tag:joeheinemann.com,2005:/blogs/test?p=3Test2017-02-02T23:12:09-05:00Joe Heinemannfalsetag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/35603012015-02-26T11:54:09-05:002015-02-26T16:02:13-05:00Grateful MasteredThe name for my upcoming CD is "Grateful". And it has been mixed and mastered by Tom Eaton. It Sounds Great!<br><br>And grateful I am for everyone and everything involved with: the project, my life at this time, and the path my career has taken while here in New York City.<br><br>A special amount of gratitude goes out to my wife (Sheryl) and my parents (Mitch and Elaine) for continuous support, of which this journey would not have been possible.<br><br>Learning to enjoy "the process" so much more in life is like a gift, one I gave myself permission to receive. It's really gratifying to enjoy "the now". Even though there's probably more to get excited about with this stage of my career as a pianist, I'm patiently enjoying the ride as it's moving me along, whether I worry about what's way up ahead or not.<br><br>I have a vision, and a team forming around me, to help facilitate this dream I've had for a LONG time. It's so easy to get too excited! Must take a deep breath.....ahh....<br><br>Grateful. I think it sums it up in one word.<br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/35080292015-02-05T11:43:23-05:002015-02-05T13:16:14-05:00Richard And IRichard Devine is a very successful electronic musician, sound designer, producer and much more. He's part of a genre of music that's instrumental, grooving, electronic, with constantly changing rhythms, etcetera.<br><br>Two things really strike me about the music: 1) the ever-changing drums and percussion produce a quality that sounds like jazz to me because it's evolving relentlessly, moving forward; 2) As an improviser this music is really appealing to want to play over. Accompanying the grooving beat is mostly a pad of sounds that can be very minimal at times, so it's inviting to want to super-impose a layer above with solo or melodic material. The trick is adding to it but not too much!<br><br>Well, I stumbled on this smooth jazz kind of tune of Richard's the other day, and it really had the room to add piano. So much so, I created an intro and outro of solo piano, and had lot's of space to solo and riff over his groove throughout the body of the tune.<br><br>This kind of digital "collaboration" and many other possibilities for such "consensual or not" collaboration raise issues with permissions to expose these materials. Richard doesn't know I've done this (I'm curious to know what he thinks and may pursue that) so I won't "put this out there on the web" and just have it here for now.<br><br><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> This is a fun little side project and there may be more as it was a blast to have such a great track to play with here - Thank You Richard DevineJoe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/34890402015-01-27T12:22:57-05:002015-01-27T12:32:33-05:00The New CD Has Been MixedI had a really nice time up in Newburyport, Mass. last week being present for the mixing of my upcoming CD. Tom Eaton was stellar at adding light percussion and getting a gorgeous blend and overall sound. It was a great experience.<br><br>I'm very excited to have Tom do the mastering, and we get the CD's manufactured, and get ready for the release.<br><br>Will Ackerman, Tom, the instrumentalists and all the people involved in the Imaginary Road Studios production family have all been very supportive in this process, and I am very grateful.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/34627332015-01-12T14:32:45-05:002015-01-12T15:16:17-05:00Winter UpdateMy contemporary classical/new age piano record is moving along slowly but surely.<br><br>I just deleted my last blog entry, made just days ago. I haven't done that before but I thought it appropriate in this case as I posted a new piano piece also. I've decided the piece needs work, and it now has a chance to be on the new CD so I need to protect it until I'm ready to pre-release songs at the right time. I'm really hoping to move things along but my ability to be really, really patient will pay off in the end. (Sigh).<br><br>So if you caught the piece while it was up here, good for you and I hope you liked it!<br><br>At the end of next week I'll be back from the Boston area, where I will do most of the mixing for this project with Tom Eaton, esteemed recording engineer for Will Ackerman. I'm looking forward to the work we will do, that should get us close to completing this album, yay!<br><br>Thanks for tuning in and I'll keep you posted as to the progress being made.<br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/34560022015-01-07T12:31:15-05:002015-01-07T15:02:59-05:00Winter UpdateWinter is here. The holidays were nice and quiet. It's kind of a peaceful time, when I'm able to exercise more patience.<br><br>My life of late has been at a slow pace. The record project is moving slowly, but it's moving. I'll be doing some mixing later in the month with Tom Eaton, and that will get the production process pretty close to completion. I'm looking forward to the drive up to the Boston area for that.<br><br>I've had this song idea in my head for a while, and with some snow having finally come down in NYC I thought of a really slow and relaxed version for this piece. It was conceived as an anthemic sort of thing, but this version might be the one.<br><br>I hope you like the relaxing vibe of this piece - peace!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/32170652014-10-03T19:43:49-04:002014-10-03T21:46:13-04:00Chamber TrioAn actual chamber music trio (real instruments) of piano, cello, and english horn has been recorded on two of the songs on my up and coming CD.<br><br>What a great sound! I've been waiting to hear something like this on my original compositions forever!<br><br>Thanks to Jill Haley who played gorgeous phrases and with beautiful tone and intonation on these tunes the other day. Also a continued nod to the incredible team of Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton at Imaginary Road Studios in Vermont adding yet more magical tracks to my CD project.<br><br>As you can tell I'm getting pretty excited, and with good reason. I'm so looking forward to finishing this recording and releasing it to the world, and performing again to bring it to the people live - oh yeah!<br><br>'Til next post - peace my friends - and thank you.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/31453512014-08-19T16:29:56-04:002014-08-19T21:01:29-04:00Album / BusinessNow that my writing, arranging, and performing of the music for the album is done, it's time to take care of business.<br><br>Right now, I'm looking over so many technical and legal items it's mind boggling. Books, random chapters printed out, check lists, etc..<br><br>Wow! But, I do know that when this process is completed I will have learned a lot. I will also be starting work on the marketing and promotion of the album, followed by the pursuit of performances.<br><br>Musicians that have gone through this process many times can probably do all the stages for multiple albums simultaneously.<br><br>I think it will be a while before I can step back into the world of creating and playing the music. That's the place I live and thrive in.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/30913502014-07-22T12:07:15-04:002014-07-22T13:12:02-04:00Album Takes ShapeA week ago today (and pretty much around this time of day) I was finishing up the piano tracks for my upcoming CD. It felt great to have created enough original songs to complete the project. I was able to let out a sigh of relief and go to the next phase.<br><br>Then a stroke of great luck came. Will Ackerman was able to get his long time collaborator, and supreme cellist Eugene Friesen to come in last minute for the afternoon! This was perfect as I wanted cello to be the predominant complimentary instrument to the piano on this CD. He did three songs, and while Will, Tom and I directed him through the pieces, the sound of a really expressive cellist in my music for the first time ever made me well up with tears of joy.<br><br>What a satisfying trip up to Vermont last week. There are some English horn and probably percussion tracks to be added and it will be time for mixing and mastering. I'm hoping to have the CD ready to go in a few months.<br><br>Everything is moving nicely with this project and I'm looking forward to filling you in on it as it unfolds.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/30196032014-06-16T16:26:29-04:002014-06-16T17:20:37-04:00Last Turn to the HomestretchJust over a week ago I finished another day of recording for my next CD. It went well, and yes, it provided me with the perspective to see the straightaway to the finish line.<br><br>Four weeks from today I will be in the studio again. I'm hoping to finish all the piano tracks then. I've been relentlessly working out tunes and arrangements that might be worthy of making the cut. I will most likely come up with a new tune or two to throw into the ring also.<br><br>This process continues to be a great learning experience for me. I feel Will Ackerman is teaching me so much about playing heartfelt music without the unnecessary stuff (mainly notes), clearing the clutter to get to just what's essential. Yet, when I listen to the music (about two thirds done) it sounds very much like me - my identity isn't lost. It doesn't sound like I'm conforming to a genre or whatever.<br><br>It really feels great after more than two years here in New York to have chosen this path to pursue. Of course, after crossing this finish line, more laps, turns and finish lines are cued up! Releasing this CD, promoting it, and looking to perform again for the first time in about 15 years, and doing solo piano tours and concerts (a career-long dream) will be extremely gratifying.<br><br>I'll keep you posted.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/29747682014-05-27T17:06:57-04:002014-05-27T17:07:10-04:00Recording Piano TracksThe last six months has been really great. I've embarked on a whole new project that is exciting and has the possibility to take me above and beyond any place I've ever been with my solo piano music, and music career altogether. I've been intensely writing new music and in a new style for me.<br><br>I'm getting ready to go back to Imaginary Road Studios to record my second day of piano tracks with Will Ackerman producing.<br><br>The first session took place two months ago. It was great to take the trip to Vermont and see Will's studio, the very live Steinway B, meet Tom Eaton the engineer, and put in a day of solo recording not to forget soon! It was a blast, and Will and Tom are great to work with.<br><br>I think I'm better prepared to get some composed ideas turned into pieces this time. It's a new and unusual process for all of us and I think we're flexing to accommodate the situation well.<br><br>This whole project, so far, has taken me away from updating my website and especially this blog. I haven't developed a way to put an intense process like this in words as it unfolds, so the modest number of regular viewers here have been left out the most. For this I'm sorry, and know from my research that this is the opposite approach to reward the people most interested in what I'm doing.<br><br>I think this recording session next week will be pivotal in defining this projects shape and structure. I will be able to open up more to the process after next week also. This will get me showing up here more often to share info! Stay tuned.<br><br>Thanks for listening,<br><br>JoeJoe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/27361582014-03-12T17:24:50-04:002022-06-26T18:25:08-04:00For Erik Satie<p>I've been writing and putting together pieces for a new piano record project.<br><br>This is the first fully composed and notated song I've created in a while. It also just might be the most stylized piece I've written.<br><br>I really wanted to capture Erik Satie's vibe and make it my own too.<br><br>Relax and Enjoy.</p>3:51Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/25607532014-02-11T13:37:47-05:002014-02-11T13:42:08-05:00From NothingMy entries here have dwindled to a very slow trickle.<br><br>I'm preparing for the most meaningful solo piano recording session I've ever done.<br><br>In the past I would put so much effort into what I thought I needed to do. I would rack my brain, stress, drive myself nuts hoping I was doing the right thing. This behavior caused me to come up short (basically over-preparing for what's not needed, and not letting myself just be me) with a few of the biggest side-man jobs ever offered me. Okay, now it's my songs, my direction, my gig!... No, it's still a bunch of noise that won't help. Over-preparing the right stuff doesn't work either.<br><br>This time will be different. It just has to be. I want to create completely new music - from nothing.<br><br>I'll spend one day in a rural area I've never been to, with a producer and engineer I've never worked with, and a piano I've never seen. There's one goal - let's make some magic. How do you prepare for that? What will they want from me, suggest to me, blah blah blah...... All noise in my head.<br><br>I'll bring my fingers, ears, awareness, curiosity, openness, and gratitude that I have this day,...... to create magic..... from nothing.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/23890652014-01-13T09:40:17-05:002014-01-13T12:22:32-05:00Twenty Five Days AgoTwenty five days ago is what I just saw re-reading my last blog entry. I had to revisit the last five entries to remind myself what I said. Oh, the magic of blogs, and this very rewarding aspect of them - after almost 400 entries it's quite the chronicle now.<br><br>I'm struck at how receptive I was to an impending major change coming, and being able to articulate it. I was absolutely right.<br><br>Not only has a conceptual shift been made by me to make my piano music more accessible, I'm making a dramatic shift in how it gets marketed and delivered.<br><br>It's in the very beginning stages of development so there's not much to share yet, but this next recording of mine (to be recorded 7 weeks from today) will be at the highest industry standards for recording and production. I will hand over niche targeting and marketing to the pro's, so I can really make the music I want to share.<br><br>This is a big deal and a huge opportunity for me to "breakout" in a big way. Now I must go, to work on the music you want to hear.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/22589142013-12-19T08:59:41-05:002013-12-19T11:23:27-05:00Coming HomeI'm coming home in two ways right now. Flying to my home town to be with my family for a few days is one.<br><br>I'm so glad, and really satisfied with my decision to let myself go totally free in the last year and a half - a very importand step in an artists development, and a blessing to have the support to make it possible. My Clazzimprov albums Volumes 1 & 2, along with Piano Compositions and Improvisations, and all of the 300 plus minute-long MBLOG entries here over the last year, were recorded under unconstrained restrictions on rhythm, tonality, form, etc. This, I thought, was the Holy Grail of "artistry".<br><br>The second way I'm coming home is artistically - with my music.Like everything else in life, change is inevitable. So, I enjoyed flying out to Pluto [figuratively] (why not? Because I can and I'm curious), but watch out for what you ask for! Indulging in my personal brand of freedom turned lonely, and why shouldn't it? I wasn't connecting with listeners, I wasn't even trying. After all, I wanted to create for ME, and surely there are some people that can relate to it and want it, right? (I grow weary trying to find them).I realised recently that I wanted to swing around Pluto and shoot back in the direction of earth where there are more people to interact with.<br><br>It's funny how I have thought of so many things in life as either / or. A creative musician can get so hung-up on NOT wanting to "go commercial". Recently I've found a place with my piano playing where I can create what I want (real challenging music for me at this point) and appeal to more people.<br><br>I do want to reach an audience, touch them, connect my art with many people. I can confidently say my next project will be more accessible, to more listeners, than I have ever composed before.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/22163412013-12-12T09:35:45-05:002013-12-12T10:18:05-05:00New SageWhat does the title of this blog post mean? I'm trying to think up a term for the next phase of my career.I love playing with words, making word games, and completely throwing different words or phrases around, usually to brand something as concisely as I can.<br><br>Between now and January I'm going to work on what it takes to hit the ground running to start the new year. There's a new focus emerging that will bring my music to a more accessible listening place. After many years of creating "art music" for my self-indulgent pleasure, and realizing how difficult it is to connect it with people who don't share my specific message, I want to make music that is intended to reach out to a larger group of listeners.<br><br>There's a very established category of music that has a contriversial name, especially by some of it's own artists. If I do decide to throw my hat into this marketers' named "genre", I too will want a better name for the fruits of my labor.<br><br>I like the title of this blog post. At least it's a start.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/22022382013-12-10T08:38:19-05:002013-12-10T10:22:55-05:00Almost TimeThe almost two years of exploring is leading me somewhere. It's almost time.<br><br>Musically (really what all this pertains to), I've been looking for a place to hang my hat, and get into that world. There's been a lot of browsing so some targeted planning is in order. Of course it will also just be part of a bigger journey that will take me somewhere else, and move me on again.<br><br>All the while I've been enjoying the process more than any other time in my career. Being in "the now" while difficult for me, is the antidote to depression about the past, and anxiety of the future.<br><br>I'm so ready to take on a plan that includes all my musical energy - playing, composing, and performing - (and here comes the hard part) in a particular niche or category that is already established, and I can find my place in.<br><br>A calmness has come (aging helps!). It's Almost Time.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21954542013-12-09T09:07:15-05:002013-12-09T10:18:06-05:00SpaceThis is Space Time.<br><br>The space between creative ideas forming.<br><br>A vacuum devoid of inspired notes, words, or images.<br><br>Not to be scared or worried. It needs to happen - to leave room for what's next.<br><br>If I think about what's next, or especially talk about it, it will change things, and might backfire.<br><br>Best to let the time take. Be patient and ready. I don't want to disrupt what is about to emerge. Time to trust.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21831532013-12-06T11:43:22-05:002013-12-06T12:07:53-05:00Every DayEvery Day? Not of late.<br><br>I was prolific with the every day minute long tunes - for a year. I've pushed out video concepts (shorts) with thoughtful piano tracks as much as I can for the last month. Now I'm in a challenging phase for me. It feels like a major transition is coming soon, and again I don't know what it's going to be. I'm learning to ride a roller-coaster ride through this multi-year career developmental time period.<br><br>I can't really open the flood-gates and type it all down here, it would be a tome, with all that's going through my head and being processed. I probably haven't said much of late, but my primary focus the last year and a half has been to market my music online, here on my website. This blog has been a side-project for the most part. I want a balance between playing the piano, recording, writing music, blogging, and online research. Performing is something I want to get back into and have been putting more energy into it.<br><br>At least for the next month I'll be doing some holiday travel so things could be sparse in the blog entry category. Truth in advertising might force me to change the "every day" part of the mission statement. I'll work on preventing that.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21504302013-12-03T09:18:58-05:002013-12-03T10:43:26-05:00Skating in CPHello!<br><br>I'm back after an extended holiday weekend. I was able to get some nice ice skating video from Central Park on a beautiful and active Saturday afternoon. I've been looking for the right kind of imagery for some nice waltz time for a piano track.<br><br>I tend to make improvisations short these days but this one required three minutes of "keep it moving" music that challenged me some. It's difficult, with so many people and a lot going on visually to queue music to the action, but I did catch a few and lucked out some too!<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="mCW0mifwZSs" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/mCW0mifwZSs/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mCW0mifwZSs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21221302013-11-27T08:16:44-05:002013-11-27T09:47:32-05:00Time To EatDang. I couldn't get the video of "cool cat" done today. Now it's time to shut down for a few days and eat!<br><br>I've got to get busy with domestic stuff so I can relax and (yes, again) eat.<br><br>Have a nice holiday.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21155612013-11-26T08:35:03-05:002013-11-26T10:07:31-05:00Stuff - ing AroundI'm doing "stuff" today. Stuff-ing around I'll call it as it's TG eve - eve.<br><br>Grocery shopping, go to the gym, do some cleaning, just shot video of my "cool cat" - hope to have the video for tomorrow, tune-smithing, phone calling, etc.....<br><br>Stuff-ing gotta be done. Gravy on stuffing - my favorite!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/21082452013-11-25T08:26:15-05:002013-11-25T08:27:07-05:00Dusk at Sherman SquareAlrighty then! I have my action video with action sound track. This turned out even better than I thought it would.<br><br>It was a cold and windy evening and I was at the end of a video shoot that wasn't going well. This video is completely un-edited. I did speed it up 50% which provided a nice tempo to create the music from.<br><br>I used three different piano tracks to make this. It was a blast as I have been wanting to do some music that got me out of my relaxed/introspective mode.<br><br>Here it is - Dusk at Sherman Square.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="_DLLoFxsj4Q" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_DLLoFxsj4Q/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_DLLoFxsj4Q?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20967632013-11-22T10:15:25-05:002013-11-22T11:44:17-05:00Video ChallengedI want to write something today. I shot video, all in vain yesterday. I'm looking for something pretty active because I have a musical idea I want to do that takes me away from the light, relaxing stuff.<br><br>You'd think I could go outside here in NYC and find plenty of fast-pace hustle-bustle to capture. For me, it hasn't happened like that. Just aiming at active stuff doesn't necessarily make it exciting or action packed. I mean, I'm not expecting a hollywood movie trailer! But......<br><br>So, I don't know but I'll get something soon. I really want to do this for the next one. Coming soon.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20887532013-11-21T07:24:15-05:002013-11-21T08:05:02-05:00Pan InAs intimated yesterday, a new video is up here again today. Pan In.<br><br>I really wanted to get in to the video making process as a springboard for my piano pieces. I also wanted to get two or three made each week to keep this blog moving. The biggest challenge I wanted to meet was making all this compelling, or at least interesting. I am doing all these things as well as expected - I think.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="WGB17kz4d6w" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/WGB17kz4d6w/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGB17kz4d6w?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20823142013-11-20T09:02:18-05:002013-11-20T11:01:49-05:00Close KeyI've got a new video ready today. The idea comes from a new macro lens I bought for my iPhone camera. I can do some pretty cool close-ups now.<br><br>The concept for the video and the piano music really came together for this. It has a look like a commercial to me, except it wouldn't be selling anything but me!<br><br>I'm rushed to get this out because I just created another macro lens video this morning and it's loading to YouTube right now. You'll most likely have it tomorrow.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="LpTnVYKSSj8" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/LpTnVYKSSj8/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LpTnVYKSSj8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20745912013-11-19T08:36:23-05:002013-11-19T10:13:46-05:00AloneI was craving "alone" time again. No, not yesterday, when I pulled a no-show on this blog (I was out doing things and shooting video that I can't use). The alone time was a few minutes ago, when I wanted to record another minute long impromtu piano piece, so I can share it here.<br><br>It's been a while and it felt nice. I might do another one soon.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20600182013-11-16T08:19:46-05:002013-11-16T09:43:59-05:00Fall WalkThe title looks like an oxymoron. I could have named it Autumn Walk. Now you know what it is.<br><br>In my quest to get better at making videos, this one illustrates a need to to shoot my still photos while really standing still. My compositional technique needs improvement too.