Improvisation in the style of Beethoven (first genuine attempt)

[Derek]

I'm rather enjoying mimicking older styles of late. I like to think of the feelings people must have had when they heard the first fortepianos, and how lovely it must have been to hear Beethoven improvise on one.  I often indulge in that sort of feeling. Forget all my prejudices, forget all that I've learned, allow musical styles both old and new and my own style to just affect me as it will, with the pure sound of it. I find that all musical styles have the potential to move me just as strongly, if I know how to listen.  Enjoy!

[ganymed]

i listened to the whole improvisation !
and im not just saying it without any meaning im really honest !

my favourite spot is during the end at 7:24. the sadness and yearning somehow reminds me of chopins ballade no 4.

Improvisations like that alwasy make me want to improvise aswell. this is one of the things i'd like to learn ^^.

where did you learn to improsive like that?
Can you even give me an advice maybe?
BTW: on what piano are u plaiyng

[Derek]

Thanks ganymed. I know some of my chopin style and baroque style leaked out in this despite my terming it "Beethoven" inspired.

I actually prefer to improvise in my own style, but it is fun to mimic older styles sometimes.

I'm mostly self taught at improv. I have received a lot of tips and encouragement from a good friend of mine. Basically, I think the three most important things that you must do to become a good creative improviser are:

1) Try noodling/improvising in all the different key signatures that you know, and try to learn all 24 major and minor keys (eventually, not all at once of course).

2) Record yourself, and listen to yourself, a LOT. When you're a beginner at improv, it is amazing how often one accidentally comes up with a cool little phrase, which you would have forgotten otherwise. When you listen to yourself you can say: "Hey, that was neat!" and pick it out again, and thus have absorbed it into your vocabulary.  Recording yourself and listening to yourself facilitates musical "natural selection." Thus you can "evolve" your sound in this way.

3) Never worry about rules. At least not for the first several years. Your first few years of improv experience should be getting familiar with as many key signatures, chords, figures, as possible. If you ultimately want to imitate old styles, that's great, but it is very important to get comfortable with that stuff first, otherwise you will spend more time poring over music theory books and less time improvising.

Hope that helps!

Regards,
-Derek.

*edit* I have a Roland F-100 here at my apartment. Sometimes I go to my parents' house and play their Petrof Model III Grand.