Picking Up the Pieces: A Piano Practice Journal

February practices are going pretty well, particularly considering I haven't had as much time for piano this month. I've done a pretty good job of balancing things, and my percentage goals have guaranteed that I would spend more time on You Are My Sunshine and Amazing Grace -- two songs that I fiddle around with now and then, each time thinking, "One of these days I need to really work on this." This morning I focused on Amazing Grace. Here is a video where I explore some of my improv ideas. I'm having so much fun.

When I first started my piano journey of 2024, I thought I wanted to learn jazz theory and, by extension, jazz. I thought my big goal was to learn to develop jazz arrangements from lead sheets. I wanted to play blues as well, but, in my mind, “jazz” and “blues” were kind of the same thing. All I knew was that primarily wanted to play jazz standards in the style of Bill Evans. Or Thelonious Monk. Since then, I’ve discovered a few things about myself that I didn’t know. Jazz Isn't Really for Me One is that I don’t love jazz. It’s not that I hate jazz, because I don’t. There are certain varieties of jazz that I love with a passion, but it’s the older versions (ragtime, stride, big band). But I’ve never liked the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin style of “crooner jazz.” I don’t really care for bebop. Famous jazz pianists like Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk were geniuses, but I had to admit to myself that I always found their music "interesting" and "intriguing" rather than...

 Last spring, I was at my parents' house for a few days, and I'd brought my little keyboard. The keyboard isn't great for actual piano practice, but it's wonderful for learning theory and styles. So, when I wasn't playing for my dad, I spent much of that weekend going through the Beginner/Intermediate course of "Amazing Grace" on Piano With Jonny,  Here is a video of me playing for my dad after a day of going through the course lessons. Later (as in recently), I checked out the Intermediate/Advanced version. It's much more difficult, but I seem to be getting it. I still have some work to do. I made this video yesterday morning, and I'm happy to say that I've improved since then, but I'm still not there yet. So enjoy this progress video. Warning: I ramble for a couple of minutes before I ever start playing anything.

When you're a pianist, it's good to have other pianists who can inspire you with their skills and style. For the past few months, Jonny May's video of Bare Necessities has been the one I've returned to again and again as I work on his wonderful arrangement. I want to be able to play that well, and I want to be able to play with that much enjoyment. I do enjoy playing, but I tend to adopt a "stern schoolmarm" face whenever I play, particularly if I'm having to concentrate hard on something (like Bare Necessities). I dream of one day being so laid-back with this piece that I can just look and feel happy and joyful as I play. Recently I discovered a new pianist: Matt Gerhard . He seems to be in Indiana, and I guess he plays for a church, though he's also put some music on Spotify. He's an organist and a pianist ... and oh, what a pianist! He play exactly the kind of soulful, exuberant gospel music that I want to play. I've been watching his video...

I did not see this coming. On Wednesday after work, I headed north to Brevard, NC, where my parents live. My mom was getting cataract surgery Thursday morning, and even though my sister lives here in Brevard, my mom wanted me here to stay with my dad while she was getting surgery. So I packed my laptop (so I could work remotely) and my 61-key Yamaha keyboard (so I could at least do some minor 7th and blues improvisation exercises). I got a good bit of work done (I had to), but I honestly didn't expect to get much done on piano. Boy, was I wrong. Looking for "Amazing Grace" I wanted to play "Amazing Grace" for my dad. Even though I can play it by ear, I wanted to find a good arrangement. I was looking ... and then it dawned on me that Piano With Jonny probably had one. Well, they have a whole course on how to play Amazing Grace in a gospel blues style! Not only that, but they have it in intermediate and advanced versions! My time to learn something new was limit...

I got carried away today—carried away into a wonderful state of consciousness where I lost all sense of time and just enjoyed being enveloped in the music. That tends to happen when I find myself with a grand piano, a Baptist hymnal, and a big, empty room with excellent acoustics. Actually, it doesn’t. I’ve been practicing at that same grand piano at that same Baptist church at lunchtime for a couple of years now. Rarely have I let myself lose track of time. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I know I need to be back at work by a certain time because if I’m not, I’ll have to work later than planned. Who wants to do that? Not me. Today I worked on a very tiny part of the Shostakovich , practicing for mastery of that one little tiny part. Spent a good half-hour or more on three not-very-complicated measures. Dug into the music, picked away at the layers, drilled in rhythms, and in the process played those three measures probably 60 or 70 times. That’s the way I like to practice. That ...