Just Piano Improv

D and F

Practicing at home instead of in my office, I’m hearing the windchimes outside, especially the notes F and G. Stay safe, everyone!

Windchimes on the Porch Outside

Derivative (Rachmaninov G major)

Derivative (Grande Valse)

I have a student who just played the Ginastera Danzas Criollas, and I was thinking of the beautiful third one. I was also thinking about an improvisation instruction I give my students: “if you play a wrong note, repeat it until it gets interesting.” Sorry about the out-of-tune piano…I’ll have it tuned soon!

Derivative (Ginastera)

One of my favorite parts of the day is walking my fourth grader to school. Today we walked mostly in silence, which means he mostly hummed quietly to himself the whole time. It was a drizzly, grey morning and I should have worn gloves. When I got back home my hands were cold, and I […]

Cold Hands Warming Up

It’s a new decade, and I’m coming back to this practice of uploading improvisations.  I’m recording at home, where there’s occasional traffic noise. As I was coming home from walking my fourth-grader to school, the Burgmuller Arabesque in a minor was running through my head, because I have a student working on it.He’s a music […]

02-10-20 Arabesque in d minor

9 of Cups

These are some of the chants that have been swirling around in my head since the march: Show me what democracy looks like/This is what democracy looks like The people united can never be divided/ La gente unida jamas sera vencida I say p***y, you say power/ p***y/power/p***y/power You’re orange/you’re gross/you lost the popular vote […]

Women’s March

Pinkies Only

Just short piano improvisations, sort of in the classical style, by pianist Jocelyn Swigger. No talk, no fuss.