Its all about holding onto your dream, in this case, music, when times seem toughest. 'Emotional Playing ......'

Do you ever suffer 'musician's block'? Have you ever felt inadequate? Have you been stuck for ideas, or tried to create and nothing seems to come out? Its a 'war' inside one's own mind.  Perfectionism, lack of time, 'I'm not good enough' …. excuses abound …. eventually negative feelings can creep in  and override that 'dream', whatever it may be, [in this case music]. Frustration can creep in and 'musician's block' rears its ugly head.

Such thoughts may be reinforced, as one gets out of practice and the skills one gained eventually weaken ….. one feels like they need to start all over again; just as I did, when poor health intervened in my 'journey' and I felt that no progress had been made; that I had to start all over again; the 'fun' had been lost. …………….. My original goal: to enjoy, to escape, to heal, and to feel with music - my outlet-  had become a source of frustration. Maybe others can relate to such feelings?

Musicians are often described as quite emotionally sensitive people, whom are able to push out such emotions into, and through their music -  and it is these internal feelings that make a difference - it doesn't have to be 'perfect' - it is a journey of story-telling and of transporting ourselves and others away. This was my 'journey' and journeys can be 'rocky roads'.  

Musicians are story tellers with music, and not just with words - and it doesn't need to be 'perfect', creativity can never be 'perfect'.
- we feel and inject  pain, anger, sadness, happiness, and beauty, we reveal the emotions into the world of sound, transporting ourselves and other people into this 'world', often transcending what is 'technically correct' - yes, technique  is important too, but we try to bring it from the heart as well.

Music is my outlet. Yours too?

Whatever one's goal is; whether its for fun or to become famous (ummmm, lol), or to feel lost and escape the world of 'reality' for awhile… it is your dream, as long as it is a passion and it remains fun 

Some dear friends on SoundCloud encouraged me to keep going and I also watched some great videos about 'emotional playing' and learning how to relax into one's music without being overly self-critical. What also inspired me, in knowing that I would never become a 'concert great' :-), ... was that some great composers who achieve such passion and connect through 'emotional playing', are also famous for bad technique and playing wrong notes :-)

So - This is my renewed attempts - its a - Megs 'starting' again piece, a WIP [work in progress] and it brought me great comfort to know that I could once again, sit down at the piano and play at least; to rediscover the energy and satisfaction. To learn to be kinder on myself, to be patient and to know that we don't have to be 'perfect'  in creativity

- and most importantly to have fun in doing so! :-)

NOTE: This piece will also be worked on further and transformed into an orchestrated version with John Styles and Matt Baker, please stay tuned ….

Composer: Megan McCarthy
Solo Piano: Megan McCarthy
Mastered by: John Styles (OneVision CrossWorlds)

Hold Onto The Dream - Megs McCarthy (Producer: John Styles)

Leuca

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation!

.Goodbye ....(flute by Milco Huisman )

Journey of the Heart

Alone In The Night

A Piece of Beethoven

And Now We're Free

At the moment, I am in the middle of various stages in my life. I've sold my business & am embarking on a full time music career. I'm also in the process of shifting houses to an area a few 100 kilometres away, so everything feels like shifting ice underneath my feet. The phrase "Find your way" came to me as I sat at the piano for this improvisation & here is the result.

Find Your Way

Piano

Video: https://youtu.be/Hkwc-CXJ0Oo
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For my mom who introduced me to the beauty in sounds and colours. For my father, who shaped my diverse musical tastes and pushed me into improvising. For my husband who inspired me to come back to music and keep going no matter what challenges I might face. And for my amazing children, who I love and hope to pass this tradition to...

These past months have been challenging for all. I've been into my musical cave working on my upcoming album - the most challenging album we've ever attempted to produce. Almost all the recordings are done: Hang, drums and other percussion, piano and cello, even vocal for some tracks. What is left is to finish all the vocal recordings, hopefully, next week. This album will feature Phil DiMercurio on the drums, Yamaha artist Yoed Nir on cello and Canadian singer-songwriter Alexa Ray on most of the vocals. And then it will all be mixed by Grammy-featured Matthew Shell. Such a cool lineup and we all hope that you will enjoy this album when it goes out on Halloween. The name is "Abracadabra!" and it's full of magic, enchanting spells and mysterious witchcraft. Stay tuned :)

Liebestraume No 3 (F. Liszt). Performed by Milana

Composer: DANIELYAN ASHOT MAKICHEVICH (IPI NAME 00855552512), UNITED STATES BMI.

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Introspective View

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Ashot Danielyan - Introspective View

Covid 19 has had a worldwide impact. The obvious statistic are those that have been infected & those that have died. Job losses, lockdowns & isolation have also taken a toll on people all over the planet. As a musician now unable to perform live & earn my living, I have turned to my main instrument, the piano, for an outpouring of emotion. This piece entitled "Struggle", is a piano improvisation during these unprecedented times.

Struggle

I started off learning piano at around 6 years old, but only realised my ear for music when I could pick out melodies I heard on the radio & from then on I started writing my own music & playing long into the night, to the point where my parents told me to stop so they could go to sleep!
In my teenage years I joined bands & learnt basically on the fly how to work as a group. Once I realised that keyboards were not as portable & able to be played on beaches / around campfires, I taught myself guitar. By adding drums, harmonica & bass to my arsenal, the stage was set for a fully working band to record in my garage. Since setting up my home studio, I love recording a tune each week & especially love collaborating with all the extremely talented musicians on soundcloud. I'm a full time musician, with many different hats in the music community. Including songwriter, composer, live musician & blog writer.

If you are interested in my electronic page, then visit https://soundcloud.com/electro-pup

Check out my blog at http://simon353.wordpress.com/

Struggle

Simon Reich