"Novembeat is an informal challenge to record one piece of music every day in November. It can be big or small, a mere notion or an entire symphony. Flex the creative muscle and try to learn something new." https://novembeat.com/

Novembeat 2021

The first of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "health". This represents a 2020 photo I took from my yard of the California skies during the incredibly devastating forest fires, and the feeling of not being able to stop but wanting to but not knowing how.

health [novembeat 2021.01]

The second of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "ennui", a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. My poor Luna, who is snoozing behind me on the futon as I compose this, would prefer to be on a multi-mile hike, even though it's 40 degrees, foggy and dark.

ennui [novembeat 2021.02]

The third of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "love", an intense feeling of deep affection. I don't usually involve my family as the subject of my compositions, but are my first and best audience and are so incredibly patient with me. I love them so.

love [novembeat 2021.03]

The fourth of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "lost", unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts. I've been having writer's block for the past couple days and ended up throwing away about two hours worth work in total. Not very efficient. So, in an effort to keep myself from getting lost, I decided that I would just own anything I put down and run with it. I've played in progressive rock bands before, so this is familiar territory.

lost [novembeat 2021.04]

The fifth of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "return", an act of coming or going back to a place or activity. The first synthesizer I really interacted with in a serious way was an Ensoniq EPS 2.40. I still have access to it, although I would need to replace the aging 3.5" floppy drive with a USB drive and that's a really scary operation. I've been enjoying Arturia's SQ 80 V which is an emulation from the same era. I also learned about progressive rock around the same time. It made an impression.

return [novembeat 2021.05]

The eighteenth of 30 days of recording music for Novembeat; the prompt was "warped", abnormal or strange; distorted. Well, I can do that. Also experimented with synths that I'm not familiar with, like Arturia's version of the Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument). Didn't give myself enough time to play with time signatures, but there's still some fun awkwardness and musical jokes. Definitely channeled some Cyriak Harris on this.

warped [novembeat 2021.18]

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