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May 06, 2008 - Identity help
I got an email today asking what the piece of music in this is:
Bringing Out The Beasts
I know I wrote it... but I have no idea what it is called.
Email me at kevin@incompetech.com if you know! Thanks!
---
Got it!
It is called "Almost in F"
April 19, 2008 - New piano, new tunings
About 20 minutes of new piano work...
Just a comic piano bit...
- Comic Plodding
Pieces in "One Quarter Comma Meantone" tuning:
- Impromptu in Blue
- Impromptu in Quarter Comma Meantone
- Sovereign Quarter
Pieces in "Alpha Scale" tuning:
- Piece for Disaffected Piano One
- Piece for Disaffected Piano Two
April 15, 2008 - Music Round-Up
14 pieces that I've not yet mentioned in several genres.
These have a decidedly African-feel to them, as they were all made for the same project.
African - Infados, Night Cave
World - Confused State, Witch Hunt
Soundtrack -End of the Era, Exotic Battle, Ignosi, Myst, News of Sorrow
Stings - Morocco Sting
This one I like a lot. I recorded it when I was sort of out of sorts one morning, and heard it later, and it turned out very well!
Contemporary - Gagool
Also this week: Militaire Electronic, Vintage Education, and Phat Sketch.
Cheers!
March 16, 2008 - on Choosing instrumentation for a Project
and some of the pieces mentioned in the clip, and a pile more
Silent Film Score - Keystone Deluge, Water Droplets on the River
African - Monkoto
World - Expeditionary, Arid Foothills
Classical - A Little Faith, Mourning Song
Soundtrack - Serpentine Trek, Plans in Motion
Stings - Light Sting, Mystery Sting, Flutey Sting
March 08, 2008 - Long, Short, and Broad
February 27, 2008 - Useful
Begin edit of entry here.
End edit of entry here.
February 20, 2008 - Organs and Eigenvectors
Four new pieces of music.
February 09, 2008 - Sort of a Request
We are currently working really hard on a new Music Database user interface, as the number of pieces of music available is becoming a little crazy. It should be awesome. More on this as it develops!
February 06, 2008 - Film Bits
January 31, 2008 - Cantina Blues
I'm trying a new posting style. Here's the video.
And the link to the piece.
Cantina Blues
January 29, 2008 - Crazy Request
Sometimes I'm in the mood for odd requests. There's no rhyme or reason to these... I just got an email requesting a tango today. So I did some research, and figured out what a tango is. I got some help from Apple's loop library, and checked out Wikipedia to see what the heck they are.
Here's the result:
The snare part was super fun.
And here's the remainder of the recent soundtracks.
Also, I updated the "About" section of the site. It had some mention of incompetech not being able to make money, and and outdated rant about web design. So - that's all fixed.
January 26, 2008 - Soundtrack - Volume Two
And... here's some more music. All orchestral and soundtrack-like.
Cheers.
January 24, 2008 - Soundtrack - Volume One
Ok, I've been holding out on you guys. I'm working on a feature film right now, so I'm kind of taking the time I used to use for posting new things and using it to create new things.
Here's a selection of pieces.
More to come in a few days!
January 15, 2008 - No New Music
Just kidding.
There are bunches and bunches of new tracks now online from my good friend Jon M. T. Roberts!
He's a super-talented composer and performer, and I finally got him to go online with it all.
The music is all licensed Creative Commons: By Attribution (just like my stuff), so go and get it people!
His site looks and works a lot like mine, so there shouldn't be much confusion. :-)
http://www.jmtr.com/
Try the "Light Intermission Music". It is awesome.
And don't forget to send him emails. I promised some emails... so... I need your help with that.
January 02, 2008 - Quirk Sells
Ok, both my main controllers are out of commission still. I'm left with a 25 key mini controller.
So I made a little quirky percussion study.
Human Beat
And here's a quick percussion bit I whipped up as a short-order request:
Asian Drums
Cheers.
December 13, 2007 - Sketches
Five new pieces... that aren't really full pieces. In each of these, there is no development. There is just a groove or a hook.
What else do these pieces all have in common? You can juggle clubs to them.
