Piano Meditations Podcast

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 Sh...

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 combin...

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!...

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 "...

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 in...

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 v...

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!

Wow, episode 150! There's one spot where you may hear something else going on; Sharon was streaming on another platform and someone wasn't muted. Hey, it's a momentary duet! My hands were tired from chopping wood earlier today. Took a few minutes to loosen up. Anyway, enjoy! If you would, I'd appreciate a review of the podcast.