Piano Meditations Podcast

New audience member tonight. Seems like the way to go deeper is to go more into the very sounds I like to hear anyway. It's probably a fool's errand to try and "stretch'; I only end up feeling artificial. Finding one's "voice" may be more about playing what's comfortable than trying to do something new or unusual. At least, that's how it felt tonight!

Ok it's starting to feel a little tough to keep a fresh approach. After almost 100 episodes, it's safe to say I've got some sounds and pathways that I go to again and again. Tonight began with the sense that I was mimicking myself. I wasn't feeling like the music had any sense of direction or coherence. However, eventually an energy came into the piece and I was able to get into the groove.  Once...

I thought I'd be solo in my living room tonight, but by 8:00 there were five people here!  I've been exploring simple pentatonic scales but tried layering patterns with rhythmic complexity; seems to make a nice combo. Also did a fractured waltz, and a take-off of the first few notes of "Where or When". Enjoy.

I had some (what felt like) spectacular bloopers tonight; sometimes I'm digging into the keys and fingers just slip off and clunk onto the next key. I couldn't help but groan. Hey, it's all part of the journey, right? I was solo in the living room tonight, so thanks to those who tune in virtually each week!

First episode of the new decade! Five more till the 100th episode. In a few weeks I'm going to be trying out some new equipment; stay tuned. 

Stuck to tried and true harmonic moves tonight; there's something incredibly free when using the pentatonic scale and scale-tone chords. Everything just sounds good. Also, taking a few notes and repeating them while changing the chords underneath makes for interesting movement. 

We had our neighborhood latke party tonight, so, naturally since it was Wednesday it came with a concert! When we only have a few guests I ask that there be no applause, 'cause it just sounds pitiful, but we had about twenty people so applause was not a problem! Hopefully it won't be jarring for podcast subscribers. Feel free to comment with your feedback.

Felt the pull to go simple tonight, and try a little more long-form playing. I stuck to a smaller palate of harmonies on each piece and took the time to explore them deeper and longer than I tend to, and it really felt good. 

Tending towards minor and sort of Slavic/Spanish?? I'm drawn to the tension with some of these modes, which creates momentum to continue and build. Finding inner lines also helps to get into deeper listening. A couple pieces had a slow time getting started, but eventually I found a path to explore. 

A new listener tonight, always a treat! It's a lot of fun to share the sound of this beautiful piano, and be able to play any notes I want in whatever order I choose, to hear the music I want to hear, and have people actively listening and enjoying it. In eleven more evenings it will be the 100th episode!

Small but appreciative audience tonight. However, this podcast is getting some real action, I'm excited to say! Over 400 listens yesterday, and more than 5000 this week. I'm continuing to focus on listening to where melodies and harmonies want to go, and doing my best to "follow the music". 

Three friends in the audience tonight; I'm glad they came because the previous two hours I was trying to figure out a way to do Livestreaming through my podcast host, to no avail. I was frustrated and hadn't had dinner or warmed up my fingers, much less gotten into a good musical headspace. Having people here who were ready to just listen to some nice music was very centering and appreciated!

Pushing through a cold, but once the music started I forgot all about it. Having an interesting inner dialogue about the balance between interest, variety and boredom. Tonight I stayed with some sonorities longer than I usually would, and I was wondering if the audience might be losing interest because there wasn't enough variety, but I also realize that sometimes I may not give my audience enough...

OK, so the night before Halloween you gotta do some minor keys! I explored some unusual minor chord changes which create a kind of cinematic excitement and tonal ambiguity.  

A couple new listeners tonight! The weather was stormy, we got a fire going, settled in after a delicious dinner, and then the music! That's what I call a nice night.

Except for one quasi-pop piece which never felt like it got started, the music tonight seemed to have a nice flow and an organic development. 

It's getting harder to really challenge myself to explore new territory. I've got a nice sound going that's tonal, relatively mellow, and highlights the resonance of the piano. When I go for more high-energy technique I can feel my limitations, and then I pull back so as not to totally crash. Maybe that's just the right spot; I'd be taking that approach if I was racing a car!

Bonus episode! This is audio from a concert at our local library, recorded with the phone. Audio quality is not so good, but it captures the afternoon. I deleted the applause after most pieces, in keeping with the usual sound of the podcast, but at the end the music was still going when the crowd jumped in, so... how could I resist? ;)

Had a small audience tonight after two weeks solo! It does make a difference knowing people are hearing the sound of the Steinway live. It makes me listen more intently to the sound of the notes ringing in the room. 

Just me in the living room again tonight, but I know I have online listeners and it still feels like there's an audience! Felt a little subdued tonight; just kept leaning towards melodies curling around each other. One piece was intentionally "bad" or at least intentionally off-key. I felt I needed to shake myself out of a gauzy tonality! Enjoy.

This was the first time I played for an entirely virtual audience! The debates are on (and I'm about to tune in) so I wasn't surprised. Interestingly, I definitely had a bit harder time getting past my go-to default sounds, but I think there were some good moments in there. Enjoy.

Had some fun tonight with folk-type melodies. We all have these archetypical tunes in our heads, so how to play with them without being stereotypical of the archetypes? You decide if it worked!

Sometimes you have to break something to break through to something. I was feeling like I was plagiarizing myself, so I took the playing to a kind of crazy place, and then, true enough, came to a place that felt authentic, where I could just let the music evolve as it needed to. 

Kept hearing a little buzz tonight; stopped and started a few times but ultimately had to just embrace it and keep going! Maybe I played a little louder tonight to compensate. Had some fun with bluesy and Broadway sounds. 

Glad to squeeze an episode in tonight! Had some new listeners too. Just came off a week playing for dancers at Noyes School of Rhythm ( www.noyesrhythm.org ) so the music may be a little more "elemental". You be the judge; enjoy!