Lyrics:
Tell me what to say, 'til I know the words by rote.
Tell me what to play. Write out ev'ry single note.
Tell me what it means, so I don't have to use my brain.
Tell me how to feel, so I know I'll feel no pain.
Just sing a melody from some old music box.
Take me back to yesterday. Just turn back the clocks.
You never change your tune. You see no reason to.
Is there something I can say, that will get through to you?
Teach me how to float, so I'll know if I'll sink or swim.
Teach me how to smile, so my life won't seem so grim.
Teach me how to cope, so I know I can survive.
Teach me how to love, so I know that I'm alive.
This one was pretty fun to play and sing. It is a rock/blues that I would love to someday hear played with a rock ensemble. I used a music box sound at the beginning and end, generated by my XV-5080. It is actually separated into three layers, two that have arpeggios, and one with a melodic line (heard only at the end). Each of the the three layers has its own location in the horizontal pan space.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Week 12 - "Feeling Like a Dump Truck"
Lyrics:
Sometimes it feels like you should have stayed in bed
With all these troubles floatin' through your head.
There's no other way to describe
This awful negative vibe.
When you're feeling like a dump truck.
Sometimes you just run out of luck.
Sometimes you just don't give a fig
When the whole wide world treats you like a pig.
Sometimes you wonder where did things go wrong?
You hope your troubles aren't gonna last too long.
But there's no better word
For when life gives you the bird.
This song was inspired by my friend Andrew Nicolette, who used this phrase the other day and challenged me to write a song based on it. This is the first song of the year for which I have played guitar.
Sometimes it feels like you should have stayed in bed
With all these troubles floatin' through your head.
There's no other way to describe
This awful negative vibe.
When you're feeling like a dump truck.
Sometimes you just run out of luck.
Sometimes you just don't give a fig
When the whole wide world treats you like a pig.
Sometimes you wonder where did things go wrong?
You hope your troubles aren't gonna last too long.
But there's no better word
For when life gives you the bird.
This song was inspired by my friend Andrew Nicolette, who used this phrase the other day and challenged me to write a song based on it. This is the first song of the year for which I have played guitar.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Week 11 - "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
Text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore.
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
I wrote this piece for a composition competition. The requirements were for a piece that is a setting of a poem in the English language about water for piano and baritone voice. I chose "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" by Longfellow, which is a rondeau, and therefore lends well to being set to music.
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore.
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
I wrote this piece for a composition competition. The requirements were for a piece that is a setting of a poem in the English language about water for piano and baritone voice. I chose "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" by Longfellow, which is a rondeau, and therefore lends well to being set to music.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Week 10 - "Lonely Tonight"
Lyrics:
No one makes me feel the way that you did back when you were mine.
Ever since you left me I still think about you all the time.
I swear that my love is real.
Don't you know how I feel?
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I need you like no one knows
And I want you to hold me close
Never in my life has anyone known me the way you do.
When you left I wonder if you ever even had a clue
how much you hurt me so.
Why did you have to go?
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I'm longing to hold you near
And I wonder why you're not here.
Why you're not here in my arms tonight
Is it not clear that it would be so right
My only fear is that you never might
Ever see the light.
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I need you like no one knows
And I want you to hold me close
‘cause I’m lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I'm longing to hold you near
And I wonder why you're not here.
I feel lonely tonight.
Lonely tonight.
Here is a song that I wrote for The Solution (Stephen Embree and Adam Embree), an electronic/pop band. I gave them a chord chart and a recording of me playing and singing it at the piano and gave them complete creative freedom to record it anyway they wanted to. They produced the recording with Ableton Live and used a Moog synthesizer for some of the noisy sounds. They describe the musical style of the arrangement as "dubstep," which is an electronic dance music that originated in South London. The results of the collaboration are fantastic. Below is the piano/vocal demo for comparison.
No one makes me feel the way that you did back when you were mine.
Ever since you left me I still think about you all the time.
I swear that my love is real.
