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.
Tag: indie musician
Lazy Sunday CCCVIII: Clarinets!
Earlier this week I posted one of my recent compositions, “Clarinetti” (the Italian plural for “clarinet”), and I’ve composed quite a bit for the instrument over the last year; as such, I thought I’d cast a glance back at some pieces that feature, or at least use, clarinet:
- “Open Mic Adventures CXXI: ‘March of the Molemen’” – This piece, which depicts an army of subterranean Molemen carrying out their crafty underground business, features tenor sax and bass clarinet.
- “Open Mic Adventures CXXVI: ‘Morning Moon Sliver’” – A piece with clarinet lead and trombone and tuba accompaniment, “Morning Moon Sliver” is a beautiful, folksy piece in 9/8 time.
- “Open Mic Adventures CXXIX: ‘Clarinetti’” – A trio for three—you guessed it!—clarinets!
Squidward would be pleased.
Happy Sunday!
—TPP
Other Lazy Sunday Installments:
- Lazy Sunday – APR Pieces
- Lazy Sunday II – Lincoln Posts
- Lazy Sunday III – Historical Moments
- Lazy Sunday IV – Christianity
- Lazy Sunday V – Progressivism, Part I
- Lazy Sunday VI – Progressivism, Part II
- Lazy Sunday VII – Deep State
- Lazy Sunday VIII – Conservatism
- Lazy Sunday IX – Economics, Part I
- Lazy Sunday X – Economics, Part II
- Lazy Sunday XI – Walls
- Lazy Sunday XII – Space
- Lazy Sunday XIII – Immigration
- Lazy Sunday XIV – Gay Stuff
- Lazy Sunday XV – Work
- Lazy Sunday XVI – #MAGAWeek2018
- Lazy Sunday XVII – #MAGAWeek2019
- Lazy Sunday XVIII – SubscribeStar Posts
- Lazy Sunday XIX – Music
- Lazy Sunday XX – The Laziest Sunday
- Lazy Sunday XXI – Travel
- Lazy Sunday XXII – Reading
- Lazy Sunday XXIII – Richard Weaver
- Lazy Sunday XXIV – Education
- Lazy Sunday XXV – Techno-Weirdos
- Lazy Sunday XXVI – Small Town Living
- Lazy Sunday XXVII – Bric-a-Brac
- Lazy Sunday XXVIII – World History
- Lazy Sunday XXIX – The New Criterion
- Lazy Sunday XXX – Trump, Part I
- Lazy Sunday XXXI – Trump, Part II
- Lazy Sunday XXXII – Festivals
- Lazy Sunday XXXIII – Virtue Signalling
- Lazy Sunday XXXIV – The Desperate Search for Meaning Series
- Lazy Sunday XXXV – Corporate Grind
- Lazy Sunday XXXVI – Best of the Reblogs, Part I
- Lazy Sunday XXXVII – Best of the Reblogs, Part II
- Lazy Sunday XXXVIII – Best of the Reblogs, Part III
- Lazy Sunday XXXIX – A Very Dokken Christmas Series
- Lazy Sunday XL – Christmas Carols
- Lazy Sunday XLI – Food
- Lazy Sunday XLII – 2019’s Top Five Posts
- Lazy Sunday XLIII – Music, Part II: More Music
- Lazy Sunday XLIV – SubscribeStar Saturday Posts, Part II: The Search for More Money
- Lazy Sunday XLV – Techno-Weirdos II
- Lazy Sunday XLVI – Man Time
- Lazy Sunday XLVII – Winning
- Lazy Sunday XLVIII – Culture
- Lazy Sunday XLIX – Family
- Lazy Sunday L – The Best of Lazy Sunday
- Lazy Sunday LI – Just for Fun
- Lazy Sunday LII – Democratic Candidates, Part I
- Lazy Sunday LIII – Democratic Candidates, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LIV – Coronavirus
- Lazy Sunday LV – Animals
- Lazy Sunday LVI – Movies
- Lazy Sunday LVII – Christianity, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap
- Lazy Sunday LIX – The God Pill Series
- Lazy Sunday LX – Music, Part II: Gigging
- Lazy Sunday LXI – The Tuck
- Lazy Sunday LXII – The South
- Lazy Sunday LXIII – Holidays
- Lazy Sunday LXIV – Grab Bag
- Lazy Sunday LXV – Rioting
- Lazy Sunday LXVI – Video Games
- Lazy Sunday LXVII – Phone it in Fridays, Part I
- Lazy Sunday LXVIII – Phone it in Fridays, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LXIX – Phone it in Fridays, Part III
- Lazy Sunday LXX – Phone it in Friday, Part IV
- Lazy Sunday LXXI – Road Trips
- Lazy Sunday LXXII – Forgotten Posts, Volume I
- Lazy Sunday LXXIII – Forgotten Posts, Volume II
- Lazy Sunday LXXIV – Forgotten Posts, Volume III
- Lazy Sunday LXXV – Forgotten Posts, Volume IV
- Lazy Sunday LXXVI – Forgotten Posts, Volume V
- Lazy Sunday LXXVII – Rural America
- Lazy Sunday LXXVIII – Space, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – SCOTUS
- Lazy Sunday LXXX – Big Ideas
- Lazy Sunday LXXXI – Education, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LXXXII – Universal Studios
- Lazy Sunday LXXXIII – The Mountains
- Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks
- Lazy Sunday LXXXV – Elections
- Lazy Sunday LXXXVI – Questions, Part I
