The Steady Pulse · A 90-day piano practice & pain journal

Ten minutes a day where the pain doesn't own your attention.

A daily appointment with sound for absolute beginners living with chronic pain. Your left hand keeps a slow, steady pulse. Every day brings one new sound to listen to. Ninety days, ninety different sounds — no page ever repeats.

Get the journal — $24 or try Day 1 free

Instant PDF download · No experience needed · You will never read a note of sheet music

Cover of The Steady Pulse, a 90-day piano practice and pain journal by Piano Walker

Your pulse note · the low C, once per second · that's the whole starting point

Hi. I live with chronic pain too.

On June 12, 2019, I hit my head — and my life changed forever.

I went from busy entrepreneur and business advisor to someone with memory issues and constant, debilitating headaches. There is no hour I clock out of it.

But I noticed something at the piano. While I'm playing, I'm not thinking about the pain. I'm thinking about the music. My attention — which the pain usually owns — is busy somewhere else, following a pulse, listening for the next note. For ten minutes, the volume changes.

Piano is how I set up my mornings now, and where I send my mind for a break when it needs one — which is often. This journal is that discovery, turned into a daily practice anyone can do. If you can press one key over and over, slowly, you can do everything in this book.

— David, Piano Walker

Look inside

These are actual pages, not mockups.

Every page has the same calm shape: your before numbers, one new sound shown right on the keys — green for today's notes, red for C, your home note — a short "play around" idea if you want more, and two questions to tilt your day somewhere better.

Day 1 journal page — The Pulse, pressing a single low C — Day 1 · The Pulse

Day 14 journal page — the A major chord shown on the keyboard — Day 14 · A major

Day 43 journal page — the D minor 7 chord — Day 43 · D minor 7

101 pages · US Letter · designed for home printing or a tablet with a stylus

How a day works

Three small moves. About ten minutes.

Jot your numbers

Pain and mood, each 0 to 10, in a small box in the corner. Ten honest seconds. No judgement — just information.

Meet today's sound

One new thing per day — a note, a chord, an interval, a texture — shown right on the keyboard. Left hand keeps the slow pulse.

Play, then check back in

Ten minutes with the sound, your after numbers, and two short questions: one to check in with your day, one to tilt it somewhere better.

Your 90 days at a glance

Ninety days, ninety different sounds.

The journey circles the entire circle of fifths and back. No page ever repeats.

Days 1–10First Sounds — pulses, walks, echoes and silence

Days 11–22All 12 major chords, around the circle of fifths

Days 23–34All 12 minor chords, around the circle

Days 35–40Two-note colours — the great intervals

Days 41–52Seventh chords — one note fancier

Days 53–58Sus & add chords — neither major nor minor

Days 59–70Inversions — every chord, three ways

Days 71–78Patterns & textures — arpeggios, waltzes, waves

Days 79–88Progressions — chords that travel

Days 89–90Your music

Green keys show each day's sound. Whenever C is part of it, it appears in red — your home note, always easy to find.

Why this can help — honestly

Music does not cure chronic pain. This book will never claim it does.

But a large body of research suggests music can change how pain is experienced — and that is not a small thing. Pain isn't a simple signal travelling from body to brain; the brain actively shapes it. Attention, mood, stress and expectation all turn the volume up or down.

The Steady Pulse works on exactly those dials: a daily practice that gives your attention somewhere to be, a mood check-in before and after, and ninety small moments of "I did that." It's a wellness companion, not a treatment — and it's designed to sit alongside whatever plan you've made with your healthcare team, never to replace it.

Get the journal

Start your ninety days tonight.

$24 · instant PDF download

101 pages — 90 unique daily pages, no two alike
Every sound shown right on the keys — never a note of sheet music
Pain & mood check-ins, before and after, on every page
A "play around" extension each day when you want more
Print it at home or use it on a tablet with a stylus

Get The Steady Pulse — $24

30-day guarantee: if it isn't for you, reply to your receipt email and you'll get a full refund. Keep the PDF.

Not sure yet?

Take Day 1 for a spin — free.

Get the welcome letter, the how-to pages, and the full Day 1 page as a free PDF. Sit at the keys, press one low C in a slow pulse, and see how ten minutes feels. That's the whole ask.

Send me Day 1 free

The free sample: the full Day 1 page — Included in your free sample

Questions

Asked and answered.

I've never touched a piano. Is this really for me?

Yes — it's written for exactly you. Day 1 is pressing one key, slowly. You will never read a note of sheet music; every sound is shown as coloured keys on a picture of the keyboard. If you can press one key over and over, you can do everything in this book.

What kind of keyboard do I need?

Any piano or keyboard with at least 49 keys works, and 61 or more is comfortable. No pedals, no extras. If sitting is hard, standing at a keyboard is completely fine.

What if I miss days?

A missed day is a rest, not a failure — the book says so in writing. Pages are numbered by day, not dated, so you pick up exactly where you left off, whenever that is.

Will this help my pain?

Honestly: it may change how you experience it, and it will not cure it. The journal is a wellness and self-reflection companion built around attention and mood — not medical advice or treatment. Keep following the plan you've made with your healthcare team.

Is there a printed version?

A paperback edition is coming. The PDF is designed for home printing (US Letter, black and white printing works fine) and it's lovely on a tablet with a stylus.

How do I get the file?

Instantly. The moment your order goes through you'll get a download link on screen and by email. If anything hiccups, reply to the receipt email and a real person — me, David — will sort it out.