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TBT^4: Composing Humorous Miniatures

6 February 20252 February 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My next album, PRISM, releases tomorrow, so I thought I’d look back at a post about the bit of online frivolity that, in many ways, kickstarted the massive amount of composing I’ve undertaken over the last year.

I never did get around to writing those flute pieces for that one guy (see below), but I’m not too worried about it. I imagine one day I’ll get some more requests to compose some pieces, and I have quite a back catalogue from which to pull and adapt ideas.

With that, here is 29 February 2024’s “TBT^2: Composing Humorous Miniatures“:

TBT^256: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony

30 January 202523 January 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My love for programmatic music, especially music that depicts the glory of God’s Creation, is as strong as ever. Indeed, I am currently working on an album that will be my own attempt at something akin to Camille Saint-Saëns‘ The Carnival of the Animals. One day, I’ll have to write a post about that piece.

Regardless, it’s time once again to take my annual look back at one of Beethoven’s symphonies, and my personal favorite.

With that, here is 25 January 2024’s “TBT^16: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony“:

TBT^4: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau”

9 January 202531 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

It’s been several years now since I last taught the fun but short-lived Pre-AP Music Appreciation course that spawned some of these pieces highlighting classical and Romantic musical works, but I still love the musical selections dearly. Bedřich Smetana’s The Moldau still captures my imagination, and I still have not composed anything that comes remotely close to its beauty and genius.

Nevertheless, I routinely cite Smetana as an influence, especially when uploading my pieces to CD Baby for digital distribution. He almost always gets a mention in the “artists like” categories I fill out for each release. Hopefully he’s not spinning in his grave at the thought of that.

With that, here is 11 January 2024’s “TBT^2: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s ‘The Moldau'”:

Open Mic Adventures CXII: “Green Space”

7 January 20256 January 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I’m working on a new instrumental album, PRISM. It’s color-themed, very much like last year’s Four Mages. I enjoy composing with different colored pens, and Dr. Girlfriend gave me some awesome V5 Precision pens that are great for composing by hand.

This week I’m featuring the second piece I’ve written for the album, “Green Space”:

Open Mic Adventures CXI: “Blue Field”

31 December 202421 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III! Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

Hard to believe that it’s the last day of 2024! Instead of a retrospective, though, I’m looking ahead to a new album, one that I’ll release at some point in 2025.

To celebrate the new year, I’m featuring the first track from that planned album, “Blue Field”:

Open Mic Adventures CX: “Rainy Wednesday Morning Waltz”

24 December 202420 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III! Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

I’ve just released my tenth album of the year, Leftovers III. It’s really an EP, as it just contains five tracks, but it also contains the longest piece I’ve ever composed, “Hanging Gardens.”

This week I’m featuring the third track from the album, “Rainy Wednesday Morning Waltz“; it’s looking like tomorrow (Christmas!) is going to be pretty rainy, so it seemed apt:

Open Mic Adventures CIX: “Funny Phantom”

17 December 202416 December 2024 The Portly Politico8 Comments

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III! Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

I’ve just released my tenth album of the year, Leftovers III. It’s really an EP, as it just contains five tracks, but it also contains the longest piece I’ve ever composed, “Hanging Gardens.”

This week I’m featuring the sixth and final track from the album, “Funny Phantom“:

Open Mic Adventures CVIII: “Skittlebräu”

10 December 20247 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III! Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

I’ve just released my tenth album of the year, Leftovers III. It’s really an EP, as it just contains five tracks, but it also contains the longest piece I’ve ever composed, “Hanging Gardens.”

This week I’d like to feature the fourth track from the album, “Skittlebräu“:

Open Mic Adventures CVII: “Roast Beef Sandwich”

3 December 20241 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III! Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp! Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

I’ve just released my tenth album of the year, Leftovers III. It’s really an EP, as it just contains five tracks, but it also contains the longest piece I’ve ever composed, “Hanging Gardens.”

This week I’d like to feature the lead track on the album, “Roast Beef Sandwich.”

Open Mic Adventures CVI: “Hanging Gardens”

26 November 202423 November 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

This Friday, 29 November 2024 my tenth release of the year, Leftovers III, will hit all streaming platforms (including Spotify). In advance of the EP’s release, I wanted to feature the composition that is the centerpiece of LIII, “Hanging Gardens.”

Subscribers to my SubscribeStar page received an early sneak-peek three days ago. Now I want to share this lengthy piece with all of you!

Before that, though, just take a moment to appreciate this decadent album artwork:

I think I made that sandwich over the summer, and took a picture of it about halfway through. No wonder my blood pressure and waistline are showing such high numbers!

But onto the piece itself. “Hanging Gardens” is the longest piece I have ever composed, clocking in at about 10:46 (I think the YouTube video has it at 10:47). I actually wanted to make it longer—around twenty minutes—to give it a more symphonic feel, but I reached the point where I a.) had to finish it to meet the 29 November 2024 release deadline and b.) I was out of ideas to pour into this enigmatic suite.