Sunday, March 21, 2010

#5 Improv. in D


Really really REALLY didn't want to upload this one.
But I did.

Mucked around (with no particular conscious thought) in D for a bit straight after recording the "#3 Improv. - And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again" (which is in the same key), and ended up with some classic 'mind muddle'.

Undecided on whether Muddle is someone I like yet.

#4 Replay Accompaniment


Just thought I'd try improvising over the top of Replay by IYAZ for fun.

Nothing special. Nice
waste of time though =].

#3 Improv. - And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again


*Okay for some reason when I start recording myself my endings go to shit but on other occasions I can produce some fairly nice ones...*major sigh-age*.

Anyway...

Today's improv piece was done whilst looking at a photo that one of my more talented friends took for one of her blogs (see her amazing work right here -
http://gratedslices.blogspot.com/). The problem however, was being able to convert those feelings supposedly produced from the photo onto the piano itself, especially seeing as today wasn't particularly rainy (one major conundrum)!

Unable to re-conjure the appropriate feelings that I needed to play the actual piece I just ended up playing what was the natural feeling at the time (which I guess was the whole point of the blog in the first place). Courtesy of me trying to semi-incorporate the 'rain' feeling combined with the actual sun just edging through the windows around me; I felt that immense feeling that one gets with the rising of the sun 'after' the rain, and
lo and behold 'this' came out.

I have a thing for
D major recently which is slightly odd seeing as in the past I wasn't really a fan. I also have a thing for two chord progressions which is also odd seeing as most of my songs are done in four. Hope I'm not catching something.

Key: D Major
Feeling: Sun After Rain
Dedicated to: Natasha (though it's the wrong song - promise to do it when It Is 'Actually' Raining =S)

Friday, March 12, 2010

#2 Improv. ft. "Apologize" Chords


Here took One Republic/Timbaland's "Apologize", and took it back to its basic chords before messing around with it. I have a feeling that the whole new 'uploading-every-video-even-if-it's-crap' regime I'm trying to get going is going to get on my nerves eventually.

Not too fancy, but couldn't resist playing the
C Blues alongside it somewhere near the end. Didn't really aim for a repeated melody (or even an original one) or anything succinct as I was waaaay too tired to think on the spot (hence some average improv.). Clearly overdid the end *sigh*, but what can you do (lamest ending ever -_-!!).

#1 Improv. in F.


Okay, thanks to the inspiration of a few of my closest friends (who also happen to be phenomenal artists - and hence, have inspired me to 'create'), I have decided to make a 'Music Blog' in order to somehow capture the majority of my improvisation ideas on the piano - about time (I've been trying to store them in the limited space in my head for years)!

So the idea is to, whenever I'm feeling any form of pent up emotion, I'm going to sit down at the piano and just let it flow out onto the keys. There probably will not be that much conciseness (or patterns) to the way I play, but there will always be a feeling and at least one idea/technique that I wish to improvise with.

And by 'improvise' I mean 100% spur-of-the-moment playing (ie no prior playing/practice - make-it-up-as-you-go-kinda-thing) so as to properly project my true feelings.

Wish me luck!

This song is done in F and only revolves around two keys (
F and B Minor). So it does tend to stagnate near the end as I'm just looping the same feelings over-and-over again until satisfied to finish. Finger slips here and there, overuse of some held phrases, and a very poor ending but otherwise this was the first song that actually passed my own highly-critical self-examination to actually put up online, so ah..'hooray'? (had over 300 video attempts to start this blog already)

F Major. Feeling: Carefree. Very simple technique, played along several different octaves (will probably redo this in the future).

Dedicated to Sarah, Natasha and Min-Yee for the belief.

Peace. Jono