The 3 Levels of Improvising

Start your piano journey now: get 30% off our beginner-friendly "Intro to Piano" course with code LEARNPIANO30! cornellmusicacademy.com/intro...
MERCH: charlescornell.creator-spring...
TIMESTAMPS:
Level 1 Explanation: 2:32
Level 1 Example: 3:23
Level 2 Explanation: 4:08
Level 2 Example: 4:59
Level 3 Explanation: 5:41
Level 3 Example: 8:54
Egor Stukalov's Transcription videos:
• Heart and Soul (Transc...
• Fly Me To The Moon (Ch...
Graham Thomason's video:
• Charles Cornell - Happ...
Follow me on social!!
Instagram: bit.ly/2WoR7W1
Twitter: bit.ly/2I02YAt
Facebook: bit.ly/2K4rHq8
TikTok: bit.ly/2X7pnlN

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

Thank you for 500k!!! TIMESTAMPS: Level 1 Explanation: 2:32 Level 1 Example: 3:23 Level 2 Explanation: 4:08 Level 2 Example: 4:59 Level 3 Explanation: 5:41 Level 3 Example: 8:54

[@sailor6842]

Charles Cornell love when im having a shitty day and you always upload a video and make my day 100 times better keep making videos and never stop

[@jeffcatgreeb7262]

Well done my g

[@susanpevensie2408]

Congrats!!!

[@dgsoundCA]

Congrats Charles, well deserved! Thank you so much for sharing with us your art.🎹🔥

[@joshuavanliew8105]

this was awesome. really love the part about how we communicate is simular to improvisation in music keep it up

[@andreajames3544]

Is there sheet music for this?

[@forg6641]

@@grudman7885 is there sheet music for this?

[@kennyassgaming2017]

Is there sheet music for this?

[@rawpotatofella9654]

Is there sheet music for this?

[@dati9964]

Is there sheet music for this?

[@luisakae19]

but guys the real question is... Is there any sheet music for this?

[@BambooShinobi1]

Charles: "Just be willing to sound bad" slaps hands on keys 6:36 Me: That was a kind of a juicy chord though

[@glaxglax4741]

Trent Paider Adam Neely wants your location

[@MrPabgon]

Yeah it's level 4 on spice jazz

[@llacrymossa]

T h a t I s j a z z m a n

[@noahg5139]

Congrats you are now my improv teacher

[@sturmifan]

Jazz!

[@georginatoland]

I call that last one, “Mister Rogers Watches Snow Fall on the Neighborhood As It Slowly Becomes Rain”

[@starrk7158]

snow becomes rain is an appropriate title.

[@jacobname4310]

I read this as that the neighborhood was becoming rain and it was like “Mister Rogers Watches Snow Fall on the Neighborhood As the Bomb Goes Off”

[@coletteellenc]

Absolutely

[@jatodd3746]

That conjures a beautiful image.

[@Seissmo]

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

[@stellabration1346]

His “free improv” really spoke to me. I loved it

[@hughpenner1417]

Stella Roy same

[@DanielKodiak]

Stella Roy sams

[@kenneth1767]

Totally love it.

[@brentonsmith8921]

Reminded me of Waltz for Debby a bit

[@abrahampena1681]

His improvisation spoke to you because he expressed all of his emotions and thoughts through the language of music.

[@VOLAIRE]

Congratulations on half a million followers, huge milestone. Can’t wait for that face reveal.

[@whalejoey205]

@@aldensmith6666 r/wooosh

[@hotelinjapan389]

Alden Smith oh you feel so smart don’t you

[@yes-ft9ze]

@@whalejoey205 r/woooosh

[@ninoky6525]

@@yes-ft9ze r/wooosh on a wooosh

[@yes-ft9ze]

@@ninoky6525 ikr

[@JaxonHaze]

Level 0: Normie Level 1: Jazz head Level 2: Jazz solo Level 3: Free jazz Level 4: Memes

[@SatchmoBronson]

Level 4 has to have T H E L I C C and Dies irae.

