Pickup my newest release: Spooky Season III! Use promo code spooky to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Thursday, 31 October 2024.
Today I’m featuring the second track from my latest album, Spooky Season III. It’s called “Dancing in the Graveyard,” and it’s actually the first piece I composed for the album. The tiny manuscript that would morph into the full piece dates to 3 September 2024:

The instrumentation choices I made for this piece would impact that of several other pieces on the release. I love the mischievous sound of the oboe; it seems to depict ghoulish ghosties and happy haunts nicely.
“Dancing in the Graveyard” is a playful oboe and bassoon with optional tambora accompaniment. It’s a lively waltz in concert D minor.
Happy Listening—and Happy Hauntings!
—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 XLVII: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 2’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XLVIII: Sloppy ‘Hipster Girl Next Door’ Medley“
- “Open Mic Adventures XLIX: ‘Lament of the Lizardman’“
- “Open Mic Adventures L: ‘Bigfoot Boogie’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LI: ‘Minuet for a New Moon’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LII: ‘Andante in D major’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LIII: ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LIV: ‘”Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LV: ‘Orange Roll’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Firefly Dance’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Kartofelsalat’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Listless Chorale’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LIX: ‘Silent Night’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LX: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXI: ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXII: ‘FRANTIC!!’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXIII: ‘Snowfall’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXIV: ‘Uninspired Étude in E major’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXV: ‘Scribblings I: Post-Christmas Concert Scribbling’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXVI: ‘Ode Napoléon’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXVII: ‘Cook’s Brief Bourrée in E minor’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXVIII: ‘Triumphant Processional’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXIX: ‘Moody Noodling’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXX: ‘Epistemology’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXI: ‘Three Chorales in Diminishing Length’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXII: ‘Blue Mage’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXIII: ‘Red Mage’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXIV: ‘White Mage’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXV: ‘Black Mage’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXVI: ‘The Blind Prophet’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXVII: ‘Robobop’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXVIII: ‘Pink Princess’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXIX: ‘Purple Prince’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXX: ‘Yellow Knight’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXI: ‘Green Knight’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXII: ‘Brown Friar’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIII: ‘Advanced Funkification’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIV: ‘Funk Chorale (Hymn to Funk)’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXV: Steelheart’s ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVI: ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ Redux“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVII: ‘Heptadic Structure’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVIII: ‘Angularity’“
- “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIX: ‘White Boy Summer’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XC: ‘Balladic Processional’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCI: ‘Tu Me Manques’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCII: ‘Jaunt’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCIII: ‘C20r4735 (Chorales)’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCIV: ‘Nobles Gases’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCV: ‘Akhenaten’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCVI: ‘Summer Vibes’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCVII: ‘Perambulating’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCVIII: ‘Mellow’“
- “Open Mic Adventures XCIX: ‘Pythagoras’“

If zombies were clambering out of their graves and gyrating in the graveyard, it’d have been in medieval times. Was that the period you were looking for or further ahead, to the times of Henry 8th?
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Good question, my friend. I’ll respond with one of my own: what period does it sound like to you?
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Tudor. It has that sound.
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Thanks! Yes, I think the instrumentation very much gives it that feel. The tambora very much lends that bit of Tudor-era feel to the piece, even though the tambora would not have been around in the Tudor era (I don’t think it was, at least). It does, however, replicate the sound of the popular hand percussion of the time.
Thanks for your insights, Ponty!
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The title reminds me of that old song Dancing In The Moonlight by King Harvest. In the early 80s, my busddies and the girlfriends used to walk to a nearby cemetery and have small parties… Weird!
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Great song! Sounds like y’all needed “Dancing in the Graveyard” for your cemetery parties. Of course, when you were desecrating graves (just kidding), I was probably just an unborn soul.
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Well, I was hatched in 1960 so it’s been a few days! 😂 Unborn soul, I like that. 🙏🏻
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Now I’m a born soul in a flabby, soulful body.
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Haha that’s great! I’m a lonely soul after three divorces that misses female companionship… Oh well…
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The solution, my friend, is simple: casual dating.
Or a lady of the night, but I can’t recommend that.
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Great, how do I find casual dating? I’ve been out of the game a long time and the players have changed…
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Get on a dating app—I like Hinge—upload some good photos (no problem for you), and have fun! You’re not looking to get married, so you can just enjoy going on dates and such.
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Hinge? I’ve never heard of that one and am afraid of those websites/apps. That is how I met number three, that’s scary, right? You are right, Tyler, but I had better be very clear with anyone I meet that I am not looking for a contract (marriage).
That’s all it really is. Oh, sorry but (she) can’t have access to my finances either! That’s a real put-off, isn’t it. 😂
It would be much better to meet someone organically, as in when you are out and about…
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I agree re: organic meetings, but, hey, you’ve gotsta do what you’ve gotsta do.
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I never go out at night… 😂 I was looking at their website, apparently the app is only available on devices and not browsers, a mistake. Thanks for your thoughts, Tyler!
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Gotsta work on your day game, my friend! I’m sure you could meet some mature babes riding around on your electric bike.
Godspeed, my friend! Remember, with Jesus Christ, we’re never alone!
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Never! Most of the ladies I see from the bike are younger or appear to have small humans. The gals closer to my age always have wedding rings on… 😂 Bye.
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