Piano

Piano - My latest

I hope this will encourage others to start/continue on this very rewarding journey.

Reflections . . .

Piano

Slow progress after a lot of hard practice.

(Damn me if I didn't paste in the wrong video - the one I did six months ago! So here now is the latest.)

Slowly getting there. Making those fingers work a lot harder.

The last six months has been used in developing a musical memory ie training my fingers to play without me thinking about it concentrating on getting my fingers to move up and down the keyboard. The idea is to build up a set of tools that can be used without thinking about it.

This way I can set one had off in action with one hand while I make up stuff with the other.

Takes some hard work to achieve the desired result!

Dedicated to inspiring musicians

During this last week or so I've had two thrilling experiences that seem to me at the moment to excel anything I've ever experienced in my life before.

I return home to practice and practice and practice on the love of my life ( at the moment) my piano.

The first was Wednesday evening at the Malt Kiln - the musicians of the Budapest Cafe´orchestra

the previous experience was this:

Hearing it live at the Preston Guild Hall was - as will you will gather - inspiring.

What made it special was that the conductor projected the emotion so effectively that one felt that every musician played "out of their skins".

The audience of "golden (white haired) oldies clapped their hearts out. No wonder there were so many people being carried out because of heart attacks from over excitement. (only kidding).

So here is my homage to top rate musicians:

 

Watch this space - . . . . .

Piano progress

Latest piano

Being creative - in this case with a piano can be very rewarding and a great relaxation.

Here I sit down and make up some music: something I've never played before and made up on the spur of the moment.



And here's someone, way ahead of me.

A bit repetitive perhaps?

Having fun with the piano

A few months later!

To see my previous video on the subject click on the label "piano" below made six months ago!

Piano again

What I'm discovering with the piano is that I'm slowly learning the sound that I get when I play any three notes down together. I'm hoping that in time I will think a sound and be able to instinctively know which notes to play. I already have chord sequences that I like.

I deliberately play what I know will be "out of tune chords" from keys that have nothing to do with the one I'm in just to see what happens and then find my way back to harmony with the original key I started in - which is usually C sharp minor!

I find my hand fits round the notes easily.

A reoccurring thought is that I couldn't possibly play the notes that I play if they where written down - there would be so many sharps, flats and modifications.

I often start with a tune that I know or one I've made up and then listen to the effect on this tune of the different harmonies that could be used - any chord of three notes which includes the note I'm playing.

Then I'm looking around for different ways of playing a chord, notes together, one after the other jumping and octave as an arpeggio etc

Now I hear the way various composers harmonise with the tune they are playing.

Then there's the rhythm I chose.

So many variables and scope for variation.

With a really good piano (which I don't have) one can just enjoy the sounds created. This is where I migrate to any grand that happens to be sitting in a public place and have a tinkle for a few minutes.

So this is one of my new interests (an old one that is being greatly extended).

It's important to me to be able to entertain myself

One of the ways I do this is by making up music!



If anyone's interested to talk about what I'm doing - you know where to find me.

Apologies for the low quality of the sound.