Jordan Parker

So, I’ve been teaching myself the piano recently! Well, at the very least I’ve been banging out a few semi-coherent notes in the attempt to string together that sounds remotely like what my sheet music claims. It’s a bloody hard instrument to wrap my head around for sure. Making my hands do two completely different movements at the same time whilst trying to keep at pace with one another is an exceptional challenge that (for what it’s worth!) I’m quite enjoying.

You see, I’ve been uploading to my YouTube channel for quite a while now and always seek to improve whatever it is I’m working on. Whether that be a new poem or maybe this poem- narrative amalgamation that I’ve started to transition into as I’ve grow a bit older and my writing preferences and overall style have evolved. Creative writing as a discipline can never reach a level of absolute perfection as it is of course a subjective matter however I can certainly strive to reach a deeper level of personal satisfaction with whatever leaves the end of my pen and prospectively ends up in my little corner of the world being that channel of mine. But, I think an objective improvement I can make to my videos is to mitigate the silence that are left behind whenever I need to take a breath or if I’ve found some ‘dramatic pause’ that has delighted me enough to abstain from removing its conclusion from the final reading. The silences do hold an unnatural presence though sometime and listening back, I’ve always felt there must be something I could do to improve on the moments of unwanted pause. I’ve wanted to include music for quite some time now, seeing other people’s videos and the soft music they use in the background to underpin their gentle deliver really inspired me to do the same to my own work – ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!’

I have never been able to play an instrument though sadly. It was never a particular interest of mine as a kid and though I played a trumpet for a short while whilst I was still in my primary education, I never took it further than the classroom and to my own discredit, I saw it as a bit of a chore. I suppose growing up really teaches you about not only how the world works and the complexities it can provide but also is an overarching foil to who you used to be an any and all mistakes you perhaps didn’t recognise at the time. And the successes too of course! Either appreciate that you were right or learn from the mistake – dwelling without purpose is tantamount to torture!

So to bring things back on track a tad, I’ve bought myself this brilliant folding piano! It has weighted keys, a sustain pedal that I plug in and a music stand I affix to the top! I would pretty chuffed with it I’ve got to say – I didn’t know what to expect in terms of quality for a cheaper electric piano as instrument are certainly more expensive than a lot of other hobbies but again I was really surprised and happy with it. Still am of course! I’m getting to grips with some basic music theory, best practices and maintaining a somewhat consistent rhythm whilst I go along. However, that leads me to the application of turning that rough understanding into composing my own work which is certainly a different process. I’m no longer just following a sheet of music but am now attempting to put together my own collection of notes which I’m having some trouble with for sure. I have infinitely more respect for composers now I’ve had a go at it myself that’s for sure! Thankfully, I don’t need anything complicated. It’s hardly meant to be noticed in fact, just a little noise in the background to cover the silences I mentioned earlier.

Thinking as I’m typing, maybe I just need a simple 8 note loop that I can then get to repeat over and over whilst I talk over it? Yeah… that’s not necessarily a bad idea! Just 8 notes so it ‘should’ always sound different whenever someone happens to listen in to the music going on and would easily fill the gaps that my breath would leave. Well it’s a start for sure. I think I’ll try working on that premise to begin with and see where it goes. Cool – action plan sorted! Guess I’d better get to playing…