow Livestreaming. So this is it! It's way better audio quality anyway. Really felt good about the flow of tonight's music. 

New guest tonight, always fun. Started with fifths because I was showing our new guest a simple way to create harmony and add melody. Not sure if it was this one, but on one piece I fell into a bit of "El Condor Pasa". The second piece began as an exploration of an upbeat tempo, but it went pretty dark at times. I chose a high, quiet sound as a contrast for the next piece. It touched on "Tender Shepherd" from Peter Pan. The next piece was sort of a standard jazz tune that never repeated anything! Finally, I wanted to play a straightforward positive vibe kind of thing, and I kept circling around a known theme but couldn't figure out what it was. Then I realized it was the Cinema Paradiso theme, so I messed with that a bit. Enjoy.

A big part of what I do with these pieces is to see if I can hear what the next chord or melody movement should be. I also try to keep a certain thematic unity with whatever happens with the first notes. It helps my ear, but what's also interesting is when I think something will sound a certain way, but it doesn't, I then have to retroactively try to make it make musical sense! Fun and risk combined!

New guests tonight; always a treat! Dug into a lot of alternating notes tonight, and rhythmic shifts.

Yom Kippur Eve; small but appreciative audience tonight. Going ever deeper into favorite sonorities, not concerning myself with being "new". Maybe you've heard similar music in previous episodes, but every evening is its own experience. NOTE: I didn't set the phone to Do Not Disturb for the Livestream, and I got a call in the middle of the music. Oops! I guess that track won't ever be on an album! Enjoy.

Nine listeners live tonight. I approached the music tonight with the idea of working with a smaller set of musical materials. I thought i could limit myself and perhaps dig deeper into the themes. I'm not sure i succeeded, but it did make a difference to take more time to explore. The music still took off on its own trajectory, of course, but I like the idea of having a stated direction.

Just our dedicated neighbors in attendance tonight, but it is a deluge outside with a tornado warning, after all. The melody on first piece was reminding me of something, but I couldn't tell what it was while I was playing it, so I just kept gnawing on it. Listening back, I can tell it was "People Will Say We're in Love". We went to concert last night at our (same) neighbors house where we heard "I Could Have Danced All Night", and sure enough it found its way into a piece tonight. The evening ended with some romantic, passionate thing. It briefly felt like a piano concerto! Enjoy.

Ten guests tonight! It makes all the difference in the world knowing people are listening live. Tonight's music tended toward more 'groove-based'. More repeating patterns over different harmonies. Enjoy.

After a two week hiatus for vacations, I truly wasn't sure what the music would end up being. Like an old friend, the sounds of this awesome Steinway proved a good guide. Went to some unusual sonorities (for me) and it was intriguing to explore. 

Tonight I tried to incorporate sounds from the computer software, but I forgot to record the piano; so I'm not including just the computer sounds in tonight's episode. The episode is about 15 minutes shorter as a result. Growing up, I took to extremes my father's advice to "delay gratification" and "postpone reward", so I kept trying to get better before I performed. No more! Hopefully you will indulge my learning curve as I gradually get better incorporating the studio, rather than toil at home and emerge as a master ten years from now...

The first two pieces tonight were very tongue-in-cheek; it's actually tough to be genre-specific and not fall into an existing tune. "Blue Monk" kind of had to happen! After that, I did a bit of a reset and slowed down to exploring single notes and voice leading. I was very happy to be able to play tonight; I just had shoulder surgery last Friday! 

As anyone who follows this podcast knows, I really don't plan ahead of time what the music will be, or even the general mood or energy. Tonight tended toward the operatic for some reason! I started with a canon where the melody was following itself around, and ended with something that sounded like it was the finale of some epic drama. Enjoy!

Feeling a little energetic tonight! A few quotes made their way in; Still Crazy After All These Years, something from Jesus Christ, Superstar, Dream On (Aerosmith), probably others of which I'm unaware. Had a good group of in-person folks tonight. Feels so good!

Tonight I wasn't feeling too inspired and I had the sense I was likely to "plagiarize myself" if I didn't really commit to listening to the notes and being honest in their development. So, that's what I did, and it ended up feeling great! The pieces necessarily started off slowly, and over time built in intensity.

Several pieces took a little longer to take shape tonight. I stayed with one or two chords and just waited until I found some direction. It's tempting to just start doing something for fear of sounding aimless or boring, but then there's the wisdom I saw on someone's shirt at a meditation retreat; "Don't just do something, sit there!"

So nice to have live audiences again! I was feeling very mellow tonight, and I thought I'd be actually playing music for meditation tonight, but, as usual, the music went its own direction. Still pretty mellow, but I got into a few energetic grooves. Enjoy!

Tonight’s music is all an exploration of the three-note theme (1-7-6) offered by NASA to accompany the Lucy Mission, meant to encourage musical creation and discovery. NASA may use the music if they like (yes to Creative Commons license, NASA!). #nasalucysoundscape I tried to use the motif in many different ways. One of our guests tonight had associations with the different planets! One piece is very dissonant, which could be asteroids colliding... or whatever comes up for you. enjoy!

New guests again tonight! All vaccinated, feels great. The piano was just tuned by the great Victor La Gamma, so I always lean into the rich deep chords that just feel so good. 

We're back to live audience in earnest! Eight people tonight, and some new guests! A couple quotes crept in; Brother Can You Spare a Dime, Rainbow Connection, maybe more. A nice waltz at the end, some minor ruminations, a jazzy romp, a little of everything tonight!

Another one in the books!

I didn't catch the fact that my audio defaulted to a different microphone, which resulted in very poor audio, so tonight is a revisit to episode 4, August 30, 2017. This HAS been going for awhile!

We had a huge crowd tonight; six people! ;) It's so wonderful beginning to play again for people in the room hearing the actual vibrations of the piano. Of course I'm very happy people enjoy the music on FB and the pro-audio podcast, too, but something unique does happen with the symbiosis of performer and audience. Tonight's music felt very good, hope you enjoy!

More live guests tonight! Feels so good to socialize again now that we're vaccinated. Nothing special to report about the music, but I hope you like it!