19 June 2011

Hey Claude!

After some thought I've decided to stop the jazz lessons for the time being.  My intial reason for seeking jazz lessons was to give me a new perspective of the piano and music in general, and you've done an amazing job of helping me achieve this.

I was seeking a deeper understanding of the piano and harmony and to be less dependant on notation, and feel I've now had a taste of all these things.  Although I am fascinated by the ideas behind jazz, to be honest, I find it hard to get into listening to it, and for this reason was reluctant to go for jazz lessons rather than more general pop/rock lessons.  But considering my interest was in harmony and in playing in a really pure way without having to read from notation, jazz seemed like an ideal style to explore.  Although I haven't taken it very far, I feel I've got out of these lessons what I was after and now want to focus on writing electronic music along with occasional piano playing.

Just to reiterate, you've been a real inspiration in helping me rediscover the piano in a refreshing light and musical concepts in general, which has changed the way I listen and compose, as well as perform music.

See you on Tuesday!
Steve

Copyright © 2012 Claude Alexander – All rights reserved.