I wandered lonely as a cloud (SATB) - complete Stefaan Himpe 2024-01-28 | A William Wordsworth poem set to music. Compared to last week's video, I added a second verse, then repeated everything for the third and fourth verse. Enjoy! As in the previous video, the sound is a mix of musescore 4.0 choir sounds and the Cantamus app singing the text (and having some problems with pronunciation...)
How sad a lone dove and the tone (score choir satb) Stefaan Himpe 2025-04-21 | An anonymous poem from Puerto Rico, written somewhere between 1400-1820. It's a decima, meaning it contains 10 lines of (in the original language) 8 syllables each. Not an easy piece :)#choir #satb #acapellasong #poem #score #original #sad
Dear President (interval canon - SATB) Stefaan Himpe 2025-03-09 | I thought an interval canon consisting of many voices following a single one would fit for the occasion.Basses and Altos sing at the tonic, Tenors at the third and Sopranos at the fifth. In the order Bass-Alto-Tenor-Soprano each voice starts one beat later than the previous. The text is not in canon for reasons of intelligibility, and some notes were split in some voices only (single quarter note split into two equal pitch eighths e.g.) for text placement purposes. No other "cheats" were applied.
The Dark Unknown (choir SATB) Stefaan Himpe 2025-01-15 | A little experiment which started from a systematic enumeration of Forte 5-27 chords as given in Tom Johnson's book "Other Harmony - beyond tonal and atonal", page 90 figure 5. Composer Tom Johnson died very recently and this music is a little tribute to his legacy. The lyrics are from Mary McGrath and are used with permission. You can find the original lyrics at wikiloops wikiloops.com/backingtrack-jam-307923. Thumbnail based on a drawing of fredrik Andreasson: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horror_%2815423421559%29.jpg#tomjohnson #otherharmony #choir #satb #music #song #originalmusic #poetry
[Experimental] Choratorium Spatialis - choir, field recordings and synths Stefaan Himpe 2024-12-23 | An 8-channel spatial audio piece made for a local experimental music festival (Art of Sound) at the start of 2024. The experience as audience physically surrounded by 8 speakers was quite intense. This youtube stereo binaural remix can only provide a faint approximation. The piece starts very sober and gets more energetic/vibrant/exuberant/experimental as time progresses.
Impossible Dreams (SATB sheet music version 2024) Stefaan Himpe 2024-11-25 | A slightly reworked version of a piece I wrote a year ago.
For whom the bell tolls (SATB sheet music) Stefaan Himpe 2024-06-29 | Something I wrote last year and never got to upload... until now :)The way the voices sing against each other was inspired by how church bells tend to "phase" against each other when they call for worship. I kind of liked the effect :) Rhythmically quite a challenge to perform.#satb #sheetmusic #choir #bells
Song of Love and Loss: Ipsy Stefaan Himpe 2024-05-25 | On may 23 our dog Ipsy died. We "rescued" Ipsy from an animal shelter in July 2017 (although exactly who saved who is up for debate). For the last two years he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor ("Cushing syndrome"). Ultimately his kidneys stopped working (maybe as a result of the strong medication) and we had to let him go. He served as therapy dog, and personal trainer. He was extremely friendly and gentle and hardly ever barked. If I had to describe him , I'd choose "eager" - eager for food, walks, and an eternal optimist. May he rest in peace. The music is a somewhat non-conventional miniature with many "blues" influences.#loss #blues #unconventional #doglove #mourning
Nick Nack Paddy Wack Stefaan Himpe 2024-05-10 | A w(h)acky rearrangement of a classic! I decided to record myself while playing... this still appears to be a challenge. Played on KAWAI NV10 and rendered using Pianoteq 8.2.1.
Life lessons - Piano + Poetry (feat. Mary McGrath) Stefaan Himpe 2024-04-23 | After getting permission from Mary McGrath, the vocalist and writer of the poem "Life Lessons", I can now upload the full version of this piece, featuring vocals by Mary herself. Mary McGrath is an American writer and photographer. She has published a book "Trespassing, Stoplights and Attitudes", now out of print, but a little bird told me there may be a few copies left from the author herself. If interested in getting a copy, please leave a comment saying so and we'll find a way to get you in contact with Mary. The copy can be signed, making it a limited edition item! This music and poetry piece is the result of a collaboration on wikiloops.com - see wikiloops.com/backingtrack-jam-293028 The piano only version was uploaded earlier as "Late night thoughts".#poetry #piano #meditative #philipglass #minimal
Late Night Thoughts (piano solo) Stefaan Himpe 2024-04-21 | Minimal piano music to soothe the soul. A cleaned up version of a late-night improvisation.(I just noticed I used a wrong version of the score... some natural and flat signs are missing in the bass part... sorry about that).
Whacky Seqs in Sin City (integra-7, surge-xt & odin2) Stefaan Himpe 2024-03-24 | This track also appears on sosforumalbum.bandcamp.com/album/the-5th-sound-on-sound-forum-albumAny income made from donations you make there integrally are sent to the Nordoff-Robbins institute for music therapy.The bulk of the track is made by letting multiple tiny musical motifs (sequences) with unequal lengths and rythmic values "phase" against each other, fully embracing the lucky accidents that result from doing so. These sequences are generated using supercollider, using the Panola quark. Panola is a supercollider extension I developed which allows using text-based music "notation" in supercollider. Supercollider realizes the sequences as MIDI and send them using the VSTPlugin extension to an instance of the free and open source Surge-XT soft synthesizer.Because the time signatures resulting from the phasing are a bit exotic (and also change a lot throughout the piece), the percussion sequences are are also generated in supercollider which makes it easier to keep them in sync with the music. Here supercollider generates midi information from a kind of drum notation for which I also developed some support and sends it as midi information to the Roland INTEGRA-7.The counter melodies are drawn manually in the DAW using piano roll notation, and realized by the free and open source Odin2 synthesizer (I made two patches) and by the Roland INTEGRA-7 (for a third instrument).field recordings:Audio freesound.org/people/logancircle2/sounds/504138 (Suburban Road Traffic.mp3)Audio freesound.org/people/garrythedog/sounds/435810 (Sound of St Benedicts Street in Norwich UK of a summer Saturday night)Audio freesound.org/people/SoundEnsemble/sounds/519125 (633 excerpt AB BIRDS: Common blackbird 4am in May .wav)video fragments:Video by Taryn Elliott: pexels.com/video/traffic-on-an-intersection-road-in-a-city-3121459Video by Kelly : pexels.com/video/clouds-moving-through-and-above-the-city-2818564Video by Ricky Esquivel: pexels.com/video/aerial-shot-of-city-1826896Video by Kelly Lacy: pexels.com/video/time-lapse-of-busy-street-857267Video by Pixabay: pexels.com/video/time-lapse-video-of-tall-buildings-854325Video by George Morina: pexels.com/video/night-traffic-at-piccadilly-circus-london-5688372Video by Max Avans: pexels.com/video/time-lapse-video-of-city-traffic-at-night-5058323Video by Evgenij Mikhailov: pexels.com/video/zebra-crossing-in-city-at-night-9935087Video by Evgenij Mikhailov: pexels.com/video/zebra-crossing-in-city-at-night-9935082Video by Nino Souza: pexels.com/video/nightlife-in-the-city-2099536Video by Get Lost Mike: pexels.com/video/time-lapse-of-a-city-traffic-5013941Video by Amit: pexels.com/video/view-of-sunset-1654208Video by 葉崧民: pexels.com/video/time-lapse-footage-of-vehicular-and-people-traffic-in-a-city-street-at-daytime-2697636Video by Produtora Midtrack: pexels.com/video/man-drinking-with-sunset-background-1899146Video by Artem Lysenko: pexels.com/video/vehicles-travelling-in-timelapse-mode-2216413Video by Kelly : pexels.com/video/aerial-view-of-a-town-in-tennessee-2254244To this day, it's not clear who's the problem.#charity #synth #rolandinstruments #surgext #odin2 #sequence #cityscape #fieldrecordings
I wandered lonely as a cloud (SATB) - 1st verse Stefaan Himpe 2024-01-21 | First verse of a William Wordsworth poem set to music. I enjoyed the process, and I might set the next verse to music as well in the future (edit from the future: see youtube.com/watch?v=0Ep_nzAAQhI ). The sound is a mix of musescore 4 choir sounds and the cantamus app singing the text (cantamus appears to have some problems with pronouncing final consonants and although they have provisions to give phonetic hints, it appears to still be a bit buggy).
Moto Ostinato (Organteq 2) Stefaan Himpe 2024-01-14 | Something between a composition and an improvisation, using supercollider to drive Organteq 2.
The Golden Carol - A New Christmas Carol 🎶 Stefaan Himpe 2023-12-10 | Immerse yourself in the enchanting spirit of the holiday season with "The Golden Carol," a heartfelt and uplifting Christmas carol that will warm your heart and fill you with joy. This captivating carol is the perfect addition to your holiday playlist, creating a serene and joyful atmosphere for all to enjoy.An original composition after an old (anonymous) Christmas poem, found in The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christmas in Poetry, by Various writers.Performance by "Cantamus", an AI based singing synthesizer.#ChristmasCarol #WinterSong #HolidayMusic #NewChristmasCarol #WinterEmbrace #HolidayCheer #ChristmasSpirit #FestiveMusic #HolidaySeason
Cada célula tiene ese corazón - piano Stefaan Himpe 2023-12-01 | Where this comes from you ask? Quite a story... someone (Andrea) wrote a poem in English; the poem was translated into Spanish by someone else (Jose), then fed into an AI text to music system (app.suno.ai) which wrote a melody that fits the words. I heard the melody, was surprised by it, took it (with permission), added some chords (and a small epilogue) to it and played and recorded it on my piano. The result you can see and hear here. The original track and the poem (in both languages) can be found here wikiloops.com/backingtrack-jam-283504.php.
Troostlied (Comfort Song - choir SATB + strings) Stefaan Himpe 2023-11-01 | A little song I wrote during the summer holidays. It won't be performed by our choir - for that purpose I wrote something else, which I may post in the distant future.
Elegy for virtual piano (Tom Johnson meets Chopin) Stefaan Himpe 2023-09-09 | An experimental piano piece based on a technique pioneered by American minimalist composer Tom Johnson in work "Music for 88" (mine is a completely new piece though, only the technique is similar to what he did). It vaguely reminds me of Chopin's prelude op28 no4 (although it's ok if you think that's blasphemy :)). It's also slightly hypnotic - the longer you keep listening, the more you get drawn in. It sounds a bit like cloud of colors slowly unfolding or a bag of unanswered questions? there are no two equal chords in the piece!
Sleepless (choir SATB - musescore 4 sounds) Stefaan Himpe 2023-07-24 | A piece about sleeplessness. Chronologically speaking, this piece actually was written immediately before my "impossible dreams" piece, with which it shares some superficial characteristics.Thumbnail based on photo by cottonbro studio: pexels.com/photo/woman-putting-a-notebook-on-her-side-table-6940381
Music for aliens: Alien Lullaby Stefaan Himpe 2023-07-02 | By changing some details in music theory rules one can create pieces that sound strange and familiar at the same time. Here's an attempt....
Le Goût Du Néant | Montreal International Film Scoring Competition 2023 Stefaan Himpe 2023-06-18 | This was my submission for the Montreal International Film Scoring Competition 2023. It didn't win but I really enjoyed making it!
[Experimental] One chord requiem for virtual piano Stefaan Himpe 2023-06-04 | Some weeks ago, a 13 year-old took her own life after being bullied and physically assaulted inside and outside of school and harassed online. Literally everyone she reached out to for help (school, police and social media moderators) did literally nothing to help, in some cases brushing it off as not worthy of their time, culminating into tragedy. For some reason this news story hit hard and the way I feel most comfortable to deal with such news is to express it in sound. In this experimental piece, I use a form of minimalism, repeating the same 24 note wide dissonant chord spread over the virtual piano keyboard over and over, only varying individual note volumes and timings, bringing out some patterns hiding in the mess. Many attempts to say the same thing in a different way, ending in emptiness.
Impossible dreams for mixed SATB choir (musescore 4 sounds) Stefaan Himpe 2023-05-07 | A fairly advanced piece for mixed choir SATB.
Victimae Paschali Laudes - Organ + Gregorian chant Stefaan Himpe 2023-04-08 | Experience the power of Easter through a transformative blend of Gregorian chant and colourful minimalistic organ that will leave you breathless. Let yourself be carried away by the intricate symbiosis of vocals and harmonies, as the ensemble breathes new life into the ancient melodies with a contemporary twist.The haunting tones of the organ provide the perfect complement to your spiritual journey. Immerse yourself in the music and feel the passion and glory of Easter as never before. Join us for an unforgettable celebration of Easter in music. Singer: Membeth (listen to the original here: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostersequenz.ogg - the recording does not include the amen and alleluia)Organ accompaniment composed by: Stefaan HimpeOrgan sound generated by aeolus (free and open source physical pipe organ model) (manual III: Gemshorn 8; manual II: Rohrflöte 8; pedal: Principal 16 + Principal 8)
Roman Epitaph - Musescore 4 choir sounds Stefaan Himpe 2023-03-12 | Epitaph (excerpt) found in Rome, documented in Inscriptiones latinae christianae ueteres (ILCV)(ed. Ernst Diehl, Berlin 1925 and later), 4748Garrula cum venerit nobis in mento loquella incendis varios viscera nostra focos.Pulcher in aspectu ludebas in aula parentum cunctorum gaudens blandus amator eras.(E)heu quam misera contundis ossa sepulchri, fimbria parentum altera flamma cremas. When we are reminded of your chatter and tittle-tattle, you set our hearts on all kinds of fire. You were a beautiful little boy when you played in your parent's house, and you knew how to charm everyone with your happiness. Alas, your poor bones now wedged into the grave cause another kind of fire to scorch your parent's entrails.
Ninna nanna Italiana - Ptq Steinway B and voice Stefaan Himpe 2023-02-26 | This self-composed Italian lullaby features a lovely piano and vocal duet. The delicate melody is soft and calming, perfect for helping you or your little one drift off to dream land. Enjoy this calming lullaby and let it be the perfect end to your day! Lately I've been writing a number of songs based on poems by Dominique Depoorter. Here is one of these recent songs in an interpretation by singer Elena Ravelli and played on the piano by me. Enjoy!
A wild flower - for choir Stefaan Himpe 2023-01-22 | A piece I wrote for SATB choir, recorded at the first concert Capella Academica could give after the COVID pandemic got somewhat under control on 24/june/2022. This piece won a second prize in the composition contest "Vic Nees" edition 2020 but could not be sung until now...This morning, like he has done each morning,for the last ten years, my father picked a wild floweron his walk, and took it to my mom.I decided to follow him to see her today (see her today).And as he placed the flow'r on her grave, he said,I wish I had picked her a fresh flower, when she was alive.She would have loved that.She would have loved that, would have loved that.
The Sea - choir and strings. Stefaan Himpe 2023-01-08 | Piece I wrote for choir SATB, recorded in a concert by Capella Academica Leuven, a few weeks before the COVID pandemic arrived in Belgium (16/june/2019). The lyrics were written by Tricia Adams.Will you come back to me, love, from far across the sea,Come back to my embrace.No, for from watery depths you can't ariseStill I hope and prayStill I pray that you willCome back home.We will walk hand in hand.Will I go to you my love, go into the seaBack into your embraceYes my heart can't arise out of its gravedeeper I godeeper I sinkI'll join you home whereyou will reach for my hand.
How to make a piano sing - featuring Pianoteq 8. Stefaan Himpe 2022-12-23 | Merry Christmas everyone! In this empirical study I investigate if Pianoteq 8 has what it takes to sing. I made this video as an entry for the modartt Pianoteq 8 2022 video contest. I discovered the idea of a speaking piano through art works of the Austrian composer Peter Ablinger (https://ablinger.mur.at/), who realizes the effect on a real piano with automated keys. This video uses my (attempt at...) independent recreation of this effect. As I found out, it's one of those things that is conceptually straightforward, but the devil's in the details :)Credits:* Text animations generated with camala (CAption MArkup LAnguage) - a hobby project I very recently started to scratch my itch :) * The audio to midi software was written by me in python 3 with the help of the numpy library. Although I tried other techniques as well, using the short-time fourier transform appeared to give the best results.* The video features additional images and video fragments reused with permission:- Piano vector image: toppng.com/show_download/174296/stylised-piano-by-at-cyberscooty-a-stylised-piano-on-piano-clip-art/large- Pine tree vector image: freesvg.org/raseone-tree-2- Trollface vector image: freesvg.org/troll-face- Snowflakes: youtube.com/watch?v=rjacJY1DogU- Video by KoolShooters: pexels.com/video/santa-claus-listening-to-music-using-a-headphone-6193878- Video by cottonbro studio: pexels.com/video/a-cat-walking-over-the-piano-keyboard-6853337- Video by cottonbro studio: pexels.com/video/snow-queen-in-the-forest-7354840- Video by Artem Podrez: pexels.com/video/two-women-making-a-dance-video-6003997- Video by Francesco Morrone: pexels.com/video/kid-running-in-the-field-holding-a-guitar-4444485- Video by RODNAE Productions: pexels.com/video/man-dancing-beside-a-christmas-tree-6518074* Tools used:- Audio recording with audacity (audacityteam.org) using an AT2020USB+ microphone (audio-technica.com/nl-nl/at2020usb)- Piano sounds are generated in real time by sending midi information to Pianoteq 8 standard version (modartt.com/). No external effects or samples are used while Pianoteq is playing.- Python 3 programming language (python3.org)- Camala caption generator (github.com/shimpe/camala), using toml (toml.io/en), SVG (inkscape.org/develop/about-svg), inkscape (inkscape.org), vectortween(github.com/shimpe/pyvectortween) and moviepy (zulko.github.io/moviepy)- Video editing with kdenlive (kdenlive.org/en)- Screen, audio and webcam recording are done with obs studio (obsproject.com)- Everything is made on a laptop running an up-to-date EndeavourOS GNU/Linux (endeavouros.com) with the pipewire/wireplumber (pipewire.org) sound system which made desktop recording with audio a breeze. In terms of user-friendliness, pipewire is the best the best thing to happen to linux audio in a long time.
Funeral Song - orchestral version with MuseScore 4.0 Stefaan Himpe 2022-12-18 | On the occasion of the just released free and open source MuseScore 4.0 sheet music editor, I reworked a piece I wrote a few months ago into an orchestral arrangement. You can hear the previous (very diiferent!) version of this same piece at wikiloops.com (at wikiloops.com/backingtrack-jam-251773.php). Wikiloops.com is a website where I've been happily collaborating with musicians from all over the world in the past few months. If you feel like playing or composing with other musicians in all kinds of musical styles as well, be sure to check it out!(Interestingly, I couldn't find how to display the score with correct transposing for the different instruments - either the option is hidden very well, or it's not yet present in this entirely renewed version of MuseScore 4.0.)[Note: after a few hours more searching, I did find the concert pitch button. It's hidden in the bottom of the screen - not sure who thought that'd be intuitive... but at least it's there. Too late for this video though.]Credits: background video by Ambient_Nature_ Atmosphere from Pexels: pexels.com/video/a-huge-water-stream-coming-out-of-mountains-5139026thumbnail based on publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=181623&picture=old-church-and-cemeteryscore display from MuseScore 4.0 (musescore.org)
Darkness - piano solo (KAWAI NV10 and Pianoteq 8) Stefaan Himpe 2022-11-20 | I wrote the music first and afterwards added some text inspired by the music. No score display in the video this time as I wanted to experiment a bit with automating text overlays instead. Be sure to let me know if you want the score. The score does not look very difficult to play, but playing the repeated note evenly both in time and in volume while the rest is ongoing is challenging. The lyrics:Darkness, drifting into the void.Steerless, and no way to avoid the cliffs.Can someone out there hear my cry for help?Lead me from this abyss.Unclear, how did I end up here.No signs, completely paralyzed by fear.Can someone out there hear my cry for help?Lead me from this abyss, into bliss.Shall I wait for light to guide?Shadows finally defied?Think of me.--Video credits:Thumbnail based on "Heart-shaped hands and flame candle in darkness" by Marco Verch flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/50362421158 under CC BY 2.0 license creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0Video by Dan Cristian Pădureț: pexels.com/video/abstract-image-of-a-black-and-white-ink-3051492Video by Ali Mehdi: pexels.com/video/blowing-cigarette-smoke-in-the-air-5152378Video by Cengiz İnkaya from Pexels: pexels.com/video/lights-reflection-over-the-river-water-at-night-4192175Video by Free Videos: pexels.com/video/video-of-trees-from-below-853839Video by ROMAN ODINTSOV: pexels.com/video/close-up-eyes-of-a-woman-6153801Video by Athena: pexels.com/video/a-woman-walking-away-from-a-bonfire-3006848Video by Darshak Pandya: pexels.com/video/the-sun-sets-behind-the-mountains-2731008
Antiphona: Terra Tremuit mode IV - Choir + Prophet Rev2 Stefaan Himpe 2022-10-09 | A public domain recording of Gregorian chant (meant to be sung without instrumental accompaniment), harmonized on a sequential Prophet Rev2 synthesizer. Typically Gregorian chant is sung in a very fluid tempo and rhythm, making it more of a challenge to add accompaniment. While perhaps controversial to some, the combination of old music and modern instruments for me adds an extra dimension to the music, making us hear the music in a completely different way, sometimes bringing out different notes than you might notice when listening to the singing alone."Terra Tremuit" is an offertory motet for Easter Day. Text is Psalm 76(75) vs. 9-10. Latin Lyrics: Terra tremuit et quievit dum resurgeret in judicio Deus, alleluia.Translation: The earth trembled and calmed down when God arose in judgment, alleluia. The score in neume notation can be found in the "Graduale Romanum" - a book (or should I say THE book?) that collects Gregorian chants. You can browse a version online here: media.musicasacra.com/pdf/graduale1961.pdf. The score for Terra Tremuit appears on page 243.The public domain recording of the chant was reused from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antifona_Terra_Tremuit_mIV.ogg. The associated info attributes the composition to William Byrd, although I have serious doubts whether this is correct since all scores I found by Byrd contain a very different setting (both melody and harmony) of this piece.The thumbnail is based on a public domain image pxhere.com/en/photo/904969
Sick and tired of doing Eternity the old way? Hear this!! Stefaan Himpe 2022-09-25 | Live synth improvisation on top of a field recording of the London millennium bridge. The field recording made with a contact microphone sounds like what you'd hear if you pressed your ears against the steel cables that hold up the millennium bridge on a rainy day. As it happens, the bridge sings an eternal B note, making a perfect drone on which to improvise. The public domain field recording of the bridge by Peter Cusack can be found here: aporee.org/maps/work/details.html?sndid=65068The synth is a Roland integra-7 with drone support from an SN synth "soft pad 4" (with an additional tempo synced 8 beat long sinusoidal LFO modulating pitch +1, filter depth +33, amp depth +63, pan depth +7) and melody from a "synth brs/JupiterHorns" patch.The nonsensical title of the piece is a tongue-in-cheek reference to social media's click-bait titles.
Song of the old windmill - piece for windmill, trumpet and saxophone. Stefaan Himpe 2022-09-11 | Somewhere in Hélécine, a township in the French speaking part of Belgium an old windmill had been singing its song for many years with no one paying attention. Over the years it started singing louder and louder, until on Aug/10/2012 a sound recordist named "Flavien Gillié" heard it, and decided to record it using a contact microphone (listen here: aporee.org/maps/?loc=14348&snd=16701). In 2021, approximately 10 years later, I found it while looking for soundscapes recorded in my neighborhood (it's only half an hour driving from where I live) and its extraordinary musicality immediately drew my attention. Reason enough to go into a musical dialogue with it! And here is the result. The score obviously is a rough approximation, because nature doesn't fit into a regular time or pitch grid. What you hear is the unedited windmill recording, a transcription of the windmill for trumpet and a saxophone playing a second voice. The challenge here is to work with the given material (windmill noises) which cannot be modified. In that sense, it's like a musical Rorschach test :)
Seqs in the city II - supercollider and Roland integra-7 Stefaan Himpe 2022-08-27 | What would you do if you had no access to something that even remotely resembles a piano for 10 days in a row? I could have done worse than to pull out supercollider and write a little tune :) I wrote small synthesizer sequences of different lengths and then let them play against each other. Because of their uneven length, they start "phasing" and creating all kinds of happy little accidents. The synth sequences are paired with natural sequences from birds. Enjoy!Video credits:Video door Marian Croitoru: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/wagens-weg-verkeer-voertuigen-5200378Video door Kelly: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/uitzicht-op-zonsondergang-over-landschap-2256132Video door Mikhail Nilov: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/weg-natuur-zand-veld-7460583Video door Kelly: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/luchtfoto-van-een-kasteel-omgeven-door-grasland-2932335Video door Tom Fisk: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/uitzicht-op-een-prachtig-kerkhof-1955541Video door Kelly: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/luchtfoto-van-grasland-met-een-herenhuis-2386454Video door Jozef Papp: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/natuur-huizen-zonnig-veld-6973571Video door Tom Fisk: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/landschap-natuur-motief-bomen-5333744
Seqs in the city - Roland Integra-7 Stefaan Himpe 2022-08-14 | No access to a piano? No problem... there's always the DAW to draw some music... Synthesizer sequences on Roland Integra-7 with car noises in the background.Additional samples from freesound.org:Car noise: freesound.org/people/FunnyVoices/sounds/575666A murder of crows: freesound.org/people/Franki-01234/sounds/214869Thumbnail made with replicate.com/pixray/text2imageBackground video credits:goodbye kiss: Video door Joseph Eulo: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/zee-oceaan-gebouwen-new-york-5565202city drone footage: Video door Calito Gonzalez: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/drone-opnamen-van-de-stad-en-de-weg-zonder-verkeer-3683883tenessee tower drone footage: Video door Kelly: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/luchtfoto-van-een-stad-in-tennessee-2254244street drone footage: Video door Kelly: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/aeerial-uitzicht-op-de-stad-met-hoge-gebouwen-2818546night vision drone footage: Video door Mixkit -Free Video Assets: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/luchtfoto-beelden-van-het-wegenstelsel-in-een-stad-s-nachts-2675508blinking tower footage: Video door Taryn Elliott: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/een-modern-gebouw-torenhoog-in-het-centrum-van-een-stad-3121138
Sunday Evening Waltz - kawai NV10 Stefaan Himpe 2022-07-31 | A waltz for piano solo, played live on a kawai NV10 digital grand piano, written for the fourth sound on sound forum album: sosforumalbum.bandcamp.com/album/the-4th-sound-on-sound-forum-album (Note: I'm aware of the error in the first measure of the score :) )Check it out! Every dollar/euro/pound donated for this album is doubled and goes both to a music related charity and to Ukraine.
Rejoice Ye Pure In Heart Stefaan Himpe 2022-07-24 | This is a variation on an original piece by @dmbaturin now called "Two part-writing problems" (originally "Three-part") and distributed under a creative commons license. Daniil told me he set out to write the most possible "cliche" baroque piece he could think of. Despite his efforts, I heard something in his piece, but felt some things could be done a little differently and so I set out to create my own version of the piece which you can hear now. I also changed the title to that of a hymn. The title is from an existing hymn, but no attempt was made to make the music match with the words. The title only expresses a mood.
Hilde & Eddy - Gouden Jubileum Stefaan Himpe 2022-07-09 | Today my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.Enough reason to write some music :)
Dreaming in Colour - intermediate piano KAWAI NV10/Pianoteq Stefaan Himpe 2022-06-14 | A piano piece in vivid colors played live on KAWAI NV10, and rendered by Pianoteq 7.5.4 Steinway Model B - Recording 3 preset.Credits:thumbnail based on commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dreaming_in_Color_%284153927163%29.jpggirl with seagulls Video door Taryn Elliott: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/bergen-natuur-vliegen-strand-5614887girl in sunset Video door Mikhail Nilov: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/zee-natuur-hemel-strand-6981408man on raft Video door Mikhail Nilov: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/natuur-hemel-vakantie-mensen-6981409angelic girl with ball Video door Ron Lach : pexels.com/nl-nl/video/wolken-bed-zitten-maan-8262769sleeping girl Video door Ron Lach : pexels.com/nl-nl/video/wolken-bed-stretchen-comfortabel-8263476girl in red boat Video door Mikhail Nilov: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/zee-natuur-hemel-vakantie-6981356girl against tree: Video door cottonbro: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/natuur-vrouw-koffie-kop-6624078boy with flower on head Video door Yaroslav Shuraev: pexels.com/nl-nl/video/iemand-pen-schrijven-droom-7698584
Hear my new ringtone! Stefaan Himpe 2022-06-06 | I decided it was time I wrote my own ringtone. It turned into a canon for two celesta's. And yes, I'm really using it on my phone now :) #celesta #ringtone If you'd like to use it yourself, please leave a comment and then proceed to download as .mp3 here: drive.google.com/file/d/1j-fRgvWQ16fJzk8FMOwK8UhZNJiYgBSY/view?usp=sharing :)
Star Wars! - binaural 14 EDO sequential prophet rev2 Stefaan Himpe 2022-04-09 | This is part 3/3 of a soundscape for 8 speakers and 2 subwoofers (here in a binaural version) that played in the Leuven city hall. The theme of the event was "Cosmic Listening Experience". This part is my personal favorite part and also the majority of the audience in Leuven seemed to enjoy it most. It's quite the earworm. For extra alien effect, most of the notes you hear cannot be played on a normal piano! It is music based on notes that you get by dividing the distance between two successive "do"-notes on a piano keyboard into 14 equal parts. In comparison: practically all Western music divides the octave into 12 equal parts instead (which is known as "the chromatic scale"). The melodies and harmonies are composed manually, and the rhythms are generated algorithmically.This piece also reuses a lot of work from other people:video: youtube.com/watch?v=_PTNdCafWjY by youtube user High Resolution Database (the images are not synchronized to the sound) thumbnail: pixabay.com/nl/photos/star-wars-science-fiction-1930227 ambisonic recordings: Opening closing/door: Richard Devine Footsteps on gravel: Stephan Schutze Rain: Richard Devine samples: Background noise glissando: made with the mammut sound transformation tool from another microtonal track I made Rocks in waterwell ambisonic recording by Richard Devine etl Cat Explodes 24-96.wav by freesound user cmusounddesign implosion_far.WAV by freesound user Klerrp sci-fi cannon by freesound user humanoide9000 ship explosion 1 with build up by freesound user madamdata slinky-zwap1.aif by freesound user alienistcog laser zap 2.wav by freesound user .Andre_Onate Laser Gun by freesound user Dpoggioli laser2.wav by freesound user nsstudios laser1.wav by freesound user nsstudios laser3.wav by freesound user nsstudios shooting-star-4.wav by freesound user plasterbrain laser-gun.wav by freesound user sunnyflower laser.wav by freesound user daleonfire laser-gun-blast.wav by freesound user jgrzinich blaster-shot-10-1-sytrus-rsmpl-multiprcsng-single.wav by freesound user newlocknew sci-fi-alarm by freesound user daleonfire stereo recording: "star wars"-like theme written by myself in 14 EDO on analog synthesizer sequential prophet rev2 with additional percussion on Roland Integra-7, with some weird rhythms generated in the supercollider programming language. Also the complete laser shooting in the background is algorithmically generated in supercollider.
Oh my! I dont wanna go, Im scared - binaural - Integra-7 flute + piano Stefaan Himpe 2022-04-02 | Part 2/3 of a soundscape for 8 speakers and two subwoofers (here in a binaural version) that played in the Leuven City Hall. The theme of the event was "Cosmic Listening Experience". Part 2 is the most "experimental" of the three soundscape parts. It is minimal music in which a duet between a flute and a piano slowly but surely turns into a (literal) conversation between the flute and the piano. Listen to the end to experience the magic :) Some years ago, I was stunned by a "speaking piano" created by composer Peter Ablinger. To make this piece possible I created my own version of the "speaking piano" effect using the python programming language to analyze recordings with STFT, map the frequency bins to notes and volumes and then send these notes as midi information to the Integra-7 synthesizer. The "bubbly" sounds in the background are generated on my prophet rev2 analog synthesizer using a "generative" patch.
Looking at the stars - binaural - KAWAI NV10 Stefaan Himpe 2022-03-27 | Part 1/3 of a soundscape for 8 speakers and 2 subwoofers playing in the historic city hall of Leuven this weekend. Here is a binaural version of the soundscape - listen with headphones for the best result.Part 1 is a meditative/relaxing piano piece accompanied by rain and subtle sound effects. This part uses free to reuse ambisonic ("3d sound") recordings by Richard Devine and a coffee drip sample from freesound user pauliep83. The video consists of a collage of free to use videos from pexels.com by users Miriam Espacio, Kelly L, Vimeo, Distill, Pixabay, Louai Munajim, Dmitry Varennikov, GamOl, Wendelin Jacober, Alexei Chudin, Mouad Mabrouk, Apoorv Srivastava, Victor Steep, Antoni Shkraba, Luz Calor Som, Amit Batra, Lay-Z Owl, Lau lau, Berkalp Turper, Nicolas Becker and Aarif Patel.Parts 2 and 3 will be posted in the coming weeks and are completely different.
[Experimental] The meaning of life (Roland Integra-7) Stefaan Himpe 2022-01-15 | Another close reading - this time of an animated conversation between two persons (Alan and Karl). In just 3 minutes time they discuss "the meaning of life". I've transcribed their conversation for piano and saxophone and background noises for percussion. This video might get taken down at some point in the future since I did ask their permission to reuse their video, but didn't get any reply. You can visit their youtube channel and find the original video at youtube.com/watch?v=P3demFMgK6I .
Fire walking - intermediate piano KAWAI NV10 Stefaan Himpe 2022-01-09 | I started playing a quirky rhythm and let things happen.Credits:man in fire: Photo by Cris from Pexelsburning ember: Video by Artyom Saqib from Pexels
Christmas Regrets - intermediate piano (KAWAI NV10) Stefaan Himpe 2021-12-24 | Can you think of a Christmas when you did or said something you would give anything to take back? Or, maybe a Christmas when you made a decision you desperately regretted? Do you think back on past Christmases and wish you had not taken them for granted? Would you give anything to have one more Christmas with a loved one who is no longer here?Fun fact: the key signature switches between C# major (7 sharps) and Db major (5 flats), two keys which in fact use the exact same physical notes on a piano. Despite using the exact same notes, both scales somehow feel very different (I know it sounds rather vague), like looking at the same thing from two completely different perspectives, or telling a story from two different sides.This composition has taken me longer than average to finish as I kept changing my mind about where to take the music and how to tweak the final notes. The score could use some extra love as it specifies no dynamics yet.... Will I regret posting the recording and the score in this not very polished state? Maybe, but for now it is what it is and it is probably good enough to get an idea what the music is about.If you've found this video while looking for my easy piano videos, this is not one of them ;) Video credits (in order of appearance):Crying woman alone + thumbnail picture: Video by Alex Green from PexelsThinking man: Video by RODNAE Productions from PexelsCouple: Video by Gustavo Fring from PexelsMan on bed: Video by Honye Sanges from PexelsCrying woman alone 2: Video by Gustavo Fring from PexelsRainbow man: Video by cottonbro from PexelsSad woman against wall: Video by Luis Quintero from PexelsSad dog: Video by Louai Munajim from PexelsSad man in white shirt: Video by cottonbro from PexelsWoman on bed: Video by Ivan Samkov from PexelsSad older man: Video by Kindel Media from PexelsWoman with headphones: Video by Ivan Samkov from PexelsSad man in park: Video by cottonbro from Pexels
The monks of synth Roland (Prophet Rev2, Roland Integra-7, Kawai NV10, Casio WK7600, Strymon BigSky) Stefaan Himpe 2021-12-18 | This track also appears on the third SoundOnSound album on bandcamp sosforumalbum.bandcamp.com/album/the-3rd-sound-on-sound-forum-album . If you pay for the album or for a track of the album, all revenue goes to charity.I wanted to use all of the equipment I have so the recording featuresthe monks of Synth Roland Integra-7 singing from the Prophet's Revelations Verse 2 with the help ofSt. Rymon of the Big Sky, a Cheesio WK-7600 and a very snakey appearance of a Kawai NV10.Most parts are programmed/sequenced in supercollider. The Casio and Kawai parts are played live.All parts (except for the Kawai) were recorded simultaneously at 96KHz using a Behringer UMC1820.The results were mixed, balanced and seasoned to taste in Ardour 6. Finally the result wasdownsampled to 44.1KHz using github.com/jniemann66/ReSampler.Allegedly no monks were harmed during the recording of this session.Drone footage compiled from free footage on pexels.com:castle: Video by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexelssea: Video by Taryn Elliott from Pexelslake: Video by Haakon Birkeli from Pexelswaterfall: Video by Tom Fisk from Pexelsstrand: Video by James Cheney from Pexelsmother_child : Video by Marian Croitoru from Pexelstraining: Video by Los Muertos Crew from Pexelsmanonmountain: Video by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexelssunbow: Video by Peter Fowler from Pexelsmistymountain: Video by Kelly L from Pexelsballoons: Video by Taryn Elliott from Pexelswoman_on_pillar: Video by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexelsbeachbynight: Video by Taryn Elliott from Pexelsroad: Video by Kindel Media from Pexelswaterfall: Video by Kelly L from Pexels
[Experimental] Fish From Hell (1935, fragment) - close reading with Roland Integra-7 sax. Stefaan Himpe 2021-12-11 | Edit: Youtube had automatically turned off comments but this was not my intention. Probably some annoying bug that seems to be affecting many creators lately. A close reading of a 1935 documentary on fish. I think the idea behind this experiment will speak for itself: a transcription of the narrator's voice is played by a Roland Integra-7 baritone saxophone. The documentary is at the same time amusing and (to modern eyes) horrifying. Whereas nowadays sea creatures would typically be described as "majestic", "mysterious" and "endangered", back in 1935 apparently standards were quite different. The subtitles are mine, based on what I could understand. I'm pretty certain I got some things wrong...Ken Smith reports: Essentially, this "film" is just murky stock footage of men on a fishing trawler. What transforms it into an epic tale of Man vs. The Sea is an amazing narration by somebody named Wilfred Lucas. Mr. Lucas pulls no punches; in this violent world, decent men kill every fish they meet. But that's okay, because -- as Mr. Lucas explains -- fish are evil and deserve to die.The complete documentary in two parts (and the modern reviewer comments!) can be found on archive.org: archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Marine+Pictures%22The thumbnail is based on a free picture from Reimund Bertrams via pixabay.com. The free "horror font" is from Dimas Prasetyo, aka Dmletter31 at dafont.com/dm-studio-dimas-prasetyo.d7283
Free Spirit - easy piano (KAWAI NV10) Stefaan Himpe 2021-12-04 | This piece can feel a bit more difficult because it's fast and especially measures 41-55 may require some practice. Once you've mastered it you can be proud of yourself :)Video consists of free to use video fragments from pexels.com.White horses: Video by Kelly L from PexelsHorses on grassland: Video by SebisSPORT TRAVEL from PexelsHorses on mountain: Video by Mikhail Nilov from PexelsHorses on grassland 2: Video by SebisSPORT TRAVEL from Pexels"Easy Piano" consists of a series of pieces for which you don't need to be a very advanced player. Despite being called "easy" the pieces are not trivial, and will most likely take some practice. In the "Easy Piano" playlist, the pieces are ordered from easy to more difficult (but even the hardest piece in this series remains accessible for players that are yet to reach intermediate level of playing). Some pieces are only easy if you first take the time to work out a good fingering (ask your teacher to help you :) )