Don't you know how I feel?
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I need you like no one knows
And I want you to hold me close
Never in my life has anyone known me the way you do.
When you left I wonder if you ever even had a clue
how much you hurt me so.
Why did you have to go?
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I'm longing to hold you near
And I wonder why you're not here.
Why you're not here in my arms tonight
Is it not clear that it would be so right
My only fear is that you never might
Ever see the light.
I feel lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I need you like no one knows
And I want you to hold me close
‘cause I’m lonely tonight. Come on by and keep me warm
I feel lonely tonight. Save me from the raging storm.
I'm longing to hold you near
And I wonder why you're not here.
I feel lonely tonight.
Lonely tonight.
Here is a song that I wrote for The Solution (Stephen Embree and Adam Embree), an electronic/pop band. I gave them a chord chart and a recording of me playing and singing it at the piano and gave them complete creative freedom to record it anyway they wanted to. They produced the recording with Ableton Live and used a Moog synthesizer for some of the noisy sounds. They describe the musical style of the arrangement as "dubstep," which is an electronic dance music that originated in South London. The results of the collaboration are fantastic. Below is the piano/vocal demo for comparison.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Week 9 - "Bathsheba's Song"
Bathsheba's Song
by George Peele (1558-1598)
Hot sun, cool fire, tempered with sweet air,
Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair.
Shine, sun; burn, fire; breathe, air, and ease me;
Black shade, fair nurse, shroud me and please me;
Shadow, my sweet nurse, keep me from burning,
Make not my glad cause cause of mourning.
Let not my beauty's fire
Inflame unstaid desire,
Nor pierce any bright eye
That wand'reth lightly.
Well, "A Year of Song" is all about trying new things. Here is an audio piece that I put together with SoundForge and Audacity. It is my reading of George Peele's "Bathsheba's Song" with musical fragments that I composed and put together to make a poetic/musical collage.
------
Update: "Bathsheba's Song" will make its concert premiere at the High Voltage concert at the School of Music Recital Hall at Louisiana State University on Monday, April 30, 2012.
by George Peele (1558-1598)
Hot sun, cool fire, tempered with sweet air,
Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair.
Shine, sun; burn, fire; breathe, air, and ease me;
Black shade, fair nurse, shroud me and please me;
Shadow, my sweet nurse, keep me from burning,
Make not my glad cause cause of mourning.
Let not my beauty's fire
Inflame unstaid desire,
Nor pierce any bright eye
That wand'reth lightly.
Well, "A Year of Song" is all about trying new things. Here is an audio piece that I put together with SoundForge and Audacity. It is my reading of George Peele's "Bathsheba's Song" with musical fragments that I composed and put together to make a poetic/musical collage.
------
Update: "Bathsheba's Song" will make its concert premiere at the High Voltage concert at the School of Music Recital Hall at Louisiana State University on Monday, April 30, 2012.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Week 8 - "Mutt Sander's Brother"
Lyrics:
Ab Gb Db Cb
Mutt Sanders was a good kid.
And people liked the things he did.
Mutt didn't do that well in school
but when you're a football star you don't have to follow the rules.
The first Sanders son could never lose
But his little brother could never quite fill his shoes.
And so I asked him, "Is Mutt too big for you?"
He said, "That may be, but what are you gonna do?"
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know, Mutt's brother never had a name.
And it was really quite a shame.
But what kind of places can you really go?
When you spend your whole life in a shadow?
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
[Organ solo]
Db (Gb-Db)
Cb (Fb-Cb)
Db (Gb-Db)
Eb (Db/Eb)
Mutt's brother knew he'd never win the game.
He knew he'd live up to his brother's fame.
So he decided to leave one day.
He didn't say good-bye but he never really knew Mutt anyway.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
This song is based on the unseen character of Mutt Sanders from one of my favorite movies - Dead Poets Society. The video shows the story of Knox Overstreet who is mistaken for Mutt Sanders' brother at a party where he begins his pursuit of Chris Noel, the girlfriend of football star Chet Danburry.
