George Harrison's Day

George Harrison’s many contributions have been generally underrated and overshadowed, in part, by the other geniuses around him...namely John Lennon and Paul McCartney. No need to go into all that here, except to say that we may have not embraced world music, meditation, yoga, and experienced epic Super Star, socially driven, ‘Live Aid’ type rock concerts without George Harrison leading the way; ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ was the very first of these.

The song ‘Sir George...Liverpool Farewell’, from the CD ‘Here Comes the Sun’, began as my sole musical tribute to George Harrison. Using the type of chords he was prone to use, diminished and augmented, chords that had fallen out of favor in pop music, gives this piece a subtle Harrison sound similar to his 70’s hit song, ‘Isn’t It a Pity’.

Later in the studio as the arrangement and production of Sir George developed, I expanded the concept of this piece as a tribute to include the other George...Sir George Martin, the brilliant producer who was instrumental in guiding the overall revolutionary sound the Beatles created in the studio.

But today is George Harrison’s day...so here is the stripped down solo piano version of my song for the quiet, and the spiritual Beatle...the late and very great, George Harrison!

P.S. If you are interested in the spiritual side of George Harrison, I can highly recommend the book ‘Everyday Mystic’...and I may write a review of that for another blog entry in the future.

http://www.archive.org/details/SirGeorgeliverpoolFarewell

A Little Bit About Melody

The melody of your song is what most people will remember, and really is the heart and soul of the composition.  There are a few rules and guidelines that help in writing a good melody.  Ask yourself, is it catchy and singable?

This can be equated with repetition and flow.  Does it have shape, develop thematically, and is it dynamic?  The bottom line is does it create an emotional response?  Does it tell a story and invite listeners on a journey?  And most importantly, can you hum or whistle your melody when away from the piano? 

Getting started.

Nothing replaces the ‘inspired’ melody, but that is between you, your soul, and your imagination.  While you are waiting for inspiration to strike, sometimes a simple chord progression will give you a clue to help start your melody, other times, it may just be more intuitive.  Improvising over a chord progression, or just humming or playing along until an interesting phrase catches your ear can also be a good way to start.  Be aware that melodies don’t always start at the piano.  They may pop into your head at anytime or, anywhere!  Although we want some repetition, it’s a fine line between catchy, and annoying so we need to give it SOME variety as well.  Changing dynamics within the melody, loud and soft accents, using harmonic and key changes, speeding up, slowing down, pauses, playing some sections in a different rhythm while keeping the same notes etc. and adding harmony to some of the notes to create texture are things to keep in mind. 

Rhythm is a very key element of your melody!

Try tapping out the melody as if it is being played on a drum.  Does is flow and have a groove, or does it seem a little jumpy?  If the song is an instrumental, and your melody seems a little awkward, you might try making up words just to see how it sings.  If you are writing lyrics, try removing any words that are not absolutely essential.  You might need to even out your melody.  Often times just changing the rhythm by removing (or adding notes) can smooth it out, but less is usually more.

I have spent years listening to the melodies of many great songwriters, analyzing those, and then writing my own.  Keep listening to uncover the patterns and shapes great melodies have in common and in the process discover what you like and don’t like about certain melodies and of course keep writing your own! 

A little analysis.

In the song 'Cristofori's Dream' the melody is based on the scale tones of the key it is written, D-minor.  The verse uses the harmonic minor scale (D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C#), notice the melody follows these scale tones with a certain amount of repetition.  For a melody to really work, it has to have some degree of repetition.  Here the first 3 notes are repeated 3 times and then it continues up the scale adding a little variety and theme development.  Once the melody is stated, it repeats itself. Then the melody gets repeated again in the key of A-minor, and then the D-minor and the A-minor melodies are repeated AGAIN in a lower octave...repetition!  The melody of the chorus brings in chord tones (i.e. D-F#-A) which blend and flow nicely with the scale tones.  Writing large interval jumps in the melody usually is not a good idea.  The melody should be singable, and too many large jumps will make it awkward generally speaking.  That being said, in the song ‘Return to the Heart’, the melody begins with an octave jump from E up an octave to E ( Key of A Major).  This resolves to the 3rd of the key (C#) and is repeated 3 times.  The sound is pleasant and still melodic, so there are exceptions to every rule.