Don't tell anyone. It is a super secret project.
Sketches
December 05, 2007 - 400+
Today's entry marks over 400 piece of music on my site. Yay! Not sure what I can do to commemorate this... I mean... it isn't like I can have a sale.
Seven March - Who remembers Torgo from "Manos: Hands of Fate"? It occurred to me today that this is a sort of 21st century version of that theme music.
Cherry Blossom - perfect for most situations... where nothing else works.
. . . And Six More (in Soundtrack and Horror)!
December 03, 2007 - Cha Cha and Happy
Today's update includes a... ok, I have no idea what this is - but I quite like it.
Future Cha Cha
I think it is a dance/club piece... for very very odd clubs.
Also, a quick little piano piece.
December 01, 2007 - Soundtrack backings
A couple of new pieces today:
Spy Groove - A hot mix of cool sounds. I had this one laying around for a while... I'm not certain what it was originally intended to be... it kind of just looked like a template - but I threw in some dissonant rock-like things. Fun piece.
ReignReign - Written for an animation, this has a giant change-up in the middle, so its uses are somewhat limited, but it is quite a nice piece.
November 30, 2007 - More unclassifiables
A neat piece featuring Logic's UltraBeat, the EVP88 electric piano, the EVB3 organ, a few new synths, and a voice from Apple's Voices add-on.
Uses? No idea.
AhDah
Holy-super-chilled-out piece featuring a Fender fretted bass. Is this jazz? It doesn't feel like it.
Chill
November 29, 2007 - I'm Back
After an extended trip out to NYC, I picked up a few ideas (to say the least) - so here's one of the first, a very warm trance-inducing piece.
Opium
I was considering doing an entire collection of pieces like this - as it was quite fun to make.
Also, I have no idea what that bowed stringed instrument is called - so, if you do - please let me know.
November 15, 2007 - Redoing Other People's Music
Last night, I went to see Saltimbanco from Cirque du Soleil. While the acts were fine, the music was very dated, and often not appropriate to the performances. For me - it detracted from the show quite a bit (though I will say most people enjoyed it, as it got a standing ovation).
This music replaces the music in the hand balancing act. Power, precision, and grace, yeah? Not exactly Sunday jazz in the park. [original after the jump]
What can one person do about this? Answer? iPod. I rescored one act last night for a couple of friends of mine who were going to see it today.
So take your iPod along, and hit 'play' when the people in white tophats rush downstage.
Hand Balance Redux. The timing might get off near the end... as I obviously can't play this live for you.
If this goes over well, I might rescore the whole show, so let me know what you think!
more... "Redoing Other People's Music" »
November 08, 2007 - Someone need to sing-along?
I'm just finishing up a pile of sing-along Christmas pieces for a stage production. Being seasonal, I decided to get them out as soon as possible.
Super-peppy sing-alongs! Right now, they are the first four pieces on this page. "Up on a Housetop", "Jingle Bells", "Deck the Halls", and "Oh, Christmas Tree".
Cheers, everyone!
October 21, 2007 - Short Update
I've been doing lots these last couple weeks. But not much made it up here... including 2 musicals. But here's a small pile of things...
NewsSting - a simple news-y intro
Eyes Gone Wrong - an intense but reserved transition
Disco Sting - 1980's Style intro
Darkness Speaks - unsettling transition
Bama Country - Taken as a request for a super rural country tune. It is listed as "Unclassifiable" just because I have only one country piece available. Nice fiddle, though the tremolo run didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked.
Vibe Ace - Cool, cool hybrid
Folk Round - Sort of... medieval campfire-like.
Colossus - Ahh... this one's cool... in that theatrical epic sense. You need to listen at least through one minute 52 seconds.
October 04, 2007 - Soundtracks
For the first section: pieces written for a video game.
Vampires! Halls of the Undead
Werewolves! Shamanistic
Elves! Frozen Star
and... for those of you who are always bugging me about the giant battle music...
Orcs! Stoneworld Battle
Also, a quick study with some new synths in The Machine Thinks.
