this was going to be a disco type song, like love is in the air, but it did not sound right with a dance beat, so stripped out all of that, added a 12 str and toned down the keyboard. the vocals will prolly get a do over next week

You don’t have to smile at me when you pass me on the street
You don’t have to cross against the light so we might ‘accidentally’ meet
You don’t have to ask my friends if i still live alone
Or tell my folks you said to say hello
You don’t have to be so kind

You don’t have to come up to my table in a restaurant
And put your hand on top of mine and act so familiar while we talk
You don’t have to find any reason to spend time with me
Or send me little notes I’ll always keep
it’s gonna make me lose my mind

I’ll only fall in love
I’ll only think of you
I’ll only lie awake and wonder, if you’re thinking of me too
I’ll only act a fool
And I’ll want to marry you
It’s all cause of you
You’re too good to be true
I’ll just fall in love

Please don’t ever let me hold you close beneath the starry skies
Pde give me any reason to look deep into your eyes
And if i should ever start to wonder what my life would be
If you were always next to me  I’ll blame you, 
For making me feel this way

I'll Only Fall In Love

I was working on updating this and it suddenly struck me that it's sorta spooky sounding and it's Halloween time. Perfect.

Circa 2007 I began poking around with synth sounds in GarageBand. It was fun to play with the settings to see what new sounds I could contrive. This is the result of one of those adventures. I recently opened the file in Logic and tweaked it to match where I'm at presently in my musical journey.

(This tune is downloadable.)

I compose in MIDI, using Logic Pro and sound libraries from EastWest. This tune has a lot of personally tweaked synth sounds.

© 2024 Rebecca Williams All rights reserved.

Novel Conservation (18 Years Later)

A deep and dark song about sorrow and sadness. Initially written on piano, I decided to add dissonances and abstract soundscapes. I am very happy that Michael leaned into the dark theme and wrote sparse lyrics with a lot of meaning in between the words. 

Nadine de Macedo: composition, arrangement, piano, synthesizer, production
Michael Karns: vocals, lyrics

Cover design: Nadine de Macedo
Photography: Cristian Palmer

Where to find us:
https://www.youtube.com/@nadinedemacedo
https://michaelkarns.bandcamp.com

==== LYRICS ====

I'm on my own
Here alone
Almost at the bottom
How did we fail?

Did we change?
How are you?
Because I found
Something inside
Something close to us

It's only some words
Calling out 
Calling to me
From our yesterdays

Deep inside 
We knew it from the start
A love too good
To be true
    
Help me
Help me understand
This new land
Desolate and blue

In the end
It's always been us
You and me
On our own journey

To a new place
It's only some words
Calling to me
From our yesterdays

Deep inside 
We knew it from the start
A love too good
To be true

Calling To Me

Bright Stars In The Haze

Work for Woodwinds and Percussion

My Method of Composing and Producing

I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Suite for Woodwinds and Percussion No. 1

Suite For Woodwinds and Percussion No. 1

" He lost it "

Cast of Characters:

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick four string fretless bass, vocals, lyrics, and seed idea

K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums 

TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– electric guitar 

Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – clavinet and VST sax    
 
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – electric guitar, mix, and production

Eclectic Collective -- composition

This song started its life as one of a batch of bass lines Josh came up with around the New Year holiday. He recorded it to a rudimentary drum loop, which Ken replaced perfectly with his own beat. Stephen was up after Ken, adding his tasteful, foundational guitar you hear underlying the entire song. Not to miss out on the guitaring, Tez came up with the ethereal guitar fills that float around in there. Mark came after Tez with his textural wah clavinet, also adding the wonderful sax solo you hear in the middle. After it was done musically, Josh went back and wrote some lyrics and sang them, too.
  Once it was in the can, we asked Tez to do the honors of mixing it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion. 
  This is a fine example of the Eclectic Collective coming together to create a heartfelt song, based on a bass line seed.  We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Josh Clary:

Sometimes I think about 
Things we used to talk about
Now I have to go without
Ever looking at your face x2
 
But I want you near me
Wish that you could hear me

What if we could ever reach
Out to the other each
But what would we say?
Is it just another routine day? x2
  
It makes my heart hurt bad
When I think of what I had
Now you’ve slipped away
Seems I saw you just the other day
 
Life can be really cruel
And I can be a fool
But I wish there were a way
I could hear what you would say

Loss - (Eclectic Collective)

Eternity

TURN ME INTO A MESS MACHINE (Mighty Boosh tribute) - Steven Vellou & AudioBake

Flora Pines

Magical Thinking

From 'blurer', a compilation forthcoming via Periphery Serpentine. Out October 31st.

NOW FOR YOU TO MAKE BOUGHT: https://peripheryserpentine.bandcamp.com/album/blurer

@slouest
@periphery-serpentine

Do you believe it, really? When you close thine eyes and purse thine lips and furrow thine brow in a facial display of transportation and focus and inner channelling, do you believe? It? Do you believe it? Believe it: Geo's 'airblades', from the Periphery Serpentine compilation blurer, premiered by Madjestic Kasual. It's there for your belief, belief in it is yours, it's there.

make bought

Geo - airblades [MK PREMIERE]

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
------------------------------------------
I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Suite For Woodwinds and Percussion No. 1

Jim Lynch