The Daily Improvisation

From Indiana recital

ericbarnhill — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:46:03 +0000

Here are the improvisational portions of my recent recital in Greencastle, Indiana. Each audio file contains both my performance in the concert and my comments before each piece, including audience participation.

Schubert Impromptu with improvised varied reprises:
click here

Three Chopin Etudes, chosen by the audience, with improvised preluding:
click here

Sonata based on four notes given by the audience:
click here

337-8: More chromatic four note sonatas

ericbarnhill — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:35:57 +0000

Four note sonata format again, with some chromatic slides I had to deal with. Tricky but a good stretch.

337

338

334-336: Four Note Sonatas

ericbarnhill — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:36:43 +0000

This form needs a little explaining - it’s a solo version of a form I am warming up for an upcoming improvisation concert, in which the audience calls out four notes and I improvise a sonata using the four notes as a theme.

In this case, the first thing you will hear is me closing my eyes and letting my hand drop on four random places on the piano, generating four random notes. Then I play them in the middle of the piano, so you hear how they come together as a motive. Then, after thinking for about two seconds, I plunge in and improvise a sonata movement.

A couple of procedures have emerged from working with this form. One, the “closing theme” area of the exposition is usually some sort of expanded or altered recap of the opening motive and theme. Otherwise things seem to float away from the opening idea too quickly. The opening idea also tends to take part in the coda - I guess you could say this form is more cyclical than the classical sonata.

The other is that by the time the development rolls around, there’s a need to change things up and slow them down. So, the development is kind of sounding like a new, third theme, albeit it tends to modulate and shape-shift. That’s where the form’s at right now anyway. These are from the last two weeks.

334

335

336

#330-333

ericbarnhill — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:02:59 +0000

From the last couple of weeks. Some new types of improvs will be coming as the school year winds down. I’m working them out right now, but they’re not ready for prime time. It’s kept me from doing more recording.

Audio links:

#326-329

ericbarnhill — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:46:33 +0000

Scattered improvisations from last week.

Audio links:

#325

ericbarnhill — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:36:56 +0000

Audio link:

325

#323-324

ericbarnhill — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:24:38 +0000

Audio links:

323

324

#321-322

ericbarnhill — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:20:24 +0000

Audio links:

321

322

#319-320

ericbarnhill — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:38:07 +0000

Audio links:

319

320

My Talk at Philoctetes Center is Broadcasted

ericbarnhill — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:47:02 +0000

I gave a talk on “The Rhythmic Brain” at the Philoctetes Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of Imagination about a month ago. It was a combination of lecture and lively discussion, and is the best elucidation currently available of the ideas and theories behind my Cognitive Eurhythmics work, in roughly the form they will take in my upcoming book. You can watch at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fxgnp1dvHEI