[@hezekiahdaggett2179]

Of course

[@certifiedpossum8655]

Level ???: Lo fi hip hop

[@ceedubelu]

An Infestor That was determined to be level 7 Jazz.

[@mckenziecalhoun316]

@@SatchmoBronson FEFDECEEF#GAF#DE

[@CommanderPiglet]

Level one: no book Level two: real book Level three: forgot real book

[@sophiasimmons3307]

You forgot about cursed level 4: nontraditional instrument use. Bang the side of that keyboard. Scream intermittently.

[@freebanana27]

“Scream intermittently” is my new motto

[@spitgorge2021]

then theres level 5, make your own instruments to improv on!

[@John-zq6pt]

21th century composers be like

[@LedoPiano]

That'd be Hermeto Pascoal haha

[@GiGA-BOB]

Peter bence intensifies

[@elephantanious24]

Thank you for reiterating the fact that improvisation takes skill and isn't easy. People used to ask me to improvise as a beginner and I was like 😳

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

It's a weird concept that you have to actually practice improvising. Seems like an oxymoron, but isn't.

[@_lucas.antunes_]

My greatest advice to all beginners and people that ask me is: train your ears. Your ears are your most important equipment in music, they help you know the next chords and notes, its tune, things that fit together, improvise and much more. Simply listen to a song, stop doing anything else, and pay attention to how it goes, how it talks, and how can you imitate it or even make it sound better. Do it enough and you'll have ease to improvise. Oh, and one more thing: whether you are listening to or playing a song, always connect with it, just like while training your ears. Feel it and let it speak to you, so that you can speak back to it.

[@ItsABOUTflamTIME]

That's like asking a beginning Spanish student to tell a story.

[@elephantanious24]

@@CharlesCornellStudios Thank you so much for responding! I love your videos!!!

[@beebee2783]

That's akin to theater and being told to do some improv. it really isn't easy to just get up and act without some form of a script. You have got to be quick on your feet. It takes practice to unlock that quick wit section of your brain!

[@balintlauko9905]

For a million subscribers you should release a full album, including maybe a couple of collabs or just simply songs you would like us to listen to. or say thank you a million times in every key

[@Theoneandonlyenelie]

Bálint Laukó meet and greet?

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

Are...are you implying I say thank you 12 million times?

[@SeanTheDiscoNinja]

Clearly in all of the relevant minors too. Can't get off that easy.

[@philipbackes8696]

@@SeanTheDiscoNinja and all the modes so 84 million times

[@starrk7158]

@@CharlesCornellStudios example 3 should be called snow becomes rain.

[@lorettabes4553]

I could listen to him play for hours! It's like those 'chill' or 'study' hour long video's.

[@daisey6918]

Loretta Bes i’d love if he made a study video that’s like an hour or so long!

[@randomworkings3600]

Daisey Bui listen to Bill Evans’ solo sessions albums or the alone and alone again albums. They’ll have what you like from his playing!

[@daisey6918]

Random Workings thank you so much! these videos help me a lot now with my homework! 😊

[@Zb_Calisthenic]

You'd like Bill Evans.

[@diotimamusic6771]

I gotta say, as a jazz player I both love and absolutely hate hearing that.

[@whatdadogdoin1540]

When you said 'even if you're not subscribed, I still appreciate every one of you', I was expecting the 'if you're not, you should sub right now...' but it never came. I respect you very much Charles. Congrats. Edit: God dammit right when I unpaused the video you said that. But I still respect you.

[@kelseykramer1783]

Its okay cause he stumbled over the word ehe

[@fifthdaniel6413]

Haha

[@yoni6847]

lmao

[@AsianBoy123]

Bro that’s funny 😂

[@747lch]

Does this conflict with the 7 levels of jazz

[@eriknestaas2270]

Why would it?

[@kadrodindubldva]

no... I think it is wrong to categorize music, technique anf levels of composition, jazz, improv or whatever since it's a blue ocean and all the "levels" are categorized based on personal opinions. You referred to "7 levels of jazz"; it is simply a biased categorization of different methods and their "spicyness".

[@747lch]

It’s a joke guys... like jazz circlejerk. I wish I didn’t have to point that out

[@justinjager8412]

@@kadrodindubldva It's a joke

[@kadrodindubldva]

@@justinjager8412 my bad I thought it was for real

[@ckextreme]

Pianist Charles makes a drummer face when he improves.

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

I try to improve a little bit every day

[@metodemersic]

@@CharlesCornellStudios Wow... would you consider a second channel or someting like that with daily improvs... Short but sweet... you know. Like a drug, daily jazz dose :)

[@ckextreme]

@@CharlesCornellStudios Autocorrect!!!

[@metodemersic]

@@ckextreme ok, so you meant improvise... Great, cause for a second there I made a mistake. You know, improving and improvising go hand in hand, but are not the same :) Still Charles, daily improvisations? Any thoughts on that? And thanks

[@Dprest-nd4yc]

@@metodemersic make this happen

[@BobbyBattista]

The holidays are still bouncing around the mind @ 9:19, 10:13 "Here we are as in olden days" :)

[@arieanaeberle9794]

Happy I wasn't the only one who heard that!

[@thescowlingschnauzer]

OF. YORE!

[@dladmsdn1223]

that level 3 improv was like a beautiful conversation. as soon as charles hit the notes, the notes sung back to him, to which charles then responded--and the cycle continued.

[@mrnobody0123]

Jacob Collier: Allow me to introduce myself

[@vincentnguyen3068]

Me: *Hits random notes on keyboard* Piano: "bruh" Me: "Damn that's rude"

[@MaxRamos8]

Sounded like trash for most of level 3, only got good like the last half but it wasn't great

[@4lexflp]

@@MaxRamos8 that was more complex than your brain, but it went over it anyways.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@4lexflp I agree with Max. Just random notes a lot of it. Kind of aimless wandering. Most people who have spent a lot of time on an instrument can put something like that together. It's mostly just playing little snippets they know from other music from muscle memory and mishmashing together.

[@kam._5969]

Nobody: Children squeezing limes into their mouth: 6:52

[@STEREODVST]

Idk improvisation is just literally vibing. You vibe with the chords and melodies. And just. Idk. Vibe with it.

[@adhLIGHTS]

Vibe the vibe a second

[@evieatarax]

When you get down to it, jazz is just musicians straight up vibing

[@romistako2938]

That phrase sounds so neo-soul hahahahah vibin'

[@crade9126]

Agreed

[@adenmcdooflez]

Literally could not have been described in any better way lol

[@JamesThatcher]

The best way I can describe this: Level 0: You're buying a used house, someone has done all the work - you're just moving in Level 1: You're buying a kit house, you've got everything you need here to build a house, but you have to make it yourself Level 2: You're buying a house that has the foundation and the framing all done, but you need to put in the drywall, paint, (maybe the roof) before you can move in Level 3: You have a bare spot of land, and you need to build a house. You may see someone else's house and try to duplicate it, but you have no blueprints I think that's the best way I can describe it... I've focused a lot of my musical playing around Level 2 and 3, because frankly I like building things, but I have mad respect for people who can do Level 1 and make it sound like their interpretation aside from the original composer/artist

[@xXCursedWorgenXx]

level 1 would be remixes then? covers that have more than the original?

[@destinseese34]

@@xXCursedWorgenXx level one is more like looking at a Melody written on the page, then changing a couple notes and adding things. I guess a cover would work, but improve isn't usually an entire song, especially in jazz, unless you're talking free jazz or something to that extent.

[@jameswang3860]

Even madder respect for people who can play at level 0 and make it sound like their own. People who play Beethoven, Chopin like they mean it. Too often classical pianists are machines

[@kenneth1767]

I like the analogy. I once built a level 3 house in the African bush, using the raw materials from nature: poles, thatch, rocks, slate, timber. It was the most satisfying creative project ever tackled.

