Thought of the day:

Never enough time.

Za Frûmi

Musical Inspiration of a different species.

“Influenced by the Uruk-Hai and their language ...”.

“Za Frûmi is melodic mood music from a dark fantasy setting. Centered around a wayward group of orcs, ... Deep flutes, rythmic drums and atmospheric ambience combine ...”.

Something a bit different.

Za Frûmi
http://www.waerloga.com/zafrumi/


Ursus Demens

A rough and in the raw N.J.G.

First release of N.J.G. is now available. A rough and raw MP3 recording in now available.

Listen to N.J.G.

I have begun working on a slightly altered version of N.J.G. which I think I will call N.J.S.G.

PS: N.J.G. & N.J.S.G. do stand for something, but I will leave it for you to guess what.

Ursus Demens

N.J.G.

First release of N.J.G. is now available. Right now all that is available is the score and midi playback through the scorch browser plug-in. I hope to have a MP3 within the week. We will see.

N.J.G.

PS: N.J.G. does stand for something, but I will leave it for you to guess what.

Ursus Demens

New MP3 and N.J.G.

Kiyone's Mood.

Well I have posted (actuall it was posted on the 27th) a preliminary mix of my tune Kiyone's Mood to SibeliusMusic, the MP3 file is here. Be warned it is 11 minutes long and 15 Mbytes in size.

Yesterday I wrote another tune for the same combination of instruments. I pretty much finished the entire piece in one day. Just need to do a bit of proof reading and cleaning up before I post the score. The current preliminary title for the piece is N.J.G.. Like Kiyone's Mood it is a model jazz tune, but in 5/4 meter.

From the program notes to Kiyone's Mood:
Kiyone was not sure how long she had been walking when she found the bar. It must have been several hours, she calculated, the street lights having come on without her noticing. It was a dark night, a cloudless and moonless night, only the brightest of stars were visible through the city lights. Like a cheap detective novel, the night mirrored her mood. Only three of the tables in the place were colonized as Kiyone made her way to the end of the empty bar. Just the type of place she needed to drink the night away. Sitting down she gave the bartender a single command, "Scotch!"

Ursus Demens

My current writing process

I am very old school having started composing long before the advent of personal computers. So almost all of my pieces begin on good old fashion manuscript paper, a pencil and a small drafting triangle. All my preliminary work is done “manually” and is done away from the computer and the piano. [I do not write at the piano.] I also have a pad of graph paper for making notes, sketching abstract ideas, instrument placements and any other ideas. I also have a set of ten pens in ten different colors, and a set of ten high-lighter pens in ten colors that almost but not quite correspond to the the ten regular pens.

Once I have the basic material worked out, depending on the piece and my mood, in greater or lesser detail I input the music into Sibelius. One the piece has been entered into Sibelius editing and polishing of the piece beings, this is a very iterate process, usually proportional to the length and size (number of performers) of the piece. While some editing (changes) occur in the initial inputting of my sketches into the Sibelius software most occur after the initial data input. My usual method is to print out the score and go sit down with it away from the computer. With the score I being to “edit” or polish refine the piece by writing all over page with my colored pens, highlighters and my pencil. Once the score is all marked up I then sit down at the computer again and enter all of my edits. Only after this initial first edit do I turn on the speakers and listen to the piece through the Sibelius Playback. After this another score print out is made and the whole editing process is repeated. This process is repeated as many times as needed. As a side note, I usually save the Sibelius score with a new version number in the file name for each iteration. I also tend to put each piece in its own sub-folder.

Once I am done with these editing iterations I end up with my final score that I will publish for performers and from which I will extract parts. At this point I consider the piece complete.

This is however not the end of the process. Now begins the process of “recording” the piece, but that is for another post.

Ursus Demens

A Question.

A question for all the composers out there. Why do you compose?

Ursus Demens

Finished

Well I kept my focus and finish my recoreding of my Fugue:
Fugue in E minor is now available for viewing and listening.


Ursus Demens

Regained Focus

Well I have regained my focus and have returned to working on my recording on my Fugue in E minor. As I have said before it is a labor intensive bit of work that has to be done for a recording/rendering. So far I feel I have finished with the Violas and the Cellos in shaping all of there dynamics. All I have left are the two Violin sections and the Basses. I am inclined to work on the Basses next, but I probably should work on the second Violins next, working my way form the inside voices to the outside voices. Once that is done all I will have left is how to get the convolution reverb set so that I can get some depth of sound. So much too do.

Ursus Demens

Discipline

Or should I say my total lack of discipline. I have finished writing my Fugue in E minor and have begun working on a recording of it. This is a very labor intensive process, so what do I do? I begin on writing another piece, a bit of fluff piece. Sort of a folk-rock piece. What the hell am I thinking? I need to be finishing the Fugue in E minor and proofing the parts, but no I am start working on some thing completely different. And do you remember? I started the Fugue in E minor while I was working of the recording to Kiyone's Mood. if what I needed as a little time away from the Fugue what didn't I go back to work on Kiyone? Lack of discipline, I say. Or some sort of deep seeded physiological need to avoid actually finishing something. That or I am just lazy.


Mood of the day: Wistfulness, yearning, with a hint of sadness and lost, but muted.


Ursus Demens

Fugue in E minor

Well I have finished the my Fugue in E minor for String orchestra and have started on recording it using the GPO string samples and Sonar. I am also in the process of trying to finish recording Kiyone's Mood and have also started on a new recording of Sol Demens.


Ursus Demens

Done with it.

The Rock the Potato piece, [
Rock the Potato thread on the SibeliusMusic Chat Page] I finally finished last night, mostly because I simply got sick and tired of looking at the damn thing.

Ursus Demens

Schizophrenic Composing

As I mentioned in my last post I am currently working on two separate and completely dissimilar pieces.

The first piece I started a couple of weeks ago is a fugue in e minor for string orchestra. I have found that I have not been able to completely put this piece on the back burner and have continued to work on it even when I should be working on the Hot Potato piece. This piece which currently does not have a title, other than Fugue in e minor, is, as I have said, for string orchestra and is written in 5/2 time at the slow tempo of a half note equalling 45 BPM, and is sketched out to last about eight minutes. Preview taste of the beginning of the the fugue is here: Fugue in e minor. This piece (Fugue in e minor) seems to complement my previous piece The Forlorn Hope. Or should I say The Forlorn Hope complements the Fugue. Id est I have taken to listening to the MP3 files of both of them, first The Forlorn Hope followed by The Fugue in e minor.