- Lazy Sunday LXXXVII – Questions, Part II
- Lazy Sunday LXXXVIII – Questions, Part III
- Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – 100 Week Review
- Lazy Sunday XC – Questions, Part IV
- Lazy Sunday XCI – Questions, Part V
- Lazy Sunday XCII – Christmas
- Lazy Sunday XCIII – 2020’s Top Five Posts
- Lazy Sunday XCIV – My Favorite Things
- Lazy Sunday XCV – The Best of Lazy Sunday
- Lazy Sunday XCVI – More Movies: Movie Reviews, Part I
- Lazy Sunday XCVII – More Movies II: Movie Reviews, Part II
- Lazy Sunday XCVIII – More Movies III: Movie Reviews, Part III
- Lazy Sunday XCIX – Romantic Music
- Lazy Sunday C – Valentine’s Day
- Lazy Sunday CI – Obituaries, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CII – Obituaries, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CIII – Begging
- Lazy Sunday CIV – Time
- Lazy Sunday CV – Grab Bag II
- Lazy Sunday CVI – Adventures
- Lazy Sunday CVII – Easter
- Lazy Sunday CVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2021 Recap
- Lazy Sunday CIX – Pillow Talk
- Lazy Sunday CX – Inspector Gerard Reviews
- Lazy Sunday CXI – Bric-a-Brac II
- Lazy Sunday CXII – Responsibility
- Lazy Sunday CXIII – Short Stories
- Lazy Sunday CXIV – More Movies IV: Movie Reviews, Part IV
- Lazy Sunday CXV – Memorable Mondays
- Lazy Sunday CXVI – Delays
- Lazy Sunday CXVII – More Movies V – Movie Reviews, Part V
- Lazy Sunday CXVIII – More Movies VI – Movie Reviews, Part VI
- Lazy Sunday CXIX – Summer Camps
- Lazy Sunday CXX – Animals, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CXXI – MAGAWeek2021 Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXXII – MAGAWeek2020 Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXXIII – Murphy
- Lazy Sunday CXXIV – Bible Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXXV – More Movies VII – Movie Reviews, Part VII
- Lazy Sunday CXXVI – Joy, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CXXVII – Joy, Part II – Music
- Lazy Sunday CXXVIII – Civilization
- Lazy Sunday CXXIX – Friends, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CXXX – Friends, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CXXXI – Friends, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CXXXII – Milestones
- Lazy Sunday CXXXIII – Inspector Gerard
- Lazy Sunday CXXXIV – Friends, Part IV
- Lazy Sunday CXXXV – More Movies VIII – Movie Reviews, Part VIII
- Lazy Sunday CXXXVI – More Movies IX – Movie Reviews, Part IX
- Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks
- Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII – Friends, Part V
- Lazy Sunday CXXXIX – More Movies, Part X – Movie Reviews, Part X
- Lazy Sunday CXL – More Movies, Part XI – Movie Reviews, Part XI
- Lazy Sunday CXLI – Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)
- Lazy Sunday CXLII – More Movies, Part XII – Movie Reviews, Part XII
- Lazy Sunday CXLIII – More Movies, Part XIII – Movie Reviews, Part XIII
- Lazy Sunday CXLIV – More Christmas Carols
- Lazy Sunday CXLV – Christmas Cheer
- Lazy Sunday CXLVI – 2021’s Top Five Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXLVII – More Movies, Part XIV – Movie Reviews, Part XIV
- Lazy Sunday CXLVIII – The Gemini Sonnets #1 and #2
- Lazy Sunday CXLIX – The Gemini Sonnets #3 and #4
- Lazy Sunday CL – The Gemini Sonnets #5 and #6
- Lazy Sunday CLI – More Movies, Part XV – Movies Reviews, Part XV
- Lazy Sunday CLII – Romance
- Lazy Sunday CLIII – Behind the Songs, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLIV – Behind the Songs, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLV – Péchés d’âge moyen Posts
- Lazy Sunday CLVI – More Son of Sonnet
- Lazy Sunday CLVII – Ponty’s Posts, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLVIII – Ponty’s Posts, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLIX – Scrambie Eggs
- Lazy Sunday CLX: Fine Arts Festival
- Lazy Sunday CLXI: Easter II
- Lazy Sunday CLXII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap 2022
- Lazy Sunday CLXIII: Friends, Part VI
- Lazy Sunday CLXIV: Friends, Part VII
- Lazy Sunday CLXV: Friends, Part VIII
- Lazy Sunday CLXVI: Friends, Part IX
- Lazy Sunday CLXVII: Friends, Part X
- Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: More Movies, Part XVI: Movie Reviews, Part XVI
- Lazy Sunday CLXIX: More Movies, Part XVII: Movie Reviews, Part XVII
