One of my friends listened to this improvisation of mine and described it as upbeat, with a sense of story unfolding, reminding her of the feel of Disney’s Fantasia. I love her interpretation because it captures the playful larger-than-life spirit I was reaching for. That really lifted me when she said it.

This was a spontaneous experiment in combining styles, and hamming it up a bit, whilst working with a very tired left hand, so please forgive any unevenness.

This improvisation is a fast 12-bar blues in F, shaped by my own blend of styles — blues phrasing, gospel drama, playful classical flourishes, and a touch of parody. This piece moves with energy, building toward a deliberately over-the-top finale with a glissando to close.

A miniature blues that somehow turned into a grand finale…

The aim isn’t pastiche; it’s letting influences collide—boogie-woogie influenced bass lines, barrelhouse flair, and gospel drama— with some tongue in cheek classical to add to the parody, while staying true to improvisation.

This improvisation packs a lot into just 73 seconds. It opens with a cascading 5-octave C7 arpeggio — almost Debussy-like — before diving into a driving barrelhouse / boogie woogie groove at a very fast pace  — walking octaves in the left hand with rapid triplet triads in the right hand almost without pause. The second chorus develops with syncopated big chord punches and multiple grace notes, before slowing dramatically into a theatrical (over the top) gospel-influenced (long) ending sequence. Spread chords, tremolos, and diminished-7th colours build tension before a grand finale flourish — a big F9 chord and an ascending glissando. I enjoyed stretching the ending further than it probably deserved.

I’m still experimenting with mic placement for these recordings, so the balance may shift a bit from video to video. This one’s a little lighter on the bass than I’d like—that’s part of the home-recording learning curve. The mic is currently over the treble; I’m working toward a more central placement to capture more bass.