Piano Meditations Podcast

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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 a...

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 peo...

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...

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 my...

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...

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 m...

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...

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...

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...