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Interview with Solomon
Keal
by
Edward Weiss
Solomon Keal is a
solo piano artist from Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. He composes
peaceful solo piano music. His New Age, or Neo Classical, or Neo
Romantic music reminds us of the folk piano style of George
Winston. More info
below.
Edward: How Did
You Get Started Playing New Age Piano?
Solomon: I took piano lessons as a child for 6 years. This laid
a nice foundation of basic music theory and technique. While I
enjoyed classical music, I wasn't really interested in playing it.
I loved the compositions of George Winston, as well as film
composers. So I started teaching myself some of my favorite
pieces by ear. Eventually I started composing my own pieces.
Since my compositions were not classical, blues or jazz, they fit
nicely into the category of New
Age.
Edward: What Inspires and
Informs Your Music?
Solomon: My compositions are very emotionally inspired. In college, I
would often sit down at the piano to release emotions that I didn't
otherwise know what to do with. So I tried to then name the finished
compositions after something related to the emotion I was feeling
during it's
composition.
Edward: What Is
Your Method for Composing a Piano Piece?
Solomon: Many of my compositions came about without actually trying to
compose. I would sit down at the piano, and my fingers would play
with the keys, while expressing my emotions. Having a
background in piano theory and technique allowed that expression to
come forth sometimes effortlessly. Usually a composition starts with
a certain theme. I will then play around with this theme, exploring
all the options for
it.
I will then try to make sure that I can create a form for
this theme to live in, and so I will come up with an introduction,
verses, chorus, bridge, ending, etc. I will figure out what is
the chord progression that fits with my melody, or in some cases,
what is the melody that fits with my chord progression. Then try
adding some harmonies. Try it in different octaves. It's
a lot of experimentation. Some of my compositions were finished in
one sitting, while others took years to
finish.
Edward: Do You
Get Blocked Creatively, and If So, How Do You Get Past
It?
Solomon: When I'm
intentionally trying to compose a piece, I usually find something to
start with other than my own emotions. Recently I composed a piece
for the music in a documentary about a museum which is in a
beautiful castle. So I surrounded myself with pictures of this
castle museum. The images helped to compose the music. Other times I
will start by wanting to compose a piece in a certain key, or a
certain time signature. So I will start playing around with
different scales and rhythms. It's fun and useful to experiment with
keys and time signatures in which I don't often play. It opens up
new worlds of
possibility.
Edward: What
Advice Would You Give To Aspiring New Age
Pianists?
Solomon: If you haven't already, learn some basic music
theory and technique. Listen to musicians that you like.
Listen to music with the intention of picking it apart. Once
you know what music is composed of, you can start to put the pieces
back together into your own compositions. Play and practice as much
as you can. Don't be afraid to just fiddle around on the piano.
Sometime amazing themes come out of
nowhere.
Solomon Keal is a
solo piano artist from Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania. He composes
peaceful solo piano music. His New Age, or Neo Classical, or Neo
Romantic music reminds us of the folk piano style of George Winston.
Get Solomon's CDs for as little as $11.00 a piece when you sign up
to receive his monthly e-newsletter! Learn more at http://www.solomonkeal.com
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