THROUGH THE NIGHT - Keyboard Improvisation | AsteriskedMusic.com

Through the Night

Through the night is a keyboard improvisation. I am completely self-employed, but I engage in multiple forms of work. Currently, I derive income from creating online content (like the content you're reading now), selling insurance, and doing rideshare (Uber and Lyft). I do insurance and web content during the day when other people are up; and then I drive at night when most people are asleep. I find that I enjoy driving at night. It's all about the long dark drives punctuated with interactions with every imaginable type of person. This piece is about the zen of driving all night on dark, empty roads.

Some Notes on Through the Night

This piece is, generally, in e flat minor; but there's quite a bit of polytonality going on with the E Flat Mixolydian Modality and F Sharp Major. You tend not to notice that kind of polytonality so much because the two modes share all the same notes except for the third scale degree, and e flat minor and F Sharp Major are relative respective minor-Major scales, meaning they share a key signature. The beginning of the piece opens with a simple ostinato, and later a simple melody emerges. The ostinato comes in and out in various permutations throughout the piece, and the melody undergoes some simple development with substantial tonal exploration, but without any complete key changes. The piece starts in a lower register with some energy, and then slowly peters out in the higher registers.

Stylistically, this piece falls into a few different categories. It is minimalistic, in classical terms; but it also falls into rock, jazz, and blues categories. It uses some dissonance, albeit sparingly. The frequent use of parallel fifths gives it a distinct rock feel. It also uses syncopation very generously.

Copyright, Philip John Cornell, 2018, some rights reserved. You may download this content freely. If you share it, it must be prominently attributed to "PJ Cornell," and if shared online, a link to the original content must be provided in a prominent location. This audio and video content may not be used for commercial purposes or modified in any way without permission from the copyright owner.

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