<br><br>I'm going to stop criticising it as it turned out well at this point of the game. The piano part, really the most important component to me, is very nice. I am improving my ability to match the timing of the two media better.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="-x5lgH0ZVMQ" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/-x5lgH0ZVMQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-x5lgH0ZVMQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20550012013-11-15T09:21:07-05:002013-11-15T11:44:04-05:00Grand Central CeilingAlright, the video juices are flowing a bit here. I took this footage last week and finally figured out what I could do with it.<br><br>It's easy for me to think "church" with an image like this. The blue/green color really drew me in. I seem to be taking my suggestion and adding the accompinament of other instruments/sounds to these videos. I think of it as a cameo or guest appearance to bring in a particular sound to compliment the piano to fit the imagery.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="mSW2_RBgQVY" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/mSW2_RBgQVY/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSW2_RBgQVY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20477802013-11-14T09:23:10-05:002013-11-14T10:49:20-05:00To V or Not To VVideo, video, video. I ended a blog post recently with that. Here's my dilemma - I don't know if I can create videos here on a regular basis. This means I should look for something else to post that can be informative, interesting, and hopefully materialize a few times a week.<br><br>I'm going to figure this out soon. Lately I've been working on getting another album project done to have available on my site, but my webhost has to address some technical issues for me to deliver the goods. That'll get resolved soon probably.<br><br>So I'm kinda stuck. Hmmm. I'll be out and about this morning doing a few miles of walking to various places, and as usual it'll be some good thinkin' time.<br><br>'Til the morrow.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20406672013-11-13T09:42:28-05:002013-11-13T10:11:39-05:00Back To The FutureI just had a delightful discovery yesterday. I found a new instrument that works perfectly with my past performance of a set of improvisations while watching some Bach pieces. Wow, a mouthful there. I have a recording of a performance called Corales. They sound beautiful (a kind of 18th century meets the 21st century) using this hybrid piano/harpsichord instrument I designed for these pieces yesterday. Its main component is derived from a Johann Schantz design.<br><br>The "while watching" concept is something that's come up quite a bit in this blog, and in my recordings. I was looking through some Bach Chorales and improvising in the style somewhat, ornaments, contrapuntal, progression, etc. I just coined it my back to the future sound!<br><br>I'm trying to make this album available on this site by the end of the day. I'm dealing with getting it all right, and some technical issues but I'm determined to get this up here soon.<br><br>Then there's videos!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20358942013-11-12T15:31:56-05:002013-11-12T15:46:05-05:0011/12/13Cool date today! I guess one habit that'll be hard to change is making blog entris in the morning. I love the morning so I may still need to post something by 9am.<br><br>So I've been talking about the changes taking place here and my new focus. It's a huge challenge for me to come up with video/visual ideas, often, and make them cool or whatever. I'm learning a lot doing this and all - getting up on the video editing, effects learning curve. I'd like to think I can post a new video later today, but it waill most likely have to wait.<br><br>One thing that is not good is I'm not playing a piece here every day. I have to spend some time playing today, and take care of some other "life" things - got to get out of being consumed by video, video, video.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20259772013-11-11T08:21:35-05:002013-11-11T09:46:08-05:00To Another LevelIt's Monday and I'm used to starting another week fresh, recording a minute long piano improvisation for this blog.<br><br>Habits - they're strong! No, I've got a new focus now. I'm thinking about where to shoot some video so I can record a fitting piano piece to it (and here's the tough part), make it "a moving experience" in a short amount of time. Tall order. Fortunately I can fall short of that and still make something nice, or cool, etc.<br><br>As I said yesterday, I really want to have great syncronicity with the sound and video. I think that might be my best ability to make a short experience a moving one.<br><br>This new assignment will keep me busy and it's pretty exciting. I'm really feeling good about my web presence and the content I have here on my site now. These videos are going to take it to another level.<br><br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20226352013-11-10T14:27:46-05:002013-11-10T14:55:58-05:0011/10/13Sorry for being absent yesterday. I spent most of the day shooting and editing video, and getting the right sound for my first self-made video with piano soundtrack.<br><br>I spoke before in a previous post of the steep learning curve to get videos going here, and yesterday and earlier today I was engulfed in that process. This first one turned out to be an interesting assignment - a water scene from The Pond in Central Park, using a fair amount of special effects in my video program to get a slow, wavy image. Then it took some time to get the sound of the piano and the piece itself the way I imagined it. I got close enough.<br><br>I'm going to work very hard to get a real symbiotic relationship between the visuals and the soundtrack. I'm especially keen to syncronizing the timing of the two in even subtle ways to achieve an integrated whole. This can get tedious, so I'll have to balance that with getting the videos out in a timely manner. At this point I'm hoping to make and post two to three of these a week, and make text entries on the days inbetween.<br><br>My description of this video on YouTube is basically "water and piano". I like that - it sort of says it all. Here it is.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ya2gtuhdM1o" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/ya2gtuhdM1o/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ya2gtuhdM1o?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20134142013-11-08T09:16:08-05:002013-11-08T10:38:18-05:00Prayer / PromoThe new chapter starts here. Everything is working out well so far. Because I haven't shot video yet, I used some promo pictures that Nan Melville took of me at Juilliard that turned out really nice, and made a slide show. They're available on my <a contents="photos page" data-link-label="Photos" data-link-type="page" href="http://joeheinemann.com/photos">photos page</a>.<br><br>For the soundtrack I used a version of my original piece Prayer that I recorded yesterday with my new piano sound. The idea to put these two things together came to me fortunately with time running out to present something. It's like an introduction and I think this is a fitting way to start the mvblog (music video web log).<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="mnCRIc36YIg" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/mnCRIc36YIg/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mnCRIc36YIg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="240" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/20056272013-11-07T07:14:20-05:002013-11-07T08:48:06-05:0011/7/13Well here it is, the last in a long line of minute long piano improvisations. Will there not be any more short improvised pieces here again? No.<br><br>Confused? Let me clarify - there will undoubtedly be other short impovs that find their way to this blog. It just won't be the new focus. Do I have a new focus from this point forward? No! Not yet. I guess I like the pressure.<br><br>The pressure to keep content coming here is what I mean - a commitment to do so.<br><br>I want to create videos for YouTube, then imbed them here. I want to create piano soundtracks to these videos with possibly some accompaniment of other sounds to enhance the track. I am a one-man-show here and not a videographer - yet. So, there will be some learning curve to climb, the steepest part at the beginning - tomorrow!<br><br>Tomorrow I'll start in doing this unless a better idea comes to me in the next 24 hrs. They might be even shorter than a minute. They probably won't be a daily offering. I want to still make daily entries here to at least talk about the new process - why not?<br><br>'Til then.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19981342013-11-06T07:38:45-05:002013-11-06T09:05:53-05:0011/6/13Alright, now we're getting somewhere! New piano today, the almost 100 year old German Steinway came through the cable line yesterday and got assembled here and is making its online debut this morning.<br><br>Even though this instrument has a bit of an old piano sound right in the middle C octave, it's wonderfully clean and realistic sounding. I finally have complete three pedal control and much more sound control than I did with the last piano. This is the third pro (serious) virtual piano I've used to make albums and CD's of solo piano. As expected they get more "real" sounding all the time. I've commonly grafted in a second piano sound source to produce a hybrid, and was working on that a lot yesterday. It's not perfectly tuned yet so I'm giving you the clean single source sound today. It may very well be that I don't have to suppliment this instrument in the long run.<br><br>The piece here is nothing special but the piano is the star today. Enjoy.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19903932013-11-05T07:47:48-05:002013-11-05T09:21:36-05:0011/5/13I'm back using my old computer today as that's where my good old Garritan Steinway resides.<br><br>My new german Steinway didn't arrive yesterday - I paid for it but it didn't get sent. Must work this kink out soon.<br><br>I had to hear this piano one more time at least. I hope the new one is as good. The change should be nice.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19828592013-11-04T08:49:07-05:002013-11-04T09:31:48-05:0011/4/13Wow!, Okay - I've got a new computer and some software (a lot of my software needed updating or replacing). I'm in the process of building a new piano sound, basically from scratch. Today I'm stuck with something that resembles a funky piano in the real, material world. It's kind of cool that I have to build and refine my sound with software, where the results are similar to physical reality (even though I'm existing here in virtual reality!).<br><br>You'll be able to hear this piano today sound like an out of tune upright. I hope to have a shiny Steinway concert grand in here tomorrow (we'll see). Until then, here's some music to match the instrument.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19751602013-11-02T08:30:00-04:002022-04-23T19:03:14-04:0011/2/13This is a bit more uplifting than the last two days. I call it Welcome because I wanted to make it the song you can click on to hear my piano playing when you arrive at my website (bottom of the window).<br><br>I figured it would be good to feature it today as sometimes the player (bottom of the page) doesn't get noticed. Here it is. See you next week.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19690492013-11-01T07:59:06-04:002013-11-01T08:35:45-04:0011/1/13Probably a little bit of Radiohead influence here. Plus some residual hauntingness about.<br><br>Tomorrow will be uplifting for a nice diversion from the gloomy.<br><br>Then four days of minute long pieces and it's done.<br><br>Onto the next chapter. The ideas are starting to gel.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19616122013-10-31T08:53:01-04:002013-10-31T09:04:54-04:0010/31/13Happy Halloween!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19548412013-10-30T08:24:46-04:002013-10-30T11:44:14-04:0010/30/13This is why I started "Riffin' on 'Dards". It's slang for riffing (soloing) on standards (jazz repertoire).<br><br>The one-time-through the piece, one minute long requirement I set for these made for some interesting tempos for long form and short form tunes. Todays piece is St. Thomas - a short form piece. Especially fun was dealing with a slow tempo of 64bpm on a tune most noted for being up-tempo (fast).<br><br>This gave me time to play each four measure phrase in a different key (all majors). Four phrases: first in E; second in Eb; third in A; fourth I wanted in F# but started with an A chord so I made the second chord a F#, then I wanted to somehow bring it back to C so I reharmonized it to end on the five (G); then to the down-beat of the top to end on a nice C altered chord.<br><br>Another "riffon" restriction is to solo and not play the melody. I break that rule for the first time today. The reharmonization of the piece is the soloing component. It seemed all too natural to have the written melody and re-harmonization juxtaposed.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19472342013-10-29T08:28:14-04:002013-10-29T09:55:40-04:0010/29/13This is a variation of the most common melody on this blog - a self-named melody called Timeless. I started the present format of this mblog with it almost a year ago. I was thinking of it again this morning as Thursday after next will be the last entry of this format. I will then present something different.<br><br>I hope I can come up with something remarkable between now and then. I grow weary - I've realized that the idea to create content every day was great for getting me producing, but I really feel the need to have quality over quantity. I don't know what I'll do Friday after next but I'd like to make musical entries when I have something really good and talk on the days in-between.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19389532013-10-28T08:34:02-04:002013-10-28T10:20:30-04:0010/28/13Todays improvisation is inspired by a latin band performance I took in last night - very inspiring. This piece is partly inspired by an original of mine, that will hopefully be realized in an arrangement that brings it to life. It's around twenty years old and I'm still trying to find the right setting for it!<br><br>Anyway, this C minor thing came out this morning. Hope you like.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19311462013-10-26T08:40:41-04:002013-10-26T09:55:17-04:0010/26/13Hey, this is what I like to see. Something up and lively (it's not usually like me).<br><br>I got the idea for the 7 or so note phrase and it took off from there. Kind of a blues progression (a bit like any tune is related to the blues!).<br><br>Less than two weeks now, ten more posts after todays, this mblog format will change and I still don't have a plan. I'm not panicking.<br><br>It's the beginning of a new era for me - it's all coming together: Updates to my computer and studio (hopefully causing no interruptions); Many website changes and enhancements; Many new piano themed projects in the pipeline; new piano/accompinament instrument/sounds; closing in on my year-long-plus goal to connect all of the above to the internet at large (and back, the part I'm most anxious for).Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19250762013-10-25T08:39:49-04:002013-10-25T08:40:28-04:0010/25/13Back to some riffon - The Song Is You.<br><br>Good, we've got a tune that cooks at 256bpm. If I hadn't played a rare jazz gig last night, I would not have been as prepared to get a "take" at this tempo. It still took a few tries.<br><br>So here it is, at my "jazziest" for now.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19179402013-10-24T08:11:24-04:002013-10-24T09:27:17-04:0010/24/13I just did what I wanted this morning. I wanted total improvisation, no plan or ideas, this time no timer. I think by now, I know how to make a piece about one minute long!<br><br>Yet, just another moment in time. No real song so to speak. It's like talking - I like to talk, and all of these pieces are just an on-going conversation. It's not like after I have five hundred minute long pieces, that's my body of work. I won't want to stop talking because I'm done and that's it, bye bye!<br><br>I will be bringing this format to an end only to continue with something else. It might not be that different - I don't even know yet. I just know I need a new environment (figuratively speaking) to create in. Hint - it might include other sounds as accompinament.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19107892013-10-23T08:08:38-04:002013-10-23T09:59:38-04:0010/23/13Riffon time. This is Skylark.<br><br>I almost didn't do this song as it doesn't fit the format, at least for me. Part of the problem is I'm not familiar with the song enough to smooth out the harmonic rhythm at this tempo. I ran through (or should I say slowly strolled) the piece before recording and I played it really slow. There's a lot of rich harmonic content here and some of it is packed into tight places.<br><br>This makes for a pretty standard breakdown of my playing, which might be a good thing for listeners. I have to say it sounds rushed through to me.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/19034492013-10-22T08:11:29-04:002013-10-22T10:08:59-04:0010/22/13I went over to "riffon" land today. This was a challenge - to squeeze this Monk tune into a minute. Turned it into something else which is part of the purpose of this particular series. I really like it! The song is Ruby, My Dear.<br><br>For a full explanation please refer to most of the August entries on this blog. I'm still finding this concept challenging and interesting enough to get through this particular fake book of tunes (the ones I like and want to do). Then, of course there are many other books - virtually an endless number of tunes to treat this way.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18921472013-10-21T08:28:05-04:002013-10-21T08:59:34-04:0010/21/13I went out of town for the weekend and didn't touch the keyboard for more than two days. I always like what happens to my playing when I take a break, basically the longer the better. This runs counter to most musicians' preoccupation with technical practice and upkeep.<br><br>So. todays piece is a result of a relatively small break, leading to a small amount of freshness. Total improvisation, no thematic development, etc.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18844632013-10-19T08:30:00-04:002013-10-19T10:29:53-04:0010/19/13Well,..... I'm tiring of this blog format. Not to worry! A change is a comin'. I'm in the last stretch and the finish line is in sight (the one year anniversary of the present format). I'll make it through and will start a new chapter. I've mentioned adding video to my piano improvisations and that could be the way I go next. There are a couple other concepts that are emerging also. This is what's so fun actually - evolving this thing with periodic re-inventions to keep it changing. Hopefully it will keep the viewers and listeners - you - interested enough to stay.<br><br>This piece today is almost a "Timeless" moment (Timeless is a reccuring original melody that has taken a unique position in this mblog the last year). Let's call it a variation. Pretty subdued. Maybe I am a bit tired.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18786912013-10-18T08:09:25-04:002022-05-26T06:19:03-04:0010/18/13I'm glad I have a few ways to go with this mblog (sometimes mvblog). Today I wanted to play another "riffon" (reference August). This is Re: Person I Knew.<br><br>I am enjoying a new look at the artistry and repertoire of Bill Evans. It was 40 years ago that I started immersing myself into the music and stylings of a handful of the prominent jazz pianists of the time. Bill was one of them. There were a few others that I felt more passionate about because they were younger and playing cutting edge and/or electric music. But Bill's music crept into my style and has influenced me over a longer period of time now. Yeah.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18715892013-10-17T08:21:22-04:002013-10-17T10:19:22-04:0010/17/13Again today, preoccupied with website building. I love the key of G. This was some easy playing.<br><br>Sorry if it seems like I'm letting my standards go. Like yesterday's post, it's all so subjective, and maybe even more than coincidental that my lack of intence focus the last two days will make for someone's favorite tunes! Really, it's happened before to me.<br><br>Enjoy. And I hope the new, colorful website enhancements are pleasing to you. Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18630962013-10-16T09:04:18-04:002013-10-16T09:34:15-04:0010/16/13I'm a little preoccupied right now as I've finally broken through a barrier, and now can proceed with the design aspects I want to present here on my website. So, it looks different now and will continue to during the course of the day until I get it looking the way I want to for now.<br><br>Todays piece (now prefaced above) started with no preconception and quickly turned into a LH driven melody. It then turned into one of my patterns of late - that is to improvise in Eb Major/C minor. Most of what transpired here is the result of not having my mind totally into the moment. I won't apologize as this stuff is very subjective, and my experience tells me that my analization can be a non-factor in how the rest of the world perceives this.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18547752013-10-15T08:07:59-04:002013-10-15T08:49:15-04:0010/15/13Yeah! This really went down perfectly. It was a last-second decision, it was effortless, wrapped up in a minute, and just plain felt great.<br><br>The last-second decision was to do something modern and free. It's a space I feel pretty comfortable living in. Present here is a typical behavior of mine - bring out the melody on the top of the RH, and the (usually between 3 and 8 note) motif shape or rhythm gets repeated or developed some.<br><br>In a way, I wish it always happened so easily, and I was really consistent. But it's most likely the frustrations and difficult times in between that give it special value.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18472992013-10-14T07:40:04-04:002013-10-14T08:04:11-04:0010/14/13I felt like doing another "riffon" today. You can go back to most of the August blog entries to find an explanation. Here is Once I Loved.<br><br>Jazzy 'tis.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18395042013-10-12T08:00:00-04:002013-10-12T14:09:38-04:0011/12/13This is a relaxing piece. I'm in a frame of mind to do more relaxing/meditative pieces.<br><br>I think it will fit in nicely with added video in the near future. I'm not a videographer, and that is what I want to add to this blog soon - music with video/pictures. Besides thinking visually to prepare myself, I'll be challenged with coming up with content for relaxing music here in Manhattan. I'm assuming I'll take many trips to Central Park and the Hudson River Parkway. I'm thinking a lot of slow motion too!<br><br>On the other hand, the abundance of major urban and fast-paced visual capture here might lead me to some action musical ideas. I'm now thinking time-lapse!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18324052013-10-11T07:38:04-04:002013-10-11T08:14:01-04:0010/11/13I came out the gate this morning ready to lay down some changes. Haven't done this in a while!<br><br>This could end up being seed material for a song someday. Now I have the problem of going back and listening to all these pieces I've done under this format - over three hundred. This is what I call a good problem. In a few weeks I'll end this format at one year, at which time I'll be able to mine for gems. My plan is to use some choice ones for video accompaniment on YouTube.<br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18248222013-10-10T08:19:15-04:002013-10-10T09:24:03-04:0010/10/13Well, I think I have a better version than yesterday's. This one is shorter, and might be my first entry that is less than a minute long.<br><br>I will update you again tomorrow.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18164172013-10-09T08:12:35-04:002013-10-09T08:33:40-04:0010/9/13Todays piece is a prototype. This is the last eight measures of an original song of mine.<br><br>I would like to have this accompany a new picture of me, on a newly redesigned home page of my website. This is something I hope to accomplish today. I'll let you know tomorrow, when I want to post a better version of todays piece. My idea is to have it start kind of big, then land at the end of the tune in a sad and melancholic way.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/18075282013-10-08T08:28:07-04:002013-10-08T09:13:19-04:0010/8/13This piece today is partly the result of some research I did this morning. Lately I've been reading some New York history - old history - around 1600 when the inhabitants here were the Lenapé Indians. Coincidentally, this afternoon my wife and I are doing an historical walking tour of lower Manhattan covering the period of the revolution, probably the late 1700's or so. I'm pretty facinated with the history of my new town so this is really a fun time.<br><br>I've already started an "early New York City history" themed recording project with a few tunes completed. I just listened to some Lenapé songs on YouTube and that's what led to the makeup of todays piece. Let's say it's inspired by the reading and listening I did this morning, distilled into a minute long song.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17972062013-10-07T08:36:56-04:002013-10-07T08:44:24-04:0010/7/13I've commited myself to completing a year of this daily mblog format, which has varied a little bit, but has been basically about creating and posting daily piano improvisations. November 7th will be the last one in order to complete one year, minus a week or two and a bunch of Sundays. 