The other piece I am working on, Rock the Potato, [
Rock the Potato thread on the SibeliusMusic Chat Page] is coming along well and I hope to finish it before the weekend. But we will see.



Ursus Demens

the potato

Currently I am working on a musical "hot potato", The details are at: Rock the Potato Currently I am pretty unmotivated to work on it, but I need to finish it up soon, since others are waiting on me to finish it.

I had started working on a fugue in E Minor for string orchestra, but it has been put on hold as I try to finsh the rock piece.

Ursus Demens

Question of the day.

Will global warming be canceled out by a nuclear winter?

Thought of the day

A TLA is a TLA and an ETLA is an ETLA.

Fanfare & Hymn

My newest piece for Brass Quintet (two trumpets, Horn, Trombone, & Tuba) is now available: Fanfare & Hymn. Both the Score and an MP3 file is available.

Ursus Demens

"Fanfare and Hymn"

Well having finished my previous piece (Forlorn Hope) I have gone back a revisited an older piece for brass quintet that has been sitting gathering dust for awhile. With a few edits and a revised transition I am pretty happy with the piece. Originally titled “Tantei X” I have retitled it “Fanfare and Hymn”. Hopefully I can finish the score and the MP3 file by the end of the weekend.

And Tom

Tom is doing well and is walking more and more everyday and we and the doctor expect him to make a full recovery. The only thing now is he does not like to go to sleep at night and likes to bark a bit when we turn the lights out. I think he likes to hear himself. He has also taken to sleeping/ spending the entire night in the living room, where he use to always sleep in the bed room. We are planing to have a birthday party for him in october to celebrate his 14 birthday.

Ursus Demens

The Forlorn Hope

For Horns, Trombones, Tuba, Timpani and Percussion.

The Forlorn Hope

MP3 {8 minutes}

[This piece was formerly know as MQ. Thank you all who offered suggestions on a title.]

What is the Forlorn Hope?

Thank you for taking time to listen.

Ursus Demens

Saturday Afternoon

Tom is making fine progress is and can walk very shot distances. The doctor feels his doing excellent and most lily will make a 100 percent recovery. We have reduced his medications again which also is good news. So things are getting a little more back to normal but not completely.

My father is fine and with a small change in his medications he is actually feeling better than he has in awhile.

As for music I put off working on my piece for woodwinds (in fours) and as is my want I began yet another piece, this one for horns, low brass and percussion. It currently does not have a title and I am note sure what direction to take it in. You can listen to it here, MQ In Search of a Title

I also have my mix of Kiyone's Mood that I need to finish mixing.

So, if some day I actually get my self organized and focused I might actually finish something.

Ursus Demens

Tom's Status

My time has been taken up lately with the nursing of our Dachshund Tom. He is doing a lot better now. He can sit up by himself and yesterday he actually was able to take two or three steps on his own. He is down to just three medications every other day. But he still requires extensive nursing by the whole family.

Also about ten days ago we had another medical emergency, my father called at 3:30 in morning saying he felt he might be having another heart attack, (he had one several years ago) so we rushed off to take him to the hospital. He ended up staying for one day in the hospital, and in the end (Thank the Lord) it turned out to be a false alarm.


Meanwhile I have found a little time work on some music.

I have finished the actual composing of a work for woodwinds (in fours) and keyboard percussion. Still no working title yet, but maybe something like Seven Prayers for the Buddha. The piece still needs to be “sanded”, id est all of the dynamics marks, accents, and phrase markings doubled and triple check. Then it need to be “realize” in Sonar.


I have also gotten back to working on my mix of Kiyone's Mood . Just added a drum solo to it and just need to do some final tweaking in a couple of places.

I publish the score to The Four Freedoms to SibeliusMusic. Both the score and an MP3 file are now available.


Ursus Demens

Sick Puppy

Sorry I have not been Blogging lately. My Dog Tom did something to his back last week and he has been unable to stand on his own since then. He is doing better today (he is on four different medications), but he still requires extensive nursing by all of us.

Meanwhile I have found a little time work on some music. Currently I am working on a piece for woodwinds (in fours) and keyboard percussion. No working title yet, but maybe something like Seven Prayers for the Buddha.

I am also trying to finish up revising Kazekikeba (for Alto Flute, Alto, and Piano).

I still have to clean up and publish the score to The Four Freedoms

And someday I need continue on and finish my mix of Kiyone's Mood .


Ursus Demens

Top 50 Music Quotations

Not my list, diary of a music whore's list: Top 50 Music Quotations


Ursus Demens

The Four Freedoms

I have spent the last two days working on a March that I have decided to call:

The Four Freedoms

{Main Street on the Fourth}

Currently there is no score available only the MP3 [The Four Freedoms]

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear.

Ursus Demens

On the 5th

Well I did finish Summer Sax on Wednesday the 5th and it is now available on Sibelius Music.


Ursus Demens

After the Fourth of July Holiday.

Well I remained focused on my sidetrack project Summer Sax, which I actually hope to finish today. It is one of those pieces that gets stuck in your head while you are composing and you have to get it out and into the world before you can move on to pieces that you are more interesting in as a composer. My current feelings towards Summer Sax is one of ambivalence, and I am not sure how well the over all structure works. But as I said it seems to have taken on a life of its own, and demands to be released into the world. And until I do, it will not let me continue on my other projects that are dearer to me, id est Kiyone's Mood


Ursus Demens

Summer Sax

Sidetracked:

Well I got sidetracked this weekend and got zero done on my mix of Kiyone's Mood . Instead I returned to working on a new piece for five Saxes and rhythm section, tentatively called Summer Sax.

I also spend time on entering Francesco Landini's (1325? - 97 Anno Domini) Ballata: Non avrà ma' pietà and Johannes Ockeghem's (ca. 1420 – 97 Anno Domini) Chanson: D'ung aultre amer mon cueur s'abesseroit into Sibelius for study. Next up I think will be Orlando di Lasso's (1532-94 Anno Domini) Motet: Cum essem parvulus (1579). So right now I am in a whole pre-baroque period mood. I suspect I will not get back to Kiyone's Mood until after the Fourth of July holiday.