- Lazy Sunday CLXX: More Movies, Part XVIII: Movie Reviews, Part XVIII
- Lazy Sunday CLXXI: Frederick Ingram, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLXXII: Frederick Ingram, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXIII: MAGAWeek2022
- Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: More Movies, Part XIX: Movie Reviews, Part XIX
- Lazy Sunday CLXXV: More Movies, Part XX: Movie Reviews, Part XX
- Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: More Movies, Part XXI: Movie Reviews, Part XXI
- Lazy Sunday CLXXVII: School, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLXXVIII: School, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXIX: More Movies, Part XXII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLXXX: More Movies, Part XXIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXII: More Movies, Part XXV: Portly’s Worst Films, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXIII: More Movies, Part XXVII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXIV: More Movies, Part XXVIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXVI: More Movies, Part XXX: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXVII: More Movies, Part XXXI: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks
- Lazy Sunday CLXXXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical
- Lazy Sunday CXC: Cozy Time
- Lazy Sunday CXCI: Veterans Day Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXCII: Myersvision, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CXCIII: Thanksgiving Week Posts
- Lazy Sunday CXCIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CXCV: Solo Cover EP, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: 2022’s Top Three
- Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Review[s] of A Christmas Carol (1951)
- Lazy Sunday CXCVIII: The Worst of 2022
- Lazy Sunday CXCIX: More Movies XXXII: Portly’s Best Films, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CC: More Movies XXXIII: Ponty’s Best Films, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCI: More Movies XXXIV: Portly’s Best Films, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCII: More Movies XXXV: Ponty’s Best Films, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCIII: Péchés d’âge moyen Picks
- Lazy Sunday CCIV: Arizonan Sojourn, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCV: Portly’s Best Films, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CCVI: Ponty’s Best Films, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CCVII: The Beach
- Lazy Sunday CCVIII: Walks
- Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Paintings
- Lazy Sunday CCX: Arizonan Sojourn, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCXI: Hono[u]rable Mentions
- Lazy Sunday CCXII: Easter III
- Lazy Sunday CCXIII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2023
- Lazy Sunday CCXIV: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Picks
- Lazy Sunday CCXV: Myersvision, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCXVI: Myersvision, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CCXVII: Myersvision, Part IV
- Lazy Sunday CCXVIII: Myersvision, Part V
- Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Myersvision, Part VI
- Lazy Sunday CCXX: Myersvision, Part VII
- Lazy Sunday CCXXI: Intergalactic Nonsense
- Lazy Sunday CCXXII: Stories
- Lazy Sunday CCXXIII: Original Music, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCXXIV: Original Music, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCXXV: MAGAWeek2023 Posts
- Lazy Sunday CCXXVI: Greatest Hits Recap
- Lazy Sunday CCXXVII: Ponty Week 2023
- Lazy Sunday CCXXVIII: D.C., Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCXXIX: D.C., Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCXXX: TJC Deep Cuts
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXI: Weird Piano Music
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXII: Cinema
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXIII: Monarchy
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXIV: Sandwiches
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXV: Skeletons
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXVI: Myersvision, Part VIII
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXVII: Myersvision, Part IX
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXVIII: Festivals II
