Enthusiastic, emotional attempt.
Music of very able composer.
A very unstable composition is good.
Melody of saxophone and comparison relation of other musical
instruments.
The percussion instrument, the piano, and the base are the expression
of feelings.
What should we find from this song?
You did not want to tell the melody of the saxophone.
What did you express by uniting with musical instruments in the back?

Is it a joy?
Is it peaceful?
Is it repose?
Is it uneasy?

avant-garde music. Classics. Basis.
Uniting of classics music and jazz.
Anyway, the music composition is very wonderful.

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Thanks very much for your comments, Tagashi!

You asked, "What should we find from this song?
(snip)
Is it a joy?
Is it peaceful?
Is it repose?
Is it uneasy?"

The great thing about music is that it is non-verbal, so it expresses different
meanings to different people; no one person has the "right" insight into its
meaning, not even the composer.

Having said that, I see this piece as sensual, maybe even seductive, a little
dark, but nothing too heavy. Perhaps a bit uneasy, to use one of the
adjectives you suggested, and dramatic, which is a word JMT uses.

It was written for a ballet company, and the the choreography was very
sensual and dramatic, but I'm sure someone else could have choreographed it
very differently.

Thanks again. Your comments are very much appreciated, and very kind.

Cheers.

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Oops! I just realized that I mis-spelled your name! Very sorry about that,
Tadashi!

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Clark,
You are very polite one.
I am honored to meet a composer able like you.
Thank you very much.


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An enjoyable listen, very dramatic. I really like the composition, but the midi sax just doesn't cut it. A real sax, or even an oboe (!) maybe...

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Thanks, JMT.

You're right that the MIDI sax is the least realistic part of this composition,
but you have to remember that I was writing it for live sax plus the virtual
ensemble that you hear (i.e., one live sax player accompanied by a CD of this
piece with everything but the sax, kind of like "music minus one"), so
audiences don't actually hear the MIDI sax part.

Having said that, I tried to make the MIDI sax as realistic as I could, and you
might notice the use of occasional "buzzes" or "growls," and some vibrato, all
done with MIDI controllers, all of which is written in to the score for the live
player as well.

But yeah, it would be nice to have a more realistic sax sample. Thanks for the
comment.

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But I like it. You have a lot going on in the back, but ti works. I will have to say that the midi sax doesn't work though. I've found thateven in GB, the sax doesn't cut it. I usuall y substitude with an irish whistle i got from an add on pack (all GB midi sounds are sampled). Anyway, try mixing that instruments... even laying two identical tracks, using a different instrument for each. Just play around with it.

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Thanks Aaron. This has been one of my most popular pieces when played
live (live sax player plus CD with virtual ensemble), so I've been a little
surprised that it didn't do very well on MacJams. Maybe it's the lack of a live
sax player; who knows. Mind you, I shouldn't read too much into the score; it
only got 4 votes.

I actually have a live recording of this that I never listened to, and maybe I will
give it a listen to see if it can be used or not. It was a generic recording, just
using a ceiling mike that records everything in one of our concert halls.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and giving it a listen!

All the best,
Clark

---
Last upload: <a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/17091">Julia's Prelude</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.clarkross.ca">my website</a> for lots more free music.

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Would have loved hearing this with a live orchestra! It is sad but computer
saxophones are so far away from the real thing. This is a really nice
compostion!

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Thanks as always, sir! It would be great to hear a live ensemble doing this, but
it would be a lot of work to figure out who would play what, and
make parts. It was conceived as a piece for live sax and MIDI, and that's how it's
usually played. I've got to get a studio recording made of this!

Thanks again, and I appreciate the comment. I also have been enjoying your
guitar playing very much!

Cheers,
Clark

---
Last upload: <a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/17091">Julia's Prelude</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.clarkross.ca">my website</a> for lots more free music.

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almost has a video game sound to it, for a haunted mansion or something. it reminds me of some game in my past that i can't remember.

