The New Hat

 
The New Hat (mp3) (pdf)

Same photo twice in a row? This is because today's tune is named after the hat in the photo above.

Back in July I received a wonderful gift of a new hat. This would be the first new hat with a brim that I have ever owned. It's become my go-to head covering for summer outdoor gigs and works great.

The night after I received the hat this tune came to me in a dream. This never happens. Once in a while I might remember a snatch of a tune when I wake up but this was a vivid memory of a complete, albeit simple, tune. 

The dream itself involved our Contratopia band relaxing at the house of a generous host after playing a dance somewhere. As we were sitting around, unwinding from our labors, another band arrived coming back from their gig. This was a group of young Irish players (no one in particular) who were a little more wound up than we were at this hour of night. 

The Irish group was very friendly and we were all thrilled to meet other musicians and share stories. After a minute or two one of the newcomers, who was out of sight, down the hall from the living room where we sat, began playing a tune on a whistle or flute. By it's simplicity we all perceived it as an invitation to join in and we began unpacking instruments. A fun jam session ensued.

When I woke up, before dawn, the dream was very clear and the tune was insistent. After a while I figured I'd better get up and write it down. I resisted any urge to "improve" the tune as I transcribed it from my dream memory and this is what we have here. (The harmony part didn't appear in the dream but was composed later.)

Even though there were no hats in the dream that I can remember I still knew right away what the title of the tune should be.

Hope you enjoy it.

Not Quite Rain

 

Not Quite Rain (mp3) (pdf)

I've got some tunes backed up, waiting to be recorded, and I finally got around to one this morning.

July was a pretty busy month with lots of fun gigs and great music opportunities. I've got several things scheduled this month also but I'm worried that the combination of a resurgent virus (especially the delta variant) and the reluctance of so many of my friends and neighbors to "take one for the team" will combine to make playing out in public less common once again. I remain hopeful, but concerned.

The photo above was not intended for this blog, or anything for that matter. I was just getting ready to take a different picture and I liked the way this looked.

I hope you enjoy the tune.

Joslin Farm

 

Joslin Farm (mp3) (pdf)

One of my favorite places is the Kings Landing living history historical settlement, nestled along the St. John River just west of Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Joslin Farm is one of the features of a visit to the park and I've enjoyed visiting it several times.

There is apparently another very nice place with a similar name in Vermont, the Joslin Round Barn Farm. I think I would enjoy visiting there someday too. So the title of this tune, like many tune titles, can evoke different reactions depending on your own history.

Even though I have zero interest in the Game of Thrones phenomenon I do realize that "King's Landing" is a place in that universe as well. I think our imaginations are probably big enough for both fictional places to coexist. I can guarantee, however, that a physical visit to the Joslin Farm at Kings Landing in New Brunswick will add some pleasure to your life.

I've had this tune for a couple of years with a different title and I realized that I was holding it back because something about the title wasn't just right. With a little thought I found this solution, I hope you enjoy the result.

Assisi Heights

 

Assisi Heights (mp3) (pdf) (pdf harmony)

Shortly after we arrived in Decorah, Iowa, in the summer of 1994, I was driven off to Rochester, MN to participate in a Luther College all faculty retreat at a place called Assisi Heights. This was a wonderful experience for me, especially given my lifelong interest in St. Francis and all things Franciscan. 

I haven't returned there for a lengthy visit since 1994 but I always look off towards the site as I drive by on my way to and from the Twin Cities. It always does me good.

I really like this tune and I've had it for several months. Erik, Patrice and I gave it a world premiere at the Decorah Farmers Market just over a week ago and I discovered a few more changes I needed to make. I hope now it's a finished piece but I never know for certain.

In any event I hope you enjoy it and that it brings a little Franciscan moment into you day.

November Waltz, 2020 - Deer Track, December 27, 2020

 

November Waltz, 2020 (mp3) (pdf) (pdf harmony)

Deer Track, December 27, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)

Here's a nice waltz from last November, along with another Deer Track composition from late December 2020. I've got something of a backlog of tunes from the last few months and I'm just being slow about bringing them to the blog.

I like the accidental light I unwittingly captured in the photo above, also from last November.

Spring is almost, but not quite, here, although we did hit 90 degrees for a few hours last Sunday.

Telemann: Menuets for Two Mandolins (1728)

 

Recording currently available for streaming or purchase only at Bandcamp

No new original music this time but yesterday, on May Day, I released my recording of 19 Menuets from G.P. Telemann's 1728 collection of 50 pieces. These were self-published by Telemann on a subscription basis. Customers signed up and received groups of seven new menuets (plus one extra, presumably at the end) throughout the year.

