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  4. Improv Preludes for piano

  • Improv Preludes for piano

    G
    G

    Would like your impressions please:

    Improv Prelude No 1: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/Moonlight.mp3


    Improv Prelude No 2: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/improv%204.mp3

    Improv Prelude No 3: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/Improv%20Prelude%20no%203.mp3


     
  • G
    G

    I encourage your comments. Thanks for taking the time.
  • M
    M

    Guy -

    I'm a jazz pianist, too, so I get where you're coming from, and I dig the progressions.  My favorite thing about the pieces is how pure the vibes are; they have a singular thing to say, and they say them.  This is also my biggest criticism of them.  If you didn't know these pieces at all, and someone began playing them from some middle point in the pieces, you wouldn't have an inherent idea of where you were in the piece; no clear "orienting" vibe.   "Is this the beginning? Somewhere in the middle?"  I would enjoy them more if they had more clear developmental arc.  You give away some of that really cool improv stuff too early, I feel.  Draw the listener in with some clearer, simpler subjects, and when they're hooked, then swirl them around for a while, and set them back down. 

    Now, if you goal was to induce that sort of trascendental, almost free-association-like alpha state, I'd say don't change a note.  But I suspect you "hear" more in the pieces than most of us do at the first few (several?) listenings?

    In any case, great vibe.  Solid.

    _Mike
  • G
    G

    Thanks for your comment Mike.

    I agree. I was just excited about the vibe, as you say, especially now that we have a decent piano with all the velo, this was my first step and had the intention to pushing it further through out various ways. You are absolutely right about your comment, in fact, in one of these improv I spliced off the first part I didn't like. But your comment is very constructive so I do appreciate it. And that's why I was looking for feedback. Great to have this kind of feedback.  I'd like to orchestrate this genre and give it a nice orchestral color, but that will be at another level.
  • W
    W

     I don't think these need a beginning, middle, end.  More and more I dislike the concept everything needs a beginning, middle and end.    Anyway, these are free form and sound very good as they are.  Are those played each entirely in one real-time take?  I really like the mellow feeling and the harmony has enough complexity to give it some spice.   
  • G
    G

    Thanks William,

    I tried as I have tried before to structure this genre, to be honest, although it gains in organization it looses something essential about the genre. My most recent attempt was to maintain a motif through out, sort of like a Chopin prelude, that worked well, I think I'd be content with that for now. I'm trying to think as least as possible when doing this and when you start to think while improvising, at least for me, the magic is gone. I still strive for a structured well improvised piece but may take more practice. I also prefer not to use a defined chord pattern, like from a song or something, I prefer to choose on the spot what chord to play.

    They are not quite one take recordings and in real time, I do some tweaking mainly with the pedaling, and some unpleasant accents here and there, on some pieces if I feel it drags, I may tweak the tempo as well. But I done this live a lot of the time, so I'm use to it.
  • G
    G

    So I decided to compromise, I don't want to over think this genre by structuring it too much, so for now I'm going to make them prelude like, with a developed idea through out, as simple as that. I will call them "Improv Preludes".


    I kept the one people seem to like more and did a second where this motivic idea is reinforced.


    Improv Prelude No 1: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/Moonlight.mp3


    Improv Prelude No 2: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/improv%204.mp3

    Improv Prelude No 3: http://www.guybacos.com/audio/Improv%20Prelude%20no%203.mp3


    Make sense?
  • M
    M

    Much better.  William's right not everything needs a beginning, middle, and end; but it needs a developmental structure of SOME kind.  Music is a language, and without structure, you aren't saying anything, you're just spouting words.  With these, I could hear the story; feel the journey.

    _Mike
  • PaulP Paul moved this topic from Orchestration & Composition on