Howdy! I finished my writing quota for September, and have written the first phrase towards my October quota. Thus, Landscape 10: Rocky Coast is finished, and Landscape 11: Farmland has been started. Unfortunately I had little time to record, but I was able to incorporate the horn parts for Landscape 4: Sand Dunes into the recording (the horn parts were recorded separately by Musiversal, as their horn players were not present at the orchestral reading).
I was also able to incorporate Carl Bugbee’s guitar recordings for Landscape 7: Mountains into the mix. I have an orchestral reading for this movement scheduled in November, but for now, I’ll leave you with the current version of Landscape 7, including Carl’s guitar tracks . . .
Hello all. I did well on my writing quota for the month of August. I finished Landscape 9: Desert, and am already 1/3 of the way through my September quota for working Landscape 10: Rocky Coast. Unfortunately I had very little time to do any recording, which I hope to get back to soon. So, I’ll leave you with a realization of Landscape 6: Beach that features Carl Bugbee from Rhode Island’s premiere cover band Take it to the Bridge on guitar, and myself on bass.
So, I’m a bit behind in my update. July was a productive month though. Not only did I finish Landscape 8: Palm Glade, but I edited and mixed the Musiversal recording of the orchestra part for Landscape 4: Sand Dunes. Unfortunately, the horn players were absent for this recording session, which doesn’t matter too much as the horn parts were not super crucial to the orchestration. However, Musiversal has promised to email me recordings of the horn parts in the near future, and the isolation on the recordings should be excellent.
As noted in a previous update, the Musiversal 30 piece orchestra has some issues with reading syncopated rhythms. Both orchestral excerpts used in Landscape 4 have orchestral chords once every three eighth notes in common time, forming a hemiola. Knowing that this rhythm would pose a problem for the ensemble, I rewrote the orchestra part, which was originally at 120 bpm to be at 80 bpm in a compound meter. That way those chords that hit once every three eighth notes are now consistently on the beat. When mixed with the other recordings, nobody is the wiser. I was also able to take some of the chord hits out of the mix and place them at some other parts of the piece to add a bit more orchestral goodness to the movement.
Thus, the musical example for the month is Landscape 4: Sand Dunes. This recording not only features the Musiversal orchestra recordings (sans horns), but also has Carl Bugbee’s guitar tracks and my harmonica tracks (bass and chromatic) . . .
In the month of July I also managed to write an orchestral part for Landscape 7: Mountains, which I hope to get recorded in the next few months. Unfortunately I am a bit behind my August work on Landscape 9: Desert, but I hope to catch up a bit on my writing quota this afternoon.
It has been a productive month. Not only did I finish Landscape 7: Mountains, but I am half way through my goal for July, to compose Landscape 8: Palm Glade. On the recording side of things I re-recorded some of the bass parts for Landscape 3, and recorded the bass part for Landscape 5. I am also halfway through recording the bass part for Landscape 6. Finally, I took some time this month to revise the solo parts for the first six Landscapes.
A few days ago I had a recording session with Musiversal for orchestral parts for Landscape 4: Sand Dunes. It went well, but I have not received the files from them yet, let alone taken the time to edit them. Therefore, this month I’ll be sharing Landscape 4 without the orchestral part. However, don’t be disappointed because not only do they contain Carl Bugbee’s guitar tracks, but they include harmonica tracks that I recorded.
I used some professional development money I had left over at the end of the year to buy a Swan bass harmonica and a Hohner Chromonica 64. This latter instrument is nearly identical to a Hohner Chromonica 64 that my father bought when he served in the Navy during the Korean conflict (though he served in the mediterranean). Thus, this instrument is pretty special to me. I have my father’s Chromonica, but it needs about $200 of work on it to bring it back into tune. I intend on having the instrument repaired in the next year or so. The Chromonica 64 is a four octave instrument, and is played by none other than Stevie Wonder. While the Swan bass harmonica is built in China, and is significantly less expensive than other bass harmonicas, as you’ll hear from the recording it has a really fat, robust tone to it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the realization of Landscape 4, and I’ll update you all on the progress in a month or so.