I have played these pieces for years and I have intended to record some of them for a long time. I picked my favorites, although next week I might choose some different ones. It was hard to settle but I didn't want to present too many at once. This group comes out to about a half hour so I'm happy with that length.

Head over to Bandcamp and give them a listen if you are interested.

Deer Track, January 3, 2007-April 18, 2021

 

Deer Track, January 3, 2007-April 18, 2021 (mp3) (pdf)

I had several tunes planned for this next blog post but too many projects got in the way. I'll get to them eventually.

In the meantime I found myself picking up the thread of an unfinished Deer Track from early 2007 yesterday and following where it wanted to take me. I figure that less than 10% of the Deer Tracks pieces are written in 6/8 time but I see that this one follows my Deer Track from February that was also, mostly, in 6/8. Just a coincidence I'm sure.

It's only about a minute long, hope you enjoy it's wandering nature.

St. Francis and the Bunny

 

St. Francis and the Bunny (mp3) (pdf)

I didn't have a plan to share this tune on the first day of Spring but it's a happy coincidence. I've had the tune for a couple of months but it took a long time to settle on the final version. Plus the title was a problem. That was finally solved a few weeks ago when I saw this statue in Fayette, IA while driving south.

I guess the melody might seem a little somber for a bunny tune but I don't think of it that way. To me it's more of a warm and fuzzy feeling. In any event I really like the tune.

All of the guitar intro stuff just kind of happened as I was finally getting around to making a recording. I'm playing a recently acquired Martin 000 Jr-10 guitar which is super comfortable to play and sounds pretty good for a modestly priced instrument. It's maybe not the guitar you want for playing hard and loud and the bass notes don't ring out like a bigger box but it's good for this.

I hope that some of you enjoy this tune as much as I do. It's also a friendly tune to play.

Here's to Spring!

Poets in Time

 

Poets in Time (pdf score) (pdf parts)

The Cairo Sessions (mp3) (pdf)

Poets in Time is a mandolin orchestra piece that I wrote on commission for the group Fretworks back in 2010. Above is the video of the premiere performance, conducted by Douglas Back, in spring 2011. I have fifteen or so mandolin orchestra/ensemble pieces available from my Mandolin Orchestra and Ensemble page at my Mandotopia site. But there are another half dozen or more that I need to add. I'm very slow at it but this morning I woke up thinking of this piece and made it my project for the day.

I hadn't heard this music in years and I was happy to see how much I enjoyed it. I hope that some of you enjoy it too. If you are a member of a mandolin orchestra feel free to download the music and give it a try with your group.

Also this morning I learned of the passing of the great Peter Ostroushko. I was privileged to meet him a few times and even play a little music with him but, mostly, I was a great fan of his playing and his writing. A few years ago I wrote a tune, The Cairo Sessions, that was meant to remind me of the great recordings that Peter made with Norman and Nancy Blake. The title represents an imaginary meeting of Peter and the Blakes in Cairo, Illinois to record another album together. The idea was that they could meet about halfway between Minneapolis and north Georgia. I really like the result and I think that Peter, Norman and Nancy would be OK with the tune.

I'm heartened to know that all around the world tonight people, especially mandolin players, are keeping Peter's memory alive with music and stories. A true Poet and a great man.

Partially Covered

 

Partially Covered (mp3) (pdf)

Blevins' March (mp3) (pdf)

The Wedding Broom (mp3) (pdf)

Today's new tune was written shortly after a trip to La Crosse, WI a couple of weeks ago. Don't try this at home, it was not the smartest move, but we managed to stay out of the ditches and returned home safely. 

There's actually a much longer story about the genesis of the tune but I won't get into that today. I'll just say that I was inspired by a recent tune written by an old friend that is a model of elegance and simplicity. I think my tune captures some of the simplicity but I'm not sure how much elegance I managed. Still, I like it fine and it's fun to play.

I didn't create any harmony parts for this one but I did record it in multiple octaves using my recently acquired Peter Coombe Classical Flattop mandolin, my main old Gibson mandolin, and a nice, recent Taylor guitar. Hope you enjoy it.

On a more somber note, we have had several deaths recently involving treasured members of the local community. One of those was the wonderful Mike Blevins. You can read my comments on Mike in my earlier post that followed a benefit concert that I was honored to be a part of back in 2018. The tune "Blevins' March" was written for Erik Sessions and myself to play at MikeFest and it still gets played pretty often.

