Two little sketches

[m1469]

from about half an hour ago.  

I am listening to both of them at the same time.  Somehow that is just about right.

[pianowolfi]

They are so wonderful! I don't dare to do that experiment yet, I am afraid that it might destroy something, but it's only me
Thank you for sharing these!

[m1469]

Thanks for listening and chiming in, Wolfi.  These are just little things, of course, which don't actually develop much, but for me at the time I needed just to express, and so that is what these are.  They are just little expressions ... something like little emoticons, maybe  .  My need to express simply trumped my feelings and thoughts about what they are lacking and what other people might think.  Sometimes that's how it goes, I guess.

[pianowolfi]

Yes I know this situation I am grateful for this "trumpedness" because it made it possible for me to listen to these little gems

[goldentone]

Ohh.   I listened to the first, and there are wonderful chords in there.  It's beautiful.

[m1469]

Yes I know this situation I am grateful for this "trumpedness" because it made it possible for me to listen to these little gems

Ohh.   I listened to the first, and there are wonderful chords in there.  It's beautiful.

Thanks for listening .

[Derek]

Those actually do sound really cool played together. That makes me want to make a midi recording dubbed over itself multiple times and see what kind of results I might get, hehe. I think alone I really enjoyed the second one.

[m1469]

I'm actually glad you tried it, Derek.  The first time I tried it, there was a very interesting lineup and I wished to improvise something like that ... something like it was two together.  It gave me ideas anyway .

[chopinatic]

beautifully simplistic and wonderful to listen too

[furtwaengler]

First of all, I absolutely adore these sketches. They are pure and beautiful beyond explanation. And your idea of putting them together (a musical miracle of sorts) intrigued me enough to step out of the box and play around with the recordings (a different sort of improvisation - without touching the piano. Hmm...Does this count for Quantum's thread?). So what resulted is this exploded, expanded variation of sorts, a fantasy, an experiment with the mind of m1469. I had quite a bit of fun doing this!

Dave 

[m1469]

First of all, I absolutely adore these sketches. They are pure and beautiful beyond explanation. And your idea of putting them together (a musical miracle of sorts) intrigued me enough to step out of the box and play around with the recordings (a different sort of improvisation - without touching the piano. Hmm...Does this count for Quantum's thread?). So what resulted is this exploded, expanded variation of sorts, a fantasy, an experiment with the mind of m1469. I had quite a bit of fun doing this!

Dave  

Dave, thanks for doing this!   I mean, people can play them both at once from the original post, but it's interesting to capture a particular lining up of them, as well as (I can hear now, as I am listening as I type this) these sped up versions and ... oh, I guess some are slowed down?  I almost am embarrassed to admit that the result is somehow a very fair representation of what my insides feel like and sound like to me ...   ... at least as far as I know and can tell ...   ... and at least for part of the time (if not most or all of the time!).  It's just like this constant moving, this constant sea of music where some of it is distinguishable and then a lot of it is just kind of in this sea ... everything blending together.  

haha ... this is actually amazing, Dave (it's even more so as I continue listening ... to hear themes or subjects come up here and there).  I mean, did you intellectually place these or was it more intuitive for you?  I realize it's kind of all mixing together, but when did you decide to put certain sped up versions ... etc.?  Woah, that kind of ended up blowing my mind!

[furtwaengler]

I mean, did you intellectually place these or was it more intuitive for you?  I realize it's kind of all mixing together, but when did you decide to put certain sped up versions ... etc.?  Woah, that kind of ended up blowing my mind!

Yes.  18'32 to the end was my first finished idea. I heard it and said, "Yes, this is good...but it cannot start such..."

One thing which makes the end good is in the way the two sketches line up naturally, the first being longer than the second, and what music is left in first after the second finishes is the perfect conclusion to such a work. I knew it need some time to make the ending especially satisfying. Once I found how to do this, the structure became very simple to execute. 

The basis for the design is found by simply making Sketch 1 and Sketch 2 one file, file A (not on top of each other, but in succession), and then making Sketch 2 and Sketch 1 another file, file B, and combining file A and file B (that is, played them at the same time), which two files are the same duration. This creates a unique overlap when sketch 2 ends in file B, because late portions of Sketch 1 in file A are combined with early portions in Sketch 1 in file B, and Sketch 2 starting in file A is combined with a different portion of Sketch 1 in file A, and it all ends at the same time (because both files are the same duration.). I am posting this file at the original speed below. I had first experimented with this at double speed (and an octave higher) because I knew that I'd be doing something with pitch and speed. This is what you hear from 18:32 to the end, played on top of the original combined Sketch 1 and Sketch 2 (producing that special ending effect when we're left with the closing chords of Sketch 1).

So the structure is an opening statement of Sketch 1 as part 1, 4:10. The timing of the second part, 14:25, is dictated by the above arrangement of file A and file B slowed to half time (and an octave lower) which serves as a sort of bed of development. On top of this, perfectly stretching the duration 14:25, is one layer, Sketch 1 followed by combined file A and B at original tempo, and another layer of the same exact thing in double time (an octave up), which starts over the combined file A and B of the original tempo. This also places the climactic point when everything's happening at once near the "golden mean" of the piece. What's left is the third and final part, lasting 4:10, which has already been explained above. This all satisfied me.

So yes, this too many words to describe a relatively simple concept, but I did have a process and structure in mind. A had some fun doing this...a nice break, for have no real place to practice at the moment (save I drive 50 miles). I've had your themes in my head all through the day (granted some of it an octave too high ).

[m1469]

Dave, that is incredible!  Thanks for explaining it, but it's tricky to keep up with in words  . 

[mateos]

I like your two sketches, it was very pleasant to listen ; calm and sensitive, no frills. Bravo !

[m1469]

Thank you, mateos!  It is quite often insightful for me to have people's thoughts on how they perceive things.  I appreciate that you listened and I appreciate the ideas you have given back .