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Music and Ideas
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020, "Music and Ideas" was a creative outlet for me. I made it just for myself. It wasn't a commission, a favor, or a request. It was simply something I wanted to try: a podcast where I talked for a few minutes about philosophy (or whatever) and improvised on the piano.
In this context, "improvise" meant the same sort of thing as with the Orchard Covenant Church preludes. It meant I began with melodies, songs, and little snippets of music and explored them playfully.
When I started the show with episode one, I just spoke and played the piano extemporaneously. Then as I kept going I put more polish and work into it. The performances were recorded on a MIDI keyboard directly into a computer, which meant I could edit notes, tempos, dynamics, and basically anything else. This allowed me to transition smoothly from uninhibited spontaneity to a more critical mindset. I cut out things I didn't like, changed notes that didn't work, and carefully finessed phrases so they sounded better.
April 29, 2020: Episode #14 - "The Godfather" and "Fortunella"
April 22, 2020: Episode #13 - "Pastorale" (only available to subscribers)
April 17, 2020: Episode #12 - "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past", Dark World (only available to subscribers)
April 13, 2020: Episode #11 - "Invention No. 8 in F major", BWV 779 (only available to subscribers)
April 9, 2020: Episode #10 - "Citizen Kane" (only available to subscribers)
April 5, 2020: Episode #9 - "Blue" (only available to subscribers)
April 2, 2020: Episode #8 - "Final Fantasy VI", Terra's Theme (only available to subscribers)
April 1, 2020: Episode #7 - "Rose, liz" (only available to subscribers)
March 30, 2020: Episode #6 - "Steven Universe" (only available to subscribers)
March 29, 2020: Episode #5 - "Sprawl II" (only available to subscribers)
March 28, 2020: Episode #4 - "Flying Dreams" (only available to subscribers)
March 27, 2020: Episode #3 - "Super Mario", Overworld Theme (only available to subscribers)
March 25, 2020: Episode #2 - "Organ Symphony" (only available to subscribers)
March 24, 2020: Episode #1 - "Home! Sweet Home!" (only available to subscribers)
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