Boring piano improvisation

 Piano improvisation is how I explore emotions and atmosphere. Inspired by the world of Studio Ghibli, I wanted to play a simple improvisation that - at times - could resemble the atmosphere of their films. I love Studio Ghibli's movies.  Well, I don't watch them anymore, but when my kids were little, I watched almost all of them. Studio Ghibli's films are true escapist works of art that you want to dive into. The atmosphere reminds me of my own early childhood, when anything seemed possible in my fantasy world.

 That’s what we did as children, didn’t we? We stared endlessly at a beetle, and nothing seemed as significant as that beetle, scurrying in the sand. It knew where it was going. The pale grains of sand hissed beneath its strange black spiked legs. I can’t see close enough anymore to watch that beetle. So, I listen to something nearby. It’s almost the same thing. A chord. I just realized that a chord is made up of multiple simultaneous sounds. It’s a chord because it resonates. Sure, you could try to write a chord on a staff, but it won’t resonate there. A chord must be played. Can only two chords be played? Yes, if no one else is listening. Let’s curl up. Let’s watch the beetle as it scurries in the sand.

I went to return bottles. The return machine at Lidl was broken. It played a discouraging yet beautiful melody: D-C. As I stood there, this descending whole-tone melody began to feel absolute. That’s probably its intention. It’s like the end of everything. D-C sounds like a V-I cadence (G-C) because D can easily be heard as a G chord. However, the message of the bottle return melody is heavier than G-C. Where G-C moves like a knight on a chessboard, D-C strips away hope. This is the end, my only friend. The end. The melodic line can also be interpreted as a modulation, a change in key. In past Eurovision Song Contests, modulations always moved upward, lifting the mood. Why should the mood be lifted? Is there something wrong with the starting point? Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) did the opposite: in his first piano concerto, the orchestra hammers the main theme into your consciousness in D-flat major, grandly and at length. The piano then picks it up immediately in C major, a step lower....

My YouTube channel is two years old, according to YouTube. Here is a playlist with my videos, which are no longer than two minutes. Enjoy! Here is the newest short video:

It's New Year! To celebrate it, I don't play old music but new. Improvised.