The Gnome

@jim-4

Link To Score

It is a lovely sunny day, but before you get up, here’s a thought. Do you know what has been happening in your garden? The Gnomes are already awake and going about their business before they are interrupted by humans. The fact of the matter is that Gnomes do not want us to know they are really alive. Probably frighten of what we would do to them. Humans have a long record of abusing what they do not understand, and don’t forget Gnomes are magical creatures.

I just imagined what it would be like in your garden, if you had gnomes, and how they would go about their day. I imaged how they would wake up. Gnomes sleep standing up, and then as they awoke, just having a sneaky look around the world. Cautiously at first, checking for danger, ie us humans and at the same time taking a moment to admiring the beauty all around us. If it is all clear they begin to move, slowly at first, a little stiff from a night spent perfectly still. As the sun warms up all around, they would take the time to greet their neighbours and be prepared to help any who may need a hand.

I think Gnomes get a bit of bad publicity because they are really friendly. It is us humans who cause all the problems and this quiet race is just trying to co-exist in the mad world we have created, but have failed to nurture for all. If the truth be know I would guess that Gnomes probably don’t like humans, but I also feel they are too dignified to judge us, quite so harshly. They try to see the good in all.

This is one of my older pieces, I wrote it in 2022. In fact it was written on MuseScore and the instruments are all from Garage-Band. Having another listen to the finished product I decided to have another go at the mixing. Basically I used a far wider pan (if that is the right word), so that I think you can hear the bits better. Is this where I have been going wrong?

Sunny Day in Ireland

@jim-4

Link to Score

This is my attempt to convey some of the things I feel on a summers day. I have a conflict one one side there is a laziness, sit back and enjoy the day. While on the other I feel I should get out and enjoy the day. I mean here in Ireland we do not get many sunny days, you do not want to waste them especially if you are not at work, but how? Do you go mad put your life in your own hands and actually do something outside. The options range from gardening to actually going to the beech. We are lucky here in Ireland there are many unspoilt and beautiful beeches, not far from my home. Or do you stay at home, like a coward, just in case the weather changes?

When I first came up with the tune it felt as if something was stirring, it may have helped that while I was working on it the sun was shinning all day everyday. I remember sitting in my garden and humming the tune, it just felt so apt.

It has a funny instrumentation Piano, Cello, Oboe, flue and Bassoon and this version uses Garage-band Instruments. It has made me think again about using the BBC Symphonic plug in because the more I hear it the more mushy and heavy the overall effect is. It hides some of the things I am putting into the music. Don’t get me wrong it has a very rich sound but I suspect the problem may lay with me. Perhaps I need to work more at the mixing stage. I just prefer the lighter sound you have here, I think you can hear the subtleties far better. For my money it is these bits that bring the piece to life.

Personally I think this works and I like this.

Having said all this to myself perhaps I need to revisit Buterchurn Drive.

Crazy Dentist

@jim-4

Link to Score

The question of the day is, can you tell a story with just music or must you use words like a song? We all know music can enhance an emotion or express one like in film music, try watching a film without the music background and a lot of the emotional content disappears. I am also aware that many major events be them happy or sad are often connected to a piece of music. I am also certain that many pieces of music rely on their emotional impact on what we have been trained (or maybe better put conditioned) to understand as sad, happy etc. Then again not everyone makes the same emotional connection. Music can point to things like marching music implies military. There are long standing theories that different keys represent different shades of emotion.

But emotions are not stories.

So the question remains can you tell a story with music or do you need hints either verbal written or pictures to set you on the right path. Well Crazy Dentist is an attempt to tell a story in music.

You may want to hear the music before reading on

Main Points

• Bored sitting in the Dentist waiting room. There is always a hint of fear here, the sound of the drill. The anticipation of what is to come.
• The dentist comes in and after greetings, invites you into his surgery. Although he is polite you get a sense of something.
• As he works on your teeth things get more intense. That dark undercurrent seems to grow.
• When it is over you want to get the hell out of there.
• But you need another appointment.

Please bear in mind I think all dentist are a little crazy. If you look at the score you will see a laugh that I use now and again. I just can not understand why they do what they do. I once asked a dentist this question and he told me it was all about the money.

I would love to know, good or bad, what you think.

Catherine The Great

@jim-4

Link to Score

In my opinion Catherine The Great was to Russia what Queen Elizabeth the first was to England, a great Monarch who brought stability in troubled times. By todays standards you could easily accuse both of being blood thirsty, but those were the days. The Russian people were used to being ruled by force. Many of it’s people where serfs, which is really a form of slavery. I think that this goes a long way to explain why Russia is what it is today. It’s people have never been able to enjoy democracy.

For my part I envision her as a proud, strong Woman. Yes, she had to scheme and plot, but I also think she had a softer side that knew how to let her hair down and have some fun. She was born of royal blood in Germany, a country then made up of small states ruled by Princes, who were really electors for the title of Holy Roman Emperor. She was able to hold her end in a court where intrigue and plotting was part of the fabric, failure in this regard could lead to death. Underneath there had to be a lot going on, strong enough to wrestle the throne from her husband, She then went on to rule for many years.

