mwalbridge
23 May 2020
Hi everyone!
I've just released my new composition for solo vibraphone called Solitude. I have been spending a lot of time in quarantine thinking about what sounds I like to hear on the vibes and how to showcase them. This piece is the result of that and I am very excited about it. I hope that you all can check it out!
If anyone is interested in downloading the sheet music, it is now available at:
https://www.tonymiceli.com/sheetmusic/solitude-by-morgan-walbridge
You can also find the audio for download at:
http://morganwalbridge.bandcamp.com/track/solitude
I have a few lessons based on a few concepts from Solitude coming soon! I'd love to hear from anybody who decides to work on this. :-)
-Morgan
Comments
I'll Work on It
BarryK Sun, 05/24/2020 - 10:26
Hi Morgan,
Beautiful tune. I will be working on it.
BTW, looks like you recorded audio at 44.1K since it gets out of sync with the video towards the end. You can convert the audio to 48K using Audacity -> Tracks -> Resample.
Question about notation; is the intent for two staves to indicate which hands to use, or just to separate the parts?
Thanks,
Barry
Thank you Barry! I am so glad
mwalbridge Sun, 05/24/2020 - 13:18
In reply to I'll Work on It by BarryK
Thank you Barry! I am so glad that you are checking it out.
Ah, good to know! I will look out for that next time. I am still trying to learn about all this video and recording stuff.
For the notation - it is just to separate the parts. I am thinking of it as accompaniment on the bottom and melody on top, but as far as which hands to use it varies a bit. Sometimes I think you need the right hand to jump down to the bottom line and help with the accompaniment.
(I also talk a little bit about this in the Solitude lesson Pt. 2 that I just put out)
Let me know if you have any other questions or thoughts!!
Morgan
Thoughts
BarryK Mon, 05/25/2020 - 21:05
In reply to Thank you Barry! I am so glad by mwalbridge
Playing it myself, I hear more things in it. It really is a tune written for vibes. I just played it on piano, and didn't get the same "vibe". I am playing with the motor, with the pulse in sync with the eighth notes. What a hauntingly beautiful tune.
I was curious what it would sound like with a woodwind playing the melody so I entered it into Sibelius. Attached is with Oboe. Flute sounds nice too.
Barry
That is really awesome to
mwalbridge Wed, 05/27/2020 - 19:13
In reply to Thoughts by BarryK
That is really awesome to hear! I was really trying to write something from a vibraphonists perspective which is something I haven't tried before so I am glad that came across.
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing that. I think my next composition will be a duet :-)
My Attempt
BarryK Tue, 06/02/2020 - 23:07
Here is my best attempt from tonight's practice. I need to work on keeping steady tempo and accuracy. It might help if I memorized it.
Since some folks asked to include recording details, here it is. Performed on a 1959 Deagan 580 (narrow bar) Vibraharp with tremolo at 120 pulses per minute (if 8th notes -> 60 bpm), Mike Balter 23BB mallets, two AMT-404 mics about 3 feet above mics; one at the low B and one at the high B hanging from the ceiling, Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer into Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio to USB converter on iMac with Audacity, exported as MP3 at 320 kbps (lower rate (128 kbps) had to much MP3 compression artifacts).
I tried several different mallets and chose the birch (rather than rattan) handled ones which I felt had more control and I liked the sound.
Barry
Wow! That is so awesome to
mwalbridge Thu, 06/04/2020 - 12:41
In reply to My Attempt by BarryK
Wow! That is so awesome to hear, thank you for sharing Barry!! I hear great progress already, and it really helps me to see how you are approaching this! Getting it in tempo is definitely important, but don't be afraid to pull back on the tempo a bit within each measure and really take your time if it helps your accuracy.
One thing I think about when I am playing this is the connection between expressiveness and phrasing. I think I already hear you doing this a few times, but if you just allow the chords to breathe for a moment it will give you time to reset your hands and make it sound a little more personal when you play. There should definitely be a bit of a "push-pull" feeling with both tempo and dynamics when you play this. How much or how little you make these "push-pull" motions is up to you, and I think this is what makes the way you play it or I play it unique.