Piano Journeys

This song is an attempt to have a unique, quirky feel to it, unlike most of my other pieces.

After the performance was done (which was on a single take), I realized I might have been influenced by a new Tori Amos song I heard yesterday. Nothing specific, but perhaps her quirky creativity inspired me somehow, hence the title.

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This piece features a driving beat on a single note accompanied by chords every few beats, and is more about rhythm than anything else.

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A simple piece that focuses on movement in the left hand.

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In this song rather than focus on atmosphere, I tried to develop a melody.

Because I forgot to turn off Wifi on my phone when recording, I got static during one part and had to cut around 20 seconds from 0:50, but I tried to keep the transition smooth.

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This piece is just about trying to get energy out and into the piano, into the world, and that energy is mostly in the form of movement.

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A tender, nostalgic piece that might be a good background piece for a movie about young romance.

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In this song I didn't hesitate to use many of my traditional phrases and chords, but instead focused on playing with them emotion, and telling a story.

Sometimes the song title hits me midway through playing, but this time I had to listen to the recording all the way through before it struck me.

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An amelodic piece build off cascading 9th chords (with other chords thrown in). I think of this more of background music for a movie.

Listening to it moment-to-moment isn't necessarily engaging, but my hope is that by the end you feel like you experienced something different, some sort of cryptic story.

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I was listening to a good interview of the musician Sting (on Rick Beato's YouTube channel) and he said he loved 3/4 time, so I decided to make today's composition in mostly 3/4.

It ended up with a nice melodic piece that (to me) invokes rolling country fields.

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A song where I tried to really put some thought and feeling into the chord structure. There's a simple melody that things are built off, but the chords are the focus.

For this song I did a little pre-practice and recording (roughly 20 minutes), so perhaps the overall quality or at least compositional complexity is a bit higher than average.

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My attempt at a jazzy, offbeat piece.

Partway through I realized I was being influenced by the classic "Take Five" song, so I decided to name this 変取五, which is formed from the Japanese characters for "strange" "take" and "five".

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I intended to upload this yesterday, but mysteriously it disappeared, so uploading it again.

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In this piece I tried to give a feeling of nostalgia, not unlike that felt towards an old pair of well-worn shoes.

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A short, jazzy improv with only the right hand.

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Hakuchuumu (白昼夢) means something like a dream except we experience it while still awake, something like a reverie.

And yes, this was likely partially inspired by Debussy's Reverie (:

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A song's whose primary goal was stay quiet and peaceful (and not wake someone sleeping in a nearby room). The soft pedal (left mode pedal) was pressed down the entire time.

I was likely inspired by those songs you hear when watching videos of beautiful scenery.

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In this song I ended up developing a simple chord progression in a style that is somewhat rare for me, that I can only call "soulful" or perhaps blues-influenced.

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A piece characterized by nearly endless spiraling runs in both hands, creating a mysterious atmosphere that leads to the unknown.

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A complex, amelodic, epic piece that was intended as the opposite of my last piece (which tried hard to fit a certain mold).

Maybe there's a bit of Debussy influence in it?

This piece came in in just around 6 minutes, which is one of the longest pieces I've recorded in some time.

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For a change of pace: this is my quick attempt a Fugue inspired by Bach's works, however since it is made on the fly and not composed properly like a real Fugue, I call it a "Faux Fugue".

I hope to try more pieces like this in the future, and hopefully I can learn to more masterfully make a Fugue-like sound.

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In this episode I'd like to introduce a new instrument to change things up a little: a Harp.

My harp skill is a bit rudimentary, but if I just think it's a piano I'm able to do some basic things.

I've managed to do a duet here with Piano + Harp, recording both at the same time. Position-wise it's a bit awkward, but maybe next time I'll try to hold it a bit differently.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

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A frenetic jazz piece that showcases fast movement in the right hand and funky rhythms in the left.