Using Your Musical Influences to Energize Your Piano Playing!

Your musical role models can inspire and impact how you play, perform, and if you dare...  how you might compose your own music!

Like the effect of our primary relationships with parents and families, our earliest relationships with music runs deep and may leave lasting impressions.

Among my influences in this regard, was the Beatles’ genius song writing team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney and band mate George Harrison.   

Numerous books and articles have been written pointing out the influence of the Beatles on modern day music, and their effect can be heard in the recordings of many contemporary music makers.   

(A case in point are my two latest projects, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and the 2010 release, ‘Liverpool, Re-Imagining the Beatles’.)

It is very flattering to hear that my own original music and style of playing has been a strong influence on many other pianists. However this is cause for me to point out my own, as well as my role model’s musical roots, so that all these elements may be uncovered, explored, and understood more fully.

Looking closely at the Beatles, you will find they were highly influenced by American Rhythm & Blues Rock and Roll, Big Band, and English Dance Hall music.  

Some of the classical touches in their recordings, like the string quartet used in the songs Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby, were due in large part to their producer, George Martin, who’s own classical training and roots mingled with the Beatles song writing, and studio experimentation, helping to shape their overall sound.

This classical influence I heard in the Beatles, and in other 60¹s rock recordings, later helped re-kindled my love for the real classical masters, which in turn had a definite effect on my approach to composing for the piano.

I guess you could say that the Beatles brought me back to Beethoven :-)

It is an interesting journey tracing back your own musical roots, but very important to also follow and identify your role model’s role models.

As a teenager when I listened to the Beatles, I was not aware of all the different ingredients in their sound...but like a good stew, many ingredients come together to make up the whole. And in turn, if we can trace back our influences, this process will enrich our experience and deepen our appreciation for what has come before.

I point all of this out to encourage you to allow different musical styles and composers, to inspire and shape your own musical pursuits, not only in learning to play their music, but even trying your hand at composing with these different styles and influences in mind.

It may take you years of playing, as it did for me, to discover your own unique musical voice, but by playing music you love, experimenting with writing your own, and challenging yourself by trying different styles of playing, you can keep your enthusiasm and excitement for the piano alive and well!

David Lanz

Cristofori's Dream

As the music begins we find our selves in little Italian village. It is the
1700's. The sun is going down and the stars are coming out.  Looking through
a leaded glass window we see Cristofori hard at work in his harpsichord
shop. (picture Walt Disney's Geppeto)

It has been a rather long and frustrating day for Cristofori as he has been
putting in long hours and hoping for a breakthrough on his new invention
(which will eventually transform the harpsichord into his imagined piano
forte.)

With the days work done, Cristofori puts his tools aside, lays his head down
on his workbench, and falls to sleep.

As Cristofori sleeps, he begins to dream. And as the music continues, two
beautiful dream goddesses appear. Through their impressionistic dance and a
dream sequence,  Cristofori is shown the evolution his invention will go
through in the next several hundred years. He is also given a sense of the
tremendous impact the piano will have on the world of music.

Eventually Cristofori finds himself standing in a balcony overlooking a
beautiful concert hall. Center stage is a 9' concert grand piano and a full
symphony orchestra which are now playing together as the piece is reaching
it's musical peak.

As  the peak is reached, everything begins to slowly spin and spiral
downwards. Cristofori awakes very inspired by his dream and even though it
is still the middle of the night, he relights his candle, reaches for his
tools, and goes back to work.

Now the music slowly begins to wind down much like a child's music
box.....and as the very last chord of the song sounds...Cristofori's
harpsichord... changes magically into a piano.....Cristofori's Dream.

Night Thoughts of a Baffled Humanist

I was talking to a long time friend a few days ago about the current state of affairs that not only our nation faces but that the planet as a whole faces, i.e., the economy, the worldwide demonstrations, pollution, etc... He mentioned that he was going to send me an article but forewarned me that it was a bit long and difficult at times but that he thought I would appreciate.

I found this article very interesting and wanted to pass it on in part because I thought it covers so much that we take for granted and also because it is so well written… It was written by Marilynne Robinson who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2005...

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Night Thoughts of a Baffled Humanist
By Marilynne Robinson

This brings me back to the subject of competition, great ally of austerity. There is the ancient habit of competition among nations, for the biggest fleet, for access to commodities, for colonies, for the technologies of warfare. Even cultural competition is ancient; for example, the Roman desire for an epic to compare with Homer’s. I know Americans are supposed to believe in competition. I think it is wasteful and undignified in most cases.

