"Ghostly Encounter"

Here's a song I just spruced up from a simple sketch I had simply laid out. I spent 8 hours on it so it's pretty good. At the very last minute I changed the eight note pick ups to a single note and found the 'double note' idea repeating there and in the middle of the melody made it much better. In fact once this change was made I feel I really had something great!

I considered changing the pick ups also in the forth stanza but then left it it alone since there was't much but pick up notes and a half rest. The left hand was completely influenced by "So This is love" from "Cinderella" (1949). I should also not that this song was also inspired by "Fireflies" which was something I worked on out of the Michael Aarons Piano Book.

Trying not to write songs, trying to wrap up 'On Time" this one was just a sketch that needed to be cleaned up! I was going to work on "Face of a Clock" vocals but could not find my original backing tracks and could not get the computer to shoot it over either!

Today's "Close Encounter" version

Here is the original I did directly listening to the sound off the movie about a year ago...

After my 12 revisions here is the final music I came up with on my own. This is my simplified "piano version" (there is also one for accordion) from listening to the DVD. This song was finally glanced at by someone other than me which made it better. Putting a key signature minus all the "#" marks through out the piece. Great American Motion Picture Music.

So This Is Love - Cinderella (1940)

So This Is Love - Cinderella (1940)

Close Encounters

Here is the revised version of "Close Encounters" (1977) written for piano. I had the hardest time wrestling with one. I did not choose a key because I don't understand what key it would be in. Every bar the chords are all over the place.

Close Encounters

French Music

Favorite Movie Movie - "Close Encounters" (1977)

I had written out music from listening to the film on paper. It's much easier to read after typing up the music in the application PRINT MUSIC! Which took me about an hour. Writing the music out helps me to better understand what is going. I can clearly find the sections of music and see how the time values, chords, voicing and melody relate to each other.

The last eight measure the bass takes over and pounds out a haunting melody. I can not wait to try it on accordion and piano. The half notes might sound better as quarter notes.

Accordion Music to "Lady of Spain"

Arranged here by Pietro Deiro but I have only heard Myron Floren's version which I really like. He plays it so fast!!

The "Pitcairn Motel " in Anaheim

It was twenty years ago today . . .

I used a Motel in Anaheim to get the right lettering for my bands logo. It's got two themes of letter to give a cartoon flavor. Gwen the singer of the band want the logo set in flames. I thought it made it more Heavy Metal but I tried to make the flames "flat" and "stylize" to work with the logo from the album.

I was very disappointed that after spending so much time on it to find out after handing the artwork over to the person in charge of the art that they carelessly retraced my artwork in the computer. It came out wobbly and was not accurate to my hand inked artwork.

It still makes me sad that this was the best they could come up with.

This logo I created for the band was made in 199o for the album released on March 17, 1992.

A Wish Is A Dream Your Heart Makes

This arrangement of the song is complimentary to the right hand melody. Only "4" out of the "34 measures" use FULL TRIAD voicing in the left hand. Everything else is one or two single note accompaniment, that in combination with the "right hand melody" together making up the FULL TRIAD in different inversions. Also, I've been playing this as a "3/4 Waltz" on accordion for about a year but now will relearn it in "4/4 Straight" on the piano.

The "chords" they outlined in 1958 are very similar to "Some Day My Prince Will Come" from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"(1937). On accordion you have to jump around to find them . . . but more about that later.

The instructors advised me to go through the entire piece by first by writing the "fingering". But before before I did that, I xeroxed a copy out of the book to preserve the original out of print book. This was very helpful to get familiar with the left hand voicing and to decide what fingering would work best. Would like this transcribed for accordion so I could play it properly in 4/4.

After reviewing the movie again, I found that after Cinderella sings the song in 4/4 slowly, later the birds start helping her make the bed and the song changes to 3/4 and seems to speed up the tempo ( just like I've been playing the song!)

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MUSEUM - Arizona

I heard about a musical instrument museum in Arizona. I would want to see it but would feel like I can not play the instruments because they are incased.

http://www.themim.org/

"Family Affair" - Cartoon

Here is a cartoon I've been working on for the last few days, I got up early and spent an hour drawing it, then another hour inking it. I thought I could do this faster but it always takes longer than you think.

I read the father Brian Keith took his own life with a gun after battling with lung cancer in 1997. So glad I quit 11 years ago. Sabastian Cabot died in 1977. He left behind great works to enjoy again and again. Bagheera the Panther from "Jungle Book" (1967) and Voice narration for "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" (1977).