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Bubbling Brook by Cameron [Email]
Genre: New Age

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 2392
Comments: 35
Votes: 16
Plays: 324
Last Played: Oct 04, 2008 - 03:53:00 PM
Downloads: 69
Fans: 12
Uploaded: Jul 10, 2006 - 04:23:48 PM
Last Updated: Jul 10, 2006 - 06:23:18 PM
Fan List
Keywords:
harp (56), solo (72), improvisation (65)
Description:
In the summer, the high desert of southeastern Arizona is very warm, and during "monsoon" season in July it thunderstorms almost every late afternoon.

The rain pours down in a deluge and is soon gone; the powerful sun burns through the now dissipating black clouds. The creeks and gullies are full of rushing water.

Mule Creek is directly below my house, and it's wonderful to hear the water bubble past immediately after a rainstorm.

I improvised this harp music during such a time, last June. Then I promptly forgot about having recorded it, until last month, a year later, when I came across it.

It was my final recording using my m-audio mobile-pre, and unfortunately there was a sustained, high buzzing noise in the background of the recording.

Today, Alimar kindly removed it using "SoundSoap" (by BIAS) and completely removed the buzz!

So now I share it with you all. I hope it brings you a few moments of peace, reflection and perhaps some moisture to cool your summer day!

Hardware:
Powerbook G4/667 mHz
two MXL-990 mics
m-audio mobile pre

Software:
GarageBand 2
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Mesmerizing! &mdash 07/10/06 - 06:12:26 PM
Glad you recorded it, this is really fascinating! Not only am I really surprised at your incredible harp playing skills, but as usual your tremendous poise and musical experience shine through every note in this improvisation. It seems that with every new rhythm you open up a new musical space to dwell in. I especially like the rhythm after the short break towards the end. I can only say that all the inspiration you must have absobed from the beautiful imagery you describe above, comes through effortlessly. Thanks for sharing, Cameron!

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Mesmerizing! &mdash 07/10/06 - 06:31:10 PM
Parichayaka, I *ALWAYS* look so much forward to your comments; they never fail to inspire me, and your assessments are always so clear and "spot on".

You definitely "GET" the musical messages that I try to send with my compositions. I appreciate your sensitivity. Thanks again!

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Second Thoughts &mdash 07/10/06 - 08:30:58 PM
Cam,

When you sent me the file, you had reservations whether it was worthy
of completing and posting. I said, "What? Is this man CRAZY?
ABSOLUTELY"!

With a little touch of "Soap" it became "clear" that the original signal
would shine through. The final effects you added, created a wonderful,
"3-D" sound space.

Very nice indeed. I'm happy you followed through.

Glad to be of assistance,
Alimar

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Second Thoughts &mdash 07/10/06 - 10:40:31 PM
Alimar, your help and encouragement today truly made it possible for me to post this. Thank you, so much, again! You are a great friend.

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Quite simply... &mdash 07/10/06 - 09:52:29 PM
...music such as this is a gift. A blessing.

Thank you for sharing such beauty.

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Quite simply... &mdash 07/10/06 - 10:43:51 PM
Coming from someone who expresses such musical beauty in their own right, I take that as a high compliment indeed.

Thanks, Cat, for stopping by, for listening and for your comments.

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A blast of fresh air... &mdash 07/10/06 - 10:20:26 PM
I must say, that's not at all what I was expecting to hear... digitalless,
computerless, 0's and 1's free! A wonderful performance on the harp, an
instrument that always sounds beautiful to my ears.

New age, though?.... perhaps

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A blast of fresh air... &mdash 07/10/06 - 10:49:08 PM
Keep 'em guessin', I always say!

Thanks, Packo, for your comment. It's good to see that you're still here!

You were one of the very first people to comment on my "debut" piece on MacJams when I was a "newbie" in June '04, and I've always appreciated your feedback.

I wasn't sure which genre to post this under....it's not really "Classical", per se....so I figured it was sort of a mellow New Age thing.