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For a change, rather than a one-shot improv piece I tried to do some pre-composition before recording, and then do a few takes to see if I can gradually improve the result. While this can result more structured (and potentially musical) melodies, it's somewhat time-consuming.

Partway through I realized that this style was influenced by some classical piece(s) I had practiced in the past, but not sure off hand which.

In any case, I always appreciate feedback on which songs you like. Please email me at jdpianojourneys@gmail.com for any feedback.

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A bright, peaceful melody with a bit of disturbance here and there.

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A wistful, nostalgic piece.

I think the fact my piano is slightly out of tune actually helps the atmosphere on this one.

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A energetic piece with a tight structure, inspired by classic David Benoit works.

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I'll just let the music speak for this one.

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A complex, creative piece that switches from a simple intro to a series of thick, rich chords around one-third through.

While I made a few slip-ups and considered stopping partway through, I decided to keep going and I was very happy with how it turned out.

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A simple piece that is a weird mix of honkey-tonk and jazz.

This piece is much more structured than my average piece (and for a change I used no pedal!)

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An atmospheric piece that was inspired by some of Debussy's works. Recorded in a single take (as with most of the works on here.)

I accidentally had the microphone level a bit too high so apologies if some of the louder stuff is a little distorted. (Overall the volume level should be close to that of the last piece though.)

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A short, sweet piece with a feeling of nostalgia that transitions between high and mid-low registers of the piano.

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A very newagey melody that, after I listened to it, is clearly influenced by early Yanni works.

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I piece without a theme when I was feeling especially creative. Sometimes (perhaps often?) even I don't know where these melodies will go until I try to play them.

Named "Take Four" because when I looked at the recorder, the time was exactly 4:00 (though a few empty seconds got shaved off this when I prepared the final file).

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A complex atonal piece that is more about atmosphere than any clear melody lines. I composed this with the feeling of being background music for some sort of movie.

I haven't done many pieces like this and am curious how it sounds. Let me know what you think.

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I'm really happy to have made it to episode 50! Thank you very much to all the listeners who have checked out this podcast.

I'm curious to hear feedback about the songs so far and any requests you have (genres, etc.) Please email me at "jdpianojourneys@gmail.com".

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A dramatic piece of contrasts, which I felt quite inspired during, and overall feels somewhat cohesive as a story.

While listening to it the word "fantasy" came into mind, hence the title.

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An odd piece with various rhythms and chord structures that somehow pulls itself together as a song.

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A peaceful, pondering piece that is one of the more melodic and structured than the majority of my recent works.

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An jazzy improvisational melody based on a free-flowing right hand, backed up by major chords in the left hand.

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An improvisation session where I felt particularly inspired.

By the way, near the end of the song the microphone fell off the piano lid onto the strings, making a horrible sound. I managed to cut around a second so that you can't hear it, but at the very end there is a strange tinny sound when I try play one of those strings.

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Non-themed improv where I tried to use some of my usual patterns in a different way.

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Sometimes you just want to express, without any specific ideas in mind.

Fun Fact: the little clunking sound at the end of the song was my head banging lightly against the stand sitting behind me.

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A song with a simple melody that brings to mind a player piano.

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A simple, upbeat melody that is heavy on structure and light on improvisation.

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A lively piece loosely inspired by an Irish Jig. (Note: there is no connection to the Will Smith song with a similar name.)

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This song is more about the physical aspect of extending my fingers than the mood created by that, though perhaps you can also think of it as an extension of my ability.

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A slow, methodical piece that focuses on a sense of expectancy and tension. But does it ever resolve?

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A short piece focusing on a catchy main melody, interspersed with contrasting parts.

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A dramatic piece involving a recurring theme and various diversions, painting a complex picture over time.

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Playing with tired hands and a tired mind, I tried to make a piece that expresses my recent struggles in a way that allows me to let them go.

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A dramatic piece with strong intention that changes from minor to major.

(The name is a pun on the words "Minor Major")

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A lanky, random jazz piece with no pedal (very rare for me!)

