304 posts tagged with piano.
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The Cheese Alarm
Exactly what we need right now. [more inside]
Song for Summer
As I was noodling around with these chords, beautiful summer has arrived here in Seattle. I couldn’t help but look out the window of our little music room at the gorgeous weather, flowers, blue skies, and people having fun on the water and asking myself, what am I doing inside on such a lovely day? And the answer is, writing a song about how I love the summer months as long as I’m safely ensconced indoors and out of the sun. It’s not my fault that I’m borderline translucent and in danger of melting in summer sun like a chocolate bar on the backseat of a car in July. But keep in mind, those of us who prefer it inside, aren’t necessarily anti-summer. We love watching it from the safety of air-conditioned shade. [more inside]
Too Blue
"This was an improvisation, actually the second take (Blue 2, or "Too Blue"), during which I had the memory of the Monterey Jazz festival firmly planted in my head, remembering the incredible musicians and music I heard all over the fairgrounds, playing jazz, soul, and lots 'n lots of blues…" ~ Laurie Z.
Dr. Oppenheimer
The strange but true story of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. It's a bit rough, needs a switch up or two and a new ending, but you get the idea.
My Chemical Brain
I don’t know crap about this topic but it hasn’t stopped me from having my interest piqued. Specifically, I’m talking about brain chemistry. Both the mechanics of it and the way we manipulate what those mechanics do these days are super interesting. Even more amazing to me is how people’s emotions (usually negative emotions) can be a simple result of a chemical imbalance in their brain. Wow. I realize the drugs we have today are both amazing relative to nothing and very blunt instruments relative to what we’ll have down the road. And while I haven’t tried any of them, I sometimes wonder what people did before they existed. Mostly suffered I suppose. :| [more inside]
Emotion Experiment 2
This piece is supposed to represent a story associated with a particular emotion. Please let me know what emotion you think it is. [more inside]
Emotion Experiment
This is a piece I've composed to express or represent emotion. Please let me know what you think it expresses. If you really want to be serious, then copy and paste the questionnaire posted inside (without reading the comments!) and send your answers to me by email. [more inside]
Where the Nest Goes
A resurrected ditty from more than a decade ago -- finally retooled it and recorded it properly. Another Geese tune. I originally wrote it for my then-infant son Mikey (who was heard on other recent tunes I've submitted to MeFi Music). I think it has an old-school flavor (with a pinch of the Monkees and ABBA). Enjoy. [more inside]
Catastrophes
This is one of seven tracks off my friend Brian Rozendal's updcoming debut EP, Lean. I'm on piano. A whole bunch of details within. [more inside]
You're Not Alone
My contribution to the two-chord challenge. A sleepy little song with fingerpickin' guitar, piano, and some three part "harmony." I experiment a little more with my voice on this one. [more inside]
Late Thaw
I'm neither a jazz writer nor a jazz singer, but that didn't stop me from trying. It's part of an album I'm gradually releasing online. [more inside]
Chocolate Phase (excerpt)
Cheap Cheap Imitation Imitation [more inside]
Over My Shoulder
Here's another one that my girlfriend and I recorded. The piano track is pretty rough (it was late!) but we liked how it came together in the end and decided not to scrap it. [more inside]
History
My girlfriend and I recorded a bunch of songs over the weekend. This is my favorite.
stopping by woods
Back in either middle school or high school, in music class, I wrote my very first melody with a classmate named Mathias Knutzen. The assignment was to take a text from one of our books and create a song with it. We chose Robert Frost's poem and came up with this pseudo-jazzy tune. I always liked it, so I kept the "digital chord sheet" around and played it from time to time. More than 15 years later, here now is a brand new recorded version -- complete with brushed drums and falsetto background vocals. [more inside]
Three
It's Christmas... and some of me knows some of Christmas sounds like some of this. [more inside]
First Snows of Summer
Stuttery drums, blippy synths, lots of piano, copious crash cymbal, and a bucket load of reverb. [more inside]
But Not For Me
Hope to revisit this one day-- piano by the talented Wang sisters: http://www.youtube.com/user/lipatti [more inside]
Brookline
(Note: NSFW-ish if f*** and a****** are a problem where you work.)
For the bulk of the years of growing up that I actually remember, what I would consider the “formative” years, I lived in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Not to be confused with the super irritating Brookline, New Hampshire that would show up in school closing announcements only to leave me extra disappointed.) During and after college I didn’t think much of my high school years at Brookline High School. And in fact, I ended up losing touch with every friend I made there. But thanks to the internets I have reconnected with many of them, some very recently. It’s been super positive, and it’s stirred up all these great memories of my time in Brookline. That’s what this song is about. These three incidents in particular: [more inside]
It's a love song baby
Taking a short break from challenges to make a quick love song. [more inside]
Take the Picture
I tend to take a lot of pictures. I found out early on in my photo-taking tenure that the more pictures I took, the more likely that some of them would come out nicely. Of course, I’m always the one behind the camera. As a parent, I also have wondered just how much of the time I spend with my kids they will remember (if any). My father recently asked me if I remembered how we used to watch Star Trek together. I honestly couldn’t remember. He was crushed. It occurred to me that many years down the road when my kids look at our family pictures they won’t see me in any of them because I was the one behind the camera. Something tells me that this detail will be lost on them as they repeat the cycle and tell me they don’t remember me being there. ;) [more inside]
Trust (v2)
A polished up, broken down, mangled, different version of the song I posted a few days ago, and this time it's kind of complete. Criticism welcome & encouraged!