Ursus Demens

Cowards

America Family Voices

Who are you? And what do you believe in? I know what you do not believe in, I know who you are against, as you call and leave messages on my phone. But you are a coward. Only a coward will tell you what they are against, but do not have the spine to tell you what they are for, what they actually believe. Only a coward will not properly identify themselves, just your name, no contact information, no web site, nothing, just a anonymous generic name. What are you ashamed of? If you truly believed in your cause (what ever that might be since it goes unstated) you would be honest about who you are. But I doubt you have the testicles to stand up for your beliefs in the bright light of day. If you truly believe in something I will listen you, but I do not listen to cowards.

Ursus Demens

Work continues

Work continues on a recording of Kiyone's Mood . Progress has been good, but there is a lot of material to work on so we are looking at at least another week before I have anything presentable. I have been focusing on it exclusively so work on Kazekikeba and the Sax pieces have been shelved for now.

Ursus Demens

Word of the Day

Cute is Good.

Do composers really want help when they ask for it?

Symphony no. 1 in D Major fourth movement by Kelly Bennette

Kelly Bennette Said:

I have posted the unfinished fourth movement of my Symphony no. 1 in D Major. I would appreciate comments on this movement. Please don't say, "It ends abruptly" It does this cuz IT AIN'T FINISHED YET!
This movement is not the finale...the fifth is. ...
Symphony no. 1 in D Major fourth movement

Some quick observations (only a few listens of each movement)

Over all impression: not enough of the Zeitgeist.

The piece does not really work for me.

It has been come a cliché with me, but I will say it here again, I get the impression that you are thinking vertically too much and not thinking horizontally. That is you are overly concern with the vertical (Harmonic) aspects, does the note fit the current chord, instead letting each line, no matter how minor move in its own logical way.

As Cedric said the unrelenting two and four bar phrase becomes very predictable and tiresome. Also too polite, id est you have instrument A play a phrase then instrument B plays a phrase and then instrument C plays a phrase, each waits patiently for the other to finish before beginning, no one interrupts or talks over the other.

Your forward motion is always coming to a stop, through cadences (usually very obvious and cliché cadences) and the cessation of rhythmic activity and pulse, especially at transition of sections. Rarely (if ever) once section moves into a new section/idea without coming to a stop, like the whole orchestra needs to take a breath before starting something new.

1st Movement: The various sections do not make sense, just seem to be a random change of pace. The various sections and ideas seem to have no relationship with one another. You could cut each section out and play them in any random order without really affecting the impression and impact of the piece upon the listener. I suspect that there is too many ideas in this movement, so some serious pruning might be in order.

Last three and half pages seems more appropriate to the final of a Disneyland Stage production than the end of the first movement of a “symphony”.

2nd Movement: Like the 4th movement I increase the speed. If I had to conduct the piece I would probably take the opening “Hymn” in a slow 2 (2/2 time). But on second hearing I'm not sure that would help or work. How familiar are you with church hymns? Most of the churches that I am familiar with plod through their hymns in a moderate to fast 4/4 like hammering nails into a two by four every quarter note. As an experiment take a hymn and conduct in in a slow 2/2 time, you might be surprise at the result.


3rd Movement: We here what five or six pages introduction, before we get to the actual material? Or so it seems.


4th Movement: I actually moved the tempo slider to the right to increase the speed by about 10 percent (maybe more), works a little better at a slightly faster tempo.

The various sections and the order in which they occur make a little better sense, but not a great deal.

A few questions that I do not need the answers to, but that I want you to think about and answer to yourself.
Have you given much thought about the length of each movement and how they balance and complement each other? If you had to identify the main motifs in each movement could you? And could you explain how they relate to each other?



Well these are just some very quick thoughts, and subject to revision. If you would like some detail comments, send me the Sibelius file to one of the movements and I will mark it up with comments.

---

NOTE: Almost two weeks now and no acknowledgement from the composer.


Ursus Demens

A simple model tune:

Well I have begun working on a recording of Kiyone's Mood . This will take some time, so probably nothing until next week in the way of a recording. Mean while I am am also working on a new piece for five Saxes and rhythm section and revising Kazekikeba.


From the Program notes:

Kiyone was not sure how long she had been walking when she found the bar. It must have been several hours, she calculated, the street lights having come on without her noticing. It was a dark night, a cloudless and moonless night, only the brightest of stars were visible through the city lights. Like a cheap detective novel, the night mirrored her mood. Only three of the tables in the place were colonized as Kiyone made her way to the end of the empty bar. Just the type of place she needed to drink the night away. Sitting down she gave the bartender a single command, "Scotch!"

Ursus Demens

This week in the News :-)

Backstroking in the Lake of Fire

Dark Stairs

New MP3 file available

Dark Stairs in a Strange City ---

A musical Haiku in 12/8 time divided 3+2+2+3+2 instead of the traditional 3+3+3+3 division. For a quartet of Alto Flute, Guitar, Bass and Drums.

During the winter of 2004 – 2005 Anno Domini I wrote a musical Blog piece each week. This the Musical Blog piece from the Week of January 16, 2005 Anno Domini.

As I wrote then:

I have decided to try to do a musical Blog each week. That is each week I will try to write a short piece of music and post it for the world to see. These Blog pieces will be in addition to any other pieces that I am working on. They are an exercise in composition. Most will explore one or two compositional and or notational ideas.

Ursus Demens

Frustrations:

Well I continue with learning how to mix, but it is frustrating. Composing is so much easier. I set aside mixing Ultra Dry over the weekend to try to clear my thinking on it. So I worked on revising Kazekikeba (for Alto Flute, Alto, and Piano). Made a lot of headway on it, but still a long way to go to make it presentable. Meanwhile today I started mixing Dark Stairs in a Strange City ---. Right now my confidence in my ability to mix is at an all time low. I do know if any piece of mine will ever see the light a day again.

Ursus Demens

Ultra Dry Mix

I remain on track with Ultra Dry and a preliminary mix is now available. Right now it is a pretty raw mix and I am still working on all of the little details that make a mix work. But to this point I am very happy with what I have, so I though I would share it.

Ursus Demens

Staying on Course

I did not have a lot of time over the weekend, many family commitments and gatherings, but I remain on track with Ultra Dry and got a preliminary raw mix recorded. To this point I am very happy with what I have and just need to work on all of the little details that in the long run really make the mix work. I am staying with the Fender Rhoades piano for Ultra Dry but I have begun making notes (when I was out of the house an unable to work on the mix) on doing a rendering/recording/mix of Single Malt and in it I am considering replacing the Rhoades with an grand piano, since the Rhoades and the Vibraphone are similar in timbre. But first I need to finish Ultra Dry .