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All I'll say about this one is that I think it tells a story, which I invite you to take part in.

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A frenetic, offbeat piece that mixes elements of Jazz with other genres.

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A brooding, atmospheric piece.

I think it's been over a year since I've recorded something in this style (if ever?)

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Honestly I'm not sure how to describe this one, but I hope you like it. (:

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A nostalgic melody inspired by 80s pop songs.

(Yes, the name is a play on words)

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An experimental piece emphasizing a dark low-register and mostly black keys, with irregular rhythms.

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An experimental piece that tries to mix many styles and feelings, with frequent changes and very little in the way of a central theme.

After giving the title, I realized the clash with the genre of music called "New Age" that is a part of many of my songs. But the intention here was not the genre, but the feeling of a new age, in other words some big change.

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At the end of a long day, my hands tired from work, I sat in in my piano room with no light but the remainder of the dim sky through the windows.

After a few minutes of playing, I felt somehow rejuvenated.

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A light, upbeat jazzy piece I made on a Sunday Monday when snow blanketed the ground outside.

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A wistful piece, something like staring into the sunset on a beach.

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Contrasting greatly with my last two pieces, this is a very short piece with a simple, peaceful melody and a pretty straightforward structure.

I hope you like it!

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Another crazy freeform mix of genres and styles.

I think this one of my more creative attempts, with a pretty wide variety of stuff I haven't done in recent songs. But what do you think?

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A longish freeform work that was my first recorded work of the year.

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An electic piece that starts out with a simple jazz line and proceeds to move through various different styles.

While weak on theme, it's heavy on passion.

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A dark piece filled with dissonance, based on a running repetitive left hand pattern.

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A powerful, aggressive piece build upon octaves.

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A song with a disturbing, unsettled feeling, like someone slowly pacing back and forth

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An improvisational piece based on a simple upbeat melody with variations, and a slower murky part in the middle.

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A piece that at times sounds a bit like a horror/suspense movie's soundtrack. (Don't worry, it has a happy ending.)

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The title says it all.

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A frenetic, chaotic Jazz improvisonal piece that got my heart beating to perform.

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A chaotic, abstract piece that can be likened to exploring a crypto labyrinth or an alien city scape.

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An upbeat piece focusing on a simple melody line with variations.

While some of the rhythms are a little awkward (especially in the beginning), overall I like how it turned out.

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A piece with a bright melody and waltz-like feel that takes some inspiration from classic Anime music

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A piece in G-minor with a simple melody that has a feel of a round (though isn't quite one).

I was thinking of a scene of Ireland when I was playing this, somewhere in the countryside with rolling hills and maybe ancient walls here and there.

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I didn't start this with much more than the idea of making something very different from my previous pieces.

By the end, the word "royal" popped into my head, and I think it's a fitting title.

I think the style is fairly different from my other pieces on this podcast, so I'm satisfied (:

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I piece made without in any specific intent that ended up being a mix of various styles. There are some places that I would like to have redone, but overall I think the minor mistakes are worth it because the overall product feels more creative (and is perhaps the best of the songs on this Podcast in that sense).

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An experimental piece that begins with a mysterious atmosphere and eventually transforms into something more solid.

The first few notes came from when I was just playing a few random keys to test the volume on my mic, and I liked it so I went with it.

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A pensive, atmospheric piece that features a flowing line over a few repeating chords.

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A bright, upbeat piece with much movement, based on a simple theme with embellishments and variations.

For those who are familiar, I think you can clearly my influences from David Benoit here.

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In the middle of a hectic day I decided to sit down and make a short, pensive song like an eye of the hurricane.

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The mid-morning sun was bright, but my blinds were mostly closed, allowing in a beautiful halflight that illuminated the piano room in just the right way.

This first recording, done on the first try with no editing (except noise reduction) covers a variety of styles and tones. I think this is a good sample to hint at what will come on this channel.

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the music!

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