Well, I for one am agog. I know people who improvise just making stuff up, but it doesn't generally sound like these. ? I'd love to have you write more about what you do and HOW. Are these recordings your first "take", or do you noodle around with your general theme/feel for each one before you record? Some of the ones with the Bach invention sort of feel, I just don't "get" how you'd write on the fly...do you jot down at least a series of chords you are moving through or just go by the seat of your pants? I wish I had these skills.

In principle I find something melody or chord or whatever that sounds good and then I let it stimulate me further. And then I now and then jump just randomly to something new when I play and take that something new as a starting point for continuing improvising. So I just follow what my mind and ear says and that sounds somehow good and interesting and that interest stay and dont get boring. Chords are in my mind somehow ready - and also there I am ready for nice sounding interesting surprises.

And there is two ways how I start. 1. I just play something and continue from that. 2. I get some idea from my playing and stop and then start from that idea improvising. Of course I practise some scales etc for using them somehow later but that is not improvising but it is stuff for improvising.

I am very interested in this kind of improvising that I have done about 4 months now. I know now that I can just sit down just after waking up in the morning and start improvising and get good result through it. It is interesting and I am also interested in what actually happens in that process - besides I am many ways active in it. Yes - it is true - I can now start playing piano and begin improvising where ever I am.

That means - I think I can do at least one hour concerts with improvising with 4 x 15 minutes pieces - of course each of them different kind. And I am actually interested in such projects now.

This is some real nice stuff. And it's inspired me to post some of my own improvising. Last night I bought a microphone.

You say you follow what your mind and ear say. I find that when I improvise, there are three components that contribute to the output:

1. Theory-- questions like: Do I want to go to the relative minor? How would a tritone chord change sound? Nothing very advanced.

2. Sound-- the obvious component. You hear what you've just done, and it influences what you do next.

3. Touch-- I'm surprised how much of my improvising is driven by the feeling of the keys. It's a very tactile experience, and often I'm looking for a chord or a melody that literally just "feels right" under my hands.

For me, Theory probably contributes 10%; Sound and Touch each 45%. How about for you? What other factors do you think influence your playing? Does the lighting and atmosphere of the room affect the result? Your internal mood? What about the music you've been listening to recently?

-Jason

Nice to hear your vision. I have not thought such element as touch and now realize that it actually is in general maybe most important thing of piano playing how you touch claviature when you play - how you touch makes your personal style - it is like your fingerprint in piano playing. And it is really very important mediating aspect to get something that feels and sounds good. And I see that it is much easier to get chopin-like pearl-like sounds than rachmaninoff-like rich and effective chords that besides how many and what individual notes there is depends also how you touch claviature - where is weight and what kind of touch is concerning individual notes.

So we see it really question of general questions of piano playing when improvising. But still for me is the leading idea of sounding good and interesting when improvising and that aspect is more or less in foreground and even now and then lost when playing - it is both interesting and nice that it is so that I must try to find it back when i lose it - and it is really kind of thread to my mind from my playing - so it is very expressive aspect of playing - kind of sound of my mind. In that way I believe improvising is very personal thing - not just playing compositions that some other people have done. In that way improvising is at best even higher art than ordinary division one compose another plays it.

I dont know if surroundings and what I have just heard influnces improvising - surely somehow but essential is still following what my mind and ear say when improvising.

This is improvisation that I made at once without any playing just after I woke up and took breakfast - enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nudKh9HIICo

This is new piano impression to painting. And subscribe into my youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4wrAijqCH8

New soft jazz improvisation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAvEggHNHMk

Two creative acts 29.8.2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a84xw6LF-l4

My 2 hour 45 minute 2 DVD Piano Improvisation Course "Making It Up" will finally answer many questions about Improvisation. You have to work at it a lot.
Go to Google Videos: YouTube Making it Up Piano Improvistaion Course. Dr Bob

Umm... will "finally answer many questions about Improvisation"? Have there been many questions which we've all been anxiously awaiting to be finally answered? Does anyone think a beginning improviser wouldn't have to "work at it a lot"? Is the "you" here a direct reference to PianoImproviser?

Or is this a sort of random promotion that's been inserted into this thread?


-Jason

Hi Jason

For over 30 years I have been teaching this subject - and most students and pianists find improvisation very difficult. The questions that hundreds have asked over many years have been "asnwered" af far as is possible, though the answers are not easy. The "you" refers to anyone - even me. Perhaps I should have written "It takes a lot of work".
Cheers
Dr Bob

Dr. Bob-

No problem. I certainly agree that improvising is a skill that many students find difficult, and the more you can get people to spontaneously create, the better. So good luck to you!


-Jason

Improvisation is composing with a six-second time limit (like bull riding.) Composition is improvising with a six-year time limit (like bull raising.)

I suppose you could learn bull-riding. People do it for a living at Rodeos. You can also learn to Improvise - those with greater creative imaginations may do it better - but everyone can learn the basic skills. And, I think, it is more interesting than bull-riding - and lasts longer.
Dr Bob

Well - I think improvising is spontaneous fast composing and so as best very fresh and very refreshing both to improviser and listener - it´s kind of tight-rope walking with exception to find first that rope and then stay on it - from the beginning to the end of that rope. And those ropes are every time different and also ways of finding those ropes are different. And staying on that rope is to listening it and not consciously trying to improvise. So you don´t essentially improvise - you essentially listen and follow it spontaneously. Technic and all such things are following it in a way automatically. But first you have to get that technic and that are you doing best with playing and also listening classical piano music. Classical music is king´s road to improvising because in classical pianomusic is all that is involved in all other pianomusic. And also I think learning say jazz scales and playing them one after another is not improvising - it is just pasting jasz scales and tricks one after another. Just find and develope your own scales for finding your OWN language to improvise.

Difficult - sure - extreme. But what could be more challenging that reaching towards most difficult and most rich way of doing things - that is surely piano imprpovising with your own improvising language. Why piano - why not other instruments. Because piano is most expressive and most manysided of any instruments. Listen for example in youtube how old Vladimir Horowitz is using grand piano and what kind of things he found in piano. He was just GREAT - extremely good.

Nice moments in your improvising road dear friends.

Jussi

New improvisation to painting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbtgKxtlol8

This I personally like very much - new improvisation



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEFcAumAqLY

read this - my idea of Ethical-realistic party

http://jussivaaralathoughts.blogspot.com/2009/09/ethical-realistic-party.html

comments jussi.vaarala@gmail.com

new improvisation to painting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrJfNK2cw9A

Improvising in the middle of piece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8ouWivRfY

Singing with My Piano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSGbcGdK2c

having fun

soft improvisation at night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrXBXfuB_10