Finding a Healthy Source of Musical Inspiration

Hey Improvisers!

Where do you go for musical inspiration? What motivates you to sit down and play your favorite music? What gets you excited about practicing new stuff?

The key is to find a source of inspiration that motivates you without making you feel overwhelmed or not “good enough.”

I’m delighted to report that the Online Piano Recital that my students and I are showcasing this month is providing a fun, emotionally healthy source of inspiration in this way. Although there are 19 recital videos on the KeyboardImprov YouTube channel so far, I’m highlighting 4 of them here so you don’t get overwhelmed by all the wonderful playing. Here they are:

Although you can’t tell from this video, Diana Shaffner has only been playing piano for a little over a year. She’s learned a lot about chords and scales in a fun way that’s integrated with improvising. Here’s an improvisatory piece she has composed, titled “Flowing Joy.

Jamie Hillman has been playing music for years, and it’s all coming together for him in a great way as you can hear on this recording. He’s improvising in his beautiful, unique style on Yiruma’s famous “River Flows In You.”

Rachel Pobi loves jazz and is currently learning how to play ballads in a way that includes various pianistic textures, instead of merely playing block chords under the melody. Check out how she does this on Horace Silver’s jazz ballad “Peace.”

Dan Roth enjoys playing rock, pop, and jazz, and is featured here playing a bluesy composition of his called “Walking The High Line With You.”

“Bravo” to all the performers, and I hope that listening to their wonderful performances will inspire you with your own music this week!

Ron

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