300 plus and counting.<br><br>I am planning to switch to a vmblog format (if that's the correct technical term). Besides going through the archives to find some of these already posted minute long entries to use, I will create new piano pieces to be used with video for YouTube and imbed them in the blog here. I will shoot and edit the video myself until a better method materializes. This will probably limit me to a couple videos a week with all the extra work involved - we'll see.<br><br>So that's my plan right now, but ideas are comming all the time. I will go with what I think is the most effective way to present my music to the public.<br><br>This piece today came from an idea I got right before recording. It's a LH figure comprising of four notes ascending, moving from a V to I progression, with some chromatic slipping around here and there. This qualifies as one of my few up-beat entries.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17907152013-10-05T08:58:46-04:002013-10-06T10:54:56-04:0010/5/13Today I set out to play a melody with two essential notes: B and Bb. I wanted three tonalities underneath.<br><br>Tonalities: most of the minute spent over an Ab minor sound; moving to a G Major then minor to a G minor7/F sound; then resting on an E Major#4.<br><br>The idea was to go from complex harmony in minor, and move to a simpler more open Major sound, i.e., moving from some amount of dissonance to a release.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17827842013-10-04T08:47:36-04:002013-10-04T08:50:09-04:0010/4/13I'm shifting my focus to a bit more minimal, cinematic, nu-classical, and I'll call it nu-age, hey I like that - nuage! - - - type of a vibe.<br><br>I definitely don't want to stop posting my more adventurous, nu-jazz, neo-avant garde, here as I have to have a place to express myself freely. I've had the idea for a while now to make one of my next projects a more meditative, soothing, and therapeutic kind of recording. It might be time. I've always liked marrying my music with images so look for YouTube videos to become more prevalent.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17746342013-10-03T08:49:27-04:002013-10-03T09:25:25-04:0010/3/13I have one of my originals (three pages) up on the music stand of my keyboard. I decided to do todays one minute piece by skipping around from random spot to wherever, and end with the last chord as written. It went really well. So there you have it - me playing while watching me (a bit of an inside joke).<br><br>Speaking of inside jokes, who can tell by the ending chord which one of my pieces I was looking at? Yes, it's from one of my last releases so anyone that's bought my music of late has access to it. Where's the joke you ask? Well, unfortunately at this point, asking trivia questions about my blog and music to my viewers is a little premature as it's basically me and my mom that check this out daily! Hey, no offense to the few loyal friends and fans I'm excluding here, as you are the first of many as I implement more of what I'm working on to build this viewing base up.<br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17656752013-10-02T07:47:39-04:002013-10-02T08:25:56-04:0010/2/13This idea came to me to do a very mellow relaxing piece.<br><br>I thought of going from F Major to an A minor chord, then back to the F in a very slow progression. Then right before recording I thought I might go back and forth a few times between the two chords. Well, when I recorded another progression just happened. I like it and it is a nice song seed at least.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17547232013-10-01T08:31:23-04:002013-10-01T08:54:51-04:0010/1/13This is a favorite tune to play, so I have more liberties that can be taken while staying relaxed.<br><br>Again, riffon. This time on My Romance. One minute long, 32 measures, 128bpm, a solo swingin' through one chorus - no pickup notes, end on the downbeat of the top.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17420212013-09-30T09:48:53-04:002013-09-30T10:04:31-04:009/30/13Alright, I know I'm running late but I decided to do one of my "riffon a standard" recordings with time/tempo video to go along with it.<br>I'm really hoping a less crude form of this kind of representation can become interesting to viewers. I know my particular brand of timing is pretty unconventional, and very difficult to follow. Frankly I have trouble watching and listening to these. It gets really rubato sounding, and I can understand why serious musicians (who I'm trying to appeal to) really don't care for what I'm doing here, for various reasons.<br><br>I guarantee you I am connected with the time here. I'm playing to the same metronome you can hear faintly in the background while I record these songs. There are places on the page where I land on the count of one with the right chord! So some markers are in place. If you don't like this stuff, yes, it'll be too much work for something not worth it. If you're curious about the how or why I play like this I want to cater to that curiosity. I just realized if I had a back-up rhythm section playing straight time while I play this free style over it, this would definitely show my intent in a more musical context. I'll work on that. For now......<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ZC-FzG3ywsE" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/ZC-FzG3ywsE/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZC-FzG3ywsE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br> Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17381922013-09-29T13:48:19-04:002013-09-29T14:09:44-04:009/29/13I'm going through old music and found sheet music to a song my mom probably worked on as a teenager. It's an Étude called The Surf by Harry Van Dyke.<br><br>It's very note-y but pretty simple so I learned it this morning and recorded it. Needs more smoothing out and better timing in spots but here it is. Ha!<br><br>Pretty schmaltzy too, almost hip!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17338142013-09-28T08:10:56-04:002013-09-28T08:49:43-04:009/28/13This was totally inspired by a great pianist/composer and TV series that a certain piece of his appeared in.<br><br>Pretty peppy for me to do usually but I guess it was time. I actually wish I felt more like playing things with this kind of lighter, happy sound.<br><br>Definitely keeping things changing.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17256732013-09-27T07:48:53-04:002013-09-27T07:54:39-04:009/27/13I felt a song coming when sitting down to play this today. Somewhat of an A1, A2, B kind of form.<br><br>For some reason I chose A Major as a key. Not typical for me although I do have a few long time originals that were born there and stayed.<br><br>Song seed at least.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17159022013-09-26T07:57:28-04:002013-09-26T08:29:34-04:009/26/13Hey, I'm back. Actually back with a new coffee inspired totally fresh improvisation - just like the good old days!<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br>It does feel good to be back to the original format (no guarantees), and what a rhapsodic release to be totally free again. The riffon format isn't dead - I really like doing that and will do a bunch more. This free piece today exemplifies my true spirit though, and you can hear the excitement.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">I was really not feeling in control as this thing rolled out. I was a bit amused at the combination of harmonic chords and the random progression, making odd bedfellows, at least for me. This is of course what it's all about - finding ways to play a little different than ever before. Success!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/17059792013-09-25T08:29:33-04:002013-09-25T09:24:42-04:009/25/13Today I'm doing a riffon Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br>I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16930892013-09-24T08:09:58-04:002013-09-24T08:59:39-04:009/24/13Today I'm doing a riffon Little Waltz.<br><br>I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br>These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16832972013-09-23T07:51:17-04:002013-09-23T11:05:26-04:009/23/13Today it's a little "riffon" In Walked Bud.<br><br>128bpm, one time through the form, soloing, one minute long. Information on riffon can be found in previous posts (go back a few days).<br><br>This one should be a little easier to follow along than past posts.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16742872013-09-21T08:24:17-04:002013-09-21T08:49:31-04:009/21/13Now for something different again. Variety is the spice of life!<br><br>I like playing How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gee's. Yesterday I started playing a really dark version and stopped, hit record, and this came out. I can't upload new files to my site right now which is a pain in the A#%, but I can make YouTube videos and imbed them here. I knew of the video about Andy Gibbs' death and thought that would go great with this track. I edited a version and here it is. I think more dark tracks are in the future for me, no real stretch here as my penchant for the melancholy, introspective, and down right sad playing is obvious to long time observers.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="F6_xMhllv5E" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/F6_xMhllv5E/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F6_xMhllv5E?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16662402013-09-20T09:08:53-04:002013-09-20T09:34:31-04:009/20/13More "riffon" standards here. This one's I'm All Smiles.<br>Let the fun begin! This tune is a whopping 78 measures long. What that means for my format (look at yesterdays entry for update info on the format) is I had to play through this tune at a sizzling 312bpm to fit a full chorus in one minutes' time. Wow.<br><br>It was very time consuming to figure out a way to visually assist. I've pointed out each measure as the tune flies by so you can tell where the beat is - the same beat I was playing to to keep the timing exact for syncronization purposes.<br><br>I realize this is still pretty abstract to follow but.........that's me for ya!<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Kn6OVKdKpHc" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/Kn6OVKdKpHc/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kn6OVKdKpHc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16574262013-09-19T08:02:34-04:002013-09-19T08:34:34-04:009/19/13Another switcheroonie. I'm back to the "riffon" theme (refer to 9/16/13 and before for reference). This time with visuals a la YouTube.Yesterday's entry is a one-off at this point. It posed too difficult a concept to deliver in a coherent way, even to musicians (which this mblog is really geared to).<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">This visual riffon idea still requires you to read music to follow along, and will especially appeal to experienced players of fake books. The tempos are set to get through one chorus of soloing in a minute, and are included. I've annotated pointers (so far) to mark the beginning of each line on the page. I'm working on even better ways to help the viewer see and understand what I'm doing (the process), as I take great liberties with over-the-bar-line timing and re-harmonisation.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Here's riffon If You Never Come To Me.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="pkfRbIl0RAc" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/pkfRbIl0RAc/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pkfRbIl0RAc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>An improvisation one time through the form @ 128bpm. The first half is in the key of Eb Major, and the second half is in C Major as written. Last chord played to mark the top of the song.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16486612013-09-18T09:09:59-04:002013-09-18T09:59:36-04:009/18/13Here's something new - and very crude at this point.<br><br>The music you see on the screen is La Fleurie by Couperin. What I'm playing is an improvisation while looking at the music. This is a very abstract concept and my explanation of it will be as crude as the representation of the sheet music is at this point. I want to do more of this, and I have many ideas to present this format in a much easier way to follow and understand. Of course my description of what is going on will improve also.<br><br>There are little pieces of text that appear during this video and are tests in annotating video. They aren't useful to the viewer so sorry for the distraction. I did promise to get something new out today and here it is. I'm hoping to do this daily to continue the integrity of this mblog's mission - we'll see. You'll at least hear from me tomorrow.<br><br>Just click on the video below.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="0oUkEiCWXHc" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/0oUkEiCWXHc/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0oUkEiCWXHc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16386262013-09-17T08:21:36-04:002013-09-17T08:54:36-04:009/17/13Hey Everyone,<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br>My webhost has re-designed their entire interface for me to administer my site. This is going to be good in the long run as I'll be able to update my website's look and layout more like I envision it to be. The down-side is I transferred over to the new re-design as one of the first to use it yesterday, with a built in condition to give feedback as to how to improve functionality.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">In attempting to upload and post the audio file for this mblog today, I failed as there are at least a few functions that I can't access at this point. I'll have to regroup and possibly find another avenue to deliver content without wasting another day. My goal is to have a solution to this and something available for you tomorrow.<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Sorry for the off day.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16301072013-09-16T08:22:46-04:002013-09-16T08:22:46-04:009/16/13This is a riffon If I Were A Bell.<br><br>
Here's more of the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16204072013-09-14T08:01:47-04:002013-09-14T08:01:47-04:009/14/13This is a riffon Here's I Thought About You. I decided to get jazzier on this one (it seems funny to say that!).<br><br>
Here's more of the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16139262013-09-13T08:04:17-04:002013-09-13T08:04:17-04:009/13/13This is a riffon Here's That Rainy Day.<br><br>
I'm back to doing the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16039232013-09-12T08:03:12-04:002013-09-12T08:03:12-04:009/12/13Here's riffon Gone With The Wind.<br><br>
I'm back to doing the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15948212013-09-11T08:00:00-04:002013-09-11T08:00:00-04:009/11/13Here's riffon Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You.<br><br>
I'm back to doing the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do so it's really open ended. Not only can I go back and find more tunes after finishing the Z's, I can also do any of these over quite differently. Yes, inexhaustible!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15846192013-09-10T07:54:37-04:002013-09-10T07:54:37-04:009/10/13Here's riffon Four Brothers.<br><br>
I'm back to doing the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the F’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15756872013-09-09T08:55:00-04:002013-09-09T08:55:00-04:009/9/13Here's riffon Fall.<br><br>
Today I decided to return to the "riffon" idea (reference most August entries) as I love this concept and the song base is inexhaustible. Below is the format.<br><br>
I wanted to keep with the one minute time length, so I decided to figure this out exactly. This ends up being very simple since tempos are measured by beats per minute. All I have to do here is count the beats in the form and play to that tempo (number). The very last note starts at the one minute mark so the actual length of each of these is a second or so longer.<br><br>
These riffons are all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune, based on beats per minute, is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener. <br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the F’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15657432013-09-07T08:31:49-04:002013-09-07T08:31:49-04:009/7/13Had a pretty quick trigger finger for the record button for this one today. I wanted a chromatic ascending melody with moving chords randomly underneath.<br><br>
That's pretty much what I got. Again, I only let a fraction of a second go by before rolling, after the concept popped to mind. I didn't want more thinking to take place before diving in.<br><br>
I didn't do a listen through after making this but as far as I can remember it's not a great piece and probably not song material. I liked the way it built at certain moments but that's about it.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15589512013-09-06T08:24:52-04:002013-09-06T08:24:52-04:009/6/13I'm on a roll here. Third day in a row with the total improv pieces.<br><br>
To be honest, pre-conception is creeping in again. Before I recorded I played a minute on the keyboard. This set me up as I was in Ab Major and feeling a desire to be melodic. What came out was consistent with that.<br><br>
As this played out it was having the feel of a typical A-A-B-A form song. I already know that if this starts to take place I'll mostly run out of time getting the last A section in so the whole can fit within a minute - plus. That's why I crank the tempo up toward the end. Not real musical but it's another song seed potentially.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15514392013-09-05T08:45:56-04:002013-09-05T08:45:56-04:009/5/13Kind of like yesterday, this piece was a "hit record and go" moment. I did think Folk and pick the key of F Major, probably two seconds before recording. I also forgot to set my timer so I had to guess when a minute was up - I got close!<br><br>
And as it goes most of the time, this piece as it materialized had a life of it's own and might not qualify as Folk. I added two more popular folk songs from the 60's and 70's yesterday (for an upcoming album hopefully) to my collection so the style is in the forefront of my mind right now.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15452142013-09-04T09:05:18-04:002013-09-04T09:05:18-04:009/4/13This is cool. For the first time in a very long time I've done what I always wanted this blog to be about musically - a totally spontaneous improvisation.<br><br>
As I've mentioned before, doing this on a daily basis wasn't working for me. I didn't think there was enough variety so I pre-conceive something that is different from yesterday, or something I haven't done in a while, etc... to shape my output. In ten months I've created close to 300 of these minute long pieces so I don't want to waste this opportunity to show a wide variety of expression if I can.<br><br>
Fortunately today the magic happened. Now I didn't know going into it. I sat at the keyboard and thought "what'll I do today?" like most days. Nothing was coming, so here comes todays process:<br><br>
The following happened within maybe three seconds of time. The thought of going in spontaneously came (then I knew I had to act quickly), I hit record, started my timer (it helps keep the pieces right around a minute), deciding where to lay my hands down I thought of a few keys before deciding on D minor, then I hit the ground running with both hands. No preconceptions meant I was really winging it the whole way. It felt great - I was making decisions on where to go next with no time to spare. I didn't feel any temptation to do something I'd done before (which makes the process easier) so it was a minute of total focus - and completely new to me.<br><br>
The rest of the story is the audio. Press play below.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15394082013-09-03T08:53:37-04:002013-09-03T08:53:37-04:009/3/13This is just some playing in D Major. I've been on a kick in this key of late.<br><br>
I'm happy about that as I don't have real good fluency in all keys. As I recall, besides C Major which is home for most pianists, my natural evolution has taken me through G, F, Bb, Eb, A, and now D. All Major and in order, the best I can remember the last 40 years or so! To elaborate, I feel I can be pretty free to live in these aforementioned listed diatonic worlds.<br><br>
In the past decade or so I've felt like my improvisations naturally gravitated to C and Eb. Currently D is becoming a home base. Of the keys I've listed so far A is the one I've honed the least. Then there's the remaining keys that I don't have great fluency in. For me, that would be from easiest to most difficult - E, Ab, B, Gb, and Db. This order is a guess as I won't know what keys will be aroused by a song or composition.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15361412013-09-02T09:03:44-04:002013-09-02T09:03:44-04:009/2/13Todays piece is closer to a minute and a half - Bonus! I just couldn't stop this short. The last phrase had to happen, so there it is.<br><br>
This is a D minor thing. Love D minor. I think I have since even before Nigel Tufnel correctly dubbed it the saddest key of all.<br><br>
I wanted to do a chord melody, and this time I at least got closer to my intended goal than usual. This is one of those potential songs, but I've done so many like it that to me it's just another variation on a familiar theme.<br><br>
Today I really buckle down on my new marketing plan. I eluded to some changes coming to this mblog and my website and it's true, major transformations are in the works for my entire web presence. I haven't decided on what to do here but the "riffon" series from August is very open ended and a concept I'm still pretty excited about - we'll see.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15323152013-08-31T08:46:18-04:002013-08-31T08:46:18-04:008/31/13I obviously wanted to go simple today. Parallel 7ths and 10ths came to mind as it's pleasing to the ear to hear this harmony.<br><br>
My mind wasn't ready for anything too complex this morning, but this harmony can get complicated with modulations or intervalic jumps and so forth. It will always sound nice.<br><br>
Happy Labor Day Weekend.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15298842013-08-30T09:44:15-04:002017-02-02T07:29:06-05:008/30/13Slept in. Absolutely out of it. Running late. Getting very difficult to think of new improvs. What am I going to do?<br><br>
Yesterday I came across a young jazz pianist that made such an impression on me, I might not ever be the same - in a good way. Vadim Neselovskyi is his name. Man, could I start rambling endlessly about his playing, but I won't right now. I'm running late posting today and want to wrap this up.<br><br>
All The Things You Are is one of the greatest standards in jazz. Every pianist it seems, has to do their version of it and it can include long fantastic intros and catchy chord substitutions, not to mention uncommon keys and odd time signatures (okay I mentioned it). This has all contributed to a sort of "over served" condition that afflicts me hard. I'm a bit jaded. Anyway, Vadim has a version on YouTube <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTOnf3H25WE">here</a> that slayed me. Yes, his own intro and a different time signature are used, but his LH is the star of the show. Very advanced hand independence and a touch with the full range of dynamics.<br><br>
This is a lead in to my piece today. Slept in. Absolutely out of it. Running late. Getting very difficult to think of new improvs. What am I going to do? All The Things You Are? Are you kidding me? No. Well, I have to do it in my impressionistic way, but it wouldn't have happened without hearing Vadim.<br><br>
Disclaimer: In no way am I comparing his and my versions. He was merely an inspiration for me to do the song my way. You might want to listen to my piece first!<br type="_moz"><br><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15104822013-08-29T08:59:55-04:002013-08-29T08:59:55-04:008/29/13This piece today needed no pre-thought. I can fall into this kind of vibe very naturally.<br><br>
I just said Bb minor randomly and started playing. If you've heard enough of my playing, you can recognize the moving LH against the RH melody in my sort of off-time contrapuntal way. I felt it was time to do a "dive-in without a thought" piece as it's been a while.<br><br>
I just came out of a series yesterday (19 riffon standard pieces) into something random, and very soon I'm headed for some changes here on my blog, website and total web presence - I'm very excited. Stay tuned in.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/15008312013-08-28T09:00:11-04:002022-02-12T15:59:38-05:008/28/13Alright, I'm back to "no rules minute long impromptu's" at least for today.<br><br>
I had this idea to play a line of detached notes, then some chordal thing. I did two sets for this one. I was hearing a particular thing and as usual it came out being something quite different. I didn't like this at all after hearing it once and actually deleted it. I then thought about it for a minute, then undid the delete and listened again. I liked it better, so then decided to use it.<br><br>
On the brink of vaporization then brought back. I'm not sure still if it was worth it. At least it's pretty unique among my many others.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14896812013-08-27T06:40:28-04:002013-08-27T06:40:28-04:008/27/13 Here's some riffon E.S.P.