Ursus Demens

Staying focused

Well I did not have a lot of time last night, but what time I did have (along with a little bout of insomnia) I used productively and stayed focused on my rendering/recording/mix of Ultra Dry. I reworked the transition from the solos aback to the head, add 16 more bars to the piece where the piano gets just a little bit of solo space. So I am now happy with the overall form, structure, shape and length of the piece. Now I need to dig down and work on the details. I start that this morning by “breaking apart” the drum so that they cymbals, snare drum, and bass drums are now all on their own channel this in preparation of mixing so that they each can be mix and equalized separately.

Most details have been decided on.

1. Should I add a hand drum (conga) part. No.


2. Should I play the full head after the solos. [Most likely no] No.


3. Should I have the Piano and or the Guitar take a solo chorus. Piano now has half a chorus.


4. Should I have a percussion vamp/soli before playing the out head. No.


5. Electric Piano or Acoustic Piano. No Decision Yet, but leaning towards the electric.

Ursus Demens

Fughetta in E-flat Minor (2006) by Michael Cutler

Fughetta in E-flat Minor (2006) by Michael Cutler

Dear Michael:

Just a quick first reaction. Too much parallel motion at times. While the “rules” of common practice counterpoint allow consecutive thirds and sixths too many was frowned upon. Bar 9 is the first example, while not “violating any of the rules”, to the ear the parallel thirds and sixths destroy any sense of independence between the two voices. The jumping from thirds to sixths does not change this aural perception. Part of the problem might lie in the that fact that the two voices are moving lock step with each other with no rhythmic interest. One possible solution might be some how to off set the two voices rhythmically, id est having one voice move to the next voice before the other moves.

This same aural perception of moving from polyphony to homophonic texture occurs though out the piece. Bars 15, 21, 32, 50, 63-64 all “caught my ear”. In fact I listen to it a few times with my eyes closed so that my eyes would not fool me. In bar 32 the two outer voices are moving in parallel motion and the addition of a third inter voice might have mitigated the homophonic feeling, yet the fact that the intervoice is static in it melodic movement, id est simply repeat that same note, and moving with the same rhythm as the two outer voices only reinforces that homophonic feeling. Bar 21 while the two top voices are not moving in parallel intervals they are moving in a parallel direction and again locked-stepped in rhythm. The third (bottom) voice does over come this homophonic aural impression of the bar. These are the bars that stood out aural to me.

One thing, it was quite common, but not “required” that when a voice re-enters after resting that it would state the subject, I some times get the impression that when you have a voice re-entering it is simply entering to provide harmonic support to the existing voices, not to make its own “statement”, this is just an impression though and I have not examined this in detail.

While your use of a Picardy third to end the piece is quite “proper in the common practice” I wonder if now in the twenty first century that it is strictly needed and given the feel of the rest of the piece a bit out of place. Again bars 67 to the end have a very homophonic feel to them, I know it is the closing of the piece, but still ...

One final thought, I am un-convinced on the suitability of the subject and I found it interesting that you avoided both the sixth and seventh scale degrees in the subject. The two notes in the minor that are both the most difficult to handled (natural, harmonic, or melodic versions decisions ) and yet in some ways the most interesting and characteristic notes in minor.


Ursus Demens

The Skies Above

---

The Skies Above
Posted by Tom Sullivan (Home page) - 23:09, 24 May 2006 -
My friend and I wrote this string quartet for our quartet to play and we were thinking of making a second version so if anyone has any suggestions we would be open to them.
Thanks from Tom Sullivan and Steve Tzeng!!

The link to the site is;
http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/show_score.pl?scoreid=85008

---

Tom:

Just some very very quick impressions and suggestions:

• One get the impression much of the time of piano centered thinking, very right hand left hand sounding at times.


• Too many doughnuts.


• Use passing notes between “chords”.


• Use chromatic passing notes, upper and lower auxiliary notes.


• Need more independence between the four parts (voices).


• Create a “dialogue” between the four parts, give and take.


• Thin out the texture at times, id est duets and trios within the quartet.


1. Viola + Cello Duet


2. Viola + Violin I


3. Violin I + Violin II


4. Et cetera.




• The viola, except for one section, spends the entire time on its lowest two strings, let it “sing” more.

Just some quick thoughts and ideas, maybe more later.

--
//
// Ars longa, vita brevis
//

Losing Focus

After doing so well on Monday night focusing exclusivity on my rendering/recording/mixing of Ultra Dry I strayed off course spend the evening playing with a bit of new software terragen - photorealistic scenery rendering software which has nothing to do with music. That unless I use it to create CD art work, or at least that is how I rationalized it last night. So we will see if I can get my focus back tonight and continue working on Ultra Dry, or if I will simply spend the night drinking Rusty Nails, after all it is the one offical day of the year I am allowed to be depressed.


Ursus Demens, Wednesday the 24th of May, 2006 Anno Domini

Neglected Scores of the Week.

• Where Are the Mountains? A very early work of mine for wind ensemble.


• Meditation on the Sierpinski Tetrahedron This an experiment, and thus is it slowly evolving.

Notes to Meditation on the Sierpinski Tetrahedron:

• Best experienced with eyes closed in a dark and cool room.


• The experiment continues. I have begun working on a realization of this piece and hope to have an MP3 recording available before spring 2006. Stay tuned.
• 
  
  • [Now we can only hope to have it finished before the end of the summer of 2006 Anno Domini
  
  
• Revised version uploaded on Nov 6.


• This is a work in progress so many changes are planned for this piece but have not been implemented yet. Most of the current changes are in the first two minutes of the piece.


• Updated Score upload Nov. 22, 2004 Anno Domini.


• This an experiment, and thus is it slowly evolving.


• The harmonic "language" that I am using is too, too static and even weak, something I am trying to work through. And, I think while I am using various "poly-rhythms" (if that is the right word) they suffer from all lining up on the down beat, that is to say the bar line is too much in your face (ear) all of the time.


• I feel that I have a idea here that is worthwhile, but I think that my "vision" is bigger than the tools that I have at my disposal. I am working on making pan an active part of the piece, but the tool that I have limits me to stereo effects, but I hear in my head a surround sound presentation of the material, well maybe someday I will have all of the tools that I need to realize what I am trying.


• Thank you for your support and time.

Ursus Demens, May the 24th, 2006 Anno Domini

Today

Today is officially the one day of the year I am allowed to be depressed.

