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Posts Tagged ‘piano’

Piano Improv – Video Clip

Monday, October 17th, 2011

imageI periodically record myself to make checkpoints in my musical development and also so that I can hear where I’m at musically compared to where I’m headed. Usually my recordings are audio only, but this time I thought I would make one specifically for YouTube (just for you mom). So I set up the camera last night and hit ‘record’.  This is what came out.

The next time I do this I’ll film during the day and sing into a mic as well. Piano by itself (like this clip) is fine, but lacks the focus that a vocal melody line can bring.

It was night, so the video is dark. The piano is out of tune. I make more than a few playing mistakes. And you can hear my kids in the background from time to time.  But that’s all OK with me. I’m not selling it, it’s just for fun. I’ll likely to a better job next time.

I don’t expect anybody to sit and watch the whole thing. But I hope you enjoy a little bit of it anyway.  Let me know what you think.

15 Minutes in the Garage – Listen Now

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

imageI finally got my gear together and set up for recording. I have a spot in the garage sectioned off by cubical divider walls and everything is hooked up like it should be.

I recently bought the final needed pieces of the audio puzzle (a 16 channel mic D/A interface and new recording laptop).

Immediately I wanted to record something (anything) to see how it works and what the sound quality would be like.

Here is the result of one of my first 15 minute recording sessions. I basically hit play on the drum track and started playing.  This is ONE TAKE, with no edits.

I categorize this as Smooth Jazz(ish) but perhaps someone has a better classification. If so, I would like to hear your thoughts.

I really like doing (non-edited) improvisational recordings like this because it very clearly shows what you do well and what needs work. When I listen to this clip I have mixed feelings. I think that some of the runs and scale structures sound pretty good.  But then there are also spots that show sloppiness.

I guess that’s just the way it goes. Musicians are always in process.

Let me know what you think of the clip.