Improvisations on The Ledge

PETER SALTZMAN
  • 5.0 (20)
  • EDUCATION

In "Improvisations on the Ledge," award-winning composer-pianist Peter Saltzman searches for universal truths by stumbling upon them—both with words and music. The basic premise is simple: he improvises on the piano, then talks about what the music tells him. Then makes music about what the talking tells him. Then...well, it goes on like this. Droll, funny, dramatic, musical, short. petersaltzman.substack.com

  1. Back On the Ledge

    SEP 26

    Back On the Ledge

    But you can still listen to it in the car if you either lack the time or inclination to watch. Improvisations on the Ledge (IOTL) – Back on the Ledge (Pilot Episode) Improvisations on the Ledge is back—this time live. IOTL began as a 47-episode podcast of piano + spoken improvisations. Now it returns as a live streaming series: music, words, and visuals unfolding in real time. No edits, no retakes, no safety net. This flagship pilot, Back on the Ledge, traces the history of the podcast, why I stopped, why I’ve returned, and why improvisation matters more than ever—as both protest and practice, art and survival. 🌐 Learn more, see the schedule, and explore all shows at: https://improvisationsontheledge.com Four Formats of IOTL * Improvisations on the Ledge – flagship show (live version of the podcast, with visuals) FreePlay – radical reinterpretations of standards from Bach to the Beatles and beyond, plus some originals (with vocals) * The Improvised Sonata – longform piano improvisations. No script, no shtick. Just the music. * Peter Saltzman in the Public Domain – where old songs get into new kinds of trouble (with vocals) 📌 Subscribe for upcoming episodes 📌 Share this video if you know someone who loves adventurous music. If you're interested in studying piano, improvisation, composition, or vocals with me, please visit my new music education site: https://saltzmanmusicworks.com/ #ImprovisationsOnTheLedge #PeterSaltzman #Piano #Improvisation #LivestreamMusic #Jazz #Classical #FreeImprovisation Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min
  2. Themes Alive: Musical Structure From a Single Note!

    11/19/2021

    Themes Alive: Musical Structure From a Single Note!

    Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/story/ckw6kzm991rm90878rsjk4zli?m=comment The moment a theme is stated, it wants to do something. What? Like all lifeforms, it wants to replicate, mutate, transform…become something. That something is musical structure. How we get from a single note to a theme (motif), to a full-blown musical structure (song, free improvisation, symphony) is seemingly a mystery. And yet it's not. Due to a naturally occurring acoustical phenomenon known as the overtone series, one note is not actually one note—there are in fact many notes vibrating above the single note (the fundamental) we think we're hearing exclusively. But consciously or not, we have an innate awareness of those other notes, the overtones that ring out from the fundamental. And that awareness, at some point in human history, led us to pluck those notes out of the air, string them together into themes. And then what did we do? We repeated those motifs, and they become something larger. First simple melodies. Then, as we repeated, we varied: shifted a pitch here, altered the rhythm there, played the motivic idea from another starting point in the scale. In no time (though nobody knows how many centuries or millennia "no time" took to unfold) we had the beginnings of musical structure. Music exists in time, evolves in time. As soon as you repeat something over time, and then vary it, you are effectively creating an incipient structure—whether you intend to or not. At some point in musical history, humans began to mean it—to order notes intentionally. But that intention always leads back to one note which has within it the potential to become all notes—themes, melodies, songs, and larger structures. Follow Podcast Homepage Donate Leave a Voicemail Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Bandcamp Page Patreon Page Twitter Peter Saltzman Website Facebook Contact: info@petersaltzman.com Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    34 min
  3. The Theme Dream Machine