And a very nice finishing piece for a bittersweet film; Rumination
October 04, 2007 - Emergency Halloween Music
Everyone loves the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor!* It is a semi-seasonal piece, so I rushed it out of the door just in time for your spooky needs.
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565
More music to come later today!
(*not true)
September 21, 2007 - Westerned Out
Oh man... I've had quite my fill of Westerns... not to mention a pile of scrap music that doesn't quite work. I think these will be the last 2 in the genre for a bit.
Western Streets - an all percussion chaotic thing
Martian Cowboy - umm... yeah. "Dark, Eerie, Epic, Somber, Unnerving" about says it.
September 17, 2007 - All over the board
Craig and Tony came over the other day, and I showed them what I was working on for Westerns. They said it sucked, and gave me some actual Westerns to look at. So I did. And my music was hideously wrong. So here's my shot at making it right.
Smoking Gun
But my Westerns were interrupted by an emergency request for a new-age Celtic (Scottish) piece. It is quite different-sounding than the last Celtic piece I did... due to the new-agedness of it.
Skye Cuillin
And a simple rock piece just for fun.
Beach Bum
Some days I wonder how such dissimilar music can come out of me in a single day.
September 15, 2007 - Celtic-sounding
Sandy had an idea... "I need something Celtic, but nothing really upbeat."
Ok, this one clocks in at 90 beats per minute, which isn't really upbeat - but it isn't slow either. I probably won't be doing this kind of music again soon, as the number of hours spent on learning that darned whistle part almost doesn't seem worth it.
Achaidh Chéide
Man... love that fiddle...
And having vanquished all the ethnic requests from the queue; one thing that has been abundantly clear in the last few days is that everyone wants Westerns. I'm looking at four requests from completely different people. I'll see what I can do!
September 14, 2007 - Logic Studio
Well, I didn't get as much work done today as I had hoped. My brand new copy of Logic Studio showed up today... and it took about 4 hours to install the thing... and another 8 hours to play with it.
Here's what I did do...
Chris had more ideas... "the paradise cantos?"
While not exactly paradise, this is certainly ethereal... and very cantos. Maybe that'll make up for it.
Arcadia
Jonathon had an idea... "Is there any way you could make some Maltese music?"
I have no idea. I'm not really an enthomusicologist, but I was provided with some samples.
I don't even know what instruments they used - but I tried to get close.
East of Tunesia (as a side note to Chris, this also may be useful for ancient Sumer)
I was having so much fun with the Maltese music, I kept going... and ended up in a disco.
Balzan Groove
And now, a complaint about Logic Pro 8. There used to be a way to change the routing of an instrument. It is STILL in the interface (e.g. "CoreAudio: Inst 1") but you can't change it! It is greyed out, and is making me crazy!
Yes, I CAN add multiple lines routed to the same poly-synth, but muting one mutes them all, and soloing one solos them all (changing the icon changes all the icons, etc). It properly opens old projects where they are routed correctly, but seems to be confused when you change something.
Anyway Apple; I LOVE the new interface... please ungrey out that line for me.
Thanks.
September 11, 2007 - More Requests
Keep them coming, folks!
Forrest had an idea... "More Kevin Organ!"
Okey Dokey. Here's some crazy funky musics with a B3 monster organ in it.
Fork and Spoon
Chris had an idea... "Wandering through the land of the dead."
I'm not sure about you - but here's what that sounds like to me...
Land of the Dead
John had an idea... "[I'd like something] about 4-5 minutes long, start off with a theme that builds towards the end, with a feeling of hope and potential. Something piano based, with perhaps more instruments towards the end."
This one took longer to get than I thought...
Eternal Hope
And I actually had an idea. I've been seeing the "Deliberate Thought" piece show up in quite a few places, so I made a sequel by taking out all the things people like, and amping up that parts that people don't care for. While I do understand this is possibly the worst way to make a sequel, it certainly was fun.
How it Begins
Also, for Chicagoland peeps: Get Downsized, a play I did the score for is playing for the next couple of weeks. Go see it.
September 08, 2007 - Some Requests... sort of
Here's the first batch of requests from people... They're not all exactly as requested, and I certainly did not do them all!
