Derek Andrews - Video of Improvisation, May 25, 2005

[Derek]

Hey everyone! Here's a video of me improvising. Enjoy! Tell me if you like any of the ideas in this and where they occurred, what they made you think of, etc.

https://www.personal.psu.edu/dga112/may252005.wmv

Make sure to right-click-save-as on this, otherwise Windows Media Player will just bring it up automatically (depending on your setup and connection)

I stop near the middle to check the camera. That's not the end of the video! 

[Baldwinguy]

Somehow, while listening to you, Yanni comes to mind......

[Nightscape]

Somehow, while listening to you, Yanni comes to mind......

Derek, I wonder why the Piano Forum has experienced a sudden influx of jackasses as of late?

[Nightscape]

Now for a real comment.  I found your improvisation to be quite relaxing at times, and also mysterious other times.  Have you been trying out new harmonies!?

Also, watching the video, it's obvious that you have a firm technical grasp.  When in  action, your hands can really move and pulsate with a driving rhythmic energy.  It's always been a wonder of mine to observe a pair of hands glide seamlessly across a keyboard, caressing it gently with a powerful, yet passionate touch.

[Derek]

Thanks Jeremy. There's a passage around 8:50 which is a mystery to me. It doesn't use any of the combinations I have consciously absorbed and has some harmonies which remind me of the Barber fugue (not as good of course, but all the same).

BaldwinGuy: On which cd does Yanni use bitonal combinations?    Or even contrapuntal playing!? If he does either of these things then I've missed out! To be fair, however, I rather like the "clean" diatonic sounds that New Age produces---they just need to use notes lower than middle C more often, change key more often, and play with more passion!

[mound]

Can't say I hear Yanni ;-) but I think this is more "pseudo romantic" than "pseudo classical" as you stated.

Nice job though. Very relaxing! A stark contrast to Ted's improvisations. I'm so happy to see that people are improvising. Thanks for sharing!

-Paul