Variations.

It was a day all to myself, and I spent a lot of time practicing.  I thought I would spend more time perusing improv, but I was hooked on that Opus 109 again.  Man!  What an incredible piece of music!! The third movement is an amazing variations.  And while I was practicing it, it hit me!!

DUH!  Improvise some variations, stupid!  It's just what I think I need to be doing right now.  Because I can start with a very simple theme, and then practice developing it in many different ways and styles, thusly reinforcing both the I IV V I progression, and motivic development.  At the same time!  And because I can base it on something very short and easy, I don't have to get my brain all tangled up in itself, trying to be more complex than it needs to be.  I also get little rests in between ideas.  I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner.

So, that's what I did with my improv today.  But it turned into more of a study, sounds kinda boring, and I don't want to subject any of you to that (or myself to the scrutiny).  If you're curious, think Mendelssohn's Variations Serieuses, which I spent a good year or so trying to get just right.  And even then, it was still not right.  Same idea.

So instead, I'm subjecting you to a different something that turned study.  Wasn't so comfortable in the beginning, because I didn't really know what I was going to do until later.  This ended up being less about motivic development and harmonic structure, and more about the layering of different ideas.

Is my music sounding pretty French to anyone else?

Here we go, Day 35: https://ia700707.us.archive.org/29/items/Improv91811/9_18_119_53Pm.mp3

And it's time for another ridiculous cat picture.