Compositions |
Description |
Pottery Mouth |
The result of giving myself a creative and technical challenge of creating a complete soundscape from two samples totaling one second in length. All sounds were generated using Kyma and then transferred to Pro Tools for editing and mixing. |
6's and 7s |
Improvisation for tenor mandola, also known as an octave mandolin or Irish bouzouki. Recorded on Bob Laughlin's 6th instrument of this kind shortly after receiving it. I had the good fortune of being able to compare it to his 7th made bouzouki one afternoon and preferred #6. Hence the name 6's & 7's. |
| Themes from a Non-Existent Slide Show |
An imaginary train trip with different people of different nationalities joining in a musical conversation. Influencied by Weather Report and Frank Zappa. Synthesizers, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, percussion and melodic percussion. |
| Lullaby for Loralyn |
Composed for my wife Loralyn. For 6 string Acoustic guitar, Hammered dulcimer with MIDI orchestration for backing using a Roland JV1080 with the optional orchestral samples card. |
| Pitch tracking |
An electronic piece using a self compositional patch created using the Nord G2 native software. The melody is a Fender Telecaster played into Pro Tools via an API preamp, then auto tuned using Celemony Melodyne which was then output to Kyma via S/PDIF to an oscillator which is tracking the pitch of the guitar. Kyma's output was then transferred via S/PDIF back into Pro Tools. Note, the Telecaster is not directly heard, only Kyma's oscillator. |
| Mandola improvisation |
Like 6's & 7's, this was recorded shortly after receiving my new instrument. Unlike guitars which are tuned in fourths, this instrument is tuned in fifths like a violin. Just think of the bottom four strings on a guitar, E/A/D/G but flipped upside down to become G/D/A/E. |
| Never Alone (Intro) |
Solo nylon stringed guitar made by luthier Bob Laughlin. Written in 1998 and recorded on tape using a Tascam DA-88. Part of a much longer piece for multiple instruments |
| Kyma Wash |
Just a simple little soundscape created in Kyma and transferred into Pro Tools. |
| That Place |
Recorded in 1998 on a Tascam DA-88. This piece is dedicated to my late mother and father and features a 1980 6 string acoustic guitar by luthier Bob Laughlin, a 1975 hammered dulcimer by Dennis Dorogi, a 1973 Rickenbacker bass guitar and several MIDI instruments for backing. A video tribute to my father using this piece can be found here |
| Operating Instructions |
This came about by restricting myself to only using one MIDI track and one channel with only Note On & Off data plus a loop point. Using an Oberheim Xpander, a Roland MKS-80, a Kurzweil 250 and a Casio CZ-5000. Each voice was programmed to respond differently to the same performance, making it sound like multiple tracks. |
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The acoustic stringed instruments in my collection and heard on my recordings have all been made by luthier Bob Laughlin and Dennis Dorogi. |