<div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
</span>
</div>
</div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14798232013-08-26T10:27:42-04:002013-08-26T10:27:42-04:008/26/13 <span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Today it's riffon Dindi.</span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</div>
</span>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14712932013-08-24T08:40:00-04:002013-08-24T08:40:00-04:008/24/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">Here's some riffon Desafinado.</span><span style="text-align: left; "></span></span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<font style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
</font></span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>
</span></span></div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14633602013-08-23T09:47:34-04:002013-08-23T09:47:34-04:008/23/13 <span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Here's some riffon Darn That Dream.</span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<font style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
</font></span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "></span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>
</span></div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14566192013-08-22T10:09:50-04:002013-08-22T10:09:50-04:008/22/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; "><font>Here's some riffon Chega de Saudade.</font><br style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<font>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
</font></span><span style="text-align: left; "></span></span>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14482592013-08-21T10:55:45-04:002013-08-21T10:55:45-04:008/21/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Here's some riffon But Beautiful.<br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14401892013-08-20T09:47:26-04:002013-08-20T09:47:26-04:008/20/13Riffon Body And Soul here.<br>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
</span></div>
</div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14338742013-08-19T08:55:00-04:002013-08-19T08:55:00-04:008/19/13<span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon Bluesette here.</span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</div>
</span>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14264012013-08-17T09:33:57-04:002013-08-17T09:33:57-04:008/17/13<span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon Blue Monk here.</span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</div>
</span>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14204832013-08-16T10:29:45-04:002013-08-16T10:29:45-04:008/16/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="text-align: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; ">Riffon Blue In Green here.</span></span>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; text-align: left; ">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; ">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</div>
</span>
</div>
<div class="blog-post-media box" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; border: 0px rgb(0, 0, 0); outline: 0px; "> </div>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14115552013-08-15T09:16:05-04:002013-08-15T09:16:05-04:008/15/13 <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon Autumn Leaves here.<br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/14021152013-08-14T09:30:00-04:002013-08-14T09:30:00-04:008/14/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon Autumn In New York here.<br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13928662013-08-13T09:30:00-04:002013-08-13T09:30:00-04:008/13/13 <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon April In Paris here.<br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13806242013-08-11T13:50:00-04:002013-08-11T13:50:00-04:008/11/13<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Riffon Alone Together here.<br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13753852013-08-10T09:50:00-04:002013-08-10T09:50:00-04:008/10/13 Riffon Angel Eyes here.<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br><br>
From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span><br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13679982013-08-09T04:10:00-04:002013-08-09T04:10:00-04:008/9/13Today it's riffon All Of You.<br><br><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">From 8/7 to 8/27 this mblog will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!</span><br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13605502013-08-08T10:11:38-04:002013-08-08T10:11:38-04:008/8/13Here's some riffon Alfie. For an explanation look below at the previous blog entry from 8/6 called Let's keep it fresh.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13499132013-08-07T07:11:07-04:002023-12-10T13:08:27-05:008/7/13 Here we go! A little riffon Afternoon In Paris.<br><br>
Below is an explanation of the format. Enjoy.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13407812013-08-06T07:34:00-04:002013-08-06T07:34:00-04:00Let's Keep It FreshStarting tomorrow until August 27th the audio clips for the daily entries of this mblog will be different. This 3 week time period will feature a new series of pieces different from the one minute original improvisations I’ve posted from the beginning. These upcoming pieces will also be one minute long but other restrictions will apply.<br><br>
They’re all common “jazz fake book tunes”, I play through the basic form of each tune once (an intro or ending might be included if I thought it was an important part of the piece), The exact tempo of the tune based on beats per minute is used so that from the beginning of the first measure (no pick-up notes) to the downbeat of the top of the form upon repeating is played (marked) for the listener.<br><br>
They’re named with the prefix “riffon” to indicate riffing on the song - I’m basically soloing on the form and not playing the melody. Doing these tunes in creative and liberating ways is the only way I can be interested enough to take on a series. The most fun was what these restrictions (rules) did to the tempos of the tunes. it was brought to my attention just how many standards are 32 measures long - pretty standard! So I had to play at 128bpm quite a few times. But I immediately thought of how slow Blue in Green would have to be, or how fast a Jobim tune over twice as long as the norm would be - very fun.<br><br>
You may notice I’m going through the song list in alphabetical order. I’m perusing through books to find the songs I want to do and just made it to the D’s. If I want to continue this format or form albums, I’ve just gotten started!<br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13407802013-08-06T07:31:23-04:002013-08-06T07:31:23-04:008/6/13It looks as though I'm transitioning into my next planned phase of mblog entries. Today's piece was to be my last (at least temporarily) in the format I started back in November. There are around 250 of these minute long improvisations posted here since then.<br><br>
But instead of fully improvising one today, I got the idea to play just the first A section of a familiar song, slowly, and with attention to chord voicings. It exceeds the 1 minute time frame by more than I wanted - bonus!<br><br>
Is this the end of an era for me? Stay tuned.<br><br>
P.S. Starting in September I will be stepping up my music promotion. My website and music will evolve markedly over the next few months. Please check in daily and enjoy the ride with me.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13327712013-08-05T09:10:00-04:002013-08-05T09:10:00-04:008/5/13This is really some self-indulgent Eb Major noodling. Not very much thought involved here.<br><br>
This brings up an interesting subject - is there a time when it's acceptable to not be serious and laser focused while improvising - as in the pun-intended above "major noodling"?<br><br>
Let's get to the bottom of this and succinctly. Fortunately the disease to over-analyze in my youth has somewhat subsided with age. The bottom line is the result here. This is why it's interesting to me - when I listen to todays piece I can't tell that I was shooting noodles from the hip. If I can't tell right after creating it, how or what is anyone else going to notice?<br><br>
This is where analyzing music and rocket science shouldn't be combined - it's futile. If you're a brainiac scientist with few peers and you arrive at a conclusion based on scientific experimentation, you might be the first to know a fact that no one else ever knew before. If you're a brainiac musician with few peers and you arrive at a conclusion based on years of experience and knowledge and a keen ear for what you are hearing, you also might be the first person to discover something no one else ever knew before.<br><br>
But, the scientist discovered a fact, a fact that everyone in the rest of the world has to accept as truth. The musician discovered a fact, a fact that the rest of the world doesn't care at all about. Music isn't fact, it's all theory and everyone has their opinion. You might agree with someone on what a particular piece means to you, or even on the emotional response, but that can change with the same people and piece tomorrow.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13261512013-08-03T08:55:00-04:002013-08-03T08:55:00-04:008/3/13This vamp idea is from a folk/pop tune. I've been doing these renditions of big hit folk tunes from the 60's and 70's lately. I have four done that are album ready, but I have a list of 15 or so that I could do to complete an album - could be my next release.<br><br>
I decided to jazz this up with solo line playing and the usual messing with the rhythm (a lot). It's pretty spunky and I haven't had that much coffee yet - actually dragging a bit!<br><br>
Now I'm really hungry. Brunch next. Have a nice weekend.<br><br>
P.S. There's a new twist in the format of the piano pieces coming mid-week. I will take tomorrow off as usual for Sundays lately, and will talk in detail Monday and Tuesday about what's coming the next few weeks.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13184622013-08-02T08:37:19-04:002013-08-02T08:37:19-04:008/2/13I wanted to do a LH melody today. It's fun to change things up often. This type of improvisation makes you think differently.<br><br>
I like the way melodies can make the harmony seem more interesting when played in the lower register. Instead of the lowest notes ringing a root or inversion, when they're moving as a melody below the chords, the chord ringing above can seem obscured. The simplest way to observe this is to play a triad in the LH and make a melody in the RH using scale and passing tones. Now reverse the roles of the hands using the same chord and melody. I'll just say it changes it, and for me it becomes more interesting.<br><br>
Everyone can have completely different opinions about this. I remember doing this when my ear wasn't as developed and it didn't sound good. I had to find a technique to make it work. I'm glad I did (and it's a work in progress).<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13095652013-08-01T08:47:36-04:002013-08-01T08:47:36-04:008/1/13The single line. I come back to this every once in a while. It's really nice to play every note with intent, and put aside vertical thinking.<br><br>
While playing this I was thinking about meandering from key to key and not staying in any key or scale more than a couple beats at a time. I also didn't want this to sound totally atonal, so it was a challenge to do that. Other than that it was pretty free.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/13006042013-07-31T07:44:55-04:002013-07-31T07:44:55-04:007/31/13I love minor keys.<br><br>
Again, I don't know what to say about this piece today. It's such a simple minor improvisation - I hope it speaks on its own and I can get by without saying much in words here.<br><br>
Again, enjoy.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12961182013-07-30T15:42:45-04:002013-07-30T15:42:45-04:007/30/13Sorry for the late post. My web host was down almost all day.<br><br>
Todays piece is a pretty one - enjoy.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12847542013-07-29T08:51:39-04:002013-07-29T08:51:39-04:007/29/13This idea came to mind right before hitting the record button. It's a latin inspired progression and rhythm.<br><br>
I can't think of anything to say about this - it's just some riffing. I can't find anything significant about it. This is a perfect opportunity for someone to comment.<br><br>
Come on!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12763842013-07-27T08:55:19-04:002013-07-27T08:55:19-04:007/27/13Chord Time. Wow have my ears evolved through the years. For me, it's much like acquiring a taste for certain foods.<br><br>
It seems as though I can lay my fingers down anywhere and the sound is interesting instead of harsh. By interesting I mean it doesn't hurt anymore! Each of these chords in todays piece sound like a whole world, and it fascinates me. When I think about it, the approach to the keyboard makes a difference too. I like a more gentle touch for the most part. If someone wants to bang out a bunch of minor ninths it'll probably bother me some. As I've spoke in a past posting or two, stacking these chords in thirds is a most harmonious way to build density like this.<br><br>
I wanted chords today. I didn't think too much about them - I let my fingers fall but keeping a stacked thirds shape for the most part. Also a lot of parallel movement here.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12694032013-07-26T08:15:39-04:002013-07-26T08:15:39-04:007/26/13Here's a two chord vamp that's the main part of an old tune of mine, one of my most seldom played songs.<br><br>
It's a C minor to Ab/Bb thing. I use lots of pedal and let it set a certain mood. It's very relaxing to play this. As with many of my improvs, I would play this for ten or twenty minutes straight when I was in my twenties. I seem to like everything to be a lot shorter at this stage of the game, mainly from listening back and realizing if I was dragging a tune out too long what would I expect other people to do.<br><br>
This brings me to a funny realization: I'm flirting with the idea of lengthening these relaxing progressions and literally putting people to sleep with it! It used to bother me that my music made people yawn, but wisdom says to exploit your strengths and weed out your weaknesses. I thought of marketing my music as a sedative! At least some kind of music therapy usage should be possible as it is a legitimate field.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12604272013-07-25T08:10:34-04:002013-07-25T08:10:34-04:007/25/13I decided to let my LH take me for a spin. In this kind of a groove my LH acts like a bass player kind of. It has a feel like a comp over a bass solo.<br><br>
In this context my LH has a limited vocabulary as if I go into this small box to play. It's funny how I really strive for freedom from getting stuck in patterns, then go to play something "over here" and almost always go right to this particular bag of tricks. This is good - it exposes an area to be further developed or widened.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12521472013-07-24T07:59:36-04:002013-07-24T07:59:36-04:007/24/13Nice and easy in the key of G. This was fun. Staying mostly diatonic (a little flat three and flat seven chords thrown in).<br><br>
An analogy isn't coming to mind here - maybe one's not needed.<br><br>
Enjoy.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12449282013-07-23T07:50:00-04:002013-07-23T07:50:00-04:007/23/13Here's a melody driven improvisation. These melodies I usually come up with are four or five note phrases, then I continue with the intervalic aspect for continuity.<br><br>
If I'm remembering correctly (I play these things then do this technical assembly-line process, write this description and at this point it's difficult to remember what I did until I post it and listen and read at the end of the process), this melody is something like this: from the first note down a seventh, up a minor second, back up to or close to the original note. This shape becomes the theme basically.<br><br>
Okay, so I add this to the entry as I've now listened to the piece and the theme I mention above does not come into the picture until midway or so. Then it's prominence emerges. I guess I remembered it as "the" theme of the piece because it dominates the latter part of it, and I remembered it best!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12391802013-07-22T07:50:50-04:002013-07-22T07:50:50-04:007/22/13This is some riffing in Eb.<br><br>
Single line playing is a nice break from all the other things pianists can do. Pushing aside everything else but the laser focus on one single thread of melody shouldn't be neglected. Losing touch with that breaks the fundamental tie to making every note count. If you can't make one note at a time meaningful, how can you do it with ten?Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12336832013-07-20T07:37:44-04:002013-07-20T07:37:44-04:007/20/13This is a break in tradition for me. It's a sped up version of an original tune.<br><br>
This song was totally improvised in it's original form for my recording <a href="./clazzimprov.cfm">"ins & outs"</a>. I just had this idea this morning to see if I could play it quicker and squeeze it into a minute. Well that didn't quite work but it came out good, and I like this version because I always milk it and play it slowly, never really doing it like this.<br><br>
(In reference to the original) I don't think I've ever created such a complete sounding song before while recording improvisations. I guess it makes sense that after recording hundreds of improvs this would happen once! I strive to be more consistent in these areas - a real challenge to say the least.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12258142013-07-19T08:33:34-04:002013-07-19T08:33:34-04:007/19/13I still have the Chopin E minor Prelude sitting in front of me. I thought it might be fun to swing a version. It's definitely different enough from yesterdays take so here it is!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/12173542013-07-18T07:59:44-04:002013-07-18T07:59:44-04:007/18/13I had a medical procedure that prevented me from making an entry in this mblog yesterday. My apologies. As usual, I like to try to make up for absences. This piece today is twice as long (two minutes) as an ordinary daily recording.<br><br>
The minute long confine prevents a lot from happening musically. Just doubling to two minutes makes it possible to create a real song as opposed to a song idea, or seed for a song. When the idea came to me this morning to make the piece two minutes I realized how liberating it feels to open up the time constraint. Improvisations take on a character of their own and that includes an open time frame for complete freedom. Whereas I rarely indulge myself with forty minute ramblings like I used to in the seventies, these days my improvs might range from two to seven minutes. It's a pretty minor consideration when starting a piece.<br><br>
Today, I have Chopin's E minor prelude sitting in front of me and I decided to run through the framework of the song (looking like two minutes worth or so). The left hand has simple chords and it's easy to see the harmonic content as you scan through them. The melody I keep in a E harmonic minor scale unless the chord underneath dictates something else. Even though the chords have a descending chromatic movement, most of the time the home key prevails. I ended up using no pedal which gives it a cleaner more intimate sound to me.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/11387712013-07-16T08:00:50-04:002013-07-16T08:00:50-04:007/16/13I'm not sure what got into me today. There's a lot that I could say about this piece and the style - let me try to make it short here.<br><br>
My mom will probably call me this morning and tell me how great this is and I should make a song out of it etc...... oh, and she's not the only one. The fact is more people in the entire universe would probably vote this one in as my best mblog entry yet. To be fair, it might be the most accessible and recognizable sound (coming from me) that fits into the piano bar/background music category, one that almost everyone has encountered out in public.<br><br>
As an artist working pretty hard to make something uniquely mine this is an utter failure - a copout.<br><br>
Now, I'm being extreme here but it's to make a point. If I want to swing into the middle of the gray area, I would say that I felt like playing something nice and easy and drew on my years of experience playing like this. If I don't try very hard this will just come out and it's easy on the ears - why not!<br><br>
Yet, tomorrow I'll get back in and work to invent something no-one's ever heard before. The music I want to create the most seems to be what everyone else wants to hear the least. This is sad. I have to reconcile this difference to continue a fifty year endeavor - my life's work. This is maybe the biggest challenge for me at this stage of my career.<br><br>
Fortunately I'm up for it. This is the stuff life is made of. It's why I decided to put myself right in the middle of a most vibrant environment, and conquer all the unrealized goals I have. I believe I have plenty of time to accomplish a lot and enjoy the process while doing it.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/11290602013-07-15T08:12:49-04:002013-07-15T08:12:49-04:007/15/13Here I set out to make something with a beat/groove and whimsically make my way through minor chords.<br><br>
Keeping all the chords minor seems like an easy enough rule to follow, but letting my guard down once ended me up with a glaring major third over the bass note. I held it, finally made a minor chord then moved on!<br><br>
I started with C minor to make it easy. The ending is odd, and it's because I wanted to make my way back to C to help give the piece some symmetry. Maybe it could loop also, I don't know - it's a habit to try to give improvisations as much reason to sound like the form is thought about - to minimize the rambling/wandering trap that can catch you anytime your concentration wanes.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/11233152013-07-13T09:05:00-04:002013-07-13T09:05:00-04:007/13/13I guess I feel pretty spry this morning! This is one of those descending things I've talked about - where it feels more natural to move down chromatically, for me.<br><br>
I seem to also like having a stationary note like the melody above all this harmonic movement.<br><br>
