Impromissm

This piece is also from the archives, circa 2005. It's one of the first things I put together using 'real' studio gear. It uses software sounds from Garriten's Personal Orchestra, the first orchestral sounds I ever owned. I had to do some re-working of the song, as it was created using the old set-up, and after an evening of work, I think I have it the way it's supposed to sound. Or as close as I can get to it.

Now, the quality of these orchestral sounds are amazing. Though the mp3 format probably doesn't do it justice, they sound exactly like the instrument as if it were right there in front of you. They had actually gotten a violin, or whatever instrument, to play each note and recorded what it sounded like... it's crazy. The Steinway Grand sound is particularly impressive, listen for its solo. Cello ensemble sound is also very real sounding, as is solo violin (the single note that happens after a break in the music) --- actually, ALL the sounds are excellent!

Unfortunately, the problem with this sampling technique to get high quality sounds is that it takes up a lot of computer processing power. In fact, people buy entire Mac computers just to run this one software specifically. I however, did not have that luxury so, the software is being stored right now. Maybe for another day. Hope you all enjoy.  

Park Days

This piece is one from the archives. Since I moved, the setup of everything had to be changed, and some pieces were “broken”. I just re-jigged this piece tonight, and it now works fine.

Background: the music is about a day at the park (uh, from the title...) It’s a happy park, with vividly green grass (no yellow dry patches), and jugglers, ice-cream stands, and those entertainer people on unicycles. The flutes in the opening melody are reminiscent of happy birdies flying around. Wow. I sound like those music commentaries from those dreaded music history textbooks...

In the middle of the piece, there is a boy who asks his mother for an ice-cream cone. She is hesitant, but then he pleads, giving her the “big sad eyes” (harp plucks) and finally, she gives in and says “Well, OK” (french horn). There is then a ‘wobbly’ sounding part that follows - that would be one of the balancing acts of the entertainers. Is he going to fall? That is one tall unicycle... it’s those crazy ones. I am not entirely satisfied with the marimba used in the piece, but I couldn’t find the good orchestral marimba sound. Perhaps a little more digging and rejigging is in order...

The day ends with a happy theme - a joyous hurrah for a day well spent at the park.

First Blog Ever! - A Dramatic Sketch

Well, here ‘tis, the first entry in my blog. Allison (sis-in-law) inspired me to make one so... ta-da! We’ll see how it goes. It is, as the title indicates, a place to store creative meanderings. Made of paper, or music notes. I’m not usually that creative with anything else - words, paint, photos... no good. I’ll stick with what I know.

 

So, for those who have been to my place, you will have noticed the tiny den with a gigantic keyboard, and a lot of things with buttons, knobs and blinky lights. No one really knows what I do with that stuff. And no one’s ever seen me actively using that stuff. So now, here it is. What I do with that stuff.

 

For my first entry... it is a dramatic bit that popped into my head randomly. It didn’t turn out exactly as planned, and I’m not entirely satisfied with it, but it was late... and I was done for the night. Perhaps some revisions to come later. Check it out, if you so feel inclined.