- Lazy Sunday CCXXXIX: Two Cryptid Tunes
- Lazy Sunday CCXL: Ghostly Doings
- Lazy Sunday CCXLI: Veterans Day Posts II
- Lazy Sunday CCXLII: Indie Musician Rants
- Lazy Sunday CCXLIII: 2023 Releases
- Lazy Sunday CCXLIV: Civilization Series
- Lazy Sunday CCXLV: Chapel Lessons, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCXLVI: Chapel Lessons, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCXLVII: Christmas Concert Reviews
- Lazy Sunday CCXLVIII: The Best of 2023
- Lazy Sunday CCXLIX: Best Ponty Posts of 2023
- Lazy Sunday CCL: Best Myersvision Posts of 2023
- Lazy Sunday CCLI: YouTube Roundup Roundup I
- Lazy Sunday CCLII: YouTube Roundup Roundup II
- Lazy Sunday CCLIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCLIV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCLV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III
- Lazy Sunday CCLVI: Days Off
- Lazy Sunday CCLVII: Murphy Vids, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCLVIII: Food II
- Lazy Sunday CCLIX: Four Mages, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCLX: Murphy Vids, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXI: Ultra Laziness
- Lazy Sunday CCLXII: Mothers
- Lazy Sunday CCLXIII: Four Mages, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXIV: End of School Events
- Lazy Sunday CCLXV: Disco Elysium Reviews
- Lazy Sunday CCLXVI: Political Stuff, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCLXVII: Political Stuff, Part II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXVIII: Milestones II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXIX: Cryptid Epistemology Mini-Series
- Lazy Sunday CCLXX: TJC Deep Cuts II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXI: Trump Stuff
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXII: Harris Stuff
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXIII: Heptadic Structure Tracks, Part I
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXIV: More Movies XXXVI: Movie Reviews, Part XXII: Reviews for Audre
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXV: Singing to Murphy
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXVI: Music Stuff
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXVII: Reviews of Video Games After Only Playing a Tiny Bit of Them
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXVIII: Composing Antiquity
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXIX: Ancient History
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXX: Mel Brooks Films
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXI: Smooth Brass Tunes
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXII: Spooky Season Prep
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIII: Spooky Season Prep II
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIV: Spooky Season Prep III
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXV: Post-Spooky Season Blues
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVI: GEOTUS
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVII: Vague Updates
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVIII: Thanksgiving Follies
- Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIX: Christmas Cheer
- Lazy Sunday CCXC: Christmas Cheer II
- Lazy Sunday CCXCI: Christmas Cheer III
- Lazy Sunday CCXCII: The Best of 2024
- Lazy Sunday CCXCIII: Life Stuff
- Lazy Sunday CCXCIV: Stop Motion Animation
- Lazy Sunday CCXCV: The Bitter, Wretched Cold
- Lazy Sunday CCXCVI: Golden Age
- Lazy Sunday CCXCVII: Golden Age II
- Lazy Sunday CCXCVIII: Civilization VII Posts
- Lazy Sunday CCXCIX: Civilization VII Posts II
- Lazy Sunday CCC: Cosmic Critters
- Lazy Sunday CCCI: Saxophone Sunday
- Lazy Sunday CCCII: Culture II
- Lazy Sunday CCCIII: Cold Stuff
- Lazy Sunday CCCIV: Springtime Musical Follies
- Lazy Sunday CCCV: Mostly Mediocre Horror Movies
- Lazy Sunday CCCVI: Old Tech
- Lazy Sunday CCCVII: Churchy Vibes
Open Mic Adventures CXXIX: “Clarinetti”
I recently uncovered a bunch of old music I wrote during a period spanning from roughly 1999 through probably 2012. Today’s piece is not one of those pieces, but I’ll soon be highlighting some of my super deep cuts here. If you want to hear one piece—recorded with me playing real instruments, not computer ones!—check out this past Saturday’s post.