Our competition with the Russians, insofar as it was cultural, was harmless to moderately beneficial. Insofar as it was military, it was disastrous for both sides. I am speaking of those stockpiles and everything that has gone into the making of them. But the story that has currency is that we competed with the Russians and we won. So there is a heightened and ongoing zeal for competition, without a continental power on the other side of the earth to dignify the role of competitor. Since September 11, 2001, some have attempted to put radical Islam in the place of godless communism. But the Muslim world is too diverse, too important to Western interests, too indifferent to the Tchaikovsky competition and speed skating, to fill the role. In need of the focus that comes with having an alien and threatening government to contend with, an appreciable number of Americans choose to consider their government alien and threatening, and, for good measure, socialist. Again, this kind of thinking is eminently compatible with austerity, as the redistributive activities of government are exactly what they choose to be austere about. Other alternatives include returning tax rates for the very wealthy to historically typical levels and cutting subsidies to oil companies. Or there could be a candid admission that the responsibilities of the government involve it in great expense. None of these options ignite populist zeal. This is reserved for attacks—call them “austerities”—directed toward public schools, Social Security, national healthcare, the laws that protect air and water quality.

Read more…   

http://www.thenation.com/article/164466/night-thoughts-baffled-humanist?page=0,0

Notes on Composing…

My own process in becoming a composer was really through osmosis.  My early musical influences fed the fires of inspiration and motivated me to begin writing my own songs.  Those were very primitive to start with, but as my experience and influence widened, my attempts at composing followed suit.  I never received any formal training in composing, my process began at 10 years of age, and I’ve spent a lot of time using trial and error as a method as well as imitating my favorite songwriters as I went along.  If you want to fast track your composing skills, you may want to investigate the many books and methods available that will help you to understand the rules and ways of composing.  Of course having a sense and knowledge of music theory is also highly recommended.

I must say that nothing really beats listening to the masters as a way of ear training and inspiration...masters in all genres...allowing their music to really get under your skin, giving you excellent examples of well written material and templates you can use for your own attempts. There is nothing wrong with imitating and even attempting to re-write a piece you love in order to discover the structure, form, and flow of the piece.  Learning to dissect songs...discovering chord progressions, keys, scales and modes used to create the melodies, will get you headed in the right direction.

You may ask yourself; OK... so what shall I compose? Where do I find inspiration?  Do my compositions need to be about anything?

Life experience, your relationships with friends, family, and loved ones...this is rich ground from which to gather emotions that can be translated into music.  Your spiritual life and connection to the soul and so called higher realms can also serve as great jumping off points for your composing.

Many composers, including myself, have also found inspiration in concepts and themes i.e., mythology and religious stories, world and social events, holidays, famous people etc.  This is sometimes referred to as program music.

And there is also what some serious composers would call music for music sake.  Music that just flows, creating its own conversation, with no serious subject matter or concepts to express, just the sound and texture of music making its own way...a world of sound unto itself.

To create a memorable piece of music, a piece that really connects to your audience is a worthwhile goal.  You may be able to create music that has this effect, but there are no guarantees.  However, the muse may touch you on the shoulder someday and inspiration may strike! However...if you are not prepared or if you have not at least begun to do the work...the muse may smile and laugh as it disappears... and you will have to wait for another day.... a day when hopefully you are more prepared.  :-)       

The Spiritual Significance Of Music

Music, like spirit, is invisible. Yet it moves us to sing, dance, laugh,

cry, even march to war, to heal, and pray, Music has the power to bring

thousands of people together to celebrate. What else in life has this power?

Everything on this Earth eventually crumbles and returns to the dust of which

it was made. Only Spirit remains. Great music endures centuries, outliving it’s

creators and performers. Music, being so related to spirit, is not only a

wonderful tonic, but an inspirational force and powerful ally that can lead one

out of spiritual darkness alleviating emotional, physiological, and physical pain;

restoring and refreshing the soul. Is it the voice of God? The sound of nature?

Music, like spirit, like God, is indeed invisible and humankind will be wise to

recognize it’s healing and spiritual significance, and they need only to listen!

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