musical thoughts

This is an entry in a contest, which is something I usually don’t mess with. I would have done this even without the contest though.

read more of audio: Really, Really Weird

Ligeti’s Atmosphères is a piece that had a profound impact on me. I actually studied the score before hearing it, and heard it outside the film score context where most people encountered it. I think I was in my mid teens at the time. I had access to a university library and a really hip professor that turned us on to some great modern compositions.

I’m interested especially in the way the usual musical devices were forsaken in this piece in favor of big blocks of sound, and the impact that had on the creation and release of tension. I’ve been looking for a way to do my own experimentation along these lines. I found a fairly satisfactory set of tools, and here’s my first effort at trying to adopt this sort of musical vocabulary.

read more of audio: etude after Ligeti

More reposted material!

read more of Dimensions of tone 3: suitcase tone controls

Another article on Rhodes tone quality which I originally posted at the SuperSite.

read more of Dimensions of tone 2: timbre adjustment

I get a lot of questions on YouTube about this, so here’s the complete current look at my home studio, such as it is. (I started this post a few months ago and I’ve had to update some major parts of this description.)

read more of my recording setup

I’m going to try to do better about posting things here that I’m working on. I need to quit worrying so much about whether a thing is “good enough” to post, because they all are. With that in mind, here’s something of a white elephant.

read more of a really long jam session

Here’s a brief description of my homemade Jecklin disc and how I use it.

read more of DIY Jecklin disc

Milestone time: 200,000 video views on YouTube. Damn. To celebrate, here’s a stereo funk nugget for you all. Powered by Rhodes.

read more of video: G. Wiz

I am deeply saddened to hear the news that Zawinul died today at a hospital in Wien.

read more of RIP Joe Zawinul

Please take a moment to watch this outstanding version of a Cole Porter classic. This is just another fantastic performance from a brilliant Italian pianist (now living in Germany). You should absolutely subscribe to his videos, you will never fail to be delighted.