Today’s piece is another digital piece, composed in Noteflight. I’ve been writing a lot of trios lately, and have been experimenting with getting three of the same instruments to blend without sounding too boring. I’m not sure if I have succeeded, but this week’s piece is a stab at it.
May 2025 Bandcamp Friday!
Pickup my newest release, Leftovers IV! Get 80% off with promo code ham. That’s 80% off ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on my Bandcamp page, including the album, full discography purchases, merch, etc.!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Wanna be utterly perplexed while laughing uproariously? Grab a copy of my first book, The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I’ll receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—plus I’ll get the book royalties).
My latest EP, Leftovers IV, released a couple of weeks ago. It’s $5, but with promo code ham it’s only $1. My full discography typically goes for $72.14, but with promo code ham it’s $14.23, or roughly $0.55 per release. Twenty-six albums, constituting over eight hours of music, for $0.55 per release is ludicrous.
But it’s even better—if you purchase anything from Bandcamp today (Friday, 2 May 2025), Bandcamp does not take their 15% cut. I get more money, and you get insane amounts of music for pennies on the dollar. That’s the beauty of Bandcamp Friday!
As I detailed a few weeks ago, yours portly needs your financial support. Purchasing my music is one way you can help—and enjoy some enigmatic tunes in the process!
Happy Friday!
—TPP
One-Time
Monthly
Yearly
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
$5.00
$10.00
$25.00
$5.00
$10.00
$25.00
$50.00
$100.00
$250.00
Or enter a custom amount
$
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
Open Mic Adventures CXXVIII: “Airy Chorale in Two Movements”
Pickup my newest release, Leftovers IV! Get 80% off with promo code ham. That’s 80% off ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on my Bandcamp page, including the album, full discography purchases, merch, etc.!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Wanna be utterly perplexed while laughing uproariously? Grab a copy of my first book, The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I’ll receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—plus I’ll get the book royalties).
I’m still brainstorming what my next music composition project will be, but I’ve been noodling around with a few ideas. Even when I am not sure of a thematic direction, I keep composing.
Composing is one of those things that scratches a very deep itch for me. I like to tinker with sets of music theory rules—some of my own creation—to see what kinds of sounds and ideas I can develop within fixed limits. The challenge of “solving” the problems these limitations create is part of the fun for me, as I tease out melodies and harmonies within whatever confines—arbitrary or otherwise—I’m set for myself.
One thing I’ve been interested in lately is writing trios consisting of three of the same instruments, or three very closely related instruments. It limits the palette of sound fonts I have to work with, but that also creates unique opportunities for music expression.
The piece this week is one of the first such attempts, a piece that explores the airy, high woodwinds.
TBT: The TJC Challenge
Last year I issued to my readers The TJC Challenge, a challenge to listen to all of my music on either Apple Music or YouTube/YouTube Music. At the time, The TJC Challenge took about three hours to complete, appropriate for a morning of shirking responsibilities at the office.
The entire challenge now takes approximately seven hours and eleven minutes. If you just listened to the albums (some of which are, ironically, shorter in playtime than the EPs), it would take five hours and fifty-eight minutes—just shy of six hours.
Actually, it’s a bit longer: when I initially did the above calculations, I forgot to include my latest release, Leftovers IV, which clocks in at nineteen minutes, thirty-nine seconds. That brings the total playtime up to 7.5 hours and change.