Urusus

Odobenidae

curtis.schweitzer@... wrote:
>
> Friends-
>
> As much as I would have liked to have been more active in this group,I'm afraid it has been impossible. I have, however, recently completed a piece of music that I would like comments and criticisms of- at the end of this message is a link to the rough draft of my semester composition for school this year. Juries are but a couple of weeks away, and I was wondering if anyone had any comments/criticisms to share as I ready the score for juries.
It is entitled "odobenidae" and is a passicaglia for orchestra.


Dear Curtis:

Opening Passacaglia theme, nice change of pace using a 5/4 measure instead of a more traditional 3/4. In many "traditional" passacaglias start with a pickup note into the down beat of the first bar. I wonder if your theme might not benefit from such a small alteration. Given the end of your theme is simply a four beat note with a rest on beat five it would be easy to add either a quarter note or eight note pickup into the theme, I think such an addition would provide the piece with just a little more forward motion.

I wonder if your theme might be a bit more intense if you moved away from the pure natural C minor scale. Say B natural on the down beat of Bar 7? Either throwing in a bit of the C harmonic or melodic minor.

As for the 5/4 meter, great choice, but have you given much thought about the sub-division of the bar? Which are the "strong beats" is est is the bar divvied two beats + three beats? Or Three beats + two beats? Looking/listening to the opening bars I would say that you are leaning towards a 3 + 2 division of the bar. Is so I would notate every thing that way, so the last bar of your theme would be not a whole note but two half notes tied together (note i fit was a 3+ 2 division the same note would be notated by me as a dotted half note tied to a quarter note).

Problems with the orchestration, pretty much all that was said on the Sibelius music chat page with regards to your instrumentation choices echo my concerns too, so I will try not to repeat them. There are places (sorry I can not give you exact bars) where I think you have made a poor choice in the instrumentation, what I am referring to here is there are places where you have the Eb clarinet playing a phrase which is not in its "best" range id est it is playing "throat" tones, where if given to the Bb clarinet the same phrase would lie in a very sweet part of its range, and vis versus.

The 5/8 section, again 2+3 or 3+2 division of the bar.

Not sure how well the woodwinds sixteenth notes before and after Letter E really work, wonder if it might be better to rescore with the strings taken that part over. With just the full brass section playing the slower theme with out the string reinforcement you now have. Just a thought.

5/8 section, not sure the sixteenth notes in the second violin and viola work or are needed to help propel this section forward. When the Bb Clarinet takes the theme here, given the range, I think this would work better on the Eb Clarinet.

Letter H I would be tempted to score this section in 5/4 for all the instruments playing the "augmented" theme but 5/8 in the sections (strings) that are still moving at the 5/8 "pace". One way would be to put a dotted bar line dividing the 5/4 bar in half for those instruments. (see the middle section of my 59,620 Years [http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/show_score.pl?scoreid=43241] were I have the percussion playing two 11/8 bars to one 11/4 bar for the rest of the instruments for an example on how to do this.)

I would consider having EVERYONE play (softly) the last few chords.

Well those are just a few quick thoughts and ideas.

Ursus Demens

Staying Focused

Well I finally stayed focused last night and got quite a bit done on my rendering/recording/mix of Ultra Dry. I finished up putting the solos together and the drums part is about 90 percent done at this point. Both the Flute and the Flugelhorn take one chorus to solo. But I am unsure at this time with the overall balance of the piece and wonder if I need to have the piano take a solo chorus too. And or have a drum/percussion break before heading back in to the head.

The form of the head is a bit unusual. Harmonically it is 16 bars repeated to form 32 bars. The melodic form is ABAC, a quasi rondo. The interesting bit is that The B & C sections are closely related and the first half (id est the first four bars of each) is identical only differing in the last half of the eight bar section melodically, but remain identical in their harmonic progression. It should also be noted that the first half of that half (id est the first two bars of the B & C sections) are identical to the first two bars of the A section. To summarize the opening two bar motif (if we may call it that) occurs four times in the 32 bar head.

The form of the piece can be further broken down into four bar chunks giving us: ab a'c ab a'd. (a' is used to indicate that the first half of it (a') is identical to a). So we have A(ab) B(a'c) A(ab) C(a'd) for our final form.

In the current recording we only play the last half (AC) of the head after the solos with a simple four bar “coda” to close the piece.

So as I stated I have remained focused on rendering/recording/mix of Ultra Dry. With only a few details left to decided on.

1. Should I add a hand drum (conga) part.


2. Should I play the full head after the solos. [Most likely no]


3. Should I have the Piano and or the Guitar take a solo chorus.


4. Should I have a percussion vamp/soli before playing the out head.


5. Electric Piano or Acoustic Paino.

Ursus Demens

As Usual ...

Well as usual I have gone off in yet another direction. Instead of working on any of the pieces that I mention last week i have begun working on a rendering/recording/mix of Ultra Dry. This is a simple Bossa Nova for Flute and Flugelhorn I wrote back in 2002 Anno Domini. And is part of my “Dry” series of pieces. I hope to have a raw preliminary mix done by the weekend, but we will see if I can carve enough time out of my day to get it done.

Ursus Demens

Less Than Stellar

Well my week has been less than stellar. My back went out in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, an old disk problem that resurfaces occasionally, which put me out of action for two days. While I am back I am still moving very gingerly. Although I took the two days off from work, since I could hardly walk, I was unable to get any work done on any of my music. Pain, intense pain, just sucks all the concentration and thinking power of your brain. All one can do is sit, or lie, there as the waves of pain flow through you while you wait for it to pass.

I am pretty happy with my latest mix of What Ever So I am now left with the dilemma of what to work on next. I have started several projects, but I am can not seem to concentrate on just one of them. My current projects include recording/rendering several of my jazz pieces, (Backstroking in the Lake of Fire , "A short cruise through the semi-abandoned side streets and alleys of L.A during the wee hours of a hot mid-summer's night", Cat Juice, and Super Dry [Big Band]). I have also been working on a new jazz piece for five saxes and rhythm section (currently without a working title) and revisiting my march The Wild Cats. So once more I am making little progress as I am scattering my efforts over too many projects and this is one of the reasons I have been lax in posting.


Take care.

Ursus Demens

Still Mixing It Down

Updated MP3 (six minutes) file of my piece “What Ever” has just been uploaded. The Score to What Ever (you can access the MP3 from there.)