I now have three complete solo piano albums of Clazzimprov which isn't news, but I started using a harmonic sound that can be found all throughout these recordings. I love this sound and it's the sweetest way of playing a major chord with a flatted ninth in it. Our ears love thirds and this is totally built on that. the intervals are (from the root in a major key) 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 - #11 - 13 - #15. Another way to think about it is for instance, a C Major7 chord with a D Major7 chord in the next octave up. This can continue using Major7 chords built a whole step up every octave. The seventh chord in this series will bring you back to the first again.<br><br>
I work with the first three so far, but mainly the two poly chordal sound like you hear here in the last chords of this piece.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/11162262013-07-12T08:35:21-04:002013-07-12T08:35:21-04:007/12/13I've been really taking a liking to D major.<br><br>
As I've stated before, I never really learn things in every key and worked for that kind of mastery - I have a lot of respect for that discipline though. The "Key" thing (pun intended) is a life long endeavor for keyboardists as every key has a different shape (black-white key combination) and its own fingerings. I've almost purposely kept each key in its own stage of development so every one is a very different world, maybe visually like planets in a solar system. Of course the drawback is lack of transpositional fluency - a great skill but one not needed so much in my professional experience.<br><br>
My very slow but steady learning of a classical piece (the D Major section exclusively), and a popular folk song from the sixties that I played a lot recently has made me more keen to D Maj. This piece today is indicative of my passion for this key these days.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/11080942013-07-11T08:13:08-04:002013-07-11T08:13:08-04:007/11/13I wanted to do a dissonant avant garde type thing this morning. I surprised myself at how tonal it ended up.<br><br>
I really like what came out. It has a shape and a recurring theme, and to me it's a bit scary. I'll listen to it again after posting but it creeps me out a bit. This is strange for me to have this reaction because I play a lot of dark stuff. I don't know what it is yet - just another way to get the unexpected result.<br><br>
Life is interesting.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10999932013-07-10T08:15:00-04:002013-07-10T08:15:00-04:007/10/13I got an idea from what happened here two days ago. It seems that melody driven improvisation is what happens the most with me. So to constantly impose challenges on myself to broaden the scope of my abilities, I decided to approach todays piece by coming up with random chords, then putting melody to it. So, Think chord, then melody.<br><br>
This was a different feeling for me while playing. I didn't care too much for what I was playing through the first half - it felt slightly uncomfortable. It seemed to end up sounding more like a real piece.<br><br>
Then upon playback, it really did sound nice to me. I knew I had accomplished something here because it sounded fresh. Fresh in the sense that it reminded me of some things I've played through the years but not in a while.<br><br>
I challenged myself (even if only a bit) and came up with something different. This becomes important when churning these out daily - having to find ways to pull out of ruts.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10920912013-07-09T07:44:50-04:002013-07-09T07:44:50-04:007/9/13Crazy Funk right here, with a swing. I wanted to do this progression: D7 - F7 - G7 - Bb7.<br><br>
That was basically what I did, with, more chords, over the bar line rhythms, crazy soloing. This is fun as the chords are uniform dominant sevenths so you can change key every change. You can also stay in the home key of D, or anything in between. Then take it away from there.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10845342013-07-08T07:57:33-04:002013-07-08T07:57:33-04:007/8/13Nice to be back. I should be able to keep the daily cup going here for the next four and a half weeks. Here we go!<br><br>
I wanted to do something in Eb minor today. This is definitely one of those melody based improvisations, where I hear a melody as I go and the harmony follows. It does happen that the next chord change pops into my head and the melody follows while doing this but the melody drives most of it (here). I will pre-meditate a chord progression when I want that to drive the improvisation, then the melody emerges from the harmony. That's a bit easier to do for me because the chord sequence is set and I can build on it, set up a groove and/or create a melody with space between phrases (just one of many ways to go for example).<br><br>
But here it's create a melody on the fly, decide what chords/harmony to go with it at the same time. This is most difficult and is reflected in a contemplative or even arduous sounding piece.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10606752013-07-03T10:15:00-04:002013-07-03T10:15:00-04:00Yet Another BreakSorry to do this to the tribe checking in on a daily basis. I'll be taking a four day weekend vacation starting tomorrow. I'll be back Monday the 8th.<br><br>
Again, I don't have material for the mblog to contribute during my absence. Again, I do have a consolation prize! I'm opening up my <a href="./members.cfm">members page</a> to everyone. Right now there are two "albumettes" to check out. It is a preview of what could end up being my next release (I could be jinxing myself). For non-members it's great because you get access to five new songs in four days of absence - bonus! I will be offering more for members only in the near future so I encourage you to sign up.<br><br>
Happy Holiday<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10602412013-07-03T09:13:57-04:002013-07-03T09:13:57-04:007/3/13Ah, the goddess of scales - the pentatonic. At some point this had to come up. Without bringing it up, It would be like talking about building construction and never mentioning the foundation.<br><br>
Todays piece is a melody using just the major pentatonic scale. I've voiced harmony a fourth below. It's so easy to play diatonically and go anywhere. This scale is so universal I'm hard-pressed to think of any music throughout history that didn't use this sound, at least from the point it developed a more sophisticated harmonic sense - chords/scales.<br><br>
This scale is so in all of us. I saw Bobby McFerrin demonstrate during an audience participation segment of his live show, the audiences ability to guess the next note up or down of a pentatonic scale once given a few notes to get started. Not knowing myself what it's like to not know scales and their sound, it was astonishing to see how people of no or little association of pitches and their sequence seem to know this scale. Very cool!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10540112013-07-02T07:56:58-04:002013-07-02T07:56:58-04:007/2/13I was about to ditch this and do a different one after listening to it. Then I listened again and thought it was worthy. It started to grow on me.<br><br>
It's a bit of an étude. It's in G Major and I hold high G with my RH pinky for most of it (even though it dies off quickly and you might not hear it being held). The lower RH is moving thirds and fourths and whatever around underneath it. Frankly I don't know what the LH is doing as I was concentrating on the RH dual role thing. There isn't a spot of pedal in this entire piece.<br><br>
So this I - IV progression and the repeated high G's aren't real interesting, and you can hear me repeat the RH idea over and over, variating it as I go and it sounds a little laborious. It's got my quirky rhythmic thing going on, and on whole it's a piece that might grow on you like it did me.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10477572013-07-01T10:17:18-04:002013-07-01T10:17:18-04:007/1/13I wanted to do a melodic idea and move it around randomly while moving the chordal content randomly on its own against it.<br><br>
This turned out like I had imagined for the most part. You can hear me deciding what to do as I go! So really, a lot of the phrasing and the rubato movement is dictated by the time it takes to think and get to the next thing. Sometimes it's easier than others to let the hands go where they want - where the randomness doesn't get in the way of letting things just flow out steadily.<br><br>
I like the sound of this. I've basically spoken about this before - the melodic over the dissonant. I'm still just starting to understand it as it seems I can literally play anything and it doesn't sound bad! I want to understand it better. There are different degrees of harmony and disharmony to get my ear around. All part of "the more you know, the more there is to learn" syndrome.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10407652013-06-29T08:56:34-04:002013-06-29T08:56:34-04:006/29/13This chord progression came to mind right before recording today. It's basically D Major to C minor six.<br><br>
This is (to me) such a rich two chord progression. It's hard not to think Spanish when playing it. If we "first invert" the second chord we do get a pretty common phrygian/Spanish sound. It changes the flavor only slightly to go to C instead of Eb. I feel like I could write a chapters worth on this sound as it conjures up a distinct feeling (but hard to define). I do feel the drama, and sense an old world long history here.<br><br>
It doesn't seem to be in one key so I'm fascinated with the sound of the two chords moving back and forth. I try to make D Major the home key, but, alas - I resolve to a G Major chord once and it seems to have been brought home then. Now this makes for a new way of looking at this - a very common 5 - 4 - 1 progression but with a major five and a minor four. You have your pick as to resolve to the one major or minor. I chose the major (my favorite here). I will commonly take all of this and distill it down to a hormonic major scale from the root. It can be a helpful way to play the two or three chords here from that breakdown to start, then take it from there.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10337762013-06-28T08:38:38-04:002013-06-28T08:38:38-04:006/28/13No significant pre-conception before jumping into this one today. I did however decide on B minor as a key or starting point.<br><br>
My transposition skills aren't that great so when I do something in a rarely used key it changes the approach and outcome for me a lot. So, I would like to get better at understanding many melodies and chord progressions in any and all keys as a continuation of evolving greater skill at the keyboard. But, until then I will exploit the quirkiness of my make-up-a-song-in-an-odd-key behavior.<br><br>
This mainly consists of gravitational pull to a more familiar key (sometimes as soon as possible). The side-effects and/or secondary consequences of that are unconventional tonal modulations. That's something I might naturally avoid while taking it easy in a comfortable key.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10258042013-06-27T08:17:10-04:002013-06-27T08:17:10-04:006/27/13The idea I had to start this piece was the three note ascending melody that functions as pick-up notes. And I was hearing an initial chord progression of 1 - 3 - 4 (one measure each).<br><br>
After the pick-up notes, the melody grows to 4 then five then develops and reappears as the most repeated part of the song. Harmonically, it's a constant re-harmonization, substitute chords, leading chromatic chords, diminished sevenths leading up, etc. With no modulation it's easier to mess with the home key as that's all there is. Rhythmically, I do my typical stalling or dragging out of the time over bar lines to mess with it too, basically!<br><br>
It seems to have a gospel-like quality to it.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10172182013-06-26T08:21:35-04:002022-05-11T11:17:07-04:006/26/13A good example of what I was talking about yesterday. I set out to do a tango. What came out when I played was a mix of Rachmaninoff and Perry Mason - and I don't think the beat was a tango which totally disqualifies it.<br><br>
So I end up with this. Cool! Not the final result, but the process - what happened. If you're an improvisor and you get too attached to yourself it will be frustrating to say the least. I may not care for this piece, but what it made me do after jumping in was the thrill-ride I'm partly in this for. To start an idea and then see it through once in, is my kind of adventure seeking.<br><br>
I'm going to say something that I think needs pointing out now. I started this daily music blog back in November. I set out to have some coffee, then sit at the keyboard and hit record without any preconceptions at all. This worked for a while. I felt the totally free approach concept (which I wanted to keep out of integrity) wasn't providing the variety I wanted. I needed to stir the coals (or soup) by thinking of a seed idea that would make it different from day to day. I would also say to myself "I haven't done this kind of thing in a while" and go from there. Then the new challenge becomes starting from an idea in the mind to what happens when the fingers hit the keys. Yes, it's still very much improvisation.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10083022013-06-25T09:00:21-04:002013-06-25T09:00:21-04:006/25/13This piece today actually came out the way I wanted it to, much like I had intended.<br><br>
Now as an improvisor I don't know what I'm going to play as far as chord progression or melody. But, I had intended to play chords in a rhythm in the LH and I wanted the voice movement to be small or chromatic. I pictured moving a voice or two at a time then when the quality of the harmony changed I would move in half or whole steps. I think this turned out very close to that. If you've read many previous posts here you'd know that I rarely get what I set out to do, mainly conceptually.<br><br>
I started out in C and knew I wanted to augment the chord and go to F. That was it. It's pretty unexpected for me that it modulated to Db and ended there.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/10012892013-06-24T08:13:35-04:002022-06-26T18:13:51-04:006/24/13<p>Glad to be back! I just had a fantastic trip to the west coast visiting family and friends with my wife this last week. Monday morning and getting quite summery in New York.<br><br>Todays piece is directly inspired by a Rachmaninoff piece I'm learning. I haven't touched a music keyboard for 10 days, and the music for this piece is just sitting right in front of me so I played through it once. Then of course it consumed me (basically the reason I chose to learn it). It's this tortuous rhapsodic G minor melody and progression that is pretty captivating. I chose to take the melody and have it descend which makes this variation take on a "descend to end" character. I love LH arpeggios.</p>1:14Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9435162013-06-14T17:50:00-04:002022-06-26T18:06:29-04:00A Break And Third Take<p>I'm taking a trip tomorrow morning and will be gone a week. I've got the technology in place to post from the road but no way to make daily piano recordings. I couldn't get it together to build a surplus to post daily as I have in the past, so tomorrow and Monday through Saturday next week there will be no piano tracks. I'm hoping to get a couple text posts up if something notable happens. This will be the first interruption since I started the serious mblog commitment last November. I've been taking Sundays off lately as the posts got more wordy.<br><br>I will, though, leave you with a bonus track that is much longer and substantial than the minute long daily ditties. This is a special song from a rare artist that may not sing again live for us, as noted in a lengthy rare interview I watched in entirety the other day. This piece moves me to tears sometimes and it's been consuming me of late. I have designs on a solo album of folk classics from the 60's and this song is numero uno. Yesterday I was playing this and felt I could knock one out today, and did after a couple tries. Enjoy.</p>1:10Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9399002013-06-14T08:25:54-04:002013-06-14T08:25:54-04:006/14/13This is some Clazzimprov here. Pretty much uniquely mine. Likely a case of me pushing the boundaries out to the risky, or risqué.<br><br>
The melodic RH voice(s) juxtaposed with the more active, sometimes agitated LH. This is imbalanced or counterintuitive to the strong melody with less dominant supplemental accompaniment conventional way. So be it! In fact, all the better.<br><br>
Getting lost in the overcrowded space of conformity has never been my style. This technique in todays piece is something that developed very naturally over a long time. I'd like to think I've developed many personal traits in my style, worth setting me apart from the norm and worth noticing.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9330472013-06-13T08:43:08-04:002013-06-13T08:43:08-04:006/13/13Rainfall here. Inspiration for fluid flourishing - an Eb minor (mainly black key) dance atop the plastic ivories.<br><br>
My hands still let me do this kind of stuff without being warmed up - always have fun with this - I like to flow. As I was doing the ascending roll-the-notes-up thing in the middle I thought it would be nice to roll-the-notes-down during the descent.<br><br>
Anyway, this technique always sets a certain mood and I felt it was time.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9239592013-06-12T07:53:40-04:002013-06-12T07:53:40-04:006/12/13Today I had to bust out a groove! The chord progression was not important here. I was feeling a need to throw down some 12/8.<br><br>
If this isn't groovin' or doesn't move you then this piece is meaningless. I bet this determines whether or not you like todays offering.<br><br>
This was fun and I feel full of energy today. Just proof that if you're having a down day, it's going to change like everything in life. It's all just temporary so enjoy the moment.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9157342013-06-11T08:10:00-04:002013-06-11T08:10:00-04:006/11/13I almost stopped around ten seconds into this as the melody is so similar to one of my album improvisations. Not stopping made it more difficult to finish this too because I needed the rest of it to succeed in differentiating the whole from my other piece.<br><br>
This is very dangerous to the improviser. Any disruption of the flow, and especially a preoccupation with some thought can be a killer. I think this is sub-par because of the above. But I wanted to keep it as it might be interesting to someone given the story here. I played the first four note phrase in Bb Major, then decided to play it a half step up when I recorded it, thus starting from B Major to make it more interesting. Once in, the other challenges put me over my limit and what we have here is a difficult minute for me.<br><br>
They say it's good in a blog to share some deep personal stuff - people like that. This process of improvising can sound effortless or easy to do. Just a reminder it can be torturous also.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9088692013-06-10T08:53:25-04:002013-06-10T08:53:25-04:006/10/13This is an idea taken from an intro to an arrangement I did on my second CD. A fairly regular two chord progression with a twist.<br><br>
Basically it's a V - I, G Major 7/A to F + Major 7/D. The twist is (as I use it here) letting the F# from the V chord hang on into the chord change to the D minor. You then get the major third sharing space with the minor chord. This sound intrigues me a lot and I don't often hear it used outside pretty modern music, mainly contemporary classical.<br type="_moz"><br>
I've been playing with this sound, now that I think about it, for a long time. I can remember pissing off band mates decades ago using major over minor. It's a tough sell as it's not nearly as common to our ears as minor over major which is a cornerstone of blues - jazz music. Part of the intrigue is how different these two usages of the same thing are. It's basically just a register swap. I've concluded that the most obvious aspect is the major third over the minor third is an interval of a minor ninth, arguably the most dissonant there is. Just reversing it so the minor third is above the major third gives us an interval of a major seventh, an interval we've gotten way used to and even hear it filled in as pure beauty, even sappily so!<br><br>
I could really go on and on with the two thirds together line of gab as I spent most of my performing career to this point playing blues. I'll save the rest.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/9012052013-06-08T08:53:45-04:002013-06-08T08:53:45-04:006/8/13For some reason this post-McCoy jazz in F thing came out today. I haven't really played like this in a very long time. I just slept in, realized I needed to hurry and get something recorded, then post and write this. It's all a whirlwind as I hadn't had enough coffee yet and I'm still (take a sip) in a fog.<br><br>
There was a freshness in this per the second sentence of this post. Honestly, this is the second take as the first one was terrible. My fingers were stumbling badly - it was a minute of junk (realizing these are the moments people might be more fascinated with) that I didn't feel like sharing.<br><br>
It could be that the "downtown music scene" part of me is coming out. I'll refrain from judging that for now.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8957642013-06-07T07:55:56-04:002013-06-07T07:55:56-04:006/7/13You will probably be hearing more music like this on this mblog. I may be jinxing myself but I'm realizing more clearly every day now that I'm heading in a new direction.<br><br>
It actually makes perfect sense to me when I look at it. My main desire after moving here to New York was to head into a new unexplored place for me musically. What makes sense is the logical progression to a more modern and free environment to grow into. It probably won't be the last frontier for me to immerse myself into but there's a world in there that has really caught my curiosity. My compositional aspirations are moving in this direction also, so multiple forces are at work here.<br><br>
