AlanKey86
Tau Music - piano solo
updated
From Periodic Videos "Piecing Together the Periodic Table Jigsaw"
I created this music for Periodic Videos epic jigsaw video. Brady sent me a draft of the video and I began compsoing by listening to the audio whilst sketching out ideas on the piano.
The piano that you hear was all recorded semi-live, that is, I played almost every note as the Periodic Video audio played through my headphones. I'd considered splitting the video into chunks so I could record the music in several takes but soon discovered this was actually more difficult. Recording in one take meant I didn't lose the flow of the music.
Such a prospect would've filled me with fear a year ago. I used to record everything live using Audacity. Making a mistake meant scrapping the take and starting again. I like to think it was good for discipline and playing accurately. I still feel like I'm "cheating" when I use Studio One - which allows for note by note editing of a performance. I try not to do too much of that. It's weridly addictive - scrolling through the MIDI track and making tiny, inconsequential adjustments here and there and I'm conscious of wasting hours on making inconsequential changes. I focussed instead on fixing true mistakes - moments when I'd hit a bad note or messed up timing.
Once the piano was all sorted I could start adding other (MIDI) instruments. There's a cello, a bass, some percussion and some synths. There's also a nice reverse bass drum hit near the start with a super long (reversed) reverb tail to create that swell effect.
Spotify: bit.ly/AlanEventide
Amazon: bit.ly/AlanEventideAmazon
iTunes: bit.ly/AlanEventideiTunes
In March 2020, a few days in to the Covid-19 lockdown, I decided to record a new album. Many of these pieces are improvisations, performed in one take in the evenings after my work for the day was done.
Brady asked if he could use the album as background for his video of ships in the Bristol Channel. I was more than happy to oblige. His video is here: youtube.com/watch?v=AyU_XhfUnAE&feature=youtu.be
In my previous album, "Sunsettlement", I made a conscious decision to try and break away from my compositional habits. In this album, I was content to do the opposite, relaxing back into my natural choice of chords and melodies. As a result "Eventide" is far less adventurous, far more predicatble and, in a way, far more comforting than its 2017 predecessor.
Perhaps in these strange times we all long for something familiar, homely and safe.
Except track 12 "Moon" which is weird.
I recorded this in Studio One which I bought in May. It's the first DAW I've ever used. Up until now I've recorded everything "live", directly into Audacity. For anyone with recording experience this might seem ridiculous as Audacity can't record MIDI and doesn't allow for non-destructive editing. Using Studio One over the last month has been an absolute delight!
Photograph by my bandmate, Cathy.
Listen on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/two-ends-of-the-scale/id1335345882?mt=2&uo=4
Correction!
At 1:10:35, Sam says “one third the speed” when he meant “one third the note-length” (i.e. three
times the speed)
Music discussed in this episode:
Jay Foreman, Singing one syllable out-of-sync, youtu.be/Een_AKh7Nik
Jay Foreman, MORE singing one syllable out-of-sync, youtu.be/3fp6pvpcZEw
The Music, “Freedom Fighters”. Track 2 from Welcome to the North. Virgin Records, 2004.
goo.gl/SNwcvX
W.A. Mozart, Don Giovanni, Act I, Finale, 1787
Recording: Hungarian Radio Chorus, and Nicolaus Estherházy Sinfonia. Mozart: Don Giovanni.
Naxos, 2001. (Disc 2, Track 11 from 1m30) goo.gl/zKivLT
Benjamin Britten, Passacaglia Op. 33b (from Peter Grimes), 1945.
Recording: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Myer Fredman. Britten: Sinfonia Da Requiem,
Op. 20 / 4 Sea Interludes. Naxos, 1995. (Track 😎 goo.gl/WiCBhe
Meshuggah, “Do Not Look Down”. Track 3 from Koloss. Nuclear Blast, 2012. goo.gl/hk1URk
Olivier Messiaen, “Crystal liturgy” 1st movement of Quartet for the End of Time, 1941.
Recording: Amici Ensemble. Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time / Theme and Variations. Naxos,
2001. (Track 1) goo.gl/YpQ8Yb
Guillame de Machaut, Puis que la douce rousee/De bon espoir, 14th century.
Recording: The Early Music Consort of London, and David Munrow. The Art of Courtly Love. Erato -
Parlophone, 2005. (Track 13) goo.gl/UsJLPq
Tool, “Jambi”. Track 2 from 10,000 Days. Tool Dissectional & Volcano Entertainment, 2006.
Pierre de La Rue, 2nd “Agnus dei” from Missa l’homme armé c.1500.
Facsimile: goo.gl/qvc4xV
Recording: Ensemble Clement Janequin. Pierre de La Rue: Missa l’homme arme / Missa pro
defunctis. Harmonia Mundi, 1989 (Track 5, from 1m47) goo.gl/ktye1G
Conlon Nancarrow, Study No. 40a for Player Piano
Recording: Studies for Player Piano (The Original 1750 Arch Recordings). Other Minds, 2008.
(Disc 2, Track 11) goo.gl/EufhM8
Additional excerpts from:
Anton Webern, 1st movement from Quartet op. 22, 1932.
Recording: Webern, A: Works with Opus Numbers (Complete). Sony Classical, 1990. (Disc 2, Track
33) goo.gl/ehYuyG
Funeral for a Friend, “Rookie of the Year”. Track 1 from Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation.
Atlantic Records, 2003. goo.gl/AGZ4Bd
Spotify: goo.gl/5e2AJV
iTunes: goo.gl/NRV7dH
Google Play: goo.gl/2mrEJg
Amazon: goo.gl/j15unp
The music was written to accompany Brady's Antarctica videos. The playlist of his videos is here: http://bit.ly/Antarctica_Videos
Track listing:
01: Drift
02: Silence
03: Shard
04: Wind
05: Glacial
06: Peak
Music by Alan Stewart
Album art translation of birdsong by Martin Smith.
Listen on SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/alan-stewart-318606037/episode-2-rhythm
Songs featured in this episode:
1. Lights Out - Royal Blood
2. Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty Op. 66, Act I: Valse, 1889.
Recording: Slovak Philharmonic, Mogrelia, Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty (Highlights),CD (Naxos, 1991). (Track 11).
naxosmusiclibrary.com/catalogue/item.asp?cid=8.572931
3. Johann Strauss II, An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314, 1866.
Recording: Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan, Strauss II: Waltzes/Polkas, CD (Deutsche Grammophon, 2013). (Track 6).
naxosmusiclibrary.com/catalogue/item.asp?cid=00028942322127
4. Despacito - Justin Beiber
5. Anonymous, Viderunt omnes, gradual from the mass for Christmas day.
Recording: Ensemble organum, École de Notre-Dame: Mass for Christmas Day, CD (Harmonia Mundi, 2011). (Track 3).
6. Bill Wurtz - i don't wanna go to school
7. Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, “Sacrificial dance”, 1919.
Recording: Philharmonia Orchestra, Craft, Stravinsky: 125th Anniversary Album - The Rite of Spring / Violin Concerto, CD (Naxos, 2007). (Track 20).
8. Benny Greb - Tricky
Listen on SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/alan-stewart-318606037/episode-1-hearing-it-wrong
MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS PODCAST
Alan's choices:
1. The Fray, How To Save A Life youtu.be/cjVQ36NhbMk
2. IQ, Harvest of Souls youtu.be/n7ocO-rOF_4
3. Dave Matthews Band, Ants Marching youtu.be/lPkEshYu1HU
4. Don Broco, Yeah Man youtu.be/bhGVMz_a8fs
5. Porcupine Tree, Fear of a Blank Planet youtu.be/E8tgLNgXCLA
Sam's choices.
1. Haydn, String Quartet in E♭ major, Op. 33 No. 2, Fourth Movement. Recording: Buchberger Quartet, Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 2: Opus 33 and 42, CD (Brilliant Classics, 2006). (Disc 1, track 8).
2. Tomás-Luis de Victoria, “Credo” from Missa Quarti Toni. Recording: Philippe Caillard Ensemble, Tomas-Luis de Victoria: Missa Quarti Toni, LP (Music Heritage Society, 1963).
3. John Williams, The Throne Room. George Lucas (Director/Writer); Gary Kurts (Producer), Star Wars. Episode IV, A New Hope (20th Century Fox; Lucasfilm Limited, 1977). (Final scene).