Streaming MP3 link to What Ever


Ursus Demens

Numbers

My life is slowly becoming full of numbers. When I was younger, in fact until I started university the only number I need to know was my home phone number, for 18 years all I need to know was one seven digit number, in those days all of Los Angeles county had one area code, no need to even know the area code. Then I went to university, while I still live at home, I now had my own phone, so I need to know two phone numbers, 14 digits, no make that three numbers (my girl friends home phone, 21 digits. I also need to know my SSN and my student id number, 17 more digits that I had to know. But then my area code changed, but not too bad, only two area codes for the LA area, I can handle that.

Skipping ahead, now day how many numbers do I need to know? My home phone, my parents home phone, their cell phone, my wife's cell phone, my daughter's cell phone, my sister's home, cell and fax numbers (and area codes), my cell phone, my work phone. If you are counting that is 100 digits I now need to know, and we have not even talked about PINS, and IP address and Port numbers that I have to remember.

Even in music I have to deal with ii V7 I!

My life is slowly becoming full of numbers.

55 72 73 75 73 20 44 65 6D 65 6E 73

Ignored piece of the week:

The Girl in the White Pants

There is also an MP3 available.

ps: ignore the title on the piece, it was a little joke/experiment.


Ursus Demens

Quick Monday Morning Note

"What Ever": what I hope is the penultimate mix for this piece is now available. I have tried to incorporate all of the suggestions I have received, but I most likely have fallen short in places. MP3 of "What Ever"

Ursus Demens

What Ever, Kiyone's Mood & Soul Catcher

I have just uploaded a new MP3 mix of my piece What Ever. This is, I hope, the penultimate mix of What Ever so that I can move onto other pieces. At this point I am considering doing a recording of either Kiyone's Mood or Concerto For Trombone I. Soul Catcher.


The Program notes for Kiyone's Mood:

A simple model tune:

---

Kiyone was not sure how long she had been walking when she found the bar. It must have been several hours, she calculated, the street lights having come on without her noticing. It was a dark night, a cloudless and moonless night, only the brightest of stars were visible through the city lights. Like a cheap detective novel, the night mirrored her mood. Only three of the tables in the place were colonized as Kiyone made her way to the end of the empty bar. Just the type of place she needed to drink the night away. Sitting down she gave the bartender a single command, "Scotch!"


Ursus Demens

Already Thursday

I have solved, or at least worked around, the “snap-crackle- and-pop” issues I have been having with Sonar so I have been progressing with my mixing and my realization of What Ever and a preliminary MP3 Mix is available. I will be uploading a new mix sometime soon. After that I think there will be one more mix before I let it be and go on to something else, most likely mixing Cat Juice, But I might take on one of my full Big Band pieces.

Ursus Demens

Just a quick update

I have tried to stay focused on my work on my realization of What Ever (Formerly known as Why Did You Leave Me) Everything is in place now and a preliminary MP3 mix is available MP3 of What Ever. I still want to refine the actual mix and balance in the piece, but this week Sonar is acting up with some “snap-crackle-and-pop” that I have not experienced before. I have also begun working on a new Jazz piece, but while I am very happy with it melodically, I am unsure and unhappy with the harmonic underpinnings, not sure what to do with it. And I have also begun mixing Cat Juice but the above Sonar issues have also plagued it.


Ursus Demens

This Week

OUCH!

Weirdness

My piece Musical Blog piece from last year Facilis Descensus Averno garnered 130 views on over the weekend and an additonal 17 views on Monday. This for a piece of music that averages less than one view per day. Doing a search on Google for “Facilis Descensus Averno” shows that my piece is the number one returned result. Weird. I wonder what alignment of the planets resulted in this 15 minutes.

Either the world is weird or I am crazy.


Ursus Demens

Drifting Across The Sea of Stars

Last winter (2004-2005) I did a weekly musical blog piece. The piece I did for the week of March 20th, 2005 Anno Domino was Drifting Across The Sea of Stars. Taking a little time off from my work on my “rendering” of Why Did You Leave Me (which is coming along very well, but I felt I need to take a little time away from it to clear out the ears, but so far I am very happy with what I have. There is actually a raw preliminary MP3 file available.)

But back to the point. Taking a little break I worked up an MP3 recording of Drifting Across The Sea of Stars using Sonar and various Software Synthesizers. Please take a listen, I would love to hear your impressions.

Ursus Demens

Damn it's already Wednesday!

And I have gotten so little done. I grow old, I grow old, shall I eat a peach?

I have tried to stay focused on my work on my realization of Why Did You Leave Me (also known as Why Did You Leave?) I continue with refining and “tweaking” the drum part and I have to say for at least today I am happy with it. But I have allowed my sell get distracted and I have been doing a lot of work revising my march The Wildcats so progress on Why Did You Leave Me is slower than it should be.

My next great project is to get my wife to allow me to buy some high end monitor/speakers for my setup. The money she will care about a little, but the extra space they will take up will drive her crazy, maybe I should just breakdown and buy her a new house.


Ursus Demens

Dreaming

Science tells us that everyone dreams when they sleep, yet some claim, likely true, but not verifiable by me, to never to remember their dreams. Those who do remember their dreams may not remember them at every waking. Yet, weather nor not we remember our dreams is not my query, what I want to know is: how long do you remember your dreams? Just for a few moments when you awake? Longer? Perhaps all day or even a week? I would guess that for most of us who remember our dreams, remember some of our dreams for longer periods of time and some for just a fleeting moment. But what is the longest you have ever remembered a dream? More than a year?

Well I remember a dream that I had almost forty years ago. In fact this particular dream was noteworthy even at the time that I had it in its extremely long length, continuity and the fact that I had it two nights in a row. The second night started with a recap of the first night's dream and then continued on from where it left off. So after eight Presidents, and counting, I still remember this dream, and now looking back seems to have presented me with a allegory of an aspect of my life.

So I ask again, what is the longest you have ever remembered a dream?

Ursus Demens

Staying Focused

(for now)

I have been continuing with my realization of Why Did You Leave Me (also known as Why Did You Leave?) Like I wrote on Sunday I had refined some of my ideas “off-line” while working. I am happy to write that progress on the realization is going very well and I have been disciplined enough to stay focus on this piece. But I must admit I did spend a little time doing a Brass band arrangement of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” as a little break. But I was good and returned to working on Why Did You Leave Me. Do not know if I will finish this weekend as I am doing a lot of reworking of the drum part, but this is all that is basically left to do.

