Minimalist Piano pieces? Help!

[mer]

Hazeniju, Steve, thanks for your comments! I love how there is so much experience and depth in this community...Hazeniju says: Quote:i had heard that boosting the EQ in the 3-5K range is supposed to give it the ring of a real piano, have you tried that? I can give that a try, as well as more sustain pedal that Steve mentions...Steve says: Quote:When a clients says "I want minimalist music like Phillip Glass" I wonder which Phillip Glass they are referring to. Yes! This is the big mystery isn't it? It would be nice to have a particular piece as reference. However, then I remind myself that in the work I've done where I can talk to the person (like the director of a film), it is amazing even then to realize that we don't hear the same things in the piece - I have to be very careful to understand what aspect of that particular piece do they want in the new piece. Music is heard so differently by each person.And look: Even here, we're all over the map about the pieces I prepared! So this is very helpful to me, thanks to everyone for commenting, mojobone, Mazz, hazineju & Steve. I look forward to hearing other pieces that y'all do to submit to this! And then find out which get forwarded! --Mer

[stevebarden]

Jun 20, 2008, 4:32am, mer wrote: Yes! This is the big mystery isn't it? It would be nice to have a particular piece as reference. However, then I remind myself that in the work I've done where I can talk to the person (like the director of a film), it is amazing even then to realize that we don't hear the same things in the piece - I have to be very careful to understand what aspect of that particular piece do they want in the new piece. Music is heard so differently by each person.David Raksin, famous film composer ("Laura"), I had the pleasure of meeting many years ago and sat next to him at a composers banquet. He told many wonderful stories and told this one on numerous occasions:"I had been summoned to meet the director of my next assignment, who turned out to be an amiable roughneck about my age, bright and shrewd, and New Yorky enough to let me know he didn't want "any of that Hollywood music" in his picture. What he wanted was "something different-like Wozzeck." A string of three-frame cuts of the aurora borealis flashed before my eyes: a director who actually knows how to pronounce the cherished name of Alban Berg's operatic masterpiece and believes that his film needs that kind of expressive music-I could almost feel the shackles falling away from my talent!I invited him out to my Northridge farm for dinner so that we could talk, away from studio distractions.So there we were in the living room with drinks in hand, the phonograph playing and the conversation taking its time to get under way. I remember thinking that this was the way things ought to be: I liked his script and I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say and to get working on the music. Suddenly irritated, he said, "What's that crap you're playing?" "That crap," I replied, "is Wozzeck!" That happened more than forty years ago, and if there is a story that tells more about why film composers sometimes despair of their profession, I have yet to hear it."That story always brings a smile to my face.Steve

[bmete]

Great story Steve,BTW: I think Laura is still one of the best tunes ever written...I was in Augusta, Ga this week and while I was driving I was listening to a Dexter Gordon CD , he does a great version of Laura.Thanks for the smile! Bob

[gongchime]

I have a piece like that Mazz on Indonesian metallophone. I should dig it up.

[mer]

Great story, Steve! Glad to know it happens at all levels, really. From my beginner's perspective it could be easy to think that it was just me. Another challenge I can have with film and also theatre work is wanting to duplicate the script/visuals in music. Tell the story with the music. But that is not usually what is needed; instead a kind of counterpoint or support or opposite is needed musically.And Greg I was wondering if you would have lots of pieces like this, actually - from listening to some of your stuff, and some of the balinese gamelan material has minimalist touches (perhaps only if you pick a couple of the instruments out of what the whole orchestra is playing...)--Mer

[vickye]

Hi guys,Great thread and there are some great songs here. I recorded these in Minneapolis a few years back. I submitted these 2 songs. Starlight Mysteryhttp://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_id=5364 ... eers,Vicky

[marcblack30]

Here's my attempt at this piano thang. Piano is not my bag so this minimalist thing could work out for me.http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... ream=1it's short but sweet.Vicky, I love your pieces!

[mazz]

Vicky,Very nice pieces. Well played and recorded. I'm not sure if they're "textbook" minimalism. They seem a bit too melodic for the genre, in my experience of it, at least (not a slam on the pieces at all, just wondering if they're right for the listing, we'll see).Marc,Cool piece. Much closer to the minimalist style, IMO. On a production note, there's a pre-delay on your reverb that, depending on the note, gives a ghost note and almost sounds like it's being repeated softly. This was distracting to my ears given the aesthetic of your piece, which would lend itself to a much softer pre-delay, if any at all.Great work everyone!!Mazz

[marcblack30]

Mazz, I updated my piece as per your comments, in addition i removed a synth pad i had placed softly in the background, just bare boned sampled piano, he he! I wasn't distracted by the delay until you mentioned it, it was totally distracting. Good call.By the way, Happy birthday!http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... 8&stream=1

[guest4254]

Keep in mind that the listing is asking for "VERY SPARE PIANO ARRANGEMENTS"....less is even less than more, in this category, I suppose....H