If you’re interested in the back story of some of these compositions, I’ve written short blurbs for each one. These are all cues/instrumentals that I created on my own. While sharing information in the Back Story sections, I use terminology common in the music industry, specifically where composers and songwriters are writing for TV and movies. I belong to an organization called Taxi and they refer to their “briefs” as listings…basically a detailed summary, with examples of cues/instrumentals/songs, etc. needed by various companies that “place” music in the TV shows and movies. The bottom line is that I probably wouldn’t have ever created these pieces if I didn’t belong to Taxi. Without exception, the composition was created for a specific use, although I submitted the same compositions for other listings as they came along.
Back Story
“A New Day Is Dawning” is an instrumental I wrote soon after changing to a different Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). I was using Sonar and the company that owned it decided to drop it as a product. I had heard many great things about Pro Tools so I purchased it and created this and a couple of other instrumentals before going back to Sonar, which was bought by BandLab. The workflow was quite a bit different but I found some sounds I liked so they’re in this piece. Hope you like it.
“Blue Flame” is another piece I wrote while using Pro Tools. The interesting thing about this one is that when I transferred the tracks from Pro Tools over to Sonar, the timing didn’t stay the same. So there’s odd time signatures throughout. I fixed it but the original version is still this one you’re listening to.
“The Sad Moon Has Risen” is an instrumental I wrote for piano. I started to notice a lot of listings for piano instrumentals plus strings and even other orchestral instruments, so I added a string section and a few woodwinds in different versions. This version is mainly piano with a few strings mixed in. I also shortened it from the original composition.
“Enlighten Me” is a cue I wrote specifically to a listing asking for new age Yoga instrumentals. I found some drum sounds I hadn’t been aware of in the past.
“Somewhere In Between” was one of my first instrumentals written for a listing asking for a specific “feel” or “imaginative” sound. The listing was for a luxury car ad. I was also experimenting with new software where I could record music that sounded more like a real orchestra than I was previously able to do.
“Chasing the Sun” is another early composition using new software and was another instrumental written for an ad. I don’t remember the product now.
“Like A Pebble” is an instrumental version of a song I wrote in the early 70’s with my good friend Jim Collins and my cousin Gary Rose. The original song had lyrics and a bridge. This version is just the verse chords and melody line. Also, the original song is called “It’s Your Life” but the first line of the lyrics was “Like A Pebble of the Earth”, so I renamed it for the purposes of using it in ads, etc.
“Compounding Waves” is fairly recent. The listing was very general but they were looking for music that would fit on an MTV series.
“Distant Figures” is an ambient cue. These are fun to create but hard to get placed. Anything goes and I always discover new sounds and unique ways too manipulate the software.
“The Color Is Beautiful” is an instrumental where I emulated a happy go-lucky vibe. One of the cues I created on Pro Tools.
“Rolling Emotion” is an instrumental I created to a listing asking for orchestral elements that were layered.
“A Little Marimba With Your Coffee” is a fun and quirky piece that I kept adding to over the years. It was created originally for a 30 second soup ad but morphed into a longer cue as requests were made for “dramedy” type cues.
“Just Friends” is another instrumental I composed using an older song for reference. Jim Collins and I wrote a song called “Live As Friends” back in the early 70’s and I created this cue from the main elements of that song minus the melody.
“Have I Lost You” is a sad piano tune. The listing asked for “sad piano” so this is what I came up with. I have another version of just piano, plus versions that are shorter.
“Funky Bounce” is another piece I composed for a 30 second soup commercial. Obviously, this version is a little longer.
“Three Quarter Good Time” is an attempt to write something “Pop” sounding and still be original. It’s hard to do.
“Cool Your Jets” was written for a jazz listing.