As I wrote before I am considering considering renaming the piece. Any suggestions?

Ursus Demens

Way Too Busy With Work

I have been unable to continue with my realization of Why Did You Leave Me (also known as Why Did You Leave?) because I have had to work all weekend at my “real” job. I 'm currenly just taking a quick break to write this as I am running on just five hours of sleep.

Despite being unable to actually work on the piece my brain in its current addled state has however continued working on the piece, and I am happy to say I have refined some of my ideas on the piece.

One last think about the piece that I have not yet mentioned is I am considering renaming the piece. One title I have mulled over is “Flash of White”, what do you think? Any other suggestions?

Maybe I will have something done by the end of next week ...

“Maybe I am crazy”.

Ursus Demens

Again and Again, Way Too Many Projects.

Well instead of continuing my work on Super Dry or strating to prepare my Blog Pieces for recording I began on yet another piece of music: Why Did You Leave Me (also known as Why Did You Leave?).

I am working on “realizing” the piece and extending the piece with “ad-lib solos”. So far I have begun on the Alto Solo and have re-worked some of the piano voicings and comping patterns. Also have begun to change around the drum part a bit. So who knows what I might work on tonight.

I have begun to wonder if I have developed some sort of phobia about finishing things, thus the reason for having so many projects going on at one time. Maybe I will have something done by the end of the weekend ...

Like I said before, “Maybe I am crazy”.

Ursus Demens

Too Many Projects

Well I have taken down the score to my march “The Wildcats”, but I have not given up on it. I am slowly making changes and edits to the piece and I hope to have it back on line in the next couple of weeks.

I spent last night and this morning before work (got up an hour early) printing out all of the scores to my Musical Blog Pieces (MBP) that I wrote last year. This is in preparation to of making “recordings” of these pieces and creating an CD of them to give to friends and family. If you have a suggestion for a title for the CD please send it to me. If I use it, and you are interested, I will send you a copy of the CD when it is done.

I also spent time last night working on the drum “realization/performance” of my piece Super Dry again in preparation of a computer realized record of the piece.


For those of you who missed my Musical Blogs pieces last year, here are the 15 pieces that I wrote (one a week) from the beginning of winter to the end of winter (Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox)

Drifting Across The Sea of Stars

Facilis Descensus Averno

Single Malt

Prelude

Koibumi

Until They Took Her Away

Thou Stars of Winter

Thelyphthoric

Remembrance of a Forgotten Memory

Dark Stairs in a Strange City ---

Zeta 2 Reticuli

Meiousei

22,000 Songs Fall Silent

Dancing Up The Morning Sun

Paper Crane, solo instrument

Neglected score of the week

Dark Stairs in a Strange City ---

A musical Haiku in 12/8 time divided 3+2+2+3+2 instead of the traditional 3+3+3+3 division. For a quartet of Alto Flute, Guitar, Bass and Drums.

This piece was the Musical Blog for the Week of January 16, 2005 Anno Domini.


Ursus Demens

The Lady in the White Suit with a Cigar

The Lady in the White Suit with a Cigar is a very early work of mine written before my 14 year sojourn from music. I offer it here as a historical curiosity and as a contrast to my pieces that I have written since my return to writing music. Please listen to the MP3 recording as it captures the essence of the piece.

Ursus Demens

Fuyu No Ame

New MP3 available of
Fuyu No Ame (for Flugelhorn and Vibraphone2) is now available for your listening pleasure. This piece was originally called Dying Rain, but I have renamed it to differentiate from the version for Flute and Vibraphone. Note there are more differences between the two pieces than just their instrumentation.

While there is no MP3 file (yet), just scorch playback, for listening Michael Morse's So Long, Anne Boleyn (1536) it is worth a listen to. I know it put a smile on my face.

Ursus Demens.

Zeta2 Reticul

For your listening pleasure a new MP3 file is now available of my BLOG piece
Zeta2 Reticuli

About Zeta2 Reticuli:
Zeta2 Reticuli is a yellow-orange main sequence dwarf star of spectral and luminosity type G1-2 V, Zeta2 has about the same mass (99 percent), around the same diameter (almost 99 percent), and almost same luminosity (102 percent) as Sol.

Zeta2 Reticul was my Musical Blog piece for the Week of January 9, 2005 Anno Domini.

Ursus Demens

Writing music versus recording music.

At the end of last year I started my journey into sequencer software and sampling to create “performances” or renderings of my music with the computer. The result is while I am on the slow path of creating some nice renderings of my music, it is a slow process. Not only learning the new software but the actual time it takes to create a “performance” in the sequencer once the music is written. Music which I can compose in just a few hours (stretched over a few days or weeks) takes days and weeks on intense work to make the rendering (recording) just acceptable. One issue I know is just my learning the sequencer software and new words and concepts.

But the other issue is that I can only work on the rendering while on the computer. In contrast, when composing I do most of my work away from the computer, I can (and do) compose and make artistic decisions about my music just about anywhere I am. I can compose while driving or go over the piece in my head while driving or waiting for someone. If we are going some place I take along my score paper and a pencil and if I have a little down time, work on a piece or work out ideas. Most of my the darkness between the stars piece was written while waiting for trains in Japan. But with the sequencer it is about the computer 100 percent of the time.

The result is that my compositional output has drop considerably in the last four months. So I am torn, do I keep learning work working with my new tools so that I can have nice Wave and MP3 files of my music that people can listen to? Or do I just keep composing music that will only exist in the from of a score? For now I will keep with the learning of the new tools and the creation of audio files, but then I am left with the decision, which piece first?

Ursus Demens

So as a composer I have been pondering ...

So as a composer I have been pondering the following question; What should we being listening to? There are many pieces of music; composers and performers that I love to listen to, but is everything I like to listen to something that I should be listening to as a composer, id est are there pieces (and performers) that we should listen to to make us better composers, to broaden our compositional thinking and our ears versus pieces that we listen to for musical pleasure (however you chose to define musical pleasure)?

That beginning said, what pieces and performers do you think one needs to listen to (and study) as part of a process of becoming a better composer? Or do all pieces and composers offer something that will help us grow as composers. Or should one shut one's self off from the musical world and only listen to the music in your head? Or is that the path of madness?

Ursus Demens

Gomen

Well it has been over two weeks since my last post, gomen.