Well, summer semester is clearly here. Not only have I completed my May goal, I’m already two-thirds of the way through my June goal of composing Landscape 7: Mountains, which means I’m officially halfway finished with the composition for the project. I have also found time to record a little bit. I recorded some harmonica parts for Landscape 4, as well as the bass part for Landscape 3. At the end of the month I have a booking with Musiversal to record the orchestral part for Landscape 4.
But for now, the musical example I’ll leave you with is Landscape 3: Pond. This largely synthesized / sampled version contains a guitar track played and recorded by Carl Bugbee of the prominent Rhode Island cover band Take it to the Bridge, as well as my bass track.
I’m a little behind on my Landscapes update for May, but I am pretty much on schedule for my composing. In April I finished work on Landscape 5: Marsh. I am more than a third of the way through my May goal of composing Landscape 6: Beach.
Carl Bugbee, guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist for Rhode Island cover band Take it to the Bridge, has recorded the guitar parts for the first four Landscapes. This month I’ll share with you a synthesized realization of Landscape 2: Snow featuring Carl’s guitar tracks . . .
Now that my semester grades have been submitted I hope to find the time to record some parts myself, and I hope to have something to share in that regard next month.
I’m a bit behind schedule with my April update on the Landscapes project. However, I’m glad to say I’m not not behind with the project itself. I am currently halfway through the fifth piece in the series, Marsh. Last month not only did I finish writing Landscapes 4: Sand Dunes, but I wrote an orchestral part for the movement, which will be recorded on June 2nd. While the orchestral part is heavily syncopated, I rewrote the orchestral score in a different meter and tempo to make the piece easier to sight read, but more on that in June.
I mixed and edited the orchestral overdub for phrases eight and nine of Landscape 1. I also received guitar tracks for the first four pieces in the series that were played and recorded by Carl Bugbee. Bugbee is a keyboardist, guitarist, and vocalist for the prominent Rhode Island cover band Take it to the Bridge. While I have incorporated Carl’s guitar recordings into the first two Landscapes, I still have to add his tracks to Landscapes 3 & 4.
Listening wise I have included a largely synthesized realization of Landscape 1: Forest that incorporates the mixed and edited orchestral tracks as well as Carl’s guitar tracks. Enjoy!
I completed Landscapes 3: Pond this past month, and am currently 2/3 of the way through Landscapes 4: Sand Dunes. Last Saturday, March 2nd, I had a reading session of the orchestral overdubs of phrases 8 and 9 of Landscape 1. The session went well, but I have not received the audio files yet. Thus, for this month’s installment I’ve mixed the orchestral overdub of phrase 7 with a synthesized realization of the piano, guitar, bass, and drums to give you an idea of what the final version might sound like . . .
Last month I managed to complete Landscapes 2: Snow. I’m a little bit ahead of schedule, having completed the first three phrases of Landscapes 3: Pond. I also managed to do a mix down of the orchestral overdub of phrase 7 of Landscapes 1: Forest. I think you can hear the oboe better in this mixdown, and the stereo placement is pretty good (standard placement for most instruments, but panning flute and oboe) . . .
Due to the rhythmic mistakes in the orchestral overdub of phrase 8 of Landscape 1 (see previous update), I decided to call that recording of the phrase a loss. I’ve scheduled another orchestral reading session for early March, where phrase 8 will be rerecorded, and a new phrase, phrase 9 will be added.
Happy 2019 to all. Last month I promised everyone monthly updates on my project Landscapes. In order to stay on track in the project, I have to write one movement per month, which comes out to writing two to three phrases per week. Due to my dilligence in December, I’m ahead of schedule, having written the first five phrases of Landscape 2: Snow.
Rather than give you folks any samples or details from this work in progress, I’ll share with you an orchestral reading session from November 4th, 2018 of the orchestral overdub of Landscape 1: Forest (phrases 7 & 8). This recording session is courtesy of the 99 dollar orchestra (based in Lisbon, Portugal) . . .
While I am satisfied with the recording of the phrase 7, the orchestra majorly screwed up phrase 8, they played the rhythm of the main motive as 1+2+3+(4), while it is supposed to be played 1+(2)+3(+)4+.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to edit it sufficiently to correct this problem, so I may have to do a second reading session. Disappointing to say the least.
