Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Would you watch me give an improvised performance?

I could perform at PianoForte Chicago, where they have a fine Fazioli grand. I must pay for them to set up the room for a performance.

I could improvise for perhaps a half-hour.

This is how well I can play:

http://www.myspace.com/classicalexperimentation

So I frankly ask, in your opinion, would this be performance-worthy material?

I've had very positive feedback on this forum about my improvisations (someone called them brilliant at one point, I want to thank whoever said that).

I would like some perspective about this.

Thank you.

-Colin

Colin, Colin, Colin...

Why don't you participate in our ABF recitals? That will give you experience - and with some impressive performances of pieces by Liszt and Chopin, don't let the "beginner" in the title fool you. You are welcome to join us, although the last recital just passed. Next should be August.

EDIT:
Also, I think listening to and critiquing others would do you a world of good. It would help you get out of your funk. You always seem so down, and so dissatisfied with yourself. Stop trying to reach for the stars in one grasp, and instead enjoy the slow and steady climb up that ladder.

gerg,

Prior problems between us notwithstanding, I have to agree with you.

And Reaper978, you're being a pain in the... well you know. It is attention you want? Well certainly you have gotten plenty of that here. I happen to admire your spunk very much -and I like you personally in so far as our PMs- but this is getting out of hand.

Colin, we love you here, but you don't love yourself. Make a list of everything you're grateful for. Just try it, what can you loose? Eh?

Cheers, mate!

Did I do something wrong here? I was just asking frankly if you think I could possibly perform. This wasn't intended to be a "wo is me" thread. I guess that's how it's being interpreted?

I've actually been feeling quite a bit better lately, aside from the stomach flu I just got over. Aside from that, I've been feeling up, and the weather has been cooperating.

Hmm, perhaps I should rearrange the thread a bit to get rid of any ambiguities of meaning.

Hi Colin, as an adult beginner myself I am not qualified to judge whether your improvisations are performance-worthy. I will say that I liked them a lot. I'll also say that I think the phrase "classical experimentation" doesn't really capture your style here; your playing is more new age (or ambient, as you put it) or jazz in the Keith Jarrett sense.

As for the PianoForte thing, I'm not sure that setting up opportunities that require YOU to pay THEM is a good idea. (Such arrangements strike me uncomfortably much like vanity presses in writing.) You're talented and play well, and I would think that people would like to hear you. Why not seek out volunteer opportunities to perform in public?

I have, it's surprisingly difficult. Churches usually want you to become a member, and I can't think of any other institutions, really, where I could perform in this, well, "different" style (classical\new age improvisation).

I even got turned down from playing at a senior center. They even had a grand piano and they wouldn't let me play it. From what I've heard, though, I'm not missing much.

The thing about piano is, I crave an acoustic, but places around here don't HAVE acoustic pianos, nor do I have the means to get an excellent digital piano at the moment.

As far as performing in Chicago, well... PianoForte Chicago. The only other places I can think of are jazz clubs, a few of which I've emailed but have yet to get a response. I really don't have a name for myself, so this makes it difficult.

I thank you for your kindness, Monica.

Yeah, I guess the average retirement home wouldn't be too receptive to your style. But it would be good in a jazz bar or hotel lobby. Maybe try sneaking into a hotel and seeing if they'll let you play (but be prepared to be kicked off. )

Sounds performance-worthy to me.

By the way, we had a guest artist play a concert about a month ago who has "made it" playing his own improvisations and compositions. You might check him out:

http://www.billdouglas.cc/

Personally I would only go hear a totally improvised recital if your name happened to be Keith Jarrett. Don't get me wrong, I totally enjoy your improvisations (I was the one who called them brilliant!) but the average concert-goer would like to hear at least a few pieces they recognize, be they classical or jazz. So my suggestion is this: learn a few classical or jazz standards that you can perform beautifully in public. Then at your recitals/concerts you can intersperse standard pieces with improvisations. Or maybe the first half can be from the standard repertoire and the second half your improvisations. Or you can do it the other way around a la Mozart: an improvisation/fantasie then a sonata or something.