(If anyone has any suggestions for listing this piece under another genre, I'd be glad to consider them.)

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Encore! &mdash 07/11/06 - 07:18:52 AM
The care of your heartfelt fingertips shines thru this piece, with crystalline
highs and wonderful phrasing. I love the way you ring out the highest
strings. Please post more harp!

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Encore! &mdash 07/11/06 - 12:15:16 PM
As always, you choose your words so well in your comments; you get right to the heart of the matter and I really appreciate this.

Yes, I'll be sure to post more harp pieces....especially after February, when I'll be home for an extended period of time; a much better recording atmosphere than in my tiny Airstream trailer.

Playing eight Phantom shows a week also tends to require most of my energy, I have found over the past nine (!!) years. I look forward to an extended six-month break next year when I'll be home and (hopefully!) be able to be much more creative.

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Very beautiful &mdash 07/11/06 - 07:35:31 AM
Very nicely done. This is a great sound and very wonderfully played. It is
very crystal clear, especially on the higher end. It reminds me of newness
after a rainstorm, which I then went and read your description and found
out it was in fact about rain. This was really a beautifully done piece.

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Very beautiful &mdash 07/11/06 - 12:18:19 PM
jsacker, thanks so much for listening and commenting -- I'm glad that you enjoyed this!

It's great that you visualized water while listening, BEFORE you read my description. Then I've achieved my musical/emotional goal with this piece.

Thanks.

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Just beautiful &mdash 07/11/06 - 08:59:20 AM
I'm so glad you did get this posted. It's wonderful!

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Just beautiful &mdash 07/11/06 - 12:22:02 PM
Thanks, kristyjo, for dropping by for a listen and a comment.

Yes, we can all thank Alimar for his help in cleaning up this buzzy track so that it could be posted. Otherwise, it probably would have been discarded. Al is a great sound engineer as well as a composer (and teacher, and....)

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I can hear the &mdash 07/11/06 - 09:01:17 AM
water too! did you write this out before you played it? it has such a
random, free spirited feel. Very ambient, mellow and enjoyable

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I can hear the &mdash 07/11/06 - 09:06:57 AM
water too! did you write this out before you played it? it has such a
random, free spirited feel. Very ambient, mellow and enjoyable

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I can hear the &mdash 07/11/06 - 12:24:18 PM
Karmatoburn, thanks for your kind words.

I improvised this piece off the top of my head, in one take. My Muses were with me that day!

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a fluid... &mdash 07/11/06 - 06:16:27 PM
as a wandering creek. I too live next to creek. Everyday I sit by it after a
run, now I have the soundtrack to make the experience that much
more rewarding! Thanks Cam.

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a fluid... &mdash 07/12/06 - 08:59:41 AM
Hey Tom, thanks for stopping by! Always great to hear from you.

You've given me a idea: to VIDEO my creek (or A creek...) and use this music as an accompaniment. Cool! ;-)

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HOHO~` &mdash 07/11/06 - 11:12:09 PM
SO SLOWLY........
MY GOD.......

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HOHO~` &mdash 07/12/06 - 09:02:30 AM
Thanks for listening and commenting -- I see it is your FIRST!

Welcome to MacJams!

Nice painting on your bio page. Did you create that?

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Beautiful &mdash 07/13/06 - 03:07:47 AM
Somewhat ironically, I listened to this the same day I heard a Judy
Loman recital (a wonderful musician who was principal harp with the
Toronto Symphony for something close to 40 years!), where she played
all contemporary music... lots of quick pedal work!

I enjoyed that, but I enjoyed this no less. It was like a cleansing
experience; pure and beautiful. I'm not quite sure about the ending; I
guess I prefer some form of final punctuation mark to a fade-out, but
this is just a quibble.

I think 'new age' seems fine as a category; it seems to fall somewhere
between new age and classical for me. But mainly, it's beautiful music,
regardless of category.