At this point I want a pretty balanced ratio of dissonance to consonance. I don't, and never have heard much at all over my career that strikes the balance that I want to hear. Of course this is the artists fun, to take the preferred, throw out the rest, and add what you want that's not there - a very simplified breakdown of the process to creating your artistry.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8888772013-06-06T08:52:22-04:002013-06-06T08:52:22-04:006/6/13Major Blues. No, really. Blues in a major key.<br><br>
Somehow All Blues came into my head right before recording today. I thought I'd really mess with it - like using major chords and almost flipping it upside down.<br><br>
No blues scale, major sevenths, raised fourths. It's really not a blues, basically retaining the 1-4-1-5-(*)-4-1 type of blues progression.<br><br>
(*) Chromatic passing chord.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8809432013-06-05T08:34:58-04:002013-06-05T08:34:58-04:006/5/13This is kind of a funky thing. LH laying down a bit of a groove with (typical of me) an ever changing pattern (oxymoron). Sparse chords in the RH.<br><br>
I can't think of much to say here but I'll say this - I would like to get better at playing a pattern, still ever changing, but have it get closer to seeming like a pattern. In other words, get the benefits from playing a pattern without it being the same mechanical sounding thing like an ostinato is. The key for me will be most likely capturing a repeating rhythm and let the notes change, although I like changing the rhythm up I could do it less of that than being concerned about the right notes.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8725832013-06-04T08:15:00-04:002013-06-04T08:15:00-04:006/4/13Chords. I arpeggiate so much, especially in the LH. I like to just play chords sometimes to break it up.<br><br>
Now the makeup of these chords is difficult to talk about because they're all different. One thing I'm thinking about while figuring out what chord will be next is, in this case, stretching my hands out to cover ninths basically. Then I visualize a key (or decide on the key or scale to build the chord from). At that point fluency in visualizing the shape of that key on the keyboard (black and white key shapes) determines what keys I can cover. When I play the chord I know it will not sound random as all or most of the notes will share a key or tonal center. I don't concern myself too much with other aspects of the voicings or the rules of harmony, or other things as you can only do so much in the limited time between chords.<br><br>
Anyway, a brief look into my mind while doing this recording today.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8643062013-06-03T08:37:19-04:002023-12-10T13:09:53-05:006/3/13Just some chromatic noodling with melody. Rainy Monday. More coffee.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8578262013-06-01T08:16:18-04:002013-06-01T08:16:18-04:006/1/13Limited time today! Maybe that's why my right hand was trying to get somewhere fast. I don't use repeated notes often and use the one finger method mostly. I don't have that super fast multiple finger technique - some pianists are amazing at it.<br><br>
Here I'm using the D above middle C as the rhythm in this piece. Then build around it with a moving LH and some upper voice that comes in later. For me this is a quick idea - one that given just a minute, the repeated note won't annoy much.<br><br>
I also like to vary the rhythm even when doing a static like part. To me, this helps keep it from becoming too mechanical.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8520442013-05-31T07:53:20-04:002013-05-31T07:53:20-04:005/31/13Here's an ascending technique I use a lot. It basically consists of moving up, usually in half steps. The harmony is most often a major chord moving up a half step to a first inversion 7 chord, leading another half step up as a V7 - I resolution. I will commonly start it diatonically then move out of the original key.<br><br>
As I've stated way earlier in this blog series, I feel a natural tendency to descend most of the time. I then would use todays technique to move upward, and it's a good one but I need more.<br><br>
The ending of todays "moment" just fizzles out. Upon listening back I realized it wasn't ideal. This ascension would like to end in triumph or exaltation - sorry. It's just what happened and I thought I should leave it as yet another sign of my imperfection. Work In Progress.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8436472013-05-30T07:43:09-04:002013-05-30T07:43:09-04:005/30/13Swing. This signature rhythm of the jazz genre is arguably the single most important aspect of the music.<br><br>
I like this particular kind - a slow or medium tempo, laid back feel. I purposely play late, or behind the beat, and push it to the extreme sometimes. I like my jazz playing to sound relaxed and somewhat loose but still have a strong swing. Cool and smooth.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8373762013-05-29T08:42:07-04:002013-05-29T08:42:07-04:005/29/13I get stuck in these patterns. I guess after creating and posting 195 piano improvisations in the last 5 and a half months, repetitive behavior will make itself known. This is a good thing. I'm learning a lot from doing this and that's just another by-product.<br><br>
Here we have some major chords moving up in fourths, then some minor chords moving down in fourths. And I like G.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8291732013-05-28T08:59:10-04:002013-05-28T08:59:10-04:005/28/13I think this epitomizes Clazzimprov. I love this place between harmony and dissonance.<br><br>
Actually it's moving around between these two qualities, and I've noticed that I usually play a melodic line that is even as tonal as a diatonic melody, over more dissonant moving harmony below. This is such a common way for me to play freely that I will most likely have to develop more approaches as I tire of this "style". I'm proud that the style, at least the way I play it, is very original, but I don't want to be stuck anywhere or too predictable.<br><br>
I have a wish to perform music like this in public. For the last ten to twelve years I have been developing my free style as a soloist, and I've always liked to improvise in a duo setting. A larger group size could be wonderful with the right amount of listening and dedication to the music over anything else at the time by all involved. Now that I'm in New York I can find this here and everything in this paragraph can come true. Yess!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8249162013-05-27T09:12:35-04:002013-05-27T09:12:35-04:005/27/13This is a little fun I have with diminished based scales over augmented based chords.<br><br>
It was probably in the late '70's while I was discovering much about harmony, that I consciously played with these two entities together. It was a time of great experimentation and learning for me. I was playing with a guitarist friend and he said "man, what is that you're playing over that chord", and that's when I realized I was fusing augmented and diminished chords together.<br><br>
It seems a bit counterintuitive as musicians know how very different these sounds are - it's a bit like oil and water. Taking an augmented chord and matching it up with it's own diminished chord (add dim. 7 while you're at it), you only still have the root in common. Mathematically there's this imaginary "Y" in the road when dividing up the twelve note octave - into fourths or thirds. Without knowing anything about music theory but knowing basic math, you know that when you mix quarters and halves of entities with thirds or sixths, you have to break down to the least common denominator to be sure. For instance, it's easy to think about three quarters of something "even". But now add something from the "odd" group in there like 1.333333 or 3.666666 then....... I need more coffee - c'mon, it's early over here!<br><br>
Anyway, if I make scales up that resemble dim. scales but use augmented seconds in random places you can get this sound. There is some other random stuff thrown in there too. Experiment - nothings wrong. How does it sound?<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8180272013-05-25T09:05:00-04:002013-05-25T09:05:00-04:005/25/13Another version of "timeless". My melody I love to play and experiment with. It might never end up turning into an original composition because it probably already is! (Someone else's or close enough).<br><br>
Here, in my favorite key of Eb Major I can be free to slip in and out of the key and go chromatic and whatever. The essence of the melody drives it along and it's nice to have a dominant feature here. Of course melody driven song is......basically redundant. When I think of it, it's true that probably all my original songs are just melodies. The re-harmonization and constantly changing renditions are what is created/improvised around the melody. Very basic indeed.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8114202013-05-24T08:36:59-04:002013-05-24T08:36:59-04:005/24/13Had to go free this morning. Hey, this felt good. I was playing more of this kind of stuff regularly up to a few months ago while finishing up my last two albums. I haven't played something free since the last time on this mblog, whenever that was. This had a fresh feel because of that.<br><br>
Now who knows what your reaction is, as it can be all over the map. This music can elicit the widest reactions I can think of, everything from just plain hideous noise to a feeling of direct ecstatic rapture. Besides "music" per-se there is the addition of potentially all sonic possibilities in this music. I like to think cinematically and I do get into the concept of playing the piano as a sound designer. I've even thought of how I might create piano foley! (Not to be confused with folly, which can be very fun also).<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/8034052013-05-23T09:06:17-04:002013-05-23T09:06:17-04:005/23/13This is one of my favorite two chord progressions. Minor, then to the minor a major third down (E minor - C minor). I wore this out for many years as the darkness of it is just right for me. I've incorporated it into many original pieces.<br><br>
You have two quite different scales to work with but a hybrid scale(s) can be made. For example, I superimpose a C diminished7 chord over the C minor chord and get closer to the E minor (with F# now added). Then I can use this scale C,D,Eb,F#,G,A,B and can play this over both chords. The C diminished7 built into that also acts as as V7-9 resolving nicely to the E minor. This is just one of many examples of scale variations and combinations that can be used here. I think this fits with what I was using in the piece today.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7936222013-05-22T08:14:08-04:002013-05-22T08:14:08-04:005/22/13Todays piece is a simple four chord Alt-Folk progression. No real melody but the progression does lend itself nicely to easy melody-making.<br><br>
This was just a kind of feel good thing to do today. I think it's important to do easy things sometimes and just let it be simple and nice - it's alright. The little voices in the head can easily be buzzing about more this or that, or making it more complex in an interesting way. To me that's the "let's build something really great and cool all the time" voice. It's okay to indulge yourself in something easy enough to sit back and relax and listen too!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7853162013-05-21T08:31:58-04:002013-05-21T08:31:58-04:005/21/13Ah, the lonely solo line. This is a healthy thing for a pianist to do. Just play one line, like a horn or a singer does all the time. It breaks everything down to the basics of music - singing and making every note count. As pianists it's easy to forget that music isn't always doing two or more things at once and playing all this stuff just 'cause we can.<br><br>
I want to think like this even when playing multiple melodies at once or chords. For me, reaching for sublimity is where it's at. Consistently achieving that would be......sublime!<br><br>
The more notes that are present at any given time the more difficult it is to focus your energy into each note. At the same time as a listener, it's more difficult to follow multiple simultaneous melodies or hear every note in a chord. We tend to follow the dominant line when there's a bunch going on. If a piece overall, has economy of notes, makes sense, and is really nice as a whole, I think we get close to the sublime.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7783642013-05-20T08:37:25-04:002013-05-20T08:37:25-04:005/20/13This is a seed idea for a tune. I have to come up with some jazz trio song ideas by the end of the week and this might turn into one.<br><br>
It's a bass melody most likely, consisting of a rhythmic motif as the main component as I hear it now. Or it could just develop into something quite different. We'll see.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7701912013-05-18T08:51:29-04:002023-10-16T10:45:06-04:005/18/13<p>Blues with off timing. I've spoken about it before and here it is again - my funny way of messing with the timing. I tend to delay things like the harmonic rhythm, along with some over-the-bar-line phrasing. This causes an effect that the time-conscientious listener perceives as beats being added as the delays mount.<br><br>But it all ends up in the right place, as here for example, the twelve bar blues form is not compromised. I wish I could be perfectly consistent with this as I can loose the time while pushing the envelope further, but it's worth it to me as the rhythmic excitement is irresistible. Like everything else - a work in progress.</p>1:00Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7642752013-05-17T08:46:49-04:002013-05-17T08:46:49-04:005/17/13While playing todays recorded improvisation I was aware of how I move around harmonically, and how that may drive my choice of where the next chord will come. The melody might be the driver of what chord comes next also, and I switch between the two all the time.<br><br>
A written song might be conceived from melody, or might be from a harmonic progression, or any idea that gets something started (in my experience). But partly because I've logged way more hours improvising, and the nature of the "spontaneous" composition, this cycle of: think of an idea; play it; listen to how it sounds in context; let the previous stuff, and any new idea inform what's played next; repeat this process (sometimes multiple times a second).<br><br>
Unlike real composed pieces, these improvisations do have a quality that's more a fleeting moment - much like the process involved to make them. They don't usually have some of the things we're used to getting in a song: a well defined shape or form, a melody that gets recapitulated, and some of the more subtle developmental and variational attributes that come from sculpting a piece while taking time to make it just right.<br><br>
I like both equally for their different qualities. While a refined composition can be a great piece of work, a total improvisation is a real time statement and its immediacy is present. In the end both examples likely end up a moment heard and never visited again. One beautiful feature of pieces you've heard before is, you can have a different emotional reaction every time.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7551812013-05-16T08:42:34-04:002013-05-16T08:42:34-04:005/16/13Here's a meandering piano bar thing. I didn't know what else to do today. The brain's a little numb from a very late night out last night. It's funny how this is the type of tune that just comes out when I don't want to think very much.<br><br>
This starts in Eb Major, then I end up in Db Major unintentionally. It made for an interesting modulation getting back to Eb to sort of recap the beginning. It's more of an abrupt key change than I would use if I were trying to craft a better song idea, but I just did it and it's kind of quirky. When I hear songs that make this kind of irregular modulation I usually cringe a bit. Oh Well!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7465722013-05-15T08:19:16-04:002013-05-15T08:19:16-04:005/15/13This is a drone (LH) and melody (RH). A minor basically using every note but the minor seventh and the flatted second.<br><br>
With both thirds being used it would be hard to tell if it's major or minor sounding on paper. Emphasizing one over the other makes the difference.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7381182013-05-14T08:50:00-04:002013-05-14T08:50:00-04:005/14/13It's got a strong back beat, it's funky, and it swings. I know it's got a name. I think of hip-hop, New Orleans second line, whatever. Swingin' funk.<br><br>
I love playing stuff with this kind of rhythm. I didn't put much thought into the chord progression as this was coming out, as the rhythm is the strong element here.<br><br>
Keeping count through the entire piece, the count based on a slow four, with one beat of pickup, strong 2 & 4 backbeat. Okay? what beat does the song stop on?<br><br>
I wish I could flip this answer upside down! (3).<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7295442013-05-13T09:10:00-04:002013-05-13T09:10:00-04:005/13/13This piece may sound more complicated than it is. I play chords in C Major, move to Ab Major, back to C, to Ab, then end on a C Major chord. That's all.<br><br>
Here's how I create this sound. I like playing ninths in both hands. One of the benefits of not being able to reach all the major tenths (and I wish I could) is ninths have a more interesting sound to me. Tenths (with the fifth in the middle) is open thirds, which is a more consonant and arguably beautiful type sound. Ninths (with the fifth in the middle) are all fifths, which have a less-resolved sort of sound. I think of voicings of scale tones as broken down to two distinctly different sounds: The stacked thirds sound with their inversion (6ths) as the pretty sound and very easy on the ears, and the stacked fifths sound with their inversion (4ths) as the less-resolved and less-easy-on-the-ear sound. The seconds and sevenths round out the rest of the scale, and are arrived at, along with the entire scale and all above included, by continuing both these sets of intervals as you stack them out to the next octave(s). The mixture of these two interval groups is how all the kinds of sounds in between are achieved.<br><br>
My above terminology is not exact and I hope not too confusing! Anyway, there you have my ramble on simply finding voicings (mainly ninths) fairly randomly, in a scale, playing around, then changing to another key. Yes, I do want to get way better at this 'cause I think it's cool!<br><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7212892013-05-11T08:16:56-04:002013-05-11T08:16:56-04:005/11/13Music never ceases to amaze me. I've been playing with using the fourth in a major key with the third. Here I've stuck close to half step and fifth voicings (bottom up), for example, I'm in the key of E, so my voicing would be 3-4-8(1) or G#-A-E. I can use the same voicing for the five chord too. I stick to this shape voicing throughout the piece.<br><br>
I've purposely stayed away from using this type sound for the typical theoretical reasons - not using fourths and fifths together as (more so in major) the fourth is such a strong leading/passing tone to the third. Of course as a jazz player you get used to all these half step voicings and sounds, but this one I've come around to later than most others. I think part of the reason is my heightened interest in folk music of late. In fact I think this sound is rather distinctive to folk music. As I was playing this today I was thinking about americana music and also how this could be used in a Joni Mitchell tune or the like. It also gets the piano to sound a bit like a guitar.<br><br>
In a past post I played and talked about resolving to the fourth note in a major key. This fits in with that for sure. I think Joni uses this too as I think back to what I perceived back then as quirky but cool sounding resolutions. I have designs on blues, minimalist, and folk album projects I hope to start recording soon, and this technique can be used in these and any genre of music I can think of.<br type="_moz"><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7155642013-05-10T08:20:00-04:002013-05-10T08:20:00-04:005/10/13I just played this blues based tune in G and it was really nice, but I wasn't recording and it was too long for this mblog. So I hit record and tried to encapsulate the moment again in a minute or so. Two very difficult things to do but it came out pretty good.<br><br>
I'm experimenting with blues these days. I have a few ideas for theme related piano albums and I am getting close to recording again. Among the themes are folk songs from mainly the 60's and 70's, new age minimalist, and blues. All three I want to approach in my typical manner of free and basically slow or rubato. Now that I have three albums to date that reflect this approach I'm seeing that this may be more than a phase for me, so I'm seeing all these different genres I've been associated with through this lens. I like it!<br><br>
The way that I play - with freedom of timing and harmony, and slowly, etc., seems a much better way to enter certain "styles" of music for me. As soon as I think of holding a beat or establishing a groove with this stuff it falls into the category of "what everyone else does". Double edged sword here. It will be for far fewer people, those who enjoy relaxing music, and not for the masses, who are brought together with a beat to move to that is such a powerful force for sure.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/7072282013-05-09T09:02:16-04:002013-05-09T09:02:16-04:005/9/13Where do I begin? I set out to arpeggiate in the LH and play a melody in the RH. I chose a key I don't play in much to make it interesting - Ab Major.<br><br>
I like to free-arpeggiate in the left, and play a simpler thing in the right hand that has more of a discernable grasp of time or pulse. This is somewhat flipped upside-down from conventional piano playing, but we find it all over romantic music and such. It can get schmaltzy to do this and yes, if you detect some in this I'm sorry. No really! Truly sorry, as I try hard to avoid it so when it happens it's out of my control - in the sense that I probably loose focus enough to let the fingers do their own thing, which happens to unfortunately be a reversion to piano bar and cocktail piano days. There's a lot of history and a chapter of a book on this subject and it'll wait.<br><br>
Another problem I have is when playing like this, other musicians and especially pianists think it's totally rubato. I contend there's a pulse and a general tempo to the tune if you listen to the melody and don't try and count. I realize this gap between me and the perception of my timing by others has to be bridged in order for me to communicate my style more completely. I'm even more curious about how my overall style is perceived by non-musicians as they're the majority, and less encumbered with technical judgement.<br><br>
