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.

October Snow (again)-Stumbling On - Burning Bright 2020

October Snow  (pdf) : Stumbling On (pdf)

 It's the end of 2020 and tonight I'm embedding the video that Erik Sessions and I filmed as our contribution to the annual Decorah Burning Bright holiday concert. 

The first tune, October Snow, has already appeared here by itself but Erik and I play it as the first tune in a set that includes the aptly titled "Stumbling On." That title refers to both the character of the tune itself and the fact that this has been a year where it was often difficult to keep our balance and continue to move forward. 

For the last 20 plus years Erik Sessions and I have played music together regularly; as members of Contratopia, in other Decorah area bands (The Western Home String Band, etc.) and as a duo. This year we played together only a handful of times, especially since March. 

The video above was recorded quickly, I think sometime in late October. I had sent Erik the music for the tunes in advance. We had a brief conversation about how many times through and some simple arrangement ideas. Then we ran through the tunes once and made the recording. There are plenty of mistakes on my part but I'm OK with them.

I'm fervently hoping that Erik and I will be able to play together much more in 2021 than in 2020. Despite the challenges ahead in the coming months I hope that everyone reading this blog manages to have a happy new year. Stay safe and take care of each other.

Emma the Baker and Little Bread

 

Emma the Baker - Little Bread (mp3) (pdf)

Today's tunes are the result of a commission by some good friends, Bill Deutsch and Martha Davis, who asked me to write a couple of tunes as a Christmas gift for their fiddler daughter, Emma. Bill was one of the first musicians I met when we moved to Decorah over 25 years ago and we have played together, off and on, in several groups and settings over the years. Martha was my colleague when I worked at Luther College's Preus Library.

Emma has grown from a talented young fiddler into an excellent player in that time and now lives in Germany where she is a professional baker and an active musician. Among other things, she is the long time fiddler with the popular Irish music band Paddy's Last Order (paddyslastorder.de). So today I can share the demo I made of "Emma the Baker" and "Little Bread." Many thanks to Bill and Martha for bringing these tunes to life!

The end of the year is upon us but I hope to add one more post on New Year's Eve. I hope you enjoy these tunes and that you give them a try on your instrument as well.

Seasonal Suites for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello (including the new Autumn Suite)

 

Seasonal Suites for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello, (pdf book combining Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn Suites from this blog, only $5).

Autumn Suite, November, 2020 (for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello)

(Octave Mandolin version pdf) (Mandocello version pdf)

1. Amber (mp3)

2. Russet (mp3)

3. Golden (mp3)

4. Scarlet (mp3)

5. Auburn (mp3)

Today's post completes a project begun in February 2019. The Autumn Suite presented here is the final piece of what I am now calling Seasonal Suites for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello. I have really enjoyed putting these suites together for the the players of the "big mandolins" and I have been very pleased by the positive responses I have received from the Big Mandolin Community.

If you have been following the deployment of these suites over the last two years, and you have been printing out the sheet music for your own use, then you can simply print a copy of the Autumn Suite and you will have a complete set. 

My hope is that some folks will decide to pay the price of a cup of fancy coffee and buy the new book I have compiled in order to have all of the pieces together in one handy place. Just click on the link above for the web page for the book which includes a Paypal Buy Now button. I'll send it out to you quickly.

I may someday compile all of my recordings of these pieces into one album as well, but that's a project for another year. Right now I'm just happy that I managed to finish the Autumn Suite and put together the book before the end of this very strange year.

Just a reminder, while these pieces were created and arranged with the octave mandolin and mandocello in mind there is no reason that players of the regular mandolin can't play them as well. I think these pieces would sound good on the "little" (CGDA) mandola also but I didn't create versions in alto clef. If you play the CGDA mandola and can read bass clef that is your best bet.

However you come at this music I hope that you find something to enjoy in playing and hearing it. I certainly had a good time composing these tunes and playing them on my own octave mandolin. Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me with this project.

Ten Easy Duos, no. 8

 

Ten Easy Duos, no. 8 (mp3) (pdf)

Back in 2017 I wrote a little duo for two mandolins. At a loss for a title I foolishly called it "Ten Easy Duos, no. 1", thinking I would just toss off a few more in the next few days. Now, years later, that "Ten" has become something of an albatross.

I have posted nos. 1,2,3, and 6 on this blog but nos. 4,5,7 have yet to be completed, or maybe even started. I do, however, have no. 8 here today. Who knows when, or if, there will be more.

In any event, I had fun writing this one and fun recording it. Find a duo partner and see what you think. As usual, I leave things like dynamics and fingerings up to the player. Have some fun with it. Or you can just play along with my version.

The photo above was taken last week along the Upper Iowa River, near where the stream from Dunning's Spring enters. We are facing upriver towards the College Drive bridge.

Boulder on the Tracks

 

Boulder on the Tracks (mp3) (pdf)

Back in August of 2014 (I think) we indulged in sleeper accommodations on the Amtrak Cardinal for a trip out East to visit some of the kids. Not long after entering the scenic New River Gorge portion of the route our train came to surprise halt, luckily not the kind of emergency braking where everyone goes flying. Our friendly attendant explained that there had been a mudslide ahead and there was a boulder blocking our way. (Our rock was not as large as the one pictured above, maybe half that size, but it wasn't something you would want to drive your train into.)

This was the start of a Grand Adventure involving backing up carefully, waiting hours for engines to come from Charleston, WV to bring us back, boarding buses, having our bus break down in the mountains on the interstate highway, waiting hours for a replacement, driving through the night and, finally, being deposited in Charlottesville, VA around 4 a.m., where we rented a motel room to sleep for four hours until our connecting train would arrive the next morning. The ride had been very pleasant until the unplanned stop and we had an uneventful return on the Capitol Limited a few days later.

This tune may have started around that time but I know for sure that it appears in a 2017 notebook. I made a number of changes to it this year and finally recorded it today. Just the melody three times through; first on mandolin, then with octave mandolin added, finally with guitar playing the tune also on the third time. I took it at a relaxed tempo but it can go really fast if you prefer that approach.

Yew Sunday - CMSA 2020 - Telemann

 

Yew Sunday (mp3) (pdf)

Telemann - Con Tenerezza - TWV 41:D3 (mp3) (pdf)

It's been a busy few weeks, despite the ongoing 2020 Troubles.

Last weekend was the amazingly inspiring online version of our annual Classical Mandolin Society of America convention. This all volunteer organization put together an impressive program of workshops, concerts, meetings and Zoom hangouts that convincingly simulated the real thing. I got to visit with old friends without catching anything or infecting anyone. I learned quite a bit and played a lot of mandolin.

I was especially honored that CMSA chose my mandolin orchestra piece "Heavens On Earth" as the material for this year's virtual en masse orchestra. We all practiced in advance, had a sectional workshop on Sunday and then "performed" the piece together in real time by playing along with a video. Even though we weren't in the same physical space it sure felt to me like we were playing together. The plan is for everyone to submit videos of themselves playing along, post-convention, and a technical wizard will compile these into one of the giant Zoom videos that you see online.

One of the highlights of any CMSA convention are the open mic performances. This year people video recorded themselves, or their groups, and we all got to watch the concert from the comfort of our homes. I was able to be a part of two open mic performances: 

My friends in the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra invited me to join them in a recording of "Epilogue", a beautiful piece by Enrique Granados, arranged for mandolin orchestra by MMO conductor Lon Hendricks. I was especially happy to see that my old friend Marilynn Mair was also a guest member of the group for this video.

In addition I was invited to join in with my old friends, and regular open mic favorites, the Mandobabes in creating a video performance of my own piece "Halfway Home." Everyone played beautifully and made my piece look and sound great. All in all a wonderful convention experience.

I finally made some time this morning to do a little recording. First I recorded a short piece from Telemann's sonata no. 4 of his Sonate Metodiche collection. This is a great bunch of music and I have a nice, sturdy hardcover book of the whole set. This particular piece doesn't appear in either of my Mel Bay published Telemann collections (there is so much great Telemann music to choose from) but I've been playing this almost every day for the last month. I created a 2nd mandolin part from the original bass line of the piece.

I recorded "Yew Sunday" back in the spring in a video but here I am finally getting around to re-recording it with guitar backup. In fact, just for fun, I used two guitars playing basically the same thing. As always, I hope you enjoy the music!

October Snow

 

October Snow (mp3) (pdf)

Snow in October is not uncommon around here. You can see from the photo above, taken on October 26, that we only had a light dusting this year. Up in the Twin Cities, however, they had some serious snow around the same time.

In any event, this prompted me to write a simple jig in F. Hope you enjoy it.

Harpers Ferry Station

 

Harpers Ferry Station (mp3) (pdf) (pdf harmony)

There are many lovely, professional photos available online of the picturesque train station at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The photo above is not one of those. I took this photo on March 2, 2020 from my roomette window (or maybe from the observation car) while riding the Amtrak Capitol Limited, returning to Iowa after a great weekend playing music in the Washington DC area with my Contratopia friends. Passing through Harpers Ferry is always one of the highlights of the Capitol Limited trip because of the panoramic views you see as the train crosses the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

(You can see a few photos from our visit to Glen Echo Park at this post on our Contratopia blog.)

You may recall that the first weekend in March came shortly before the world of all performing musicians was turned upside down. Now it's nearly November and there is still no clear path forward on the horizon. This train trip seems somehow more significant than it should.

The tune that I'm presenting here today was actually written in 2013 as part of a larger piece that I composed for Louisville Mandolin Orchestra in recognition of the LMO's 25th anniversary. As an original member of the group I was honored that they would commission a piece from me and I titled it "Schroeder's Idea" in recognition of Mike Schroeder who founded the orchestra back in 1988.

I remember as I was writing the middle section that features this tune thinking that it would be a fine, stand alone waltz. I made a mental note to come back and extract it some day. That note popped up again in my aging memory this week and I finally retrieved the tune and turned it into a simple dance piece with the title "Harpers Ferry Station." It appears in the key of F sharp minor in "Schroeder's Idea" but I've cast in E minor here. I hope you'll enjoy it.

One for the Team

 

One for the Team (mp3) (pdf)

Today's tune title is meant to be a statement of appreciation and admiration for those folks who, for whatever reason, act in ways that benefit all of us. People who give more than they take. 

The truth is that we all (with rare exceptions, you can make your own list) behave this way from time to time. Usually we think "I should do this more often" but, for me at least, that's a hard lesson to learn. Maybe when I play this tune it will help me remember my better angels.

Winter is making an early appearance here this week, cloudy and cold. Brighter days to come.

Summer Suite, August, 2020 (for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello)

 

Summer Suite, August, 2020 (for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello)

(Octave Mandolin version pdf) (mandocello version pdf)

1. Queen Anne's Lace (mp3)

2. The Morning Glory (mp3)

3. Dame's Rocket (mp3)

4. The Sunflower (mp3)

5. Prince's Feather (mp3)

By chance, it was exactly one year ago today when I posted the announcement of my Spring Suite for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello. This followed the earlier Winter Suite and today's publication leaves me with the expectation that I will produce a Fall Suite (Autumn Suite?) soon.

Not a cutting edge naming convention but then the music I'm writing for these instruments is not wild and crazy either. I am definitely looking backwards for my inspiration here and my intent is to provide nice tunes for my friends who love to play the big mandolins.

While the first two Suites consist mostly of new music written particularly for these instruments this Suite (and I expect the Fall Suite as well) involves me re-working already existing short pieces taken from my Postcards From the Crater collection. Re-purposing earlier work is a time-honored tradition among composers but I have always tended to think of it as a kind of cheating.

However, while reading Christoph Wolff's recent book, Bach's Musical Universe, a light bulb went off in my head when he started describing in some detail Bach's own re-use of some of his older music (some of it now lost) in new ways. I knew Bach had done this sort of thing but Wolff's writing gave me the idea to use the same approach for this suite.

So I took five of my favorite sections from the Postcards and played around with them on my octave mandolin. I added short introductions to a couple of the pieces, I changed keys a couple of times and I added drones here and there.

The first piece, here titled "Queen Anne's Lace", has appeared in more than a couple of my other mandolin pieces. It's simply one of my favorite tunes and always reminds me of the great James Oswald. I've set it here in a different key with quite a few double stops and drones and even some brief division-like variations. It doesn't need to go too fast.

I have chosen not to present this Suite as an "album" on Bandcamp, mostly because it takes a while to put together. I may do something later though.

I've used wildflowers for titles, as Oswald might have done. The photo above is another shot taken on the trail that leads from Phelps Park out towards highway 52.

Three to Get Ready

 

Three to Get Ready (mp3) (pdf)

"Well, it's one for the money, two for the show ..."

Last week I had a dream and this verse from Carl Perkins' immortal "Blue Suede Shoes" popped up. There was no reference to the song in the dream, just the first three lines of the nursery rhyme with an emphasis on the "three to get ready." When I recalled the dream I figured I had a good title for a tune.

I wrote most of this tune the next morning, still without Blue Suede Shoes intruding, and did a little tinkering the next day or two. I had an unusual amount of trouble getting a recording I can live with but I like what I'm sharing here. I hope you enjoy it.

The photo comes from a walk near Decorah's Phelps Park taken earlier this week. There is a trail that runs above the Dug Road Trail which features several classic WPA style bridges, steps and markers. Many thanks to the young workers from so long ago who created this path and to the men and women who have maintained it all these years for our public use. Our tax dollars at work.

Safe Travels, Safe Return

 

Safe Travels, Safe Return (mp3) (pdf)

Today's tune began back in 2017 but was left unfinished. Last week I spent some more time with it and, now, here it is. I like the major to minor bit at the start and in general how the tune wanders around. I realize that a certain percentage of excellent musicians will be put off by the half-diminished (minor 7, flat 5) chord in the A section. If it helps, you can think about it as an A9 chord with a C# in the bass. I also know this is two waltzes in a row. I'll try and not make it three next time.