Trust
In Your Name
I've spent the past couple of months trying to improve my production skillz with my limited resources. This is the first song to come out of it all (probably because it's the simplest) with more on the way hopefully! [more inside]
NaSoPiAlMo No. 5 (arr. for string quartet)
I took a piano piece I wrote two years ago for National Solo Album Month and arranged it for string quartet. Then I used the Orkester Library in Reason to record it. I was heavily under the influence of Michael Nyman at the time, although this one feels much more like Philip Glass. [more inside]
Banyan Drive
A short walk down old Banyan Drive: a sad reflection on the modern state of Hilo, HI.
(Elizabeth) On the Bathroom Floor [Eels Cover]
A cover of the Eels tune from Electro-Shock Blues, a wonderful pop opera.
Summertime
A cover of a song by the Joe Money band out of Kentucky. [more inside]
theme from "gone"
The Pianimal: Episode 1 - Tom Waits Covers
Recorded live in my living room on Monday night, the debut episode of this four-song, one-take podcast is my way of making sure I DO something with the piano in the corner. Each song fits a certain theme (this episode, it's Tom Waits covers), and there are no re-takes or edits allowed. It's the Pianimal -- and it's ALIVE! [more inside]
Secret Love
D's Minor
A song for a special girl.
Solo GarageBand piano, some wrong(?!) notes, lots of suspendy chords. [more inside]
Dear Editor
Awhile ago I spent way too much time reading a thread on the always excellent Marginal Revolution blog discussing possible tactics for dealing with sudden and unwelcome time-travel to 1000 A.D. Clearly the thread needed to be put to music. (OK, it was clear to me at least.) That was so much fun that I thought it might be fun to do it again. And Tyler over at Marginal Revolution was nice enough to participate for another round.
Then Tyler announced the topic - “Are Books Overwritten?” Ruh ro.
[more inside]
Super Disco Breakin' (Beastie Boys Cover)
With piano ivories, shimmering vocals and far too much sincerity, I have transmographied the Beastie Boys' energetic party-chant into a mostly miserable, quasi-beautiful, semi-epic, completely human piano ballad. [more inside]
Overload
An abstract electronic piece; some of the piano riffs later through the song sound like they're being pushed too fast, which led me to the title. [more inside]
Days Like This
It seemed time for an uncomplicated pop song (not that any of my songs are super complex in the first place). But in this nice little package you get everything you’re looking for in a standard radio-friendly pop song (does anyone listen to the radio anymore?)... [more inside]
SkyMall (Jonathan Coulton cover)
A few months ago I decided I wanted to try and do a cover. Based on the result, it was clearly a bad idea. I probably should have been discouraged but instead, after months of therapy, I decided to try again. The victim this time was one of my favorite artists - Jonathan Coulton and his excellent song SkyMall. [more inside]
undulate underling
A short, lyrically strange new song partly based on a dream. [more inside]
Victor's a Dictionary
Written back at the turn of the millennium (oh the good old days) this song is about our old friend Victor. He’s an ethnic Chinese, Australian born doctor who abandoned medicine (and Sydney) to embrace the “structured” world of computer programming and the United States. Once you understand the laws that govern Victor’s existence you can compile him quite reliably. [more inside]
Private Island
Wrote this a few years ago. An introspective song about a place to be introspective. [more inside]
Terry (The Probably Drunk and Definitely Angry Stewardess)
Song about an unreasonably angry stewardess. Everyone's written one of these. [more inside]
Rule 34
If you don’t know what “Rule 34″ is, just pull out your trusty Urban Dictionary and look it up. Go ahead, I’ll wait. [more inside]
Let's Sneak Off
Polygamy (or more accurately - group marriage) gone awry. [more inside]
Betty (Sugar Fix)
This song is about a love rectangle. The singer is in love with Betty, she’s in love with a boy who treats her like crap. He is in love with Betty’s rich best friend who treats both him and Betty like crap. Everyone’s pretty much miserable except possibly for the best friend who’s oblivious to people’s feelings. [more inside]
1000 A.D. (Sugar Fix)
Inspired by the Marginal Revolution thread giving advice on what to do if you find yourself suddenly transported back to Europe 1000 years ago with nothing but the clothes on your back. [more inside]
1979
Version 2 of a song I made with Logic Studio on a Macbook Pro, which somehow reminds of the year 1979. [more inside]
Difficult elevator entrance
Glitchy piano with strings
Melancholy piece for abbreviated piano
Looping noisy piano.
Chester v3
First mix of fer-realz recording of one of my songs: Chester. Per my last AskMefi post, please critique it! [more inside]
Bury Your Tracks
A more ambitious song I've been working on for a while. Would really, really love any feedback. [more inside]