Erik had an idea... "I think it would be cool of you to compose some Japanese or Chinese music (classical type music, not the modern stuff)."
Well, I don't know anything about the genre, so I just listened to a few clips off of Amazon. I might have this completely wrong - but this is what it sounds like to me.
Ishikari Lore
Lynette had an idea... "How about some music that could go with footage of driving on a roadtrip? "
Okey dokey. Here's another genre I have little experience in. So, I cranked up the GarageBand to see what it can do.
Matt's Blues
Kristin has an idea... "How about some ancient type music. Or something that's reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Like harps and flutes in a minor key."
This one is a quite reserved sort of formal dinner kind of ancient music feel. I still might do another one that is more militaristic.
Temple of the Manes
And, I have an extra one... "Ominous Intro". This one was written for a stage production that opened yesterday in Chicago. So if you're in Chicago, go see this. It is very VERY good. And really REALLY inexpensive pound-for-pound considering the enormous entertainment it dishes out.
Get Downsized. I personally guarantee you will enjoy it... and I don't care what demographic you're from. mmm... maybe not Goths. But maybe! If you're a Goth, and you go - let me know what you think of it!
August 08, 2007 - Heaping Pile Update
What happens when I don't post for a month? Too much. Today's offerings include bits from a film, 2 animation projects, 3 stage shows, and some odds and ends.
From the feature film - a pile of piano solos:
Clear Waters
Reminiscing
Earnest
Heartbreaking
Heartwarming
Reaching Out
Reminiscing
There is Romance
Touching Story
From the animation projects
Avant Jazz
Darkening Developments
Passing Action
Promising Relationship
From the theatrical productions
Pennsylvania Rose
Vegas Glitz
Comedic Juggernaut
And some other bits...
Intended Force
Baltic Levity
Duet Musette
Parisian
Showdown
Thanks to Chris for the titles of the French-sounding pieces... and for requesting them in the first place.
June 25, 2007 - Cavalcade of Depression!
I was justing finishing off a pile of fragments I had on my desktop today. Wow, some seriously dark stuff...
- A Turn for the Worse Piano, Violin, and Clarinets. Years from now - this will be classified as a "fragment". But it is still long enough to be useful for some applications
- Trio for Piano, Cello, and Clarinet Sounds like someone is leaving and feeling bad about it.
- Grave Matters Holy lush strings! Good background. The front and back sections are independently loopable.
- Simple Duet A simple piano and violin duet. Still getting used to that cursed violin. Touchy, touchy instrument, that violin is. This one isn't so depressing as the others.
What a fun, fun day!
June 13, 2007 - Late Entry
I've been posting music to the site... just been forgetting to tell you all that I've been doing it... so these may be old to you:
- Dragon and Toast
- Sonatina in C Minor
and a few others I've already forgotten about. oops.
May 14, 2007 - Month of Music Continues!
More musics. This batch includes pieces from 2 projects (a musical and a stage performance) as well as some other pieces.
May 06, 2007 - Month of Music
Here was the plan. 50 pieces of music in one month. Well, that was the plan... the NEW plan is one piece of music every day. Keeping up the former pace was causing me too much stress for a stupid challenge.
Today is the 6th, so here's the first 6 pieces:
- Artifact Neat African hybrid
- Aretes Written for a documentary on glaciers - "a cross between Windham Hill and Enya"
- Bach's Cello Suite #1 Prelude As performed on a dulcimer. I always thought this would work well.
- Fenster's Explanation Your standard-type musical number for a female lead.
- Gearhead Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! All your Hard Rockin' Prayers are answered!
- Riptide This is another rock piece... written for a different documentary... on a subject that had nothing to do with rock music. But that's why there are large gaps in guitar (much narration).
There you have it! The Month of Music hath begun! Just 25 more pieces to go...
April 22, 2007 - InDigital
I was watching the latest episode of InDigital with Wil, Jessica, and Hahn and thinking... "You know? That music is 'ok' but it isn't perfect." It should be more of a fusion of straight-up rock (with a little clean funk), and crisp electronica. There are people talking about tech. Get it? The people are represented by the rock, and... ok, you get it.
Not only that, but the music should sound reasonable at low levels, and not stomp out the human vocal range.
It should be exciting and peppy without being blatant about it. So, a super fast tempo - that doesn't sound rushed.
And it needs to be long and loopable... for folks who can't get a review accomplished in four minutes. :-)
So those were my requirements for this project, and here is the result: Tech Talk
A strong ending would be good... but I didn't hit that one here. It ends fine, but at low levels you don't get the subtlety of the guitar fading out. Are you listening editors? Crank the ending if you use the ending!
April 12, 2007 - Too classifiable
In the past, I've had a hard time classifying the music I do. Now I have a piece that fits into 2 categories: African, and Electronica. Problem is, I only built the database with the ability to put pieces in one category.
I encourage you to listen loud.* You'll need to in order to hear the toke bell part.**
* Please don't sue for any hearing loss.
** I know, I know... the toke can go much much louder than that... I think it is being played with a coat hanger.
April 07, 2007 - North and South Waunobe
I've been getting a lot of requests for marching band music recently... actually, no. I haven't. But I did write a piece for a theater production. It is set in a small town, with a small town marching band, so that's what you get! A bare minimum of 23 musicians, not all of whom are very good. Each part was recorded individually, and no mistakes were fixed in post.
I know, a minute thirty doesn't seem like much... but you try to play all those parts over and over again while arranging them in your head! (it isn't that difficult - I just enjoy complaining)
March 23, 2007 - The Show
For one of my spare-time projects, I did a rock theme for a podcast by Paul Hughes. So, here's the opener!
March 23, 2007 - Major Overhaul: Impact - none
Ok, if everything went well, you should notice no difference in how you get music from my site. However, it is all changed. The backend is a full-blown database, which means easier updates for me, and more music online in the long run.
Here's some that have been waiting in the wings for too long... In order from longest at 3:18 to shortest at 9 seconds.
March 15, 2007 - Smooth Electronics
Deliberate Thought
This is a very round analog piece with a subtle choir. Keep listening. They're in there!
March 01, 2007 - All over the board... again.
Netherworld Shanty
First I must say, I like this one. A lot. Too much. The idea for this piece was "If purgatory had a marching band". So, there's a very badly played tin whistle, an accordion, a bassoon, and a bunch of other stuff. I'm pretty sure the melody is catchy - and the fact that it is stuck in my head is not just the result of mixing the piece for hours... Like Great Cthulhu, this piece is wonderful, horrible, and awesome. You mind will forever be marred by it.
Phantasm
I'm not going to lie to you - this piece made me ill. No joke. That being said, the music that causes me the most trouble tends to be the music that everyone loves. If you don't have a subwoofer - you won't experience the pain inducing aspect of this piece. All of the bass notes are the same volume. I guarantee it. You can tune your equalizer with this piece if some notes are louder or softer. Careful not to get sick, though. This thing has a power. Be careful with it.
Lasting Hope
This has a sort of similar purpose as the last piece, only it won't make you sick. This is one of the first things I've done with a choir. It has an almost organic synth, and some neat - if sparce - percussion. This was mixed entirely on a Mac. One day, I hope to switch to all-Mac production, but right now - I've too much invested in software on the other side... and just enough things aren't available.
Perigrine Grandeur
This piece started on my dry erase board as the rhythm you hear in the first 2 measures. But that's all I really had. It shows. The agogo was the next thing that made it into the mix... and then the hammer dulcimer. The who what? Hammer dulcimer. Yes. It is the thing that sounds like a guitar. I put it through a distortion unit and a guitar amp simulator. The result is an odd World-music hybrid that sounds like it belongs in a Cirque show on the strip in Vegas. I gave it an odd name figuring it would be hard for people to find. That's just me being mean.
This piece used to have so much more in it... but I cut it back to the bare bones. It had bridges and multiple melodies, and just a lot of stuff... but it became difficult to listen to and the coolness of the original 2 measures was lost.
