I have a little spruce/maple soprano ukulele and wrote a short piece with recording two tracks of uke, a piano, tambourine and a kick/djimbe sample that I cooked up. I'm going to do more of these pieces and soon add in to the mix the new oak baritone that I bought a couple of weeks ago. In composing this wee bit track was influenced by listening to some Moondog compositions, so those familiar with his work might hear the nod in his direction.

https://www.whyp.it/users/3751/emmas-dream

 

^ Nice one @Lois Lane ,imho you should post more often your music here
Thanks for sharing !
* If you ever do an alternative version of this ^ or for future compositions,i could hear some creative uses of dub delays,maybe something like Fabfilter timeless 3 or Supermassive,cheers !

 

Shame about the piano, but the rest was swoonsome, twangy and enjoyable! Liked the slides >___- I guess (?) it's parallel comp, but it seems like the kick goes super background at all times, prolly sound better if you left it alone?

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(All the directional sound seems right in your face, like it's drifting above; which may be the idea, but it's a little weird!)

 

I like the piano causing controlled havoc as sort of a smeary, sooty background, with all the while the uke on the left is being frenetically hyperactive, the melodic right trying to make sense of what the other side is implying. The kick and tambourine are marking the time by trying to stay out of the way and not be much noticed but at the same time holding the space by being consistent and reliable.

I miced the ukuleles in wanting them to mimic an approximation of a mandoline. That's why I played the beginning on the melodic right by just cutting the strings to get that mando like chop.

 

Cheerful trip.

Thanks.

 

Yeah, it's sweet, enjoyable and lovely and does what you intended;

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does feel like two separate spaces, works against itself, a bit? I think that the kick (guitar thump?) could've been more sub & "felt"; and instead of tamb maybe conga / pitched perc? (although I usually dread that, it would've fit w/ the vibe to have rrrolled, less distinct hits / flams - kept expecting them =)

 

Very nice, brought a smile to my face. Thank you!

 

Creative creativity, or I don't know how to write it in English

 

Thank you...in every language.

 

Thanks again for your kind words.

 

Hey, nice very uke piece! I like that several layers of arpeggios and strums are intricated with the piano, this is the kind of piece where you could lose progressively all rhythm references, I mean that in playing with the note accents you can create a situation of "unbalance", a sort of "rhythm vertigo", like the best salsa artists know how to create....

This vertigo sensation is delicious, as if someone unexpectedly, suddenly drags you into an amazing waltz, turning and turning and turning so much that you don't know where is your left, right, up and down anymore.

It's why I dare to say: your song is too short, you should extend the experience and explore more rhythm, chords and arps variations, you could also play with the intensity / the number of layers etc...

...And why not adding some choir? You seems to have facility with voices, so why not adding (discrete) indistinct, rhythmic vowels?

As an example, I always admired Andreas Vollenweider, please hear this, starting at 24:10 (and also, if ever you have time, to an interesting very short passage starting at 18:46) :

Of course, the rhