Practice. Study. Repetition.
These are the familiar patterns of learning: for a musical instrument, a new language or most other skills. Dreaming. Resting. Feeling. Are these modes the break from that work, or can they also be a part of it?
Those interlocking experiences were on my mind while listening to Jeff Beal’s new album, “New York Etudes Volume 2,” letting the gentle patterns of the piano solos wash over me.
In his two volumes of “études” (studies) for piano, Beal has written music that is a form of practice, both for processing thoughts and finding peace. It started as a sort of musical journal when he moved to New York City in 2021, with only a piano in his apartment.
Beal is best-known for writing Emmy Award-winning film and TV scores, including “House of Cards” and “Monk.” Most of his music has been written in front of a computer and played by studio orchestras. Here, he embraces lower-tech, intimate and direct pieces that evoke simplicity while having a lot of thought behind them.
The second album of études follows some major changes in Beal’s life, including the passing of his parents. That sense of loss is reflected in the music, most directly in the final track, “Last Breath,” while never turning fully dark in its melancholy. It all has a sense of light and air, while my favorites are those playing with contrast, especially “Summer Spring” and “Dark and Light” in the middle of the album.
For fans of Phillip Glass, Max Richter or Ólafur Arnalds — composers who have created high art of seemingly simple music — this album is definitely something to check out. For the pianists out there, Beal has also published the sheet music for these etudes, so you can try practicing them yourself.