Also, you can now attempt the challenge on Spotify as well. I gave up my doomed boycott of releasing to Spotify. I don’t really make any money from streams there, sadly, thanks to their thieving streaming policy, but I realized that the vast majority of music listeners (including my older brother and Dr. Girlfriend) use the service, so I might as well let the people I love have the ability to listen to my music easily.
The point is, it now takes about an entire workday to listen to all of this music. I don’t expect most people to do it, but I will send a free hat to the first person who listens to all of my releases on the streaming platform of their choice. All you have to do is listen to every release, then send me a 100-word blurb about which albums/EPs/songs/pieces you liked—and which you did not—and tell me why. And, no, I’m not going to count every word; you can write more or less. Years of teaching have taught me that people crave a word count or page requirement, so there you go!
Do you have the guts to take on The TJC Challenge? Or the free time, for that matter?
With that, here is 10 April 2024’s “The TJC Challenge“:
Open Mic Adventures CXXVII: “The Whale Shark”
Pickup my newest release, Leftovers IV! Get 80% off with promo code ham. That’s 80% off ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on my Bandcamp page, including the album, full discography purchases, merch, etc.!
Grab the release that today’s Open Mic Adventures piece comes from, The Galactic Menagerie!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Wanna be utterly perplexed while laughing uproariously? Grab a copy of my first book, The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I’ll receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—plus I’ll get the book royalties).
Today’s piece is one of the first I wrote for The Galactic Menagerie, but somehow I neglected to upload it to YouTube until last week. So here we are today with this whimsical piece about the largest non-mammalian sea creature (I think that’s true; please correct me in the comment section, my beloved trolls, if I am wrong):
Leftovers IV is out Today!
Pickup my newest release, Leftovers IV! Get 80% off with promo code ham. That’s 80% off ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on my Bandcamp page, including the album, full discography purchases, merch, etc.!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Wanna be utterly perplexed while laughing uproariously? Grab a copy of my first book, The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I’ll receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—plus I’ll get the book royalties).
My latest EP, Leftovers IV, is out today! It should be on all streaming platforms, but as of the time of writing, my distributor, CD Baby, has yet to review the EP for release. It’s $5, but with promo code ham it’s only $1. My full discography typically goes for $72.14, but with promo code ham it’s $14.23, or roughly $0.55 per release. Twenty-six albums, constituting over eight hours of music, for $0.55 per release is ludicrous. But I need the money—desperately. <–That’s not a joke, either.
Open Mic Adventures CXXVI: “Morning Moon Sliver”
Pickup my newest release: The Galactic Menagerie!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Wanna be utterly perplexed while laughing uproariously? Grab a copy of my first book, The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I’ll receive a portion of any purchase made through that link, at no additional cost to you—plus I’ll get the book royalties).
This week I’m featuring one of the more unusual tracks from The Galactic Menagerie. It’s not as unorthodox as some of my compositions, but it’s a bit of an odd fit for an album ostensibly about animals.
I came up with the idea for the piece—“Morning Moon Sliver”—after snapping this picture one morning while walking Murphy:
That inspired this folksy little piece; when I listen to it, I hear the lyrics “Morning Moon Sliver/Shine down on me!” in my head.
SubscribeStar Saturday: Spring Concert 2025
Pickup my newest release: The Galactic Menagerie!
Want to play the sax? Read my ultimate guide to getting started for under $350.
Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive. To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more. For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.
My students had their big Spring Concert back on Friday, 4 April 2025, at 6 PM EST. The Spring Concert is the major performance event of the Spring Semester, and represents the culminations of months of practice. Some of the songs on the programs the kids have worked on since August 2024. Some we added in the two or three weeks before the concert. Either way, it takes a tremendous amount of work and practice to get polished for the concert.
This year my school revived our annual Fine Arts Festival. Essentially, all that means is that we have the school musical and the Spring Concert in the same week, and the visual arts students display their artwork in the gym (which doubles as our auditorium). It makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but it does make my life a bit more difficult, as I have minimal time to turn around from the school play to get setup for the concert. As soon as the play wrapped that Thursday evening, I began resetting the stage for the concert.
Yours portly is still recuperating physically and mentally from the toll of the Fine Arts Festival, but I’ll be fine. What of the concert itself?
Well, it was, perhaps, the best in school history.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.
The Portly Politico 