[@QStar3]

Me: Level 3 is absolutely gorgeous Also me: *it sounds like every Ear Training 4 student’s worst transcription nightmare* 🤯

[@jezreelsanchez232]

QStar3 I’m only in ear training two and I’m terrified 😭

[@cinnabard955]

Jezreel Sanchez yes ear training two is already mortifying me but ear training four is going to kill me

[@frankiemidnight4218]

Glad you enjoy this kind of stuff! As another jazz pianist, check out Keith Jarrett’s “Facing You” and “The Köhln Concert” albums. He’s on of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, especially for his free his improvisations, like Charles does with his Level 3.

[@lunicium]

I could listen to an entire album of that last piece. I didn't want it to end. Truly beautiful stuff, man.

[@noidentificationable]

Lunicium well there’s plenty of it!

[@sicarius9156]

Youd probably like H. John Benjamins album Well, i should have... :P i dont mean it like its bad i actually like it

[@keman4913]

@@noidentificationable where?

[@ominouscry6886]

Man, level 3 thoooo, that melody was beautiful and reminded me of rain, especially the beginning

[@Liv24_Productions]

OminousCry at first i read rain as iran

[@josephlee4704]

never heard a youtuber say “thanks you even if you aren’t subscribed” shows the passion he has for this much respect💯

[@LOCAL_LEE]

I thought this would be a skit, but... *I'm not disappointed*

[@lukasleherbauer9668]

10:40 that sounded soo beautiful it was absolutely amazing sand satisfying

[@dank980]

Yes

[@mose918]

sounds like snow

[@derekpintozzi2498]

@@mose918 like vince

[@kazetakie]

I’m calling it now: Charles is the Bill Nye but for music

[@levvi917]

*Vsauce

[@SheldonBird]

*Adam Neely

[@levvi917]

@@SheldonBird Adam neely is the Vsauce of music so I geuss that works

[@setmason1510]

doesnt make any sense... bill nye has a degree in mechanical engineering. He's just a puppet with a script.

[@N3therPig]

8:51 "allow it to pu- *ad break* -sh forward"

[@kam._5969]

3:54 i'm going to screenshot this, put it in black and white and tell my kids this was erik satie

[@minakothememequeen1281]

I swear this guy is so talented

[@IAmZellixx]

I could tell that there was a couple moments in level 3 that you started thinking about what you’re playing, then towards the end you let go and let it steer you. Honestly I like Yanni’s interpretation of free improv as well(manifested in the “creative mode”), where he explains that the creative mode is like a butterfly that lands in your hand. If you grab it or reach for it, it disappears. You just have to let it land in your hand and go wherever it wants. The same applies to free-styling rap as well.

[@pedert3403]

As someone who is trying (and slightly struggling) to get back into playing Piano/Keyboard I really appreciate these videos

[@miguelgallegos5879]

“Level zero is playing a song by reading sheet music” Me: doesn’t know how to read sheet music, so I’m in level -1...

[@EdgePitSwing]

your improv piece really took me somewhere. wonderful stuff. 🙂

[@ianperich7299]

12:04 the licc intensifies

[@alastairk0159]

I was expecting a sketch. I'm still very satisfied. I love seeing you actually show off your talent

[@daisukekambe6282]

A free piano tutor 🔥🔥

[@user-ij5nn8oj6j]

When you not even have level 0 'cause you can't read sheet music the right way...

[@notcarrotnose258]

rip

[@GeneralAeon]

When you -1 because you can't keep in time

[@itselira]

But it's improv...

[@Nihlm]

@@itselira the levels of improv in the video are based from going from sheet music to free form, not bad improv to good improv

[@WoodyGamesUK]

Then you can skip directly to level 3.

[@MrOzman999]

Dude straight up catfished us all with the premise of displaying 3 examples of musical concepts, actually soars into a free-form piano improv like an absolute lad. 10/10 would subscribe again

[@HeRo_Snare]

Level 1&2: Yeah these are pretty nice and fun. Level 3: Ahh I see im going to cry now, I feel nothing but joy WHAT HOW?!

[@sairaiiii1692]

i have exam tomorrow nah whatever this is much useful than school dah

[@notcarrotnose258]

dang same, good luck man

[@liamhenderson7367]

1:31 Are we getting a facereveal at 1M subs?

