Rainbow revisited

For the 40th Adult Beginners Forum recital, one suggestion was to revisit an early piece. Somewhere Over the Rainbow was one of the first pieces I learned when I started in March of 2012. Here is the link to the new version (link). Enjoy.

The Southwind (old Irish folk tune)

The Southwind was one of the first tunes I learned on pennywhistle. I adapted it for piano. Here is the link

It is my contribution to the August 2015 Adult Beginners Forum recital. The entire recital can be played at link2

Enjoy.

Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye)

My May 2015 ABF recital piece is Con Te Partiro. Instrument is a Casio PX150 digital piano. This time I recorded on board, then played back "live" and recorded the audio to a voice recorder. Hopefully, this makes for a recording with more life.

Here is the link to the MP3 (link).  Piano lovers can find the entire recital of over 50 submissions at link2.

From the Wiki

"Con te partirò" (literally "I will leave with you") is an Italian song written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics). It was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Festival and recorded on his album of the same year, Bocelli. The single was first released as an A-side single with "Vivere" in 1995, topping the charts, first in France, where it became one of the best selling singles of all time, and then in Belgium, breaking the all-time record sales there.

A second version of the song, sung partly in English, released in 1996 as "Time to Say Goodbye", paired Bocelli with English soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history. Brightman and Bocelli produced a version with Brightman singing in German and Bocelli in Italian, with this version being available on the CD Time to Say Goodbye. That version alone has now sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of best-selling singles of all time.

Mockingbird, February 2015 ABF virtual recital.

New upload is called Mockingbird. I started with a left hand motif and developed it. It is in C minor. The title comes from the call and response nature of some phrases, which remind me of how mockingbirds imitate other bird calls. Link1 to MP3 at box.net.

I submitted this for the February 2015 ABF recital. Those that love piano music can listen to 60+ piano uploads by other amateurs with this online player (link2 to text thread, link3 to player).

Between Raindrops C minor

The most popular word used in song titles is almost certainly "love." Second or third is probably "rain." There is something about rain that evokes emotion. This is recorded on a Casio PX150 digital piano set on half bright, half classic. I pipe it to the computer then use Audacity to boost the volume level of the recording. Here is the link to the MP3.

I submitted this to the Piano World Adult Beginners November recital. Here is more about that link2.  I am on the second page of submissions. Even though, it says Beginners, many are accomplished pianos with five, 10 or more years of experience.

Pixie Dust

Here is my latest original, Pixie Dust, in B minor. There links to the MP3, to a rough PDF, and to a rendered Youtube version. Someone else did the rendering so they may take the Youtube down at some point. Enjoy

I uploaded Pixie Dust for the virtual recital (link1) at Piano World on the Adult Beginners Forum and for the composition competition on the Composers forum (link2). I performed an earlier version live at a local music group, Songmakers.

Pancakes: Coursera on Songwriting

I took a Coursera on songwriting earlier in 2014 (link1 to main Coursera site). I spent some time working on a song called Pancakes. Briefly, the process taught involves starting with a story board with three boxes. Filling out a rhyme worksheet by identifying some key words and finding suitable rhymes. The rhymes include perfect rhymes, family rhymes, consonant rhymes. Then comes the writing of the lyrics. There are more steps identifying the stressed syllables, and the accents in the melody line. Maybe 10% of the course is about writing the music.

The boxes for the storyboard:
Box1: mom remembering her childhood, dad makes pancakes

Box2: mom remembering her fiance making pancakes

Bridge: teenage daughter comes late at night, in tears

Box3: mom makes pancakes for daughter, reassures the child

Here is the link to the music for Pancakes (link2). 

Lyrics follow:

Pancakes

I remember Sunday mornings

a kid without a care

scent of melting butter

sizzling in the air

Bedtime stories, pillow fights

tender kisses, warm goodnights

Daddy's making pancakes for me

shows me that he cares

fluffy golden pancakes for me

my happy dance on air

Through my sad times

through my bad times

dad was always there

I remember Sunday mornings

love is every where

scent of melted candles

our passion heats the air

Syrup dripping, sheets are rippling,

two hearts beat as one

My fiancee makes pancakes for me

shows me that he cares

lovely, lumpy pancakes for me

I love him without fear

Through my sad times

through my bad times

he was always there

Bridge:

I can tell you that you've been crying

You're not very good at lying

Tell me what is going on

tell me what went wrong

I can listen, hold my tongue

I remember being young

It is almost Sunday morning

pancakes are almost here

Mommy's making pancakes for you

to show you that she cares

- end -