February 26, 2007 - Massive drums and Light fun
A bit of warning for this first piece. The bass is very heavy. It will punch you in the gut and blow out your speakers if you turn it up too much. You'll get about 30 seconds before it hits... so don't say I didn't warn you. Big Mojo is the kind of piece you'd hear in a very loud action sequence in a very loud action film. There are plenty of cut-outs for dialog and other explosions.
At another edge of the musical spectrum; Mariachi Snooze. This is a nice light fun swing piece in a very very major mode. Nothing to offend here... just light fun.
Also, I received a great little voice-over sounder from S. L. Slaughter. If you like the sound of it and think you have a use for Voice-Overs in your own project, I suggest you contact him. The man can make anything sound exciting. Even a quilting bee. (to my knowledge he has not done voice work for a quilting bee... but he could... if you paid him money.)
February 14, 2007 - Tibet, Ireland, and Germany
Interesting day today. I continue to play with my new world music samples, and I got a request for Wagner. Wagner? Who requests Wagner? Well... she didn't know she was requesting Wagner, she wanted a recording of that traditional wedding march piece. There's quire a few wedding marches out there - but it turns out she wanted the "Bridal Chorus" from the Act 3 of the opera Lohengrin.
It is known around these parts as "here comes the bride"... the actual words start out "Treulich geführt ziehet dahin,
wo euch der Segen der Liebe bewahr'!" translation: " Faithfully guided, draw near to where the blessing of love shall preserve you!" [wikipedia]
I recorded two versions; one with a pipe organ, and another (new arrangement) on piano. Bridal Chorus's.
Also new - Himalayan Atmosphere and a solo dulcimer piece Errigal
February 12, 2007 - Celtic Demo
Just picked up a new pack for Garageband that has some nice world music samples in it. I'm still learning how to use it - but I've had requests for various ethnic musics which I've been unable to do until now. Expect more world music soon.
Celtic Impulse
Cheers.
February 05, 2007 - Shorts
This week I worked on a bunch of short films. These may all seem short, but I actually extended most of them for you.
- Dark Standoff 44 seconds. Broad low strings.
- How Swing 50 seconds. Nifty piece. Check it out. Originally written for a 1920's British audio drama.
- Disconcerned
Flute choir... Rhythm from Beethoven, structure from Holst.
- Feral Chase Orchestral chase music
- Hamster March Cartoonish pep
- Plain Loafer Similar to "No Good Layabout", but not at all similar. I need a new genre for things like this...
- Radio Martini I really like this one. A cheery sort of ditty. The presence of the clarinet means you probably can't use it under scenes with dialog, as they occupy about the same frequency range... but the piece I wrote this for didn't have any dialog, so it does a good job of filling in the space. Also, I love clarinet.
Keep the comments and suggestions coming. Also jobs. I can use more jobs. :-)
January 29, 2007 - Odd combos
Well... I finished off 30 audio pieces today ranging from 3-second sound design cuts to a 7-minute piece for a musical. I'll assume you don't want a sound effect of a talking fish and just post some music.
People have already asked what that drone instrument is in the bass. Well... I made it up. It is a combination of a tuba, a pitch-shifted bass trombone, and a trombone with a cup mute. The instrument in the melody is a soprano sax pitch-shifted up an octave.
January 23, 2007 - Vacation Compositions
I've been off on vacation, and was just killing some time at my friend Pete's place... when I needed to write some music. I just really needed to. Problem One: I had no software with me. No worries - Mac OS X comes with Garageband. Second problem: there's no MIDI setup there. Garageband has a little app where you can key things in with the normal 109-key typing keyboard. Problem three: No studio monitors.
Ok, problem three is a bit bigger. No studio monitors... no headphones available... no external speakers of any kind! Just the little tinny built-in mono speaker in the G5 tower. This is not really an easy thing to deal with. The bass lines were inaudible. I played them in a couple of octaves up, and trusted they'd sound ok in the final mix. Also, the kick drum was completely missing. I mixed it visually based on the meters.
After I got home and listened, it turned out pretty good!
I've been getting a lot of requests for these synth-based light... 'compositions', so I also did one of these. This is interesting in that I played it in at 150bpm, and then slowed it down to 68. Those layers of pedals get a little tedious at normal-speed.
Sometimes it is all about the challenge.
