Hello, Keith Jarrett
Best of Piano Diaries by Peter Saltzman I was with either my ex-girlfriend or my dad when I first went to a Keith Jarrett concert. Either way, she was there, which may be the reason why it was also the last. I should go again. I was 15—beginning my sophomore year in...
Anatomy of a Badass Bob Dylan Cover
Or Why Most Covers Don’t Uncover Anything New Unollected Pop (Volume 2: 2001-2005) by Peter Saltzman This is my badass cover of the Bob Dylan classic, Blowing In The Wind. The original idea for the groove and pedal-point in the bass came when I was...
08/01/2020: Not by Danny Elfman
Big Ass Orchestral Cues by Peter Saltzman Not by Danny Elfman This track is not by Danny Elfman. You remember Danny Elfman. He wrote several dark noirish movie scores for Batman films and the like back in the 1990s. Also Spiderman 2, and others. Like me, he’s also a...
07/31/2020: To Compose or Improvise?
TRE Jazz Quartet Live 1999 by Peter Saltzman To compose or improvise. That’s the question? Composing and improvising are often thought of as two sides of the same coin. Composition, we say, is written down improvisation. Improvisation is spontaneous composition....
07/29/2020: Trippy 1980s Vibe
Uncollected Pop (Volume 1: 1988-1991) by Peter Saltzman My son, Emanuel, loves the trippy 1980s vibe of this tune. And indeed, when I recorded it back in 1988, that’s what I was going for. Well, not so much the 1980s part as the trippy part. I do love creating...Improvisations on the Ledge
Improvisations on The Ledge
<p>In "Improvisations on the Ledge," award-winning composer-pianist Peter Saltzman searches for universal truths by stumbling upon them—both with words and music. The basic premise is simple: he improvises on the piano, then talks about what the music tells him. Then makes music about what the talking tells him. Then...well, it goes on like this. Droll, funny, dramatic, musical, short.</p>
S3-E1: Theme is the Theme
After an extended layoff, I’ve decided to get back to Improvisations On the Ledge by sticking to the theme—literally. The entire season—including this episode—is devoted to musical theme: how we create, perceive it, and make music out of it.
In the pilot episode for season three, I randomly stumble upon a couple of themes, including “My Funny Valentine” and “Money, Money, Money”, then proceed to create a show out of them.
Along the way, I delve into what a “theme” is in musical terms. Is it like the theme of a story? Yes and no. In music, themes, as I discover in this episode, are far more fungible than their literary or dramatic counterpoints. They can magically transform into other themes; themes can generate new themes; musical elements that don’t seem on the surface to be thematic can become so by their repeated use.
In short, just about any sonic event can become thematic. This is what makes music special.
As we’ll find out in season three!
Music Mentioned
- My Funny Valentine
- Money, Money, Money, Money
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