    11/03/2021

    The Theme Dream Machine

    Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/story/ckvk002b34j0c0938go4chdbo?m=comment Musical themes seem to emerge from the sonic abyss almost by their own volition. But where do they come from? Are they elusive attempts to describe the moment? State of musical mind? Emotion translated into sound? Or are they just, as I discussed in the previous episode, a form of musical memory (and forgetting.) After working through this episode, I must admit that while the provenance of musical themes seems to be some combination of all of the above, in the end, they remain somewhat elusive. Melodic ghosts in the machine of our minds. What I do know is that musical themes want to emerge from the sonic abyss. Like everything else in the universe, order wants to emerge from chaos. This is how life happens. And music. Which leads me to my next episode: how do musical structures naturally emerge from themes? Music Performed or Referenced: Que Sera, Sera Fly Me to Moon Suite for Jazz Quartet Live (midroll and tag music): https://petersaltzman.bandcamp.com/album/tre-jazz-quartet-live-1999 Follow Podcast Homepage Donate Leave a Voicemail Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Bandcamp Page Patreon Page Twitter Peter Saltzman Website Facebook Contact: info@petersaltzman.com Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    30 min
  4. The Many Layers of Musical Memory—and Forgetting (S3:E2)

    10/22/2021

    The Many Layers of Musical Memory—and Forgetting (S3:E2)

    "The Many Layers of Musical Memory—and Forgetting" is an episode about how listening to music, and performing it, are really acts of thematic memory—and forgetting. And sometimes the forgetting is part of the creative process. Or maybe it's just forgetting. In any case, I take a deep dive into the many layers of musical memory that go into improvising or composing. But also into the listener's experience of any given piece of music. There is the short-term memory of what happened earlier in a piece of music, but also the long-term, cultural memory that informs every performing/listening experience. And whether short or long term, there is plenty of forgetting involved... Follow Podcast Homepage Donate Leave a Voicemail Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Bandcamp Page Patreon Page Twitter Peter Saltzman Website Facebook Contact: info@petersaltzman.com Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    27 min
  5. Theme is the Theme (S3:E1)

    10/08/2021

    Theme is the Theme (S3:E1)

    After an extended layoff, I've decided to get back to Improvisations On the Ledge by sticking to the theme—literally. The entire season—including this episode—is devoted to musical theme: how we create, perceive it, and make music out of it. In the pilot episode for season three, I randomly stumble upon a couple of themes, including "My Funny Valentine" and "Money, Money, Money", then proceed to create a show out of them. Along the way, I delve into what a "theme" is in musical terms. Is it like the theme of a story? Yes and no. In music, themes, as I discover in this episode, are far more fungible than their literary or dramatic counterpoints. They can magically transform into other themes; themes can generate new themes; musical elements that don't seem on the surface to be thematic can become so by their repeated use. In short, just about any sonic event can become thematic. This is what makes music special. As we'll find out in season three! Music Mentioned My Funny Valentine Money, Money, Money, Money Follow Donate Podcast Home Page Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Bandcamp Page Twitter Peter Saltzman Website Facebook Contact: info@petersaltzman.com Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    27 min
  6. Rearview Mirror

    08/15/2020

    Rearview Mirror

    Using jazz educator David Bloom's metaphor, musicians need to look in the rearview mirror and remember the theme if they wish to move forward. But when you look back, you are not just remembering what you played at the beginning of an improvisation—you're remembering all of that music that got you to the point of even being able to look back in the first place. Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    40 min
  7. Planned Chance

    07/31/2020

    Planned Chance

    My intent was to dive into Part 2 of my “End of Melody Episode,“ but by planned chance, I rolled the dice and came up with something completely different. Unplanned, but fated to be this way? Possibly. Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    19 min
  8. The End of Melody, Part 1

    07/16/2020

    The End of Melody, Part 1

    Melody. As a creative musician, you're either born with it or not. Or maybe everybody is born with it but some choose to suppress it. Why would anybody do that? Powered by Firstory Hosting Get full access to Musically Novel at petersaltzman.substack.com/subscribe

    53 min
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5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

In "Improvisations on the Ledge," award-winning composer-pianist Peter Saltzman searches for universal truths by stumbling upon them—both with words and music. The basic premise is simple: he improvises on the piano, then talks about what the music tells him. Then makes music about what the talking tells him. Then...well, it goes on like this. Droll, funny, dramatic, musical, short. petersaltzman.substack.com

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