I’ve noticed that in the past couple of years I’ve been writing piano parts in quite a distinctive way. My piano parts have a lot of common elements. Um well, when I say “writing”, I don’t really mean “writing” because I never actually sit down and write any of my parts - I’m an improvise-in-the-moment-around-these-basic-moods-and-harmonies-and-see-what-happens sort of girl. I may record the same song with seven different piano parts and then pick the one that communicated the most. But you know what I mean. So maybe I mean that lately I have a distinctive PLAYING style?
In songs written before 2004, I think the piano parts are less developed. All my music has grown up but especially the piano parts, which are much more sophisticated these days and in some parts quite fiddly (keeps my fingers nimble! Hehehe).
What comes in the moment is a kind of piano dancing - my fingers seem to want to play things that are flowing and always moving. Sometimes when I’m editing things I’ve already recorded I think of the piano in waves, like water, that’s how it seems to me. I can write more static parts but usually I don’t, because when I play, the things I play are rarely sitting still, they are dancing all over the place and my fingers are trying to sing the song all on their own! Greedy little things… I think I like playing that kind of piano music because it’s easy to get lost in, it’s expressive and it’s complex but simple at the same time. I use different registers for very specific purposes… I can always feel when the piano part needs to be higher or lower on the keyboard to get the right feeling for a particular section of a song - you’d be amazed at how much difference it can make! Sometimes it makes or breaks it, just having the piano part sitting in the right pitch range!
When I first began writing songs, I had the ability to play the piano (though I was not as capable as I am now), but whenever I wrote songs I would sequence the piano parts with the mouse, entering the notes manually one at a time - I never used to actually physically play any of the instrumental parts, and yes, I know that’s quite an insane thing to do! You don’t have to tell me that I was crazy. xD I knew. But I got quite good at crafting realistic parts after a while. I was a speedy little clicker! (’Dream of the Innocent’ - mouse clicking! ‘Waiting for the Snow’ - mouse clicking! ‘Shine’ - mouse clicking!)
Even though I grew up learning Beethoven and Mozart and Bach and Bartok, as soon as I didn’t have to play it anymore for exams (OK, if I’m honest, I am not the type who gets much pleasure from playing the same pieces that everyone else plays, the same pieces from the same books… it just wasn’t what I wanted to play) I stopped playing that music and - shockingly - I haven’t touched sheet music for years! Since I left secondary school I have played the piano exclusively by ear and I play only the things that I want to play, in the styles that I want to play. And that, I think, is where the piano-dancing came in. ;)
I love playing the piano. I mean I really really really really love it. I am a much better pianist than I am a singer. Oh I wish I could sing with the confidence that I can play. But no. ALAS. Maybe one day. :) If I keep practising!
<3
We are there! Jonas has done it! Yay!