Spot the academic music student who knows how to reference properly!
iTunes: goo.gl/lpESkz
Spotify: goo.gl/YGAo47
Google Play: goo.gl/kgekj1
Amazon: goo.gl/LYS9u6
Track listing:
0:00:00 Butterfly
0:02:49 Imagination
0:05:33 Dawn
0:08:56 Warmth
0:14:46 Forecast
0:19:27 Droplets
0:23:48 Lightning
0:26:55 Spectral
0:31:01 Land
0:35:55 Risen
0:39:51 Lighthouse
0:42:47 Softer Still
0:46:21 Watch
0:51:11 Three Body Problem
0:55:09 Kamiokande
0:59:13 Gentle
1:03:39 Sunsettlement
Album art by Cathy Young
Album distributed by DistroKid
Copright 2017
MP3 on Amazon: goo.gl/K5fSoM
Music animation software created by Stpehn Malinowski: http://www.stephenmalinowski.com
Music Animation Machine software available here: http://www.musanim.com
Download from Amazon: goo.gl/4kkjCd
Download from Google Play: goo.gl/9QwHVO
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
Playlist: goo.gl/4unxnu
or on Google Play: goo.gl/Fq0PjW
or even on Amazon: goo.gl/07wnks
"Little Donkey" is a childhood classic. For better or worse, it's embedded in my memory - much like a stone gets embedded in the sole of a favourite pair of boots. Whether it's sung by an out of tune children's choir or dragged screeching and squeaking from a Year 3 recorder group, it's got a special place in our hearts. Possibly.
Here is my attempt to make the song beautiful.
or on Google Play: goo.gl/Fq0PjW
or even on Amazon: goo.gl/07wnks
There are 4 tracks here - the piano, the drums, the bass and the guitar. I find the melody of this song particularly challenging to play by ear as there are lots of chromatic moments - just try singing it yourself without any backing! It took me a while to work out what the chords were too. There's a gorgeous transition from F major to E major, which is not a sequence I'm used to hearing.
A song about a girl I used to know.
LYRICS:
Rebecca is for me
A beautiful distraction
And if my heart should rise
And try and stir me into action
I've got Rebecca to hold me back,
Rebecca to bring me down,
Confront me with the facts,
And re-ignite my doubt,
Rebecca to set my feet back
Firmly on the ground
To make a complete
Fool of me now
Rebecca is for me a guiding light
To blind me and leave me stranded in the dark
Water to my soul
To cleanse and then drown out my spark
I've got Rebecca to hold me back,
Rebecca to bring me down,
Confront me with the facts,
And re-ignite my doubt,
Rebecca to set my feet back
Firmly on the ground
To make a complete
Fool of me now
And if I ever try to speak out of turn
Or break from what I've so dutifully learned
She's given me fire to play with
And I'm going to get burned
Rebecca is for me returning home
To find that all you knew and loved has gone
I've got Rebecca to hold me back,
Rebecca to bring me down,
Confront me with the facts,
And re-ignite my doubt,
Rebecca to set my feet back
Firmly on the ground
To make a complete
Fool of me now
music and lyrics by Alan Stewart
MP3 download: http://goo.gl/QK4VMw
Lyrics:
You were meant to be a friend
Who leaps to say "I'll stand with you until the end"
We'd lend each other strength
To build foundations upon which we'd both depend
Where was the beauty in our fiery descent?
I know that you would say that wasn't your intent
But I am tired of imagining just what you might've meant
Growing distant and dissonant
You were meant to be a guide
Together we'd survey the paths before us and we would decide
How our lives would show
The love gifted to us now buried in the snow
Where was the beauty in our fiery descent?
I know that you would say that wasn't your intent
But I am tired of imagining just what you might've meant
Growing distant and dissonant
The corners curl on the page where we wrote our names
The colours in the ink begin to slowly separate
Well worn phrases will lose their worth with age
Like the promise that we made
Where was the beauty in our fiery descent?
I know that you would say that wasn't your intent
But I am tired of imagining just what you might've meant
Growing distant and dissonant
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv
Google Play: http://goo.gl/Fq0PjW
PLAYLIST: http://goo.gl/zg0SOv