The photo comes from my window on the Capitol Limited while going through the mountains on my way to D.C. on Feb. 28 of this year. Contratopia was able to have one final weekend of fun playing for dancers just before we began to realize that we probably wouldn't be playing together again anytime soon. Our travels, and returns, were safe and I'm looking forward to another train ride in better times.

O'Loughlin's Waltz in G, no. 2

 

O'Loughlin's Waltz in G, no. 2 (mp3) (pdf)

Contratopia band mate and friend Patrick O'Loughlin has recently created a new dobro/slide guitar-style instrument. He posted some photos on Facebook. It was tuned to open G when I first saw it and Pat requested a waltz. Here's the second one I wrote, the first isn't quite right yet. (I guess that implies that this one is "right" but you'll have to decide for yourself.)

The photo above was taken a couple of weeks ago while climbing up the back side of the Ice Cave ridge. I don't go up there as much as I used to but it's worth the climb.

St. Feriole Island Jig

 

St. Feriole Island Jig (mp3) (pdf)

As threatened last time, here is a new tune named after lovely St. Feriole Island, part of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. This island on the Mississippi River has a rich history and is a great place to visit and stretch your legs. We stop there often.

The tune itself offers an opportunity to practice some arpeggios in the key of D minor and is fun to play. See what you think.

St. Francis Walks at Night

 

St. Francis Walks at Night (mp3) (pdf)

Another in a series of St. Francis tunes. This one is recently composed. The photo was taken a few days ago on St. Feriole Island, part of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, at the entrance to a garden. There's a St. Feriole Island Jig coming up before too long also.

Despite my usual careful planning (just kidding) today's tune is the second blog entry in a row that is in the key of B minor and whose title ends in the words "at night." Further proof of my creative genius (kdding again). I promise the next tune I post will not be in B minor. I hope you enjoy this one though.

Snow at Night

 

Snow at Night (mp3) (pdf)

"Snow's gonna come and the frost's gonna bite, my old car froze up last night."

A beautiful summer's day here in Decorah found me digging through old music notebooks. On the first page of the book marked "January 27, 2005-July 25, 2005" I found the original version of today's tune. Back in 2005 I created a lead sheet for the tune, titled January 27, 2005, and probably shared it with Contratopia. I don't recall ever playing that early version but it's possible that we did. I've now altered the C section of the tune, changed the form a bit and given it a proper title.

I'm thinking of those nights when the snow is coming down after dark and everything in our neighborhood is very quiet. I don't remember if I started writing this tune at night but I could have. In any event, here it is in August, 15 years later.

I didn't even bother with a harmony part for this one, just a simple melody with chords.

The photo is from January 2020, looking out on our back yard. Of course when January 2021 arrives I'll be wishing it were August again.

How Many Moons

 

How Many Moons (mp3) (pdf)

How many indeed? I found this title in an old notebook with a few notes below it and turned it into a finished tune recently.

The photo above was taken near St. Luke's Church on the edge of Eitzen, MN a few days ago. I nearly stumbled on it while admiring the little park next to the church parking lot. I think it is an NGS survey marker.

Also a few days ago our Contratopia buddies Pat O'Loughlin and Margie visited Decorah while on a short camping trip. Erik Sessions and I met up with them in nearby Palisades Park and we played some tunes. Here's a video of us playing my tune "Palisades" that appears on Contratopia's first recording, Hands Four. The groove wanders a bit (this is what happens when Patrice Pakiz is not keeping us in line) but you can see it was a nice day in a lovely place.

Wendy's Fancy

Wendy's Fancy (mp3) (pdf)

This tune goes back at least a couple of decades. It was likely first written in the late 20th century. A version for two mandolins appears in my Midwestern Mandolin Duos book. As far as I can tell it hasn't appeared in this blog and I can't remember ever actually recording it before.

To my mind Wendy's Fancy (named after a dear, departed feline companion) is an early example of my fascination with the work of James Oswald. In this case I probably was responding to some of his work in his 1742 publication "Collection of Curious Scots Tunes" which often features a basic tune followed by a variation or two and, occasionally, a transition into a jig version of the tune as well.

The photo is from this morning's walk, trying to capture some of the lovely wildflowers near our house before the mowers come to cut them all down.

Morning Shade

Morning Shade (mp3) (pdf)

We've had, as we should, some warm weather here the last couple of weeks. I find that when I walk in the morning I tend to move from one patch of shade to another. Every January I long for these days. Every July I wish for October.