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

No

[@liamhenderson7367]

Darn :(

[@rubyjulivre1136]

@Alexandros Nicolacakis yes we missed the real jimmy

[@liamhenderson7367]

@Alexandros Nicolacakis yes!

[@JBlandie]

Dude I'm loving your longer form explanatory content. You, Neely, and a few others thrown in are helping me become a much better musician!

[@ChristianLeovido]

You kept me 100% engaged with your free improvisation. I was listening to every single note and I could hear a blend of contemporary classical, impressionism, jazz, modern/minimalism... the way you mix everything together and the transitions between the sections is truly creative.

[@elyssathompson905]

Your level 1 is my level 100.

[@lorettabes4553]

And that is okay! Everyone learns and improves on their own pace.

[@littlefishbigmountain]

I think you misunderstood the concept of “level 1”

[@sicarius9156]

@@lorettabes4553 Seeing comments like yours makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, thank you

[@yevheniia.yevheniia]

Thank you, Charles, for your kindness to share your experience and knowledge with us. And congratulations on 500.000 subscribers! We all admire your skills.

[@eabaggins]

The improve at one point reminded me of a Radiohead song, Daydreaming

[@ethanpiper6221]

Evren YES

[@Max-jf5vu]

I actually recently started doing the 'Level 3' improv (messing about) because I finally feel like I'm at a level where that kind of improv occasionally sounds nice. It's such a freeing thing to do and sometimes I even surprise myself with a few passages of chords that sound great together (even though I generally don't know why that is in terms of music theory). Anyway, thanks for another awesome video and a big congratulations for 500k - you really deserve it!

[@SpeedTim]

I shared your Channel to many friends and they all loved it, so you deserve this. I think that you are a great pianist and would be a nice teacher, and i just love your stuff so big love on you. Kisses from France 🇫🇷❤️

[@zinnian3186]

As a classical pianist, I found this so helpful. Thank you so much for your insight and congrats on 500,000 subs!

[@uhmari.]

Watching him watch his hands move across the keyboard while doing free improv is *beautiful*

[@kenneth1767]

Yep, it's like watching the muse tell you what's going to happen next in the story you're writing.

[@filoggianu]

Those kind of videos are amazing! I find they are really inspiring for every music genre. Also i have never found somebody truly share their learning process, which is amazing to see this way. It' really amazing, thank you very much

[@joo.n]

Can you make a Spotify playlist of just jazz music?!

[@ajrv]

I think you might have forgot to link those guys!

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

DAMMIT. I literally always forget. My bad, fixing asap

[@krzysztofzamarlik1212]

Yes! Please, do more videos like this! I really enjoy listening to your voice (especially when I am doing something else meanwhile) and ofc the beautiful music. You are very talented composer, comedian etc. Please, don't stop!

[@GreenJay]

There's like an imperfect beauty to improvisation that I see now that I didn't know about before... I'm glad you made this.

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Petition for Charles to make a full jazz album

[@eriknestaas2270]

Wow, really good improvisation at level 3!

[@aldorr_music]

The third step can be so incredibly humbling. Sometimes it can be so intimate and personal that is hard to share with others. But ultimately it can be the most satisfying one. Beautiful improvisations by the way!

[@redyankeerose]

You are the most precious human. Your talent is incomprehensible to me but I love learning what you teach!! I took piano classes for like 10 years but was never even taught chords so anything past level 0 is way over my head. Brava, keep this content coming!

[@olakolade6656]

I love improvisation and i’ve been doing it all the time at home instead of reading sheet music(i hate reading lol so when i get to class, I kinda sometimes struggle) . You’re right, we learn the chords and stuff. I’m that one kid in class who knows how to improvise because for me it’s fun. But i’m also the last one to read sheet music, because it’s boring. hehe. I love composing ^_^ Somehow my improvisation is way more advanced than my current level of sheet music I play I love letting go. it’s the opposite for my friend who plays piano as well. she is really good at sheet reading and tries or wants to play correctly while improvising, (so she says she hates improvisation) but i’m sure she’ll get better at it sometime soon :) but I gotta practice sheet reading because I need to progress I still have a long way to go and learn with improvisation I guess we’re all different :D

[@jacksondavies1451]

We are so similar. My improv is way more advanced than my sheet music. I also love to learn music by ear because I feel it is just easier to do that way, and it is for some reason ten times easier to memorize.

