Here's one of my favorites: I can't seem to stop listening to it myself. I've bothered to learn the first few pages of a couple classical pieces. (You might catch some of the chords I borrowed from another one later on in the journal.) Here I start by playing what I know of Clair de Lune and then use that to spring-board off, as it were, into improv inspired by it. I'm not sure quite what mood I was in at the time, but, even if I were to learn the rest of the piece, I'm also not sure I'll ever be quite so suited to improv off of the piece as well as this again.

Clair De Swoon

This was inspired by my then girlfriend who had just gotten all dolled up with a pretty haircut and beautiful curls. After taking a hot minute to find the sentiment (and almost falling into my usual minor moody keys) I found a descending scale of notes that I thought of as her curly locks cascading down like a waterfall.

I'm quite pleased with how it came out and even afterward fancied that I must have subconsciously derived influence from the rapid strings of Holst's "Jupiter, the bringer of Jovality." (Though by no means do I assume to claim the same kind of masterful work.)

P.S. We're still friends ╎)

Beautiful Girl; Beautiful Curls

I just can't seem to get away from rolling chords. I blame Martin O'Donnell; his "Difference for Darkness" has remained my favorite piece to play for years. (Painting by Gustave Dore.)

I wanted to use a painting called "Classical Portrait Of Young Girl In Victorian Dress" by
Karen Whitworth (https://goo.gl/szoF1w), but I'm not sure how to ask/pay for the right to use it.

Propensity

Fueled by a few frustrating interruptions and perhaps the onset of a cold I ended up playing a rather rambunctious battle-like improv. I'm particularly pleased with the ending; I feel like my best improv inspires me to keep toying with the melody even after I've left the piano which this one did with humming, whistling, and other embarrassing noises.

Voice Memos

SubterFugue

I spent much of this improvisation trying to find the keys that I wanted to play after the lead-in of the melody. This lead to plenty of variations before I finally found the chord that I was looking for.

I can't quite actually include it "all": sometimes important people in my life come up and talk to me while I'm playing. Those account for the cuts that you hear in this journal. 

Painting Credit: "Troika Pursued by Wolves" by Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski

Evening Snow

You are doing well if you can be content in all things, even better if your can be joyful in all things. I'm not the best at either of those things, but I was feeling it with a pleasant sense of looking forward to the immediate happenings: a White Elephant gift exchange with friends.

Artwork: Maxfield parrish contentment 1927

Cold Front

This is an older one from not too long after I first started recording my improvs. I borrow some familiar melodies from my favorite composer and use those to spring-board into my own piece: exploring for myself an intruding chord progression-melody combination  with warm-cold and quite-loud variations.

Locked Away

This is a collection of some of my "piano journals," improvisations recorded on my phone that often capture the mood I'm in. For me improvisation is a constant struggle between what I want to play and how well my fingers know where to go. I like to play from the heart and my favorite key is d minor.

George