So what have I been up to? Well other than a trip to Las Vegas with the family I have been working on:

The Wildcats

Something completely different, and I mean completely different for me. This piece popped into my head about two weeks ago and it has not allowed me to work on anything else. So it is now available for public ridicule here on SibeliusMusic in an attempt to exorcise it from my psychic.

I am sure that I have violated many conventions in this piece, and there maybe be yet hidden voice leading issues and unintended bi-tonality. I have spotted two typos so far in the uploaded score and the 1st Clarinet goes a bit too high and needs to be reigned in.

Insults, comments and constructive help, both public and private, are welcome.

The Wildcats

PS: There seems to be some balance issues with the scorch play back, but there is also a MP3 you can listen to.

Teaser

Well last Friday I began working on a completely new and completely different type of piece for me. Something I have never done, something I never even imagined I would try to write. What is it? Well that is the tease, you will have to wait to find out. But I will give you one hint: This new composition uses Cut-Time, a time signature that I have never used before.


Ursus Demens

BitterSweet

BitterSweet

A Musical Haiku. Does it sound BitterSweet?

Day of Thor

Well here it is Thursday (Day of Thor) already and I have not yet gotten around to ranting about something musical or otherwise.

Earlier this week I was presented with an interesting musical challenge, to create a short, one to three minute, piece of music on the theme “Bittersweet”. In addition to be limited in duration, the choice of instruments was also very limited. So testing my metal I starting composing a piece for Flute, Trumpet, Tuba, Vibraphone, Harp, and solo Violin. Last night I finished the composing, with the piece clocking in just a hair over three minutes at three minutes and eight seconds. One additional requirement was that piece be “realized” using only samples from GPO and JABB Sample Libraries. So now I have begun that which is the most laborious part for me, that of “mixing” my composition in Sonar using Garritain's two sample libraries. When I am done, which I hope will be within the week, I will post both the score and MP3 file on my SibeliusMusic hompage. Then I will leave it to you to decide if my piece captures any of the essence of “Bittersweet”.


Ursus Demens

Am I Crazy?

During my entire musical journey it seems I have always been swimming in a different direction than most of my contemporaries. Or is the fact that I am composer first and a performer second significant? Ergo by definition I am mad. And why does everyone who I tell I am a composer assume I play the piano.

By the way I do not play the piano, well not quite true, but my skills are quite minimal right now. I do not, and have never composed at the piano. The belief that you need to know how to play piano to understand music theory is one of the great lies of the music education. (But you do need to be able to read at least treble and bass clef. Knowing Alto, Tenor and Soprano Clefs also help.)

Am I the only person who prefers transposed (traditional) scores over “C” scores? Am I the only person who can read and transposed score faster than I can a “C” score. Am I a freak of nature because I can transposed almost instantaneously and really basically subconsciously? Why does it seem everyone else has such a hard time (or at least slow down) with transposing instruments? Is any one reading this?

I prefer John Coltrane's “A Love Supreme” album over his “Giant Steps” album.

Give me Don Ellis any day, any time, any place over Maynard Ferguson (The idol of the rest of the trumpet section in high school).

I prefer Eric Dolphy over Charlie Parker, don't get me wrong I dig Parker too. I prefer Dolphy's “Out There” album over his “Out To Lunch” album, but both are excellent.

Miles Davis' “Bitches Brew” album is probably my favorite Miles album.

I prefer BigBand Jazz over Smaller ensembles, but think Don Ellis was on to something with his idea of smaller units working inside of a larger band.

Am I the only person who's first exposure to Stravinsky was to his Oedipus Rex and not one of the three famous ballets?

Schoenberg does not sound “dissonant” too me, in fact he sounds quite “tonal” for the most part.

Am I the only person who takes 4' 33” seriously and does not consider it some sort of ironic comment or oxymoron to say “I have listen to 4' 33”?

Gregorian chat does NOT sound all the same to me, I can distinguish one chant from another.

I prefer CDs over MP3s and I prefer Records over CDs. I still listen to my larger record collection on a regular basis. CDs sound off to me, too “clean” and sterile.

Coffee is an evil and vile thing. Just the smell of coffee can cause me to convulse and regurgitate my last meal.

Good Tea proves to me that God is in his heaven and all is well. However is it virtually impossible to find a good cup of hot tea in the U.S of A.

So I ask again: Am I crazy?

Concerto for Trombone and Jazz Band.

First I would like to again thank everyone who took time to listen and especially those who gave me feed back on the first movement. Be assured that I still have all of your comments and will refer to them when I revised the first movement and as I work on the second and third movements.

Now, however, I am at work on the second movement. Since this is a Jazz piece I have been working on the “head” which is almost finished. So at this point I am working through organizational possibilities for the piece. Like the first movement it will contain a fair amount, but maybe not as much, improvisational space as the first movement. So the problem I am wrestling with is should I include either improvisational and or written solo sections for instruments other than the featured Solo Trombone?

So what say you? Since this is a concerto for Trombone and Jazz Band I think it is permissible to be quite a bit more relaxed about such things, id est having some one other than the featured soloist take the spot light for a short period in the overall design, than one would in a more traditional concerto setting. I am considering doing this for two reasons, one artistic and one piratical.

The piratical reason is that the solo trombone had to do a lot of blowing in the first movement and will need a chance to rest his chops. And this rest is needed as he will again be asked to carry a heavy load in the third and final movement.

The second artistic reason to provide contrast and departure from the trombone during the relaxed (slower) second movement. I should point that the solo trombone will still be heavily featured in the second movement with both written and improvised solo sections. If it is helpful the second movement is in a moderately slow ¾ with swung eights, sort of a slow Jazz Waltz in A minor (A Dorian) in a 64 bar AABA form.

Comments? Ideas? Thoughts? Questions?


Thank you.

Ursus Demens

So Far

Well for reasons I am not going to share, the year 2006 Anno Domini so far has been a pretty miserable year. It actually started to go down hill on the 31st of last year, but that is a long and boring story. On to music.

I continue with my struggles to learn/understand Sonar and the whole sequencer paradigm. But I am making progress and at some point I expect to release a torrent of MP3 files. So for the time being I am offering up my newest MP3 using the Garritan Jazz & Big Band (JABB) sample library:
"A short cruise through the semi-abandoned side streets and alleys of L.A during the wee hours of a hot mid-summer's night":
Note this is a new MP3 file mixed and uploaded on 01/05/2006. Love to hear your thoughts on this piece and/or the MP3. Hell, just would love to hear that people are listening.


Ursus Demens