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Having heard "would love to hear a real orchestra play this" myself a
few times, I will not make that comment here. In fact, I can hear the
real ensemble, see the dancers and imagine the real alto wailing on
this. I can see why this is a crowd-pleaser performed live. It has a great
build and tension and sensuality to it. I see red!

10-9-10-10

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Thanks very much Tom! I appreciate your stopping by and commenting.
This was one of three pieces (all from the same set, called "Urban Dance
Music") that I uploaded as soon as I was able to upload music to MJs, and I
was REALLY curious to know if a general audience with widely divergent
musical tastes would be into this kind of music or not.

Unfortunately, being brand new, the three pieces slipped under most people's
radars, although a few nice comments were certainly make, so I still don't
really have a good read on whether this music is "general audience-friendly"
or not.

The thing I ought to do is to find a saxophonist to record these pieces for me,
then upload them again, and see if they fare any better the second time
around.

Anyway, I'm prattling on, but mainly, I wanted to thank you for the comments
and vote.

Cheers, Clark

---
Last upload: <a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/17301">Late-Night Music</a>. Visit <a href="http://www.clarkross.ca">my website</a> for lots more music.

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I enjoy a wide variety of music, and different music seems to
appeal to different parts of me.

This is music for my head first and foremost (the inner cerebral
part, not the noggin itself), followed closely by a very subtle sway
in my shoulders.

What you are doing here with rhythm is responsible for both
responses. I'm fascinated by how each and every instrument
in the percussion section seems to strike on a beat that is both
expected and surprising at the same time. It rides on that edge
between the two really well. I don't understand how that's
done.

The melodic line that the sax has some of that character too
("what note will it leap to next? (pregnant pause) Ah, of course!")

One of the interesting things about your music is the duality of
classical and jazz. It leaves me wondering, when listening to
one of your pieces, how much was composed in advance and
how much was improvised. I can see the sax being either
in this piece.

I think the MIDI performance stands in the way of letting this
piece reach its full potential. If you could somehow rope enough
graduate students into learning this, you could push it up to
the next level.

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Wow! Great comments; very thoughtful...

Regarding percussion, my approach is (a) not to use loops ever, and (b) tweak
obsessively 'till it sounds reasonably realistic. ("tweak" = fool around with
velocities, placement within the bar, and experimenting with different
sounds.)

Glad you like those pregnant pauses in the melody. It's supposed to sound
like the player is making it up as s/he goes.

The classical/jazz duality in my music is probably because for a brief period I
wanted to be a jazz musician and studied jazz guitar, but for mostly random
reasons I ended up in classical music school. I still love and play both kinds
of music. Actually I love lots of different kinds of music. I started out as a
rock/pop musician, so maybe I should upload some other types of songs
too...

Thanks again for your very thoughtful comments.

Clark

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Enjoyed this sweet reed. I must apologize, got here via Ikhabod%u2122 mistreatment. What a fine treat, thank you! Sunday afternoon music here for me. My late father played such a wide variety of music, I enjoy most of it including this style. Can't comment on the virtues of your publication here, except to say I like it very much, Thanks!

. - Harold

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Thanks very much for the comment, Harold; it's always great to have someone
comment on the song's page. I'm glad you liked it; basically, some day I've got
to find an alto saxophonist to record this, and then maybe people will be able to
get past the MIDI sax issue and enjoy it more. Thanks for stopping by!

Clark

---
<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/18317">Jennifer's Tune</a>


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I like the breadth of ideas, here! Wide and expressive. Each voice is apparent and discernible. Nice ambling feel. Casual yet deliberate direction.

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Woo hoo! FIrst comment in over two years! I am thrilled! Thanks for this Doug, and I'm glad you liked it. CHeers!

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I'm glad I was listening with the lights on!

A very spooky feel to it, yet, somehow very compelling, and intriguing.

Thanks!

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