[@something673]

Who doesn’t play the piano but loves his instruction video : ✋

[@lesliemartinez4739]

Well the general concepts apply to other instruments. But yeah I love his videos too.

[@acedcoffee6934]

I play the trumpet now a lot more than piano and huuuuh being in a jazz band sucks after the classical music school of 8 years .. so yeah Rip my improvisation

[@dominikizyk2216]

kaith jarrett used to play whole concerts just improvising, i strongly recommend to take a look on them because the mastermind standing behind that idea is beyond anything that i know

[@Tofumang]

amazing video Charles, I honestly really love watching the less-comedic and more technical videos about the musicality, and ur improvs r just so nice to listen to ^ ^

[@brandonrashtian7215]

10:50 “ONE DAY MOOOOOOREEEE”

[@shikaman]

Well then, now you have to release an full piano improve album please, Internet demands it.

[@delulu6969]

Just an FYI, Charles Cornell had already released an album in the middle of last year.

[@jackthecommenter2768]

Been with you since the van, ended by watching you grow.. You've come far and im so proud of you.

[@GeovannaRegazi]

The way you introduce music theory and vocabulary in a very simple and charismatic way is awesome! I applaud you for using your platform to show your music and teach in your way how people can appreciate and understand Music as an Art form better! As a musician I thank you so much!

[@evelynz1643]

"Improvisatory" is indeed a word.

[@ericlepley1742]

9:35 Renai Circulation is that you?!

[@kkmonsoon8048]

I'm watching this video before a lesson/after transcribing an Esperanza Spalding cover. The motivation is REAL today.

[@justinrossman3255]

More of this! Your teaching is concise and coherent and you come across as so sympathetic and approachable for (well, everyone, but especially) significantly less advanced players. Either way, it’s of course understandable to not make more if it doesn’t drive sufficient engagement, just know that I appreciate them and you greatly :)

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Me: IS there sheet music for- (Charles kicks down my door) Charles: I'm gonna use this keyboard to give you a bad time. Me: Help

[@TheEnderLeader1]

Dadada-da, da-da-da-dadada

[@mrpk646]

Bruh why do I see you everywhere hahaha

[@TheEnderLeader1]

@@mrpk646 he comments on everything. There's quite a few of them. Him, StickMaster500, Justin. Y, look on any popular video and you'll see comments by them. Although Justin. Y seems to have slowed down recently.

[@LucasStoten1]

There were moments in your Level 3 improv where you took the harmony to the exact place it felt to me like it was yearning to go (and not just in predictable cadences) and other times when it totally diverged from my expectations in the best way. Very nice

[@mooxim]

That was beautiful. It was totally enhanced by the fact that I know you a little bit and you explained what you were doing. I really feel like I just witnessed a work of art being born. Magical.

[@lw1824]

Yo I love you you’re a great youtuber! You’re one of my favorites. You do funny things, silly things, serious things, educational and informative things, it’s great! I’m a pianist myself. I grew up learning classical music but I joined the jazz band at my school and I’m having a lot of difficulty learning how to play a new genre, one that’s so different from classical. I’m learning a lot from you and your videos help a lot, so thank you! 😊

[@emmaghiu01]

This was a great explanation! I do a lot of improv for my church worship team and it’s really hard to explain to people how I play what I play when I improvise, it just happens😂

[@leodixon6188]

Charles has finally come out of hibernation!!!

[@MegaGermanShepherds]

Level 3 seems like when a group of performers don’t have the sheet music or remember the chords. Reminds me of jazz combo last fall when we were memorizing some of the songs and then when we got to Recorda Me, the other two woodwindists (tenor and alto player) did not play the melody with me and left me to do it on my own after my solo (last solo) and I messed up so much on my clarinet. This really helps out! Even I learned a new way this month when we were having normal classes instead of online, there was a way of improvising which is to sing and create a melody line to make it sound so much better. A friend of mine, the tenor sax player who let me do Recorda Me’s melody alone, taught us all this in jazz combo about this.

[@antoniomontemuro9751]

This is great, man. Keep making this kinda material. Wish you the best

[@Joelkikkoman]

More. Yes. More topics. Just cover more topics, that’s what I want!

[@okwa477]

The song Charles uses in level 1 and 2 is called I Love You by Cole Porter for anyone who was wondering

[@cassylk22]

your piano playing is *heaven*

[@Ribo138]

I love it when you let yourself go into the music. Congrats on 500k! You never answered whether or not we could hang when I come to Colorado for my birthday... keep up the good work Charles!

[@ronisawyer5371]

I've been watching your videos for awhile now. I always found the skits hilarious, even if I didn't have a piano. I'm in choir, so I have musical background. I recently got a keyboard for my birthday and I was so excited! I only know how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and I know it's going to be a long journey. Your videos will help to motivate me along the way. So happy to be one of your 500k Subscribers! You deserve them.

[@fiqrisharel3542]

*I need the sheet music for this*

[@kidaneJK]

The fact that number three is a thing amazes me cuz I thought I was the only person that’s was that’s crazy to go crazy forget about “structure” I really appreciate this please do not stop make videos like this!!!

[@thomasmogensen8084]

I really love the music that you make - and having you explain how you think and how you approach music is really the key to why I've started watching your videos :) So a HUGE "YES" to making more videos like this! :)

[@emb8144]

i feel like once you get to a certain level of piano playing you should be able to improvise relatively easily. making it sound *good* on the other hand..... **not so god damn easy**

[@TuftyVFTA]

Fabulous! Thank you! ps. I'd love to hear your jazzed up version of "Fly me to the moon"

[@lapatron555]

He did one!

[@TuftyVFTA]

@@lapatron555 ooops... yeah you're right... Time to go digging through vids!

[@louisbrown02]

Fly me to the moon is already a standard

[@vibranium645]

First video of yours I’ve stumbled upon and I love how genuine and reliable your video is!! Take my subscription sir

[@EagleS0ng]

I love doing that! I usually play random, made up stuff when I have nothing in particular to play, but I've never thought about it so deeply. And I've never done it quite like you did. You made the whole thing an experiment, testing each individual key and seeing where the sound would lead. I've played and made up random-ish melodies off the top of my head, but not like that. I've never (yet) learned to read sheet music, so learning and playing by ear is basically all I got in most cases. So I suppose improvising plays a part in that in a way. I've just never thought about it. Anyway, that honestly truly inspired me. Thank you, Charles! I also loved what you were playing in the other clips. Could listen to it all day. I can jazz things up a bit, but I'm no where near your level. Just wanna say your amazing and love learning from you just as much as I love your crazy videos. Congrats for 500k!

[@joeyl8348]

9:35 patiently waiting for him to continue with Renault circulation

[@gure7142]

9:35 I hear a lil bit of Mia and Sebastian's theme there 😳

[@naytfb739]

Youre making me happy and inspired every time i watch you . THANK YOU!

[@kimhroberts3925]

"You're brain wants to stop you from playing nonsense and most of the time that's a good thing." I love the conversation about states of consciousness this statement opens the door for! 🔥🎶

[@StrikerInfinity]

When level 1 is harder than your sheet music

[@darius_moglia]

Man, i think you are the most listenned jazz musician ever

[@ElisabethElaineS]

I love the way this is described and Your improv is breath takingly beautiful 🎵💖🎵💖 I literally just want to listen to you play forever!

[@zmbieblaster66]

You can visually see at 11:16 where his emotions connect with the music and its just perfect harmony from there on out. Not overly complicated but the feeling is in tune with his hands. Kind of like a train of thought getting up and running. This is why I personally love improv. Great vid!