Now that I've been rehearsing for the performance of This Town is A Mystery, I can say that some unexpected gifts have come my way. Andrew seems to be smitten with my piano playing or at least using the piano as much as possible.
As a result, I have had a chance to go through my music books and find all of my 'comfort pieces' the ones that I used to play well and have at least one or two achingly beautiful passages in them that I look forward to getting to when I play them.
Least satisfying has been my range in improvising. I have a sensitivity to rhythm and mood, but not a great deal of skill in chord structure or depth in using the whole length of the piano. Over the past month I've been revisiting my classical pieces, reminding myself how to practice, and renewing the dexterity in my hands and fingers.
Last night Andrew asked me to improvise for 10 minutes so they could record. I wanted some music with an edge that I could dance to, and with that intention found that I was able to expand the width of my playing range on the piano and incorporate some of my 'comfort motifs'. There was a bit of Bartokian motif and the run from the Mozart sonata, a bit of badly done Gypsy Rondo and riffs on the Chopin waltz.
Very satisfying and illuminating to see even this subtle transformation after a month of practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment