Sum V: Curios

Short orchestral pieces as part of the Songday series, a minute or shorter in length, based on rhythmic seeds derived from the rhythms in words or phrases.


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Isomelody and Isorhythm

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An interesting exercise is to take an existing melody (as I did with the Bach cello suite) and map it over another rhythm. You can compose your own or use an existing one. With Be Bach I used the sequence of notes in the Suite and mapped it over a bop rhythm that I composed. After the melody was done I added chord changes. (Someone should write a program that will do this automatically.) Here is the source Bach cello Suite:      A more recent video:   Using isorhythm in a bass line:   
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Cargo Cult (Final)

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I was going for something evoking a prehistoric beast in a tropical landscape. I think I did it. Basses always make things heavier. Play Me The original bass parts in the alternate tuning are still there but mixed low and have lots of effects on them. Their interaction with the fretless makes for some sour clashes at certain points, and sounds interesting that way. Here is a picture of our subject:
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Anthropocene

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January 2nds

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Moonrise in Hernandez

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  Possible lyrics: Moonrise in Hernandez Moonrise in Hernandez A burning of the sky At the roadside A moment that remains Forever in our mind's eye Moonrise in Hernandez Moonrise in Hernandez Inversion of the sun At the right time The light against a cross Emblazoned on the black sky   According to Adams, the original capture was on Halloween 1941.   How it looks in daylight 2021: The video: The original idea for the song came to me on a weekend outing to the Saganashkee Slough on June 6, 2021. The slough is a small lake in the Palos Forest Preserves southwest of Chicago. "We're goin' to the Saganashkee Slough" was the riff, and when I got home I notated it. It turned out much different, although this version with the meter changes is cool too. Also interesting--given that this ultimately became the "score" for the Ansel Adams photo, there are two dates on it: 11/1/1941 and 6/6/2021. Thoughts and ideas can sometimes encode the place in which they ...
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Conundra

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Rifts (Lydian Landscapes)

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Solo piano improvisations in the Lydian mode for all 12 keys, following the circle of fifths. (Side A is flat keys, Side B, sharp keys, progressing from the outside to inside of the disc.) The purpose of the exercise was to see what I could do manually as an improvisation using a constraint (the Lydian Mode), then create an algorithm to do the same thing. The characteristic sonority of Lydian is a chord in 4ths built on the #4, and all the pieces start and/or end on it. Rifts by Lee Barry
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