Back in April I heard and/or read the word “xeriscaping” and found the concept and the word fascinating. Xeriscaping is gardening that does not require irrigation, so it consists of plants like cacti and succulents, as well as lots of rocks and gravel.
Also, it just sounds cool. Sometimes, that’s enough, and yours portly wrote an odd piece inspired by the concept.
Well, here it is: the last piece from Leftovers IV that needs to be featured on this humble blog. I’m going to have to start writing new music again—or actually go back to open mic night!
After a massive output last year and earlier this year, I’ve been relaxing a bit. Part of it is that the inspirado hasn’t been hitting as frequently, but I also tend to slow down when summertime hits. My workflow is such that, when I have a ton of stuff to do, I actually get more creative work done, because I’m pretty revved up and running all the time. I work like a diesel engine: I can run a long time if I just keep running, but once I shut off, it takes me awhile to get back to peak efficiency.
I do have a couple of collections of older work waiting in the wings, I’m just tinkering with when and how I want to release them. When I say “older,” I mean really old—stuff that dates back to 2004 and earlier. Some of the pieces probably go back to the last century, even if they were only recorded years later. I also have several new pieces that need videos, a release, etc. Again, I’m contemplating how and when I want to compile those pieces.
But I digress. Here is the last track from that short EP, Leftovers IV. It’s weird piece and, quite honestly, I’m not entirely pleased with the results.
Apparently, I failed to make videos for all of the pieces on Leftovers IV. Indeed, I neglected to upload a lot of the goodies that I usually include with digital purchases of albums; that has now been rectified.
So I am back to looking at some tracks from that short EP. This week I’m sharing a piece that’s a bit of a Celtic jig.
Last Sunday I linked to posts vaguely about and/or related to Scandinavians; today, I look at the French:
Happy Sunday!
—TPP
Other Lazy Sunday Installments:
Apparently, I failed to make videos for all of the pieces on Leftovers IV. Indeed, I neglected to upload a lot of the goodies that I usually include with digital purchases of albums; that has now been rectified.
So I am back to looking at some tracks from that short EP. This week’s features the first track I wrote for the release. My Middle School Music Ensemble students helped me decide upon the name, which sounds rather toothsome:
Apparently, I failed to make videos for all of the pieces on Leftovers IV. Indeed, I neglected to upload a lot of the goodies that I usually include with digital purchases of albums; that has now been rectified.
So I am back to looking at some tracks from that short EP. This week’s has the most ridiculous title of any piece I’ve ever composed: “Skiddle-Diddle-Diddle-Dee (Dit-Dit-Dit)”:
Apparently, I failed to make videos for all of the pieces on Leftovers IV. Indeed, I neglected to upload a lot of the goodies that I usually include with digital purchases of albums; that has now been rectified.
So I am back to looking at some tracks from that short EP. This week’s is one of my favorites: “The Magic Forest.”
I’ve been composing quite a few trios lately, as I’ve been playing around with blending three of the same sounds. This week, I’ve got a fun little marimba piece that sounds very much like a cellphone ringtone.
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I’m continuing to dig up ancient MIDI compositions (now converted to glorious, lossless WAV files) from twenty years ago (give or take). This weekend I’m sharing some digital saxophone compositions with readers.
I probably intended these pieces to be played by an actual saxophone quartet/quintet/sextet at some point. I played in a saxophone quintet in high school (two altos, two tenors, one bari) and a saxophone sextet in college (I can’t recall the exact instrumentation, but I think it had soprano, two altos, two tenors, and one bari), so I did quite a bit of arranging and composing for those groups. I also arranged a ton for Brass to the Future, the brass quintet (with saxophone) that my brother and I played in for a number of years in the early 2010s.
Now they exist as ghostly digital instruments, honking and squawking through the musical musings of a plump young Portly with a head full of dreams and a belly full of Cheez-Its.
I’m not sure what the original title for this piece was meant to be, but I do remember wanting to emulate the sound and rhythms of a 1970s classic rock organ in the context of a saxophone ensemble. “Saxophonic Organ” is the result of that experimentation, and I rather like it.
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I’ve been composing quite a few trios lately, as I’ve been playing around with blending three of the same sounds. This week, I’m featuring a particularly flamboyant effort.
The Portly Politico 