Heart and Soul Revisited

My summers as a child in Panama City, Florida, were not filled with camps and planned activities. There was a LOT of free time. I remember spending time doodling around on the piano, often playing duets with anyone who happened to be at my house. One of our favorites was Heart and Soul. We played it over and over and over again, basically with three variations on the top part: Heart and Soul, Blue Moon, and Stormy Weather. It never occurred to me that there are an infinite number of other tunes that fit equally well with the simple chord structure of the bottom part.

I started thinking about childhood duets recently after mentioning the idea of creative collaboration in an e-mail to some of the people involved in a creative feedback group that is just getting started. Marianna had remarked that she had fond memories of playing chopsticks on the piano as a child and more recently with her 10-year-old nephew.

One of the things I would like to try with the creative feedback group is a spontaneous group effort at coming up with new variations on Heart and Soul. Just yesterday I added One Fine Day, Just the Way You Look Tonight, and a few others. I think this would be a fun way to illustrate how collective thought is often more creative than the thinking of an individual.

If you are reading this and you have a tune to add to the list, please make a comment!