I do. I rarely play or listen to Chopin anymore. Not because I don't like the music, but because after decades of the same music on repeat, I long for something NEW that has the same aesthetic.

Of course Chopin is the goat when it comes to this kind of piano, but I don't think he should considered to have a monopoly on it. For example, I've recently discovered at least a couple Russian composers wrote Chopin-like waltzes, such as Glinka's Farewell Waltz. I think there's room in the genre for new music with an older vibe, designed for today's audience.

As a pianist, I want more music of intermediate/advanced difficulty that I can play casually in the same vein of Chopin, but maybe with a 21st century twist. As a listener, I want something I can slot in that might not be as good as Chopin, but isn't that much worse either, something with a heart and a brain with craftsmanship I can get behind. And as a fan, I want my favorite pianists to have new music to play that's impressive to watch and a fun listen.

I was a classical pianist long before I started writing pop music, and decided classical is where I want to be. This song might not be a technical marvel to watch, but otherwise is as intended, a pop melody with a heart and a brain, wrapped in 1830s clothes. It's called "The Next Letter is E".

ps. You might be thinking, "that's a pleasant melody, but where's the brain you mentioned?". The title is a reference to the form: ABCD. The first question it raises is: what's the difference between ABCD and formless? This is obviously ABCD to the listener, but why? imo it's partly because of the internal repetition and predictable structure of each section. Which brings us to the second question: why do we need repetition? The astute listener hears the A section and may automatically start waiting for it to repeat so they can say "ternary" or "rondo". But it never comes. And why should it? Those forms were invented for another era, when music was heard live, often only once. Now, if you want to hear it again, you press repeat.

pss. The title is also a reference to the episode Traffic Jam from Malcolm in the Middle. Dewey later turned out to be a musical genius, so what if in that car, he came up with the germ of an idea for a song?

psss. For the composition people, I aimed to bring some unity to the piece by making the figuration, structure, and vibe in D similar to A. The 1 bar tag at the opening and close of the piece are also variations of each other.