No question that you MUST submit more music! Your fans demand it!
Hopefully you'll be freer to do so during your upcoming break.

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Beautiful &mdash 07/14/06 - 12:26:56 PM
Clark, your comments have made me feel good in a couple of important ways.

First, it is gratifying to know that my harp playing brings people some pleasure; I am an amateur on the instrument with minimal training (about 25 lessons over many years!) and as a professional horn player, I have very high performances standards which I apply to ALL the instruments I play, regardless of level.

This can sometimes get in the way, but I usually circumvent it by allowing my "musical muses" to come through my improvisations, which keeps the right side of my brain from chiming in with negative judgements.

Secondly, it is nice to know that a composer of your stature wants to hear more of my music. This encourages me a great deal; I appreciate this and look forward to creating much more in the future.

Thanks again!

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It's wonderful what can come out of improvisation &mdash 07/15/06 - 11:03:03 AM
This has so much quiet energy and subtle rhythmic drive, your fingers
just seem to dance over the strings. There's something very pure and
fresh, innocent even about the way this sounds - quite beautiful.

KK


PS - there's a bit near the end that reminds me of a part of Kraftwerk's
Autobahn!

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Hi Cameron &mdash 07/17/06 - 11:20:43 AM
Glad to see that you're back - 'See' is the key word here because I'm way out and about and there's not a way for me to hear this - Can't wait to get back to my new digs, up and running and enjoying the music here - Until then, take care - Dion

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Didn't they tell you &mdash 10/08/06 - 08:35:28 AM
harps are supposed to be played by 16 year old girls with long blond hair?

Seriously, this is a lovely piece, and knowing that you improvised it makes
it doubly impressive. This develops wonderfully in a very organic way. A
pleasure to listen to.


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Summer storm &mdash 12/30/06 - 06:50:45 AM
I'm always a bit in awe of 'proper musicians' who can play their instruments (not prod and quantize merchants like myself), so i'm pretty taken aback here. You set ths piece up wonderfully with the description of the track, and this is very evocative - playful, with a wonderful sense of tranquility.

Thanks for posting such a lovely piece

Steve

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED &mdash 01/09/07 - 09:49:00 PM
"I hope it brings you a few moments of peace, reflection and perhaps some moisture to cool your summer day!"
***********
INDEED IT DID.
very different from the French horn i was expecting! ;)
my first taste of your musical personality is this one. my first thought: what sort of person can approach this unusual instrument and draw from it the magic i hear? thanks so much for transforming my image of what the harp can do. wonderful job, anne

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Serene &mdash 01/19/07 - 09:56:55 PM
I enjoyed the contrast of space and the gentle melody. The pauses almost seem reflective, allowing the piece to breathe, making the harp sections seem that much more expansive. Excellent!

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great playing... &mdash 01/20/07 - 11:49:29 AM
it touchs to my soul...

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thanks, metronom, & everyone else.. &mdash 01/21/07 - 12:09:42 PM
metronom, I appreciate your kind words. Thanks for stopping by here!

And for those who have commented on this song over the past six months (KomradeK, Macaudion, VicDiesel, echoroom, SISTERS and Norman Goodman), thank you all for your comments -- and I apologize for not responding to each of yours personally.

I truly appreciate ALL of your comments!

Cameron

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Lovely &mdash 02/15/07 - 01:11:25 PM
Thank you...this is lovely, lovely, lovely...

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Lovely &mdash 02/15/07 - 03:27:49 PM
Thanks so much for stopping by for a listen and your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed this!

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I Love this!! &mdash 03/13/07 - 04:59:02 PM
I'm a huge fan of improvisation on any instrument. This is one of the best I heard!

Thanks for sharing

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I love this!! &mdash 03/14/07 - 07:03:04 PM
Thanks so much for taking the time to visit this page and make a comment! I appreciate your kind words about this piece. Improvisation is my favorite way of making music. I've done it ever since I could climb up on the piano bench.

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