Continuing with tunes from the early years of this blog I am resurrecting "The Wedding Broom" from February 18, 2007. Still one of my favorite tunes and I really like this simple recording. Now, as then, we are awaiting new snow here today and the song of the snow blowers will ring out loud and clear later this afternoon.

Hang in there ...

 

Deer Track, February 10, 2021

 

Deer Track, February 10, 2021 (mp3) (pdf)

We are in the middle of a brutal cold spell here in northeast Iowa. It's been a week of subzero nights and there are at least three more double-digit below zero nights ahead of us. Next Saturday we might see a high temp of 30 degrees. Today's high was around -2, it's -8 now at 7:00 p.m.

Good weather for writing tunes though and I have written several recently. Today, however, we meet a new Deer Track piece from a few days ago. I really like this one, even though I know that these aren't everyone's cup of tea. I like where it's path leads me and it's a pleasure to actually play.

I'll try and get a couple of more conventional tunes recorded soon but this one is a good fit for tonight's weather. The photo above is from a couple of weeks ago when the temperature was much more comfortable. I was on the Ice Cave Road looking down over the Upper Iowa River.

Wherever you are, if it's cold, I wish you a warm fire. If it's warm already then I hope you appreciate it! I'm certainly grateful for our furnace tonight.

Heavens On Earth (virtual CMSA En Masse Orchestra)

 

Heavens On Earth - CMSA 2020

From January 2007: 

• Ekin Avenue (mp3) (pdf) (pdf harmony)
• Winter Leaves (mp3) (pdf)

I shared the above video of the members of the Classical Mandolin Society of America En Masse Orchestra presenting a virtual performance of my mandolin orchestra piece Heavens On Earth on Facebook a week or so ago and, so far, it's been watched over 2,000 times. I thought I should put it into this blogpost also, just for the record.

It's an amazing virtual performance, conducted by Jim Bates and very artfully created by Jeff Brumley. We've all seen these Zoom type videos in the last few months but Jeff (along with all of the great musicians involved) created a first class presentation. I am so honored that my piece was used and it's one of the best performances of it ever.

Once again I am also presenting a couple of tunes from the early days of this blog for your consideration. "Ekin Avenue" and "Winter Leaves" both appear on my 2011 CD Mandolin Tunes and are still a couple of my favorites. If you haven't heard them in a while, or ever, take a minute and check them out.

In other news, I am honored also to have a piece of mine for solo mandolin included in Marilynn Mair's new Mel Bay publication The Complete Mandolinist, Volume 2. My Sonata in L(ou) was written for former CMSA President Lou Chouinard and appears in this new book alongside works by some of my favorite composers. I highly recommend the book.

Stay safe.

Welcome 2021 - Deer Tracks, December, 2020

 

1. Deer Track, December 16, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)
2. Deer Track, December 17, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)
3. Deer Track, December 22, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)
4. Deer Track, December 23, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)
5. Deer Track, December 31, 2020 (mp3) (pdf)

From January 1, 2007:  Shelter Dogs (mp3) (pdf) ; Needle in the Sawdust (mp3) (pdf)

    

This post, coming on the feast of the Epiphany and the traditional end of the Christmas season, marks the beginning of the 15th year of the So Many Tunes blog. Looking back at the very first post I can see that I never really managed to keep up with the tune-a-week idea, except for the year 2017. This is, however, the 314th post and, in those posts, I have made available well over 300 original tunes and compositions. If each tune is 2 minutes long (in reality some are longer, some shorter) that equals over 10 hours of free, recordings of my original music, almost always with accompanying sheet music.

Quantity doesn't always equal quality but, overall, I'm OK with the music I have presented here over the years. Hopefully the visitors here have found, at least occasionally, something fun or interesting to make their visit worthwhile.

I start this new year with a group of five short Deer Tracks pieces that I wrote in the second half of December 2020. In each case I wrote most of the tune on the day of its title, sometimes with a little tinkering on the next day or two. I know that these unusual pieces aren't everyone's cup of tea but they are a very important part of my overall musical life. I've also included links to the two tunes from the very first SMT blog post for readers who might have missed them back in 2007.

Every year I wonder if I have a plan for this blog and, usually, I don't. We'll just have to see how often I put new stuff up here. Many thanks to everyone who has read these postings over the years. It's really nice knowing that there are a few people nearby and around the world who take a little time to listen to my work and see what I have to say.

As everyone knows, 2020 was one of the strangest, if not the strangest, years ever. I hope we all have a very good year in 2021.