Okay, I’ll admit—this week’s Open Mic Adventure is a bit of filler.  Even the best albums have some filler, right?

I really have been trying to up the content game a bit lately, but in an effort to work ahead on the blog a bit, I’m digging deep into some compositions that are really more exercises for me than intended for general consumption.

Still, I thought this piece would give a bit of an insight into how I go about composing, specifically when I write chorales.  I like to try to challenge myself to link together a single note across multiple measures in one or two of the voices, morphing the other voices around those pedal tones.  The challenge comes in trying to find chords that fit these pedal points.

“Listless Chorale” is one such attempt.  I’ll confess, I’m not totally pleased with the outcome—thus the “listless” in the title, as it feels like it’s not really moving anywhere—but you might find some beauty in its harmonies.

Here’s the piece:

And here it is on YouTube:

And here’s a screenshot of the score:

Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures:

• “Open Mic Adventures I: Oingo Boingo’s ‘Just Another Day’“
• “Open Mic Adventures II: Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’“
• “Open Mic Adventures III: Joanie Sommers’s ‘Johnny Get Angry’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IV: KISS’s ‘I Still Love You’“
• “Open Mic Adventures V: ‘There’s a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VI: Journey’s ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VII: ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’“
• “Open Mic Adventures VIII: Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’“
• “Open Mic Adventures IX: Journey’s ‘Faithfully’“
• “Open Mic Adventures X: ‘Time Warp’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers ‘Monster Mash’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XII: ‘Ghostly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIII: The Penguins’ ‘Earth Angel’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIV: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XV: ‘O Holy Night’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVI: ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVII: ‘L’il Divertimento in C major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XVIII: ‘Satiean Motion’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XIX: ‘Two-Day Minuet for Left Hand’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XX: ‘Sleepy Student’s Serenade’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXI: Styx’s ‘Come Sail Away’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXII: ‘Blessed Assurance’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIII: ‘Gabbi’s Gavotte’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIV: ‘Softly and Tenderly’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXV: ‘Venite, exultemus Domino’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVI: ‘Sonatina’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVII: ‘Heavenly Sunlight’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXVIII: ‘Song of the Bigfoot’”
• “Open Mic Adventures XXIX: ‘Lavender’s Blue’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXX: ‘Chorale for a Sleepy Wednesday’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXI: ‘Carousel’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXII: Hymn Medley“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIII: ‘Spore Song (Mushroom Dance)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIV: ‘Chase’s Dilemma’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXV: ‘The Rings of Saturn’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVI: ‘The Rings of Saturn’ LIVE!“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVII: ‘Private Lessons (Goth Chick)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXVIII: ‘Quasi-Date’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XXXIX: ‘(I’m in the) Business of Love)’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XL: ‘Parada’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLI: ‘Serenade for a Sleepy Student No. 2’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLII: ‘1001 Arabian Nights’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIII: ‘Greek Fair’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’ – BASS“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLVI: ‘Canon Event’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLVIII: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 2’“
• “Open Mic Adventures XLIX: Sloppy ‘Hipster Girl Next Door’ Medley“
• “Open Mic Adventures L: ‘Lament of the Lizardman’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LI: ‘Bigfoot Boogie’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LII: ‘Minuet for a New Moon’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LIII: ‘Andante in D major’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LIV: ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LV: ‘”Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Orange Roll’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Firefly Dance’“
• “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Kartofelsalat’“