Category — Orchestral

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

…but what about a melody?  I composed this short piano/orchestral motif earlier this week to convey a particular emotion.  But since music is more of an art than a science, I’ll refrain from dissection and, instead, allow you the liberty of deciding for yourself what it is perhaps meant to convey.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tonight I made the ultimate discovery: I can write music at Spill the Beans (my favorite ice cream shop, indisputably).  This is thanks to my wonderful new MacBook, standard-equipped with GarageBand and an ergonomically friendly keypad that doubles amazingly well as a piano keyboard.

I literally spent about 10 minutes from start to finish on this song clip, including opening the application, playing in the parts, and exporting the mp3.  And yes, it sounds admittedly cheesy.  But once I find time to port some of my more legit-sounding symphonic instruments into GarageBand, I’ll be in business.  And probably 15 pounds heavier if I’m not careful.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some of you northerners have been playing in snow for the past couple of days.  I’m jealous!  I’ve only seen snow a handful of times.  One of those times was a few weeks ago.  Sadly, the ground was barely covered for 24 hours.  But before the blanket of white melted away, it managed to inspire this little motif. 

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

An oboe sings a mournful melody with a near-human voice. A full string orchestra replies with the same melody, but in a distraught, tearful tone.

It’s like letting a hard reality sink in and then asking, Why?

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you know me well, you know that I’m a Florida girl at heart. So I was beyond ecstatic this morning to wake up and find that the day was actually living up to the predictions of the *ever-reliable* weather.com: 65 degrees and sunny. I bolted out of church and headed up to Caesar’s Head with Brannon. While the trails are always beautiful in their own right, they were uniquely wonderful today, decorated with remnant ice stalactites from the recent cold weather. Yeah, that’s supposed to be an “ice monster” that I’m making with my hands and the ice in the background.

Appropriately enough, this orchestral piece has the ominous tone of a “Jaws” or a “Jurassic Park”. We shall call it “The Ice Monster.”