I have tried to make the music sound courtly, I hope the melody sounds like it could have come from the late 1700’s, about the time of Mozart. To my ears it sounds like a courtly dance, arranged for a simple backing of Piano and Violin, (I think Pianos where about then, although very much under development). Underneath there is a lot more going on. I have tried to experiment with constant time changes, without making it sound too weird.

Again this version is straight out of Musecore. I am pleased with the result.

Fagin

@jim-4

Link to Score

Living in the twilight world of Victorian London. Where he controlled a gang of children, who where often orphans or runaways with nowhere else to go. He offered shelter and companionship and in return he opened the door for them to a life of crime. This would end either in an early death at the end of a rope or in transportation to Australia. Here is a character that Charles Dickens hated, his name was Fagan. He was portrayed as a coward, sneaky around getting others to do his dirty work. Unless others of course it was he that was being bullied by others more frightening.

It is interesting that Dickens who today would be seen as a reformer, portrayed Fagin as a Jew, a byword for people who were not to be trusted and treated as outcasts. Antisemitism was alive and well then. Dickens also made sure that he came to a bad end, hanged in Newgate Prison. He would have had no time for the more cuddly character of the musical.

For my part I envisioned a character in the shadows sneaking around until suddenly! there he was. Like the character in pantomime, he’s behind you, only perhaps a bit more deadly. I have no doubt that in Dickens’ mind he was a killer and a disgusting human being. I have no doubt that in Dickens’ mind stealing was a worse crime than the murder of other criminals. Bear in mind though that in Victorian times the price of life could be very cheap.

I have again used the wind quartet. It has sounds that can be a little spooky and creepy. It also has an earthy sound you would associate, with the dark underworld of crime. As well as before, it is a section of the Orchestra I want to better acquaint myself with.

Again The final music is straight out of Muscore and I am pleased with the results.

Special Delivery

@jim-4

Link to Score

Confession time I was playing around with a guitar tuned in DADGAD and blow me if I didn’t have a Pink Floyd moment (Shine on You Crazy Diamond). I started to experiment, playing a D major seven cord arpeggio over different strings. I liked the result. That and a bit more tagged on, and I was left with a melody I could work with. The next step was to find variations. It’s a shame I never used them, but that is beside the point.

So there I was with something I liked that to me sounded as if it was rising. That’s when it got interesting because all I could think of, is Father Christmas taking off on Christmas Eve. I even put a Ho Ho Ho in it. The variations got forgotten about, as I decided to change key through every iteration to enhance the feeling of lifting.

The middle bit is meant to be Santa coming down the chimney and sneaking through the house to leave his presents. Then job done, returning back up the chimney to his slay. I have him doing this twice, slightly different arrangements. I also tried to show the bad weather outside. There was an abandoned idea of him making a noise, then worrying that he has woken up the whole household.

The third part is returning home happy the job is done, tired but triumphant. I could have added a welcome home from Mother Claus and the Elves but I felt the whole thing was long enough. Besides thats enough sugar for one day.

I like the arrangement, the challenge has been finding the best way of playing it. In my opinion this one with Musecore 3 supplying the MIDI and Spitfire the Orchestra gave the best results.

he Number one lesson from this is I need an idea. What am I trying to say. Even though this is not very adventurous, It makes the whole thing work better as it has an aim, a direction to travel in. I can only hope that if you listen to this you can hear what I tried to put over.

Conversation

Link to Score

This has not been the easiest (see earlier post) of pieces to write. After the last try I went back to the drawing board, or to the plan as I call it. I re-Orchestrated it again. If that is a word. I much prefer the result. I decided to call it Conversation, I ditched the idea of an argument. There is an opportunity to write a piece called argument, but that is for another day. It is definitely better than previous, it shows what can happen, by just letting it happen. Although if I am honest I am still not entirely happy.

I experimented more with louder and softer bits, and it improved no end. This is definitely something I need to work on, as maybe I can be a little shy on volume. Sudden changes in volume can be very effective, building momentum. While building up to a final climax bit by bit in waves over time is an important skill to perfect.

It have decided to give up on Musecore 4 for the moment, the final result is through Garage-Band and Spitfire audio. This is a learning process and I think for the want of a better word I need a protocol for when I am ready to hear something like the finished product.

The Timpani was an after thought. If you listen to the plan other wise known as Sonata 1708 the start is very rhythmic. The Orchestral instruments I used, did not give the same effect. I was trying to start out with a babble of conversation out of which one rather bold voice rises. Then of course another speaks and we have a conversation. Well that’s what I am hoping to put over.

There is plenty to think about here

1. Not sure if I got the interaction right
2. Need to think more about the sound that suites the music
3. Need to work on a plan so that I can export things yet still go back.
4. Need a system so that I know when the score was extracted.
5. Volume

If Possible Again

@jim-4

So, if you are following the story so far (if not try this ). I was far from happy with the second version of this piece. Although it did stir a thought about what it would sound like, all by itself on a Classical Guitar.

