What Inspires You?

When you sit down at the piano to play, what do you think about? Is it a picture of a loved one, a special time and place, or perhaps it's a walk in the woods you've taken that still lingers. I have a book full of nature photos that just sits at the piano.

When I sit down to play I might glance at a picture and that's all I need to get going. Something about losing yourself in the beauty of nature, even if it's just a picture, gets me going. One of the secrets to improvising is to get into that right brain mode. It's almost like a trance. Then you don't play the music but the music plays you and it all comes out wonderfully well!