Trying to find a way to make music within or around the hecticness of life. Maybe this will be the first of regular posts, or maybe this will be the only time I do it! But the aim is clear: to explore particular inside piano techniques and to *try* to be strict on myself with the options in any one track (hopefully this will improve with time). Seedlings was a work-in-progress title of the album that I made on Inside-Out Piano I and then lost. I was sad about that!

So, here we have Seedling #1: taking strumming as the allowed technique and variations on that – using different parts of the hand, the heel, the nails, the finger tips, plucking individual notes, striking rhythmically or fast stroking to create a wash of sound.

At 8 minutes I do completely cheat by going off on one with the ebow. It sounds so great (the ebow, not me!), especially up close with the piano right in front of your face! At 15′, I clearly suddenly remembered I was meant to be doing strumming and come back into it with a bit of a bump.

It occurs to me that the compositional tasks ahead of me are about trying to edit, formalise and focus. Composition, then…! Will I find the time, space and discipline to do this? Like the dissolving at 17’40.

Anyway, if you listen to this, please let me know on twitter: @sarahpiano | #insideoutpiano #seedlingproject
Thanks!