January 11, 2007 - Rockin' Guitarin'
Not much new lately? Well, not that I've been idle - I just finished off the soundtrack for a film that will open in New York in April. But today, I bring thee, two pieces of rock music!
Down Home Rockin is a sort of guitar-driven 12-bar blues-rock piece with a nice little piano solo. Pretty straightforward.
The other piece, Neolith, is a little harder to put my finger on. It is certainly rock - and fast rock at that, clocking in at 145 beats per minute. The guitar mostly in the right channel has a hard gate effect on eighth notes, giving it an almost percussive drive. The one on the left is extended power chords with a hint of a major mode to them - as opposed to the traditional unqualified (open root fifth) or minor chords that you usually find in hard rock pieces. The effect is striking at times.
Both are interesting. Enjoy!
December 23, 2006 - The Weasel
This piece came out of a piano sketch I did a few days ago, but really took flight during the orchestral arrangement. The very low English horn line brings a lot of character to the piece. It is supported by bassoons, and later, a bass clarinet.
Unlike last week's Bach Sinfonia, this piece has a lot of potential for film. Animators out there, you listening to this?
Behold! The Scheming Weasel! (available in 2 tempos!)
December 15, 2006 - The Challenge
On December 1st, Brian Lemin paid me a compliment by saying that every piece of my music was "good for something". A challenge was born. Could I make a piece of music which was literally without use? It is quite a challenge. A random cacophony of noises are useful in some situations, so it had to be structured. I think I may have the answer: a fusion of Bach's Sinfonia No. 3 with a contemporary beat. Surely, there is no use for this music!
Also new today are a couple of ragtime pieces, as I see the Silent Film Score music is pretty popular these days: Mister Exposition, Matter of Facts.
Other pieces new today are:
Looks like eight new ones today. Enjoy!
December 08, 2006 - Music and Utility
Finally added a keyword search to the music section. One can finally look up a piece, given only the title. Thanks Ivan!
And now, to the new selections! In increasing order of goodness...
- Pilot Error - Rock.
- Two Together - Contemporary piano solo.
- Wizardtorium - Orchestral; I think I used to have this on the site, long ago. It is worth a listen.
- Easy Jam - Reggae in a minor key. C minor, to be exact.
Man, I was in the mood for reggae...
Enjoy!
December 02, 2006 - House Cleaning Part One
I have a lot of music hanging out on my PC. iTunes informs me there are 1146 pieces that I wrote weighing in at 1.7 days, and 11+ gig. This is not the entirety of my stuff. I have a lot of projects that I started, and never made it quite to the end. To rectify the situation, I started putting finishing touches on things I started over 4 years ago. And that's a chunk of what's available in this update.
In Electronica I've added: Misuse, Thinking Out Loud, Cognitive Dissonance, The Way Out, Long Time Coming, and Overriding Concern.
In Rock, I added Aitech.
Peppy Pepe is a new contemporary piano piece.
Peppy Pepe in Latin.
Exotics in unclassifiable.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies in holiday.
None of the compositions are really new - just unreleased. The new ones are starting to pile up as well... I'll get them online when I can!
Cheers.
November 18, 2006 - Wheaties, Breakfast of Champions
It's fun time, everbody! I recently picked up a keyboard. It is kind of old, but no worries. It is a Technics KN700. Just today I found the best setting ever. Style #10: Folk Rock. You'll recognize it as Wesley Willis' favorite auto-music generator. These don't really fit with the rest of my music, so I didn't link them off of any page.
I still don't have the "fill button" skills down, but if you enjoy one of the few men who has his own genre, you will enjoy these tracks.
It seems the KN700 is the same vintage as Willis' KN1200, but it doesn't have the auto harmonizer that you hear in songs like "Kill Whitey"
November 15, 2006 - Electronica Jam II
A revision and a new piece today. It seems that the uber-happy synth line from Shiny Tech has been done before. A lot. It was pointed out by my friend Kelly that a very very similar line appears in Trainspotting when they go to London. She brought over the DVD. Indeed, the line is very similar. Anyway, I did a retake - and pulled down the 'pop' on it.