The chord changes are pretty simple and repetitive, most of the variety being provided by the Rhodes electric piano sound generated by my RD-600 keyboard. I experimented with the noise reduction feature on Audacity, which really cleaned up the vocals and also helped the clarity of the audio clips from the movie.
Ab Gb Db Cb
Mutt Sanders was a good kid.
And people liked the things he did.
Mutt didn't do that well in school
but when you're a football star you don't have to follow the rules.
The first Sanders son could never lose
But his little brother could never quite fill his shoes.
And so I asked him, "Is Mutt too big for you?"
He said, "That may be, but what are you gonna do?"
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know, Mutt's brother never had a name.
And it was really quite a shame.
But what kind of places can you really go?
When you spend your whole life in a shadow?
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
[Organ solo]
Db (Gb-Db)
Cb (Fb-Cb)
Db (Gb-Db)
Eb (Db/Eb)
Mutt's brother knew he'd never win the game.
He knew he'd live up to his brother's fame.
So he decided to leave one day.
He didn't say good-bye but he never really knew Mutt anyway.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
You know that Mighty Mutt is like no other,
but you don't know what it's like to be his brother.
This song is based on the unseen character of Mutt Sanders from one of my favorite movies - Dead Poets Society. The video shows the story of Knox Overstreet who is mistaken for Mutt Sanders' brother at a party where he begins his pursuit of Chris Noel, the girlfriend of football star Chet Danburry.
The chord changes are pretty simple and repetitive, most of the variety being provided by the Rhodes electric piano sound generated by my RD-600 keyboard. I experimented with the noise reduction feature on Audacity, which really cleaned up the vocals and also helped the clarity of the audio clips from the movie.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Week 7 - "Story of a Girl"
Lyrics:
Let me tell you the story of a girl that I met
On a lovely autumn night - one that I will not forget.
Let me tell you how I felt like I never felt before
And how I knew in a moment we would be together more.
When I saw her standing there I didn't know what to say
but it really didn't matter 'cause I said it anyway.
I walked across the room and I took a little chance.
We smiled and said "hello" and then I asked her to dance.
Somehow I knew right then and there
that you would be my one and only girl.
Yes, it's the truth. I love no one but you.
Somehow I thought that love would never find me
but then you came and changed my world.
Yes, it's the truth. And I'm glad you love me, too.
It's hard to believe that it's been so many years.
All the time we have shared - all the happiness and tears.
But still today to hold your hand feels so right
Just the same as the first time that lovely autumn night.
I wrote this song for my wife, Kari. It's a song about the night we met. The second photo in the video is actually of the two of us on that very night.
A an interesting compositional note on this piece is that the chorus is in the key of G, while the verses are in F, so there is an interesting harmonic shift. I also used the E. Organ 10 sound on my RD-600 keyboard during the choruses to give it a different color.
Let me tell you the story of a girl that I met
On a lovely autumn night - one that I will not forget.
Let me tell you how I felt like I never felt before
And how I knew in a moment we would be together more.
When I saw her standing there I didn't know what to say
but it really didn't matter 'cause I said it anyway.
I walked across the room and I took a little chance.
We smiled and said "hello" and then I asked her to dance.
Somehow I knew right then and there
that you would be my one and only girl.
Yes, it's the truth. I love no one but you.
Somehow I thought that love would never find me
but then you came and changed my world.
Yes, it's the truth. And I'm glad you love me, too.
It's hard to believe that it's been so many years.
All the time we have shared - all the happiness and tears.
But still today to hold your hand feels so right
Just the same as the first time that lovely autumn night.
I wrote this song for my wife, Kari. It's a song about the night we met. The second photo in the video is actually of the two of us on that very night.
A an interesting compositional note on this piece is that the chorus is in the key of G, while the verses are in F, so there is an interesting harmonic shift. I also used the E. Organ 10 sound on my RD-600 keyboard during the choruses to give it a different color.
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