So I returned to Musecore, moved the bass line onto another voice in the guitar. Then I run the Midi output through Garageband (I think it has the better Classical Guitar) and here is the result. I like it a lot more. The piece loves being on the guitar, I think it is a Prima Donna and likes the attention of being out there alone. As usual there are one or two places that I think needs more work.

1. The middle section needs a bit more depth and harmony
2. The repeat after the middle section needs a contrasting arrangement

All in all it is not bad, perhaps we are getting there at last. This opens up a new question, weather it is playable in this form, and for that reason there is no score to download at present. The only way forward for me at this point, is to learn the piece on a guitar and see what happens. I have a bad memory so that may take some time, but it will be worth the effort, as I may even get a definitive version that I like. You never know, it may even help me to overcome my reluctance to record things and do an actual recording of the piece.

On the other hand, I may find other things that I may want to return too. I suppose that is all part of the fun of it. Although I am beginning to wonder if the answer to the question of when is something finished, lies between never and when you get fed up with something and decide to move on. Even then you can still reserve the right to come back to it at a later date.

If Possible

@jim-4

@jim-4

Link to Score

Starting this blog has made me look at my back catalogue and there sitting rotting away on my hard drive was “If Possible”. Something that I wrote over two years ago, had fun with it and then moved on to the next big thing. The minute I reheard it I was drawn in. It has an unsettled feeling but is still melodic. The unsettled thing is because I used Bartoks Axis

It was short and I thought too simple with just a piano over an arpeggio of the cords. So I said to my self “I am going to fix this”. First I wrote a little middle section, that allowed me to repeat the piece and change the order of the bits, to give it variety. I added some guitar to play the harmony and a bit of percussion to enhance that waltz feel. “Do you now what? “ Yes I was very disapointed. The melody still shines through but the backing is like clockwork. It dose not work. Where did I go wrong?

I think I did not analyse the music enough. I needeed to ask myself “what do I like about this?” First when I originally wrote it and now in my second encounter I though the cords where the most important. It is the notes of the appeggio. They at times cause dissinance but then at the end of a phrase they resolve. Thats where it gets its movement from. In my opinion this is really counterpoint. So if you have had a look at the score you seen many notes are enharmonic, To agree with the harmony.

My to do list on this is

1. I need to simplify the notes, what is realy going on here
2. look at doing this as a solo again, there may be room for more instruments

Then I think more of it’s secrets will be revealed

Jim

I reserve the right to Re-visit this at a later date.

Crazy

Crazy

@jim-4

@jim-4

Link to Score

When I first started the blog all of a week or so ago I was not sure why. That is always a dangerous approach. I just had a need to do it. I put it down to having too much time on my hands. At least now I have a good answer. To give my head a bit of piece. Last Friday I posted a piece of music that I felt had a few problems. Why I hear you ask. To which I reply to get rid of the horrid monster. I did not know do with it, but I was sure one off two things could happen.

• Dump it
• Add a bit somewhere

I realised that posting the music however unfinished gave me a chance to sit back and look afresh. Imagine my shock when suddenly I felt I could make a decision. So here we are maybe not finished but I could call it a first draft. I am not saying the result it is perfect, but it is in a better place. The act of posting in fact gave me a chance to get it out of my head and take a step back. I do find it hard to keep some sort of perceptive when you create on your own, because the music is always running through your head.

I am convinced that I will come back to the piece again in the future. The thing is by putting it out there I have somewhere to come back to, and after this blog a place to compare the two versions and decide what more I need to change. That could even be a complete re-write. I need na new mantra “I reserve the right to revisit this at any time”

Notes

• I used Musecore 3 to write it.
• I used Musecore 4 to finish and get a track to post, Musecore 4 dose not make track as loud, so in future may have to adjust main volume

Jim

Ghosts

@jim-4

Ghosts (Orchestral)

@jim-4

Link To Scores(feel free to download pdf)

Piano Version

Orchestral Arrangement

What I wrote

Ghosts is written in the Dorian mode with a time signature of five eight. It has a floating harmony that I have tried not to tie down too much yet still have movement. The lightness of the clarinet adds to the ghostly effect.

I like to compose music in odd time signatures as they make the music awkward. I also think any time signature that uses threes has a fluid feel. And when the tempo is slow it can be menacing.

In the Orchestral version the melody interchanges between clarinet and flute, in registers that both instruments sound light. The interchanges are to represent more than one ghost hence the title.

I apologise for the vocals but the piece needs them. Luckily I managed to find a filter that hides most of the hardness in my voice, hopefully it is not too out of tune.

The wooden blocks and triangle give both rhythm and represent other ghostly noises.

Feel free to down load and use and abuse as you wish. I do ask if you come up with something you let me know. I would love to hear any versions or uses you find for this.

Jim