Off to work on delivering more music to the people! <br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6987052013-05-08T08:57:22-04:002013-05-08T08:57:22-04:005/8/13Being a solo artist can be a bit lonely. So, I get a little schizo but I love joking around so this morning I'm doing my tune for the day. I'm just hanging out with Me, Myself, and I.<br><br>
Me plays the tune (a shuffle) and we all like it. Record, bounce, upload, write blog entry - here we are! Now, Myself goes "maybe it would be cooler if you did it again, and this time start with a nine bar phrase, then make bar thirteen three beats, then do a couple four bar phrases and out". Me is like "are you kidding? I can't do that!<br><br>
Myself says "listen to what you just did". I did, and started snickering. Sometimes your best pals can be so mean.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6900542013-05-07T09:08:32-04:002013-05-07T09:08:32-04:005/7/13This is of course a totally free piece. I like these things more as the years go by. It's probably partly due to a growing tolerance (acquired taste) for dissonance. Also, this type sound shows off a couple of strengths the piano has - keeping the damper pedal down for long stretches to hear resonance and ringing, and the range of the instrument and the sympathetic resonance of most of the 230 or so strings all sounding and interacting.<br><br>
There's not much for me to say about the played content (notes) and my choices. I choose to try to not play the things my hands want to go to out of familiarity. That's difficult. Really, for me, the effort here is in doing the aforementioned and thinking of notes as part of a sound or effect, and very little in the way of melodies and chords. This very last point fascinates me because fitting this kind of playing (sound) over a chord progression (say a standard piece), and (here's the hard part) doing it in a way that sounded somewhat consonant to the whole could be the makings of a very unique personal style. This is what I'm approaching from the flip side of this coin with my <a target="_new" href="./clazzimprov.cfm">standard deviations</a>.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6812432013-05-06T08:44:34-04:002013-05-06T08:44:34-04:005/6/13There's not much to say about this piece today. I wasn't in the mood to think of a piece that displays some interesting musical point to discuss. Instead this common sounding melody and progression came to me, and I just wanted to play something nice. When it comes down to it, this is my top priority. It's fun and hopefully inspiring to analyze these improvisations from day to day, but bottom line, it's really about playing, listening, and enjoying.<br><br>
Yesterday was a triple celebration for my wife and I: our 11th Wedding Anniversary, Cinco de Mayo, and Greek Easter. We're not greek but the restaurant on the ground floor of our apartment building is, and they roast 20 or so lambs over two days on the sidewalk out front and put on a feast all day - incredible! We started celebrating Friday night, had a nice mexican lunch on Saturday. We had great weather and got some nice exercise. A fantastic weekend!<br><br>
Tonight is the last composition class of the year for me at Juilliard. We will celebrate with a party that'll be a blast! It's been a really satisfying experience writing and getting readings on six original instrumental pieces this last two semesters. Everyone has real talent in this class and it's been great getting to know this group of people including our instructor Ray, who put a great program together in this first year of the class.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6741712013-05-04T09:06:20-04:002013-05-04T09:06:20-04:005/4/13I've talked some about playing in two keys at once or thinking in two keys or scales simultaneously. Here's an example of that.<br><br>
Todays piece is a simple idea. I thought of the key of E Major with an augmented fifth. I hit record and started a RH line, then about half way through brought the LH in. The idea started as just E+ but as you might be able to tell I'm using more than that. Let me see if I can unravel some of the process.<br><br>
So the basis of this stated tonal idea is a chord using the root, major third, and raised fifth. To arrive at a scale we have to fill in the blanks. Now I have never been one to discriminate too much here - I could just end it here by saying use every note in between and that'll do! I will use both second degrees of the key here, might use both thirds, will use both fourth and raised fourth, perfect fifth, and both remaining sixths and sevenths, so there you have it - ha,ha!<br><br>
Busted<br><br>
I'm sorry, I can't just sit there with both hands and play the same augmented chord and not be bored. I indulged myself with the freedom to be chromatic, BUT, I gravitated to this scale: E,F,G#,B,C,D#. I'm sure it has a name and it's an interesting one in that it's all half steps and minor third intervals.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6667362013-05-03T08:57:29-04:002013-05-03T08:57:29-04:005/3/13Remembering what I wrote about yesterday, and listening to yesterdays melody again this morning, I made a decision to follow through on something said. Taking the basic melody, the same key, hands still crossed (left over right), I recorded while playing the melody in the LH while accompanying in the RH.<br><br>
Wow! This was really strange and difficult. I hadn't really thought about it too much because I like to jump right in to these pieces and go. Well, the first take was disastrous. I rarely do multiple takes and here I got it the second time. But it's arguably not as good of a piece of music as the piece yesterday.<br><br>
This is something that may sound strange, but I improvise so much and I've made so many of these pieces now that what just happened with two quick takes and uploading the song and now writing about it, I'm not sure what happened! It's a bit like being in an accident and right afterwards you don't even know what hit you. Now I can assume I got hit with a double whammy: hands crossed, so operating in opposite registers, and this time operating in opposite roles as well. It was such a weird feeling having to think really hard while playing the simplest melody and chord progression. Yeah, this will be by far the biggest challenge getting fluent with the crossed hands thing.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6566462013-05-02T08:40:34-04:002013-05-02T08:40:34-04:005/2/13Crossed hands today. I decided to play the melody in the lower register with my RH, and the LH crossed over for accompaniment above the melody. Then I decided to play something diatonic in Db Major.<br><br>
The improvised song itself would probably sound more sappy or corny if I had played with my hands in normal position, but crossing the hands changes everything, and it would have been yet another outcome if I had decided to cross hands and play the melody with my LH and accompany with the RH. It's fun to experiment with this, and as I've said in an earlier post I want to get more fluid and fluent with these techniques. It's an instantaneous remedy for getting out of stuck patterns, until crossed hands themselves becomes routine enough. For me at this point it's as much of an attitude adjustment as a dunk in a cold pool would be!<br type="_moz"><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6478792013-05-01T08:50:13-04:002013-05-01T08:50:13-04:005/1/13I like May Day. I also really like playing in two keys at once - I've been playing and talking about it prominently on this blog.<br><br>
Today I basically set out to play in D Major in the RH and Bb Major in the LH. What invariably happens is both hands go in and out of either key on their own. This is due in large part to my preference for smooth integration. I really am thinking of the composite scale or key that both of these particular keys make, i.e. a new scale or key. Then I'm free to think in any combination of: separate keys, separate hands, combined hands, combined keys, flowing from one key or hand, to other key or hand, etc.<br><br>
This piece isn't a chord progression, in my mind. I'm so intrigued with blending the two tonal entities that that's enough to keep me interested. I think I consciously went to the four chord and back at one point so the progression was super simple. The swirling and moving around with two keys in mind simultaneously makes it sound like it's going somewhere by itself. Just making a move up to the four chord required some thought (and probably is the reason I remembered going there!), as it's more complicated than transposing up to G Major over/with Eb Major. I also had to keep the home or root key in mind as I didn't modulate, I went from a bi-tonal root to it's bi-tonal four chord - bi-lydian. I also can choose to blend the four distinct Major chord sounds together, and it just gets crazier after that.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6390322013-04-30T08:50:00-04:002013-04-30T08:50:00-04:004/30/13Blues - kinda. There's this thing happening to me. I'm not interested in playing the two styles of music I've played the most throughout my career, unless I change the context dramatically. I talked recently of taking on a blues project, and that idea is growing favorably more. It's looking like it might bear a resemblance to my recent jazz album "standard deviations" on my <a target="_new" href="./clazzimprov.cfm">Clazzimprov</a> page.<br><br>
The resemblance I'm speaking of is really about playing in two or more keys at once (there must be a name for this in classical theory), or in my case most of the time moving from one key to another. I was very free with this in my last jazz project. The blues is a much simpler style and form so I think I'll be able to do this poly-tonality thing in a deeper way - simultaneously (vertically).<br><br>
Todays piece is a polytonal blues with the RH mainly in C and the LH mainly in A (again, I like keys a third apart). Minor thirds are great with this style as they share the same diminished tonalities, and the Major/Minor relative pentatonic and blues scale tonalities. I've tried, and will continue to, play in four keys at once (all minor thirds away from each other). It's possible, but at this point I'm a little ahead of myself!<br type="_moz"><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6303622013-04-29T09:15:00-04:002013-04-29T09:15:00-04:004/29/13Quite a few of my recent postings have been about getting an idea and then hitting the record button. I set out with the idea of playing a melody inside the accompaniment. It may have well been that for the first few notes.<br><br>
The original idea does function as a starting point for me. Once I start playing, the force of the music takes over and it's a complicated process (insert rather large book here). I did go into it to some degree <a target="_new" href="./clazzimprov.cfm">here - ins & outs - scroll down to "About this music:" paragraphs 2 - 4</a>. Here's the crucial point I want to make today: my goal is to improve on my ability to keep improvisation so pure as to only proceed to the next note(s) once I'm informed from the last note(s) played. Put another way: As I play, the notes sounding right now help determine what can come next. It's immediacy. For me, letting myself throw a riff or lick in is like giving my mind a little break. It's really difficult focusing for the entire piece, but the consequence of a lapse in focus is autopilot.<br><br>
Autopilot isn't necessarily bad. It's that the line of focus gets interrupted and even the listener can likely detect this. Then what follows is anyones guess - you or the force of the music isn't making the choices anymore - it could be way out of context. Your fingers will just move and play things if you let them go. It can be like letting puppies out the front door!<br type="_moz"><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6240292013-04-27T08:34:06-04:002013-04-27T08:34:06-04:004/27/13This was a bit unexpected. I wanted to do something mainly vertical (chordal) and this is what came out. I like playing in Eb a lot and my comfort level with the key means an idea can go many directions.<br><br>
I wanted to bring out the top note and talk a bit about doing that in a many-notes-at-once scenario. I'm not bringing the top note out at least in a real noticeable way but there is some inner voice movement in spots.<br><br>
I really don't have more to say about this piece except that it came out kind of nicely I think. A gospel/hymn kind of thing.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6154302013-04-26T08:43:43-04:002013-04-26T08:43:43-04:004/26/13I Love The Blues.<br><br>
I learned the blues through jazz. I was soaking up jazz as a teenager. It was the early '70's and there was all this modern acoustic and electric jazz music being created, and I was catching up on some of the great jazz history moving back in time - virtually chronologically backwards. The blues form was evolving wildly in the jazz idiom and I thought I was being exposed to the essence of it somewhere in all it's permutations.<br><br>
I wasn't aware of the roots of blues until I moved from the jazz world to the blues world in the late '80's. As a purely classically trained pianist as a kid, moving into jazz was a great way to utilize a crisp and fast technique - lots of fun! Besides really digging fusion, I did have some experience with funk and R & B music that required a new concept for me - subtracting from my complex harmonic sense, and nimble technique to a simpler, somewhat stripped down way of playing.<br><br>
I really had to strip down for the blues. I mean the last sentence in a literal sense too, as once you take away all the slickness and speed and fancy chords you're left kind of naked, with such a basic set of tools that in order to make something with the music, you have to put heart and feeling into it to make it meaningful. Simplicity (very accessible) and heartfelt (soulful) music. This is the key to it's wide appeal. And really, only the people that put their feeling into it and out there for everyone stick out as the stars of that genre. There's no heady, intellectual place to hide - straight below-the-neck music that can reach everyone.<br><br>
I want to do an album of blues at some time. It's been on my mind lately. The hard part won't be getting myself in technical shape or anything like that. It'll be in getting my entire being ready to say something with every damn note. Otherwise it's a rather meaningless little pile of notes.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/6071412013-04-25T08:46:10-04:002013-04-25T08:46:10-04:004/25/13Here’s something in the latin family. Some 2 - 5 cycling. I started playing something better than this before I decided to record, drats!<br><br>
Anyway, here it is. I was thinking of playing a montuno, but they’re not in my repertoire anymore. On purpose, by the way. I’ve spent over 10 years and counting letting montunos and most all other stylised cliches waft away from my mind and finger memory - habitual patterns the hands will do anytime you decide to stop concentrating, focusing or leave the moment. I’m not judging the validity or importance of stylistic cliches or whatever as there are times and places where these are expected or even required. I don’t choose to be there.<br><br>
So, when I decide to do a latin type thing, or anything I decide to play for that matter, it has to be my way. Of course the things that I prefer to hold on to that could be considered stylised licks from some person or era’s influence are in my playing. That’s the nature of biases and preferences. <br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5983362013-04-24T08:50:00-04:002013-04-24T08:50:00-04:004/24/13This is a walking bass line with melody. I'm back to some more counterpoint!<br><br>
The style is ambiguous and I'm proud of that, as that's part of my thing, to fuse the styles I've done throughout my career into something that doesn't sound like jazz, classical, folk, etc. I used to say I like melting styles together and maybe that was true then. I've now lived in this place for so long the music seems to just be a thing of it's own, like a child being a fusion of their parents, then maturing into their own person - probably not a great analogy but the child that grows into their own is the part that's important here I think.<br><br>
I liked playing this piece somewhat rubato. It sounds more sensitive. I guess that's where I'm at this morning!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5898122013-04-23T08:41:11-04:002013-04-23T08:41:11-04:004/23/13I wrote a chaconne as an assignment in my composition class at Juilliard. There are disagreements about the basic characteristics but here's my point for today:<br><br>
This compositional exercise reminded me of the beauty of a descending bass line, and how nice it can be to re-harmonize using simply first and second inversion chords. Here in todays piece I liked moving randomly to different keys to change the color some. This can be a beautiful seed idea for writing a song I think.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5810532013-04-22T09:35:00-04:002013-04-22T09:35:00-04:004/22/13With todays piece I thought I'd move to rhythm as a subject, especially since the last entry was a lot of numbers about a particular scale.<br><br>
I chose a diatonic progression 1 - 5 - 6 - 4 - 1 - 5 - 1 - (turnaround) in the key of C Major. Can't get much simpler. With this comfortable place to play within harmonically, I'm able to get fluid with the time. This song is a great example of the way I delay the next chord change. The process starts fairly soon into the piece and I'll tease the listener into thinking I'm adding beats to the harmonic rhythm. In todays case I never add beats to the whole, to the very end. If you keep count, you'll most likely feel the tension this produces, but for me it's a way to do something rhythmically unique. I will stay in this seemingly non-synchronous state for long enough to turn other band mates around. For example, after hearing me playing a beat behind for enough time to be convinced I've added a beat and therefore a decision can be made (and this is critical) to readjust the beat to re-synchronize.<br><br>
I have a lot to say about the scenarios that follow from this crucial decision to readjust the beat. The two choices, one way or the other at the Y in the road, both produce a list of differences in the outcome of the performance from that point on. I'll stop short of taking this further for now.<br><br>
In my solo recordings you can hear me stretch this over-the-bar-line timing effect a lot. To confess, I will take it to the point where in a solo setting, I've encroached so far into the next measure(s), that in order to give the cadence at the end of the section time to breath before the next section (bridge likely), I'll add beats. This is practically only doable in a solo context, even then the form police will start to fill out a citation. Nobody wants to work at keeping the beat while listening, only to have no reward waiting after it's over. The player gets the blame for loosing the time. Understandable. UNLESS you decide as a listener, to go with the flow, don't crunch a lot of numbers and let the piece unfold for you, then decide if it's musical or not.<br><br>
Anymore, I just like to listen for feeling, passion and take in the shape of a piece and enjoy it as a real listener. This is difficult as I start my sixth decade of being a serious pianist and yes, a judgmental and analytical musician too!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5713642013-04-20T09:08:52-04:002013-04-20T09:08:52-04:004/20/13This is some playing around in C minor. I'm laying a chord in my LH down and you can hear the sympathetic vibrations resonating with the notes I play with my RH. It's kind of drone effect as the harmonics activate and ring. It's subtle so you might have to really listen for it. This effect gets picked up nicely while recording the instrument I'm using at this time.<br><br>
Now to the RH. I'm riffing around with mainly the C harmonic minor scale. The few non-scale tones I gravitate to, and use here are the raised fourth, minor seventh and sometimes the minor second. Added to the original scale you get a ten note scale. It probably has a name but I don't know what it is. Given a long enough time to weave melodically I would probably use all twelve tones before too long.<br><br>
Of note - these extra notes added to the harmonic scale have one thing in common that I think is interesting - I use them in this piece today as leading tones. The flatted second can resolve to the two as can the flatted third creating double leading tones, one moving up and one moving down, both to the same note. The same thing with the raised fourth and lowered sixth leading to the fifth, and the flatted seventh leading to the seventh then strong gravity pulling you home to the root. Secondarily: the flatted second gives you chromatic freedom from the root to the minor third; the raised fourth gives chromatic freedom from the fourth to the flatted sixth; and the minor seventh clears the way for full chromaticism from the flatted seventh all the way up to the flatted third.<br><br>
Wow, and I thought I was just playing around in C minor. Sorry if the last paragraph is like eating a block of cheese!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5654022013-04-19T09:08:43-04:002013-04-19T09:08:43-04:004/19/13Here, I set out to play rhythmically free with both hands. There are segments of this piece that that have a set rhythm over another, but other spots where both hands are elastic with the time, and I'm flowing in and out of all mentioned.<br><br>
I have been doing this so long that talking about the process is a little like remembering where I was in July of 1968! But I can say this as the memory is pretty clear - while studying classical piano, Chopin, Liszt, and the impressionistic to present day composers will write figures from basic 4 over 3 or 6, to more difficult odd figures like 15 over 8 or 27 over 15 sometimes over bar lines and such.<br><br>
