Piano improv

[Facade]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/58232966/pianoimprovemp3.mp3
so ive been working on learning scales so i can improv and this is what i have so far what do you think i need work on etc?

[LoreRD]

Ah, another improv artist (or up-and-coming artist) Nice to see more of us!

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This is a decent start, but there are a few things you should work on to improve:

1. Modulate your dynamic. If you vary the way you hit the notes and vary how loud they are, you can get all sorts of emotions out of your music. Right now it's sort of the same all throughout, which makes the emotion feel kinda flat (like a synthesized piano)

2. Work on improving your melody. It would really sound awesome if you could make it more flowing and natural to the ears. Notes with too-random placements, and ignore the beat and rhythm entirely, distract from whatever harmony and melody you had going. Ways to improve this are practicing scales a BUNCH and similar exercises.

3. The LH and RH should fit better together. If you imagine the two hands as having a dialogue: LH starts with a melodic line and the RH "answers" in harmony/melody. It's kind of hard to say exactly "what sounds good" in this regard, so you'll have to be the judge of that. Just that this is my suggestion for a mindset to how the RH and LH move. They should NOT be viewed as two dialogues having two different conversations at opposite ends of a room (which is what parts of this improv sounded like). Note that this mindset (obviously) doesn't exclude you from playing both at the same time, it's just that this is important when you're playing with a "separate RH-separate LH" idea (which is what you did with a lot of your improv)

I consider myself a around-average piano-improv-player so feel free to look at what I've recorded. Here's an example: http://soundcloud.com/lorerd/fluttershy-piano-improvisation

The best thing I can suggest is listening to a lot of musicians who play improv. Some good suggestions would be PonyVisation (http://www.youtube.com/user/PonyVisation) and Kyle Landry (http://www.youtube.com/user/kylelandry).

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There were a number of parts that I quite liked in your improvisation and wish you the best of luck with future improvisations!
Also, feel free to ask questions if you have more or if anything was unclear

[NewWorldMare]

Yay, more piano improv people!

I agree with all LoreRD said, and don't really have much to add in terms of technique. On the technical (as in equipment) side of things:

It sounds like you're using an electric piano. If so, you should invest in a sustain pedal (assuming you've got some way to connect it up). Parts of the piece you linked could use it. Having a sustain makes legato easier and in general allows you to be more expressive.

Also, if the piano you're using has velocity sensing at all, make sure it's on. Like LoreRD said, the dynamics were pretty flat, and it's not your fault.

How are you getting the sound into your computer? MIDI or sound output?

ofc, if you're using a real piano, my apologies, and none of this applies.

I'll give myself a plug too It's a little shorter than the one LoreRD linked, and more planned out. It's also recorded on an electronic piano, so you can see what one of those can sound like.

http://soundcloud.com/newworldmare/pirl-piano-in-real-life

@LoreRD: damn! I really enjoyed that improvisation of yours. Followed!

[Facade]

thanks guys as for the velocity issue i can really do anything cause my midi keyboard doesnt have it :/
as for getting the sound im going Midi -> FL -> nexus plugin with piano preset -> edison

[NewWorldMare]

Hmm. Well, that's too bad. Good luck with your improvisation!

[Facade]

thanks im goong to try to learn more scales and work on transitions

[LunchBagMusic]

Improvisation used to be the whole reason people would listen to artists. You could go to a performance and know that no-one else will ever hear that exact song again. It's beautiful and sadly lost in this day of computerised music (No offence to you guys).

When you do improvise, its important to think carefully about the scale you are using. Each note in that scale defines that scale, and so the overall mood of the piece. However as you look deeper into the scale, There are little nooks and crevices that you can use in different ways to create different colours while still in the same scale.

Same for chords and progressions/cadences.

Also velocity. Velocity is a must so that people don't think they're listening to a two year old mess around.

Good start, it's unique and I like it

[Matthew N.]

Improvisation used to be the whole reason people would listen to artists. You could go to a performance and know that no-one else will ever hear that exact song again. It's beautiful and sadly lost in this day of computerised music (No offence to you guys).

Electronic music is not simple to make, and it does require much more preparation in the first place to make it sound good and be liked by many. Improvs are... well, improvised, and they don't need as much thought to be given the structure as a whole - it's all done on the run. People like me spend days trying to achieve sounds that they are comfortable with.

And no, I am not saying that improvs are either this or that. Both electronic (or as you put it yourself: "computerised") and improvs of all sort require a lot of skill.

[LunchBagMusic]

Electronic music is not simple to make, and it does require much more preparation in the first place to make it sound good and be liked by many. Improvs are... well, improvised, and they don't need as much thought to be given the structure as a whole - it's all done on the run. People like me spend days trying to achieve sounds that they are comfortable with.

And no, I am not saying that improvs are either this or that. Both electronic (or as you put it yourself: "computerised") and improvs of all sort require a lot of skill.

I'm not saying that you guys don't put effort into your songs. I spend enough time on here to understand that.

EDIT

Improvs are... well, improvised, and they don't need as much thought to be given the structure as a whole

There you are actually wrong. A bit of improvisation is "let's put that note there because reasons"

But a lot of it is the bounce. Someone will play something that they feel in the music. Do you ever listen to songs and think a melody that would fit perfectly in with it?

That's improvisation

Someone will play that feeling and someone else will feel it and run with it. They'll make it their own and then the song is a multi-dimensional orgy of ideas.

Then there's the structure that you feel improvisation lacks. Listen to good improvisers*. Listen to the ideas that they create, recall, and expand on. Listen to the builds, the falls, the contours of the melody. The way the take the melody to new heights and incorporate other popular melodies into the improvisation. The rebellion against and submission to the key. Seriously I could go on.

Improvisers do structure their improvisations. They just have a lot less time to think about it and often the structure isn't one that is linear or traditional.

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*Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, etc. I'm talking Jazz here because it's the best example.

[GhostXb]

thanks guys as for the velocity issue i can really do anything cause my midi keyboard doesnt have it :/
as for getting the sound im going Midi -> FL -> nexus plugin with piano preset -> edison

I picked up my midi keyboard for like $90 from a local music store, which is the M-Audio KeyRig 49, it's just a 49 key midi controller with a portamento and modulation controller, it has velocity. I also have a Casio CTK-4000, which is a 61 key keyboard that I can also use as a midi controller. That also cost me like $90 from futureshop, and it also has velocity. A little investment can go a long way. Now go mow some lawns XD!

Update: Wow, after checking out the Casio CTK-4000 online, the average price for it is $150, some even going as high as $250, I got a damn good deal on it

[Facade]

thanks guys as for the velocity issue i can really do anything cause my midi keyboard doesnt have it :/
as for getting the sound im going Midi -> FL -> nexus plugin with piano preset -> edison

I picked up my midi keyboard for like $90 from a local music store, which is the M-Audio KeyRig 49, it's just a 49 key midi controller with a portamento and modulation controller, it has velocity. I also have a Casio CTK-4000, which is a 61 key keyboard that I can also use as a midi controller. That also cost me like $90 from futureshop, and it also has velocity. A little investment can go a long way. Now go mow some lawns XD!

Update: Wow, after checking out the Casio CTK-4000 online, the average price for it is $150, some even going as high as $250, I got a damn good deal on it

I've got the ctk-700 its nice and works well but it doesn't have a whole lot of features just keys