A fun variation is to ask some random person from the audience to play a few notes and then you use those notes as a theme for an on the spot improvisation. Barry Harris likes the audience to call out some letter names (e.g. G F A D E) and then he'll create an improvisation based on them. The reason I wouldn't go to a totally improvised piano recital (unless it was by a great jazz pianist) is that improvisations can become meandering, pointless, excursions if the performer is having a bad day. Yours are good, but then again I've only heard the ones you like well enough to post. I dare say there are more that were not, um...successful, by whatever standards improvisations are judged.

As far as paying PianoForte to play their Fazioli...it's not a bad idea if it's not too expensive. Otherwise if it's more than a couple of hundred bucks perhaps that money could go towards the purchase of a nice digital.

Since you're in the Chicago area you should be able to find jazz clubs that have jam sessions on off nights, with many amateur musicians. You can go hang out there and ask to do a solo improv when it comes to your turn. (Again it would be good to know the chord changes to a few jazz standards as well so you can comp for some of the horn players that show up.)

Colin :

Have you considered this idea from a few practical points?

Should you decide to rent space at PianoForte in Chicago for your performance, I would presume you want an audience, so :
- how do you plan to fund this endeavor?
- whom do you plan to invite?
- how do you plan to advertise your performance?
- will you have to pay for this advertising?
- how will you attract those people who don't know you or your performance style?
- how will they know what to expect?
- are they going to be charged admission to your performance?

I think you need to keep in mind, unless this is an event just for family and friends, that most people - not all, of course, but most - who go to recitals do so with certain expectations. Either they know the performer and the work of that particular performer, or they know the works on the program and they want to hear them. So this is why I think it's important that you consider how you would advertise this performance.

Be careful about how you advertise yourself, too. If you bill youself as a classical pianist ("Keeping classical music alive" on your Myspace page), you may have people expecting something quite different from the examples you posted on Myspace. Those selections certainly seem more "new age" than classical to my ears.

If an audience is going to pay to hear you, expect that there may be criticism, perhaps both good and not so good, and some of it possibly from musically sophisticaed people. So be prepared to deal with them and their comments and/or questions. Even if it's going to be a "free-to-the-public" performance, you should still be armed with a certain amount of fortitude for handling reactions to your playing that you might not be expecting. It would not be wise to approach such a performance in a delicate or fragile state.

Just some thoughts on the practical aspect of this idea, thoughts that you may already have considered ...

Regards,

I heard improvisation No.1 on yourspace.
It has a certain Spanish coloring in it. What I especially liked (and did not expect) that you can really improvise melodic content .. you have melodies there. I was just expecting the usual variation-like improvisation stuff.

Very good stuff ..

But I am not sure if it is in the 'classical' sense. It seems more Modern/Spanish/New Age with only a little twist of classical.

So are you preparing a youtube video?

I say by all means, if you can afford it, hire the hall and piano and play your improvisations - you need only catch the attention of one well connected audience member to get the ball rolling.

The hard part of course would firstly be getting people to watch you, and secondly, catching their attention. I agree with most that your skills are advanced for someone with just a couple of years experience, but there are 10's upon thousands of pianists out there at or above the same level who are probably much more rounded musicians with several more years experience in improvising.

I think you need to serve your apprenticeship in the industry - join a band, do some low key gigs with them and grab oppurtunties to showcase your solo skills. Study much classical repertoire and develop a solid technique, devote time to theory, study and practice composition - the great improvisers I've listened to can also knock your socks off with concert repertoire and supreme virtuosity - neither of which you could possibly have developed in just a year or two.

Maybe rather than hiring the hall for a public display, seek out other like minded pianists for something of a workshop and make some connections this way?