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September So Far

This week at the piano has been… unexpected. I didn’t set clear goals for September—life was too busy (I wrote about that here). I vaguely planned to prepare for my assisted-living performance during the first week of September, but I wasn’t feeling great physically or emotionally, so I canceled it. That left my September piano goals in limbo, but here’s what I’ve been working on anyway.

Playing Liszt (with emphasis on "playing")

I’ve now put over 100 hours into Liszt’s “Liebesträume No. 3,” and it’s finally feeling like a comfortable old pair of jeans. I keep meaning to revisit recordings to check my interpretation, but I just love sitting down to play it my way. I’ve listened to hours of “Liebesträume” over the years, especially this past year, so I think my version is just fine. So there.

Back to Bare Necessities!

This was not planned. I guess I thought I'd try to get “Bare Necessities” back to performance level for the recital, but there was no way. Still, I've continued to work on it most days for just 20 or so minutes. And it's coming along! If I were to play at the assisted-living facility today, I think I could deliver a pretty good rendition of this piece.

St. Louis Blues and G Minor Blues Improv

I’ve mastered Jonny’s St. Louis Blues Challenge arrangement, but the goal was never just to play the written music. Now I’m (1) adding the bridge, which isn’t in the challenge, and (2) honing my G minor improv skills with Piano With Jonny’s G Blues Improvisation course.

Getting in Touch with My Rock 'n' Roll Self

Chuck Leavell's performance lit a fire in me! I've been learning different songs/chord progressions by ear and then just jamming on the piano using Chuck's bluesy rock 'n' roll style. Yesterday, I jammed on “Dead Sea” by The Lumineers, and today I revisited “Of Heroes Who Never Die,” a song I wrote in high school in the late 1980s. Here’s a short clip of my early (and not very bluesy) take on “Dead Sea,” played by ear.

I've done a lot more since this video and hope to make a new video soon. I'll also plan to post "Heroes" at some point.

America the Beautiful + Maintenance Pieces

I’m still refining “America the Beautiful,” which isn’t quite where I want it, alongside other maintenance pieces. Time is tight, so I’m making the most of every little practice session I can.

All in all, it hasn't been a bad month for piano. I'm staying true to what I wrote in The Tyranny of the Dots and spending more time playing by ear and just improvising. Listening to myself play ... and liking what I hear! Life is good when you can play the piano.

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