The new piece is my favorite so far (of these kinds of things). Harmful or Fatal. It has speed guitar in it, but it behaves alongside and in compliment to an electronic instrument. I need an audio engineering degree - because this isn't as loud of a mix as I would have liked. I'm missing something. The length of this one got out of hand, but it really requires the time to develop. It might be even better longer.
November 14, 2006 - Back to basics
Today's piece is a crazy Slavic-sounding folk-ish thingie. It is deliberately rough-around-the-edges and features a nice accordion. There just aren't enough pieces of music with accordion these days.
Miri's Magic Dance
I wrote this for a possible stage show. I forget the exact constraints, but they included a small ensemble and a raucous mysterious feel... or maybe I just made that up.
In the project, there are lots and lots of instruments that didn't make the final cut. Harpsichords, clarinets, triangles, drum sets... bunches of things. But even at its 4-piece level it is quite chaotic.
November 11, 2006 - Electronica Jam
Two new pieces today. Both electronica dance, and completely dissimilar.
I wrote these both a possible sketches for an upcoming film I'm scoring. Shiny Tech is a full-bore happy peppy dance/techno piece. Were it a real techno piece - it would probably be three times longer than it is. The themes are introduced and killed off as quickly as possible to allow for fast development. I recommend!
In a Heartbeat, on the other hand is a nasty piece of music. It is hardcore ugly and produced to be very very loud. By "nasty", I don't mean it is bad. It is gritty and grating... the kind of things the kids are into these days. This piece has quite an effect on my affect. After about 4 hours of working on various blips and screams - I was downright angry.
Yes, music can make me angry. This is not a surprise, but it does make one lose perspective. I wasn't quite sure if it was good - or if it just made me angry because it was not good. I'm pretty sure there will be another version of this piece... there is just something about the structure that is unbalanced right now. Of course, that may just add to the anger - so maybe it is a good thing. We'll see.
Also, I found out that quite a few people subscribe to the RSS feed on this site... Thanks, everyone - keep the feedback coming!
November 02, 2006 - Dramatics
I scattered a few new entries around the site, but most are in the Drama section. They range from minutes' long fight sequences to just a few seconds' worth of finishing touches.
We Got Trouble, Power Restored, Time Passes, Ambush, Action, Quiet Panic.
A few of these are from audio dramas, a few from movie scores, and one is from a stage play scene change (Time Passes).
October 21, 2006 - House Cleaning
Here's a few projects that have been on my desktop way too long.
That's one polka down, about 3 still left to be finished. As for the rock and pop tunes... I don't often finish them because I rarely like them. The exceptions here are that I actually finished them, and I like one of them. I'll leave it up to the listener to figure out which...
October 18, 2006 - Back on Track
A friend of mine (Mr. Craig Knitt) shared with me an idea for a film that I was pretty excited about, so I started doing a soundtrack for it blind. These are the first two pieces. Who knows if they'll make the cut...
I'm not a big fan of horror movies; but I am pretty excited about the music.
October 14, 2006 - New Age, and... something else...
Here's today's new offerings! The piano piece I did as a special request for a photographer, who liked the smaller version I wrote for him. Cut Trance was an exploration piece (I just got some new software, and needed to try it out) - also, someone requested something with a clockwork piano, and techno stuff going on... I think that's kind of what's going on here.
October 08, 2006 - Latin Music
I finally got back up and produced a track. Latin, this time... I haven't done a latin piece in over two years.
Notanico Merengue
Well... it isn't entirely latin... but close enough to land itself on that page.
August 01, 2006 - Cool Side and Something else...
Today's new music (and probably the last new music for a few weeks) includes a piece which started its life called "alternate uses for acoustic guitar overtones". It was just an 8-bar sketch that I started laying things on top of. It ended up being something... uh... well - something. I have no clue what it is, so I put it under Experimental. I can say this - the mix is great.
The other piece, [i]On the Cool Side[/i], is more in a genre - but it isn't hardcore jazz. It has some bluesy notes, and a jazz ending note. It is quite cool. Cool in the jazz sense; not cool in the absolute sense. I'll stop typing now.
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