Practise Diary #01

March 31, 2025 [Music]

This is a nice thing I have been practicing today:

As you can see, it is a small harmonic sequence with nice voice-leading and a pretty top line.

(*Here is an unfiltered attempt at moving this through the 12 keys, descending by semitones (C, B, B♭, A, etc.).
I'm trying to be mindful of the sound I'm making rather than just "rattling" through the keys, which is maybe my tendency.)

I seem to be naturally drawn to this type of movement and orchestration on the piano.
It certainly sounds "old-school" — something Hank Jones might play...

However, today I'm asking myself the question: isn't this just music?
Aesthetics aside, are we not simply dealing with the natural resolutions of notes?
Is it the conventional handling of these elements that places a style or genre in time?
What if we were to slow this passage down to 1 BPM, for instance — could it still be called "old school,"
or does it transform into something else entirely?

Other questions might include:

• Where exactly is the time-bound quality within a sequence of notes?
• Where exactly is the time-bound quality within a style?
• What is the relevance of this "style" in 2025?
• Can it be heard or played without a feeling of time-travelling or conjuring stereotyped images?
• Is it possible that this set of notes is just as vital today as it was in the 1930s/40s/50s?