Where the wind blows...

[ranjit]

Felt like posting here after a while

[quantum]

Keep on improvising.  Many ideas were explored in this one.  You can use this to build the relationship between piano technique and artistic expression.  Eventually one builds a repertoire of ideas for improvisation, to which one can call upon when a particular expression may be desired.  One thing you can practice is taking an idea and expanding upon it. 

I liked 9:28 oblique motion of line, with the gradual separation of hands and registers. 

Thanks for sharing.

[ranjit]

Keep on improvising.  Many ideas were explored in this one.  You can use this to build the relationship between piano technique and artistic expression.  Eventually one builds a repertoire of ideas for improvisation, to which one can call upon when a particular expression may be desired.

I think this is quite literally almost all I do while at the piano. I am self taught and have never separately practiced technique (maybe I should, I plan to start when I get a better instrument, and a teacher!). Piano technique and artistic expression, in that sense, kind of literally go hand in hand for me. It's hard to explain, but certain figurations on the piano get encoded as "feelings" somehow. I find this especially true for the fast right hand arpeggios I use every so often.

One thing you can practice is taking an idea and expanding upon it. 

I should do this. I find it a bit hard to keep track of an idea which I come up with on the spot, though. What I do quite often, however, is to take some familiar motif (say, a theme from a movie), and play around with it. I can pretty much immediately play most simple tunes by ear and harmonize them, and I then experiment with them, adding extra voices, improvising additional melody lines, and occasionally reharmonizing. Does that count?

I liked 9:28 oblique motion of line, with the gradual separation of hands and registers. 

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for listening. And thank you a lot for your encouragement! It really means a lot to me.

[quantum]

What I do quite often, however, is to take some familiar motif (say, a theme from a movie), and play around with it. I can pretty much immediately play most simple tunes by ear and harmonize them, and I then experiment with them, adding extra voices, improvising additional melody lines, and occasionally reharmonizing. Does that count?

It certainly does count. 

Exploration is good, it allows you to discover new ideas and broaden your repertoire.  You are already doing this, and should continue.  However, there is another aspect to music making, and that is taking your technique, your musical ideas and making them into pieces with some sort of structure.  This is one of the next steps you can be working towards: musical focus.  For example: I heard a lot of focus in your Frustration! improv.  It was created around a central idea, and then you explored various perspectives on that idea. 

In music composition (and art in general) there is the notion that limitation spawns creativity: that due to the condition of limitation, the creator is encouraged to find new ways of expressing something (you could call it creative problem solving).  Musical examples may include contrapuntal limitation such as fugue, music form such as ABACADA, modes, harmony, music texture, and the list goes on.  One can use limitation as a method of expanding on an idea - think of it as introducing a variant of that idea.  Limitation is also a way of achieving a specific type of focus. 

That is not to say that all of your improvisations should be moulded with such precise focus, because there is also a place for exploration.  However, it is good to pause and dig deeper at times, especially if you like an idea you come across. 

[ranjit]

However, there is another aspect to music making, and that is taking your technique, your musical ideas and making them into pieces with some sort of structure.  This is one of the next steps you can be working towards: musical focus.  For example: I heard a lot of focus in your Frustration! improv.  It was created around a central idea, and then you explored various perspectives on that idea.

When you refer to having musical focus, are you referring to having some kind of underlying theme, or are you talking about musical form? While my Frustration! improvisation did have some kind of underlying theme or idea, it definitely did not have any kind of clear musical structure. There was no motif which was developed, for instance. Again, I would expect it to be very hard to keep track of musical form and motifs while improvising. I will certainly get to it when I sit down and compose. I don't see that happening in the near future though, commitments.

[quantum]

When you refer to having musical focus, are you referring to having some kind of underlying theme, or are you talking about musical form?

I think musical focus can take many different forms depending on the music.  It is being attentive and communicative about the idea or ideas you are expressing. 

There were some moments where it sounded like you didn't like what you just played and went back and did a correction that somewhat broke the flow of the music.  Almost like the mistake broke your focus for a small moment. 

[ranjit]

Just to clarify, I was referring to large scale musical structure when I wrote "musical form". Is it common practice to keep a musical structure in mind while improvising, as opposed to composing? It is a slightly separate skill to improvise while keeping a structure in mind, say, an AABA form, and were you also suggesting developing that?

[quantum]

Is it common practice to keep a musical structure in mind while improvising, as opposed to composing?

I think it is good practice to at least consider the structure of an improvisation.  However, it is also important not to be enslaved by it either.  Improvisation does by its nature, make allowance for wandering and discovery in-the-moment. 

As an example: even if your goal were to convey ambiguity, a lack of structure is in itself a form of structure.  The challenge in such a case were to make it absolutely clear that it was your intent to construct ambiguity. 

Regarding composition, one can choose to use traditional forms or even have music through composed.

The common thread here is intent.  As an improviser or composer, it is good practice to form an intent for your creative work.  The following is an improvisation exercise encouraged by one of my teachers: first describe your intent before improvising a piece.  Play your piece.  When finished playing, describe the execution of your piece (recording helps here).  Compare the descriptions of intent and execution and include your thoughts on the piece.

It is a slightly separate skill to improvise while keeping a structure in mind, say, an AABA form, and were you also suggesting developing that?

I like to think of it as more an integrated skill than a separate skill.  However, it is something you can practice in isolation in order to become more comfortable with it.  It is definitely a useful tool in the improvisers repertoire, so it would be good to develop.  Formal structure becomes very helpful if you want to create large scale works.  Say for example you wanted to improvise a piece of music one hour in length that was not through composed: using a type of form would help you to break down that hour into more manageable chunks so the creative process does not become too overwhelming.