I’ve got a weird one this week. You see, yours portly sometimes walks around his house singing old songs. This week’s Open Mic Adventures is a glimpse into the scruffy insanity that sometimes takes hold.
Tag: independent musician
Open Mic Adventures CXV: “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains”
The Sunday before the Inauguration I cheekily proposed to my pastor and our deacon that we should sing “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” for our morning congregational hymn in honor of Trump’s then-upcoming Inauguration. I had practiced the piece a bit Saturday evening, but with a pretty gnarly bout of sinus drainage, I found the high notes hard to hit.
Instead of singing the piece—a very old missionary tune by composer Lowell Mason, with words by Reginald Heber—either on my own or in church, I played it a few times as a bit of instrumental prelude music.
The melody for the piece is interesting, with a few suspensions and some unusual timing, like the long half-note pickup at the beginning and midway through the piece.
Open Mic Adventures CXIV: “Violet Fantasy”
I’ve finished composing my latest album of instrumental music, PRISM. It’s color-themed, very much like last year’s Four Mages; it will release to all platforms on Friday, 7 February 2025.
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 ninth track from the album, “Violet Fantasy“—note, that’s violet, like the color, not violent.
Open Mic Adventures CXIII: “Red Blur”
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 third piece I composed for the album, which will likely be the second track on the album, “Red Blur.”
SubscribeStar Saturday: “PRISM” Preview
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I’m working on a new album, PRISM, which will release (God Willing) on Friday, 7 February 2025. The title track from the album is the lengthiest piece I’ve ever composed, clocking in at around 20:23. There is, admittedly, a great deal of repetition within that runtime, as the themes repeat frequently—almost hypnotically, which is part of the point.
“PRISM” is a lengthy exploration of musical themes that double back on one another in a hypnotic folding of sound. New ideas are gradually introduced and woven into this colorful tapestry of sound.
“PRISM” contains flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, and two-hand organ parts.
Sheet music for “PRISM” is available here: https://www.noteflight.com/music/titles/489d8239-5b8f-441a-b9f8-928c6978be63/prism
The piece will post on YouTube on Friday, 7 February 2025 at 6 PM; you can view click on the video below and ask YouTube to send you a notification when the premiere begins:
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Open Mic Adventures CXII: “Green Space”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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“:
The Portly Politico 