To learn to just execute these figures you have to slowly grind the parts together or use a system of dividing it all up sometimes graphically and integrate it into the head and hands. This process can be very repetitive and tedious. At some point after getting a number of these in your hands you can get them to flow out and this is a very rewarding feeling. If it's notation is strictly aligned you can play the notes in the order they appear linearly. Another advanced way to read through a figure is to look at the beginning to the end and go for it! With the pulse in mind of course, get both hands from point A to point B in the right amount of time.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5571692013-04-18T08:43:37-04:002013-04-18T08:43:37-04:004/18/13I decided to do a left hand (LH) melody with right hand (RH) accompaniment. (I will use these abbreviations from now on).<br><br>
If you write, create, improvise any idea, say a melody and a chord progression, nothing will change the outcome more than flipping roles between the hands. For starters, the switch of ranges (registers) will turn our ears away from the typical melody on top - chords below default setting. As a player and someone who will improvise using this technique, the hands will act differently in their switched roles. Even if you just cross hands and play melody on top - chords below it will be different enough. Todays piece is an example of the opening sentence above, no crossed hands. I don't do this that much so that adds to the very different way an intended idea comes out. This is all my experience so I'm not intending here to lay down the law. This technique like a lot of things is developed at different levels with everyone at any given time.<br><br>
So, probably the lesson here is to try doing this and see what happens. In all ways mentioned above. I think it would be cool to develop this technique to the point of real fluency. To have the flexibility to go in and out of this sound in any context would be a powerful tool.<br type="_moz"><br>Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5488552013-04-17T08:47:29-04:002022-07-31T16:44:20-04:004/17/13I went into todays piece with this idea - to pick notes at the top of the right hand, hold them and chord underneath with the rest of the right hand and the left hand.<br><br>
The focus was on the choice of chords (harmony) and choosing them. I used a technique that is a fun mind game for me. The underlying chords are chosen by their relationship to the chosen note (melody in this case). I look at the melody note and think of all the chords this note is a part of. For instance the note C is a chord tone of the following chords: F Major, Db Major 7, D minor 7, F minor, Ab major, A minor, Eb 6.<br><br>
Today I didn't even care what the melody was or where it went. By itself it might not sound like much. But constantly changing the harmony underneath gave the whole piece a motion and the randomness of the harmony made it seam like a pretty complicated invention. So this is the basis for creating more interesting improvisations. For composing and arranging you can imagine how this opens up the possibilities. With this single technique you could completely reharmonize a song - over and over again countless times.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5393832013-04-16T08:35:00-04:002013-04-16T08:35:00-04:004/16/13I set out to play something, and have a conversation about groove. Didn't come out that way. There is a beat throughout this piece and you have to ride it out through the stretched rhythm parts, but the beat goes on. There is at least a measure of 2/4 here and you could count the whole thing in 2. This throwing some meter changes and compressing/expanding of the timing of some phrases is pretty much a trademark of mine (at least the way I do it). It's the way the music comes through me while I'm playing. Even today when the coffee has seemingly had little effect on me so far, and I'm not really feeling mentally clear, I just hit record and stuff like this comes out.<br><br>
Also of note, there isn't a shred of pedaling today just like yesterday. I like to hold notes when I can. I also like to play three things at once, a melody, the bass or roots, and some chording or a comp part in the middle which gets shared by both hands. This is a comfortable place for me to live as I developed it sometime after starting the walking bass line/ melody contrapuntal jazz development as a teenager. It's a logical extension to add some comp hits in the middle, then you get this three way interplay going on that's a blast!<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5313532013-04-15T08:50:00-04:002013-04-15T08:50:00-04:004/15/13Happy Tax Day! Sorry. I'm loosening my strict one minute long piece starting today. This one is around four seconds longer. Wow, the single day off of blog posting was good for me, I needed the break.<br><br>
This piece today is and example of holding notes down (almost as many as I can) to achieve a very legato effect and also somewhat of a damper pedal effect - without smearing everything else. There is no pedaling here at all. It's almost like a game of twister for the fingers. I also sometimes switch fingers while keys are depressed. Another thing that happens that's cool but subtle is any time you play notes while others are held you get some sympathetic resonating and overtones start humming.<br><br>
As I'm writing this I can't help think how great it would be to have a video of me playing like this, as explaining what you're seeing is more effective than me trying to paint pictures with words. So, it won't happen for todays entry but I plan to implement this and should be able to imbed a video in my blog - we'll see.<br><br>
This is a technique I use a lot and have developed my own personal way of doing it and really want to share this with you. I will get more into this in the future on this mblog which will (with video) be a mvblog! I guess.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5226812013-04-13T08:40:00-04:002013-04-13T08:40:00-04:004/13/13I'm going to disappoint today. After 156 consecutive days of Every Morning Cup of Joe and the accompanying minute long song, I'm taking a break today.<br><br>
So, there's no fresh song for the day but there's more going on here. The last five days have been a transition, into more written commentary about the pieces and my process. The concept I started with back in November has run it's course but instead of fizzling out, I want to expand the concept to include writing more and possibly incorporating video soon.<br><br>
I'm taking today and tomorrow off of recording and uploading pieces to look back at the direction that's evolving and look at hitting the ground running again on Monday with another week of mblogging. Improvising a minute long piece every day is still fun, but I want to get better at writing about the process and I think it will be more interesting for people to have a window into what I'm doing and thinking about. It's really difficult to articulate and there's stuff that happens that's a mystery....etc. I want to get in that world and turn it inside out for all to see (including me as I'll be discovering as I go too).<br><br>
I'm really excited to have this vehicle to blend my playing, spontaneous improvising, teaching and performing experience together to share with all that come to my site and blog.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5167672013-04-12T09:18:31-04:002013-04-12T09:18:31-04:004/12/13Jazz Counterpoint.<br><br>
I learned to play through changes and get a feel for swing by playing bass with the left hand and a melody or soloing in the right. When it comes to moving gear, a piano or keyboards suck. When it comes to sitting at your instrument and experimenting with what both hands are capable of doing together or independently, the piano rules! Solo Baby, no feedback - you're free.<br><br>
At the time I really got going with this technique, I was heavily influenced by Miles Davis' famous quintet of the 60's. Miles had Herbie not comp most of the time and play linear solos like a horn. This intrigued me and validated the two line counterpoint between bass and melody - naked, clean, simply basic. I spent hours going through 2 - 5's and all kinds of progressions, also getting a feel going. I probably tried to emulate Ron and Herbie swinging together.<br><br>
A later influence was a piano teacher out of Seattle, Jerry Gray. He had unique ways of thinking of the keyboard and new concepts for me to ponder. One very important concept is that of breathing. He played examples of a right hand phrase, then left hand comping, and alternating these back and forth. Many musical things are accomplished with this technique: the dialog between the hands is a conversation (one person speak at a time please!); both hands speak then breath, one of the reason voice and wind instruments speak to us is they have to stop to breath - ahh, thank you; the listener can focus on each phrase fully. Then, mix this up with the simultaneous two at once playing (counterpoint) and you have variety.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5088722013-04-11T09:10:00-04:002013-04-11T09:10:00-04:004/11/13I want to share a technique I use and will develop more. It involves two keys.<br><br>
This piece is a song idea I've played many times, and on this mblog many times (Timeless). It's a nice melody with a 1 - 6 - 2 - 5 diatonic progression. It's fairly simple and that's the key element here as experimenting with this technique should start with something simple, and, it makes it clearer to see how something simple can be developed into something very deep and even wild.<br><br>
I'll break it down here: I start this piece in Eb and play the first phrase of the song; I then play the second phrase, or the first again as they're similar, in Gb. Then I start mixing them up any way I want. I attempted to play in both keys at once but this is the most challenging way to arrange both keys (vertical or simultaneously). This morning I couldn't handle it very long (and this is what I want to develop better in my playing). I then finished out the minute with meandering between keys (horizontal or linear).<br><br>
Any two keys can be used and this opens the door to at least a million ways to do a single 4 bar phrase. I almost always use keys that are a third apart. Thirds and their inverted counterparts - sixths have a pleasing relationship in harmony. John Coltrane was on to something, as an example of someone who developed this particular subject to amazing places. His songs are full of it (2 - 5's) moving in thirds, and came as close as imaginable on a reed with vertical representation (sheets of sound).<br type="_moz"><br>
BTW - I use this technique in many places on my <a href="./clazzimprov.cfm">latest albums</a>. It's a significant aspect of my standard repertoire deviousness!<br><br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/5006882013-04-10T09:00:00-04:002013-04-10T09:00:00-04:004/10/13Todays piece is based on a Bb vamp I used in an arrangement of Cherokee (refer to blog entry 2/10/09 in the archived blog posts column to the right) I recorded around 20 years ago. I've been experimenting with this off and on for years. I thought it would be fun to improvise a solo over it today. I've been working this B Major over Bb Major sound as it's just an interesting sound and I like to play with going in and out of, and blending these two sounds (scales). I want to arrive at a melody that has some hooks in it - it's been difficult.<br><br>
This idea lives very close to a Keith Jarrett piece (same key I believe) so I don't want it to evoke that at all. It's my style to move away from the strong established entities already out there, mainly out of respect to them and to myself. Anyone that knows the piece I'm referring to will now be able to make the association, and unfortunately permanently quite possibly! Sorry. The remedy for that is for me to break that association with something that has a strong enough identity of it's own, and that's a challenge I like.<br><br>
So the journey continues. You might see it appear here again on this music blog or better yet, on an upcoming album where you can hear the melody I feel is good enough to commit to.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4917802013-04-09T08:39:33-04:002013-04-09T08:39:33-04:004/9/13I like doing these free funk type improvisations. Wait a sec!.....it's latin I think. Ha! I set out to do something funky and this just came out. I imagined something funkier, set the timer and played - the flavor was different than intended, at least a few milliseconds after I started. Then it's go with what's coming out and make something with it, then how is the end going to appear, especially with the timer running down.<br><br>
If you're new to this mblog I make these daily improvisations very close to a perfect minute. I use a timer, so this adds a challenging element to say the least. It's a bit like telling someone to let your mind wander or daydream and let go, BUT, while you're lost in that watch the clock and snap out of it 60 seconds later. Of course, so they don't sound like they were cut off I have to form an ending somewhere in the 50's second range. I notice myself, after doing quite a number of these now, looking at the timer at the half way point with pretty good accuracy, like I'm making a A - B or A - A form. I don't think they sound like that though.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4855502013-04-08T09:05:00-04:002013-04-08T09:05:00-04:004/8/13I want to talk about this some,<br><br>
This piece is a study in something I discovered recently while recording my last <a href="./clazzimprov.cfm">two albums</a>. While at the keyboard I played a simple 2-5-1 progression, G minor7 - C7 - F Major, common enough. But the melody I played on top of the chords was G - A - Bb, one note for each of the chords in the previous progression. It basically sounds wrong! Or off by a fourth which is so close it begs you to give into changing the chords to C minor7 - F7 - Bb Major, and everything will be restored to some of the most harmonious sound there is.<br><br>
I was captivated by what I had stumbled upon because of the challenge to resolve this melody. The G fits perfectly over the G minor7 chord as it's the root, probably the most powerful chord tone to choose. The A makes a beautiful 13th sound for the C7 chord. Then we get to the end of the cadence and there's the blaring Bb (4th) over the F Major chord (in theory, you'd have some major explaining to do)! Fortunately I was ready to make this work because I was finding ways in my playing to make non-chord or even non-scale tones find resolution. I found that massaging the melody on the chord in certain ways helps settle it in. Rolling, arpeggiating, adding scale notes to the chord help dilute the dissonance. But, I found simply playing the melody over the roots of the chord in a minimalist way and getting it to resolve by maybe softening the final note works too. I'm getting used to the sound!<br><br>
Finally, while recording tunes for the albums mentioned above, the song I went to do next was Giant Steps. I knew I wanted to re-harmonize it so I used this sound in the song which lent itself perfectly to this approach as it's full of this particular progression.<br type="_moz">Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4799172013-04-07T08:27:22-04:002013-04-07T08:27:22-04:004/7/13Played while watching Dexter's Tune from Awakenings. Thanks again Bill M.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4772772013-04-06T08:51:43-04:002013-04-06T08:51:43-04:004/6/13I don't have words for this right now. It's not particularly remarkable. It just is. You like?Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/16337222013-04-05T08:09:53-04:002013-04-05T08:09:53-04:004/5/13I started to play and it turned Spanish quickly. A nice surprise so I went with it. This is one of those I almost couldn't stop at the 1 minute mark. Hopefully you want more too.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4690362013-04-04T08:44:08-04:002022-02-06T09:13:11-05:004/4/13Ah, to run free and loose.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4611512013-04-03T07:53:20-04:002013-04-03T07:53:20-04:004/3/13A little fun in the key of F.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4540002013-04-02T08:49:15-04:002013-04-02T08:49:15-04:004/2/13An Impressionistic piece today.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4462652013-04-01T08:58:27-04:002013-04-01T08:58:27-04:004/1/13 Hello all you April Fools! Okay, this is no joke - this piece today came out well. It's one of those difficult ones where I decide to move through chords at good pace, trying to make it interesting and not fall into ordinary or typical progressions. All without much coffee. I'm going to reward myself by making garlicky spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4430912013-03-31T08:36:09-04:002013-03-31T08:36:09-04:003/31/13A little minor song. Very sad - love it.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4417542013-03-30T09:07:00-04:002013-03-30T09:07:00-04:003/30/13I'm interested in recreating the concepts that went into my latest album pieces. Because of their spontaneously improvised nature, it's not easy to just consciously jump to that piece and play it. So, I make an abstract entry into the vibe of the recorded moment. This today was inspired by Like You Said and maybe a bit of Hide And Seek.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4355432013-03-29T09:02:50-04:002013-03-29T09:02:50-04:003/29/13This is fun. Just some straight ahead post-boppin' one line-in' kinda thing. I gravitated between F Major and D Major tonalities.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4295052013-03-28T08:48:38-04:002013-03-28T08:48:38-04:003/28/13Slow country gospel for a minute.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4199662013-03-27T08:46:54-04:002022-02-02T06:50:50-05:003/27/13This is a bass and horn stab kind of concept.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4111072013-03-26T08:23:50-04:002013-03-26T08:23:50-04:003/26/13Jazz Blues. the first EMCoJ entry for members only. Thanks again and enjoy.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4048512013-03-25T08:44:40-04:002013-03-25T08:44:40-04:003/25/13A New Dawn.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/4008062013-03-24T08:35:12-04:002013-03-24T08:35:12-04:003/24/13I'm 57 today. How' bout a happy second line?Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3981252013-03-23T08:57:22-04:002013-03-23T08:57:22-04:003/23/13I guess I'm happy this morning. Still need more coffee.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3937952013-03-22T08:45:00-04:002013-03-22T08:45:00-04:003/22/13Another piano man has captured my ear this morning. Thanks William M.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3904562013-03-21T08:52:41-04:002013-03-21T08:52:41-04:003/21/13Folk song idea #318. I'm really not keeping count.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3869502013-03-20T08:42:01-04:002013-03-20T08:42:01-04:003/20/13Modern Jazz.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3835412013-03-19T08:54:32-04:002013-03-19T08:54:32-04:003/19/13Happy Birthday to a lost friend. Bye Mardy.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3799452013-03-18T08:39:18-04:002013-03-18T08:39:18-04:003/18/13I'm in Big Chord mode these days.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3777932013-03-17T09:12:24-04:002013-03-17T09:12:24-04:003/17/13Happy green beer day. I had one of my dev/o versions of You Go To My Head running through the noggin this morning. Here's yet another.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3759742013-03-16T08:59:30-04:002013-03-16T08:59:30-04:003/16/13Okay, I thought yesterday's was a bit shall we say slow. I mean I have to admit it might be the weakest entry yet. Now I could be getting myself in trouble here because this stuff is so subjective - it might be your favorite so who am I to ruin your party! Today, I think I've over-reacted. I could tell you how, but I think I would be digging a deeper hole. It's probably fine!Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3728702013-03-15T08:42:39-04:002013-03-15T08:42:39-04:003/15/13Contrapuntally speaking.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3694112013-03-14T07:51:31-04:002013-03-14T07:51:31-04:003/14/13Some Blues in F.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3657092013-03-13T08:36:43-04:002023-12-10T13:08:28-05:003/13/13A non-tonal piece was long overdue in my opinion. This is a simple idea. Start at the far edges and bring both hands in to the center, down to one note. Sort of like a long focus.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3620122013-03-12T07:55:00-04:002023-12-10T13:09:12-05:003/12/13Transition Part 2 - RebirthJoe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3585072013-03-11T08:15:46-04:002013-03-11T08:15:46-04:003/11/13Transition Part 1 - DeathJoe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3567142013-03-10T08:43:02-04:002013-03-10T08:43:02-04:003/10/13This was difficult - the time change and technically challenging without stretching or warming up. So, not perfectly clean but I got my idea across.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3551162013-03-09T08:37:56-05:002013-03-09T08:37:56-05:003/9/13D diatonic doodling.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3522512013-03-08T08:29:10-05:002023-12-10T13:08:30-05:003/8/13So there's no way I would come up with a tune like this if I hadn't started in a less than routine key. This is in B.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/642472013-03-07T08:56:20-05:002013-03-07T08:56:20-05:003/7/131 - 4 funky time.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3464562013-03-06T08:47:44-05:002013-03-06T08:47:44-05:003/6/13Quiet Country.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3431192013-03-05T08:44:59-05:002013-03-05T08:44:59-05:003/5/13Randomness.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3399012013-03-04T08:22:56-05:002022-02-13T10:32:35-05:003/4/13Zen-likeJoe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3384232013-03-03T09:15:16-05:002013-03-03T09:15:16-05:003/3/13Oh Boy!! Running late today. In a rush and the tune reflects that spirit. It also breaks my 1 minute rule and is an extra second long. I didn't have the heart to speed it up to fit.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3373002013-03-02T08:45:33-05:002013-03-02T08:45:33-05:003/2/13Go man, go. Into the harmonic forest - find your way.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3354322013-03-01T08:53:47-05:002013-03-01T08:53:47-05:003/1/13Happy palindrome day. The first 3 or 4 notes of this melody came to me and I took off on it.Joe Heinemanntag:joeheinemann.com,2005:Post/3331082013-02-28T08:12:42-05:002013-02-28T08:12:42-05:002/28/13On-off......on-off......on-off. Yeah, some on-off's today - fun.Joe Heinemann