David Salminen

After years of creative work, a pianist may discover that the emergent metaphorical roles of the right hand vs. the left hand in piano playing (as opposed to what comes only from copying, training and tradition) take on or project quite different psychological forces. Regardless of whether we “like” what comes out of that collaboration… the aim is all! When the weaker partner (the other side of the brain, symbolized by the left hand, etc.) takes on a conscious role in our lives, equal and complementary to what is more typically dominant in our modern experience, new possibilities emerge. I see this developing in my own music making over time, as I get older and hopefully more mature… Some of my spontaneous improvisations go far beyond what I might have “planned” to create! The “Into the Dark” concert, especially Part Two, which you can find on the video part of this site (recorded by videographer and multi-instrumentalist John-Henry Dale) is a good example of the right/left integrative progress, when compared with my improvisations of some years ago. If you can observe examples of such progress in your own life – whether you play piano or find personal expression in other ways – please write… I’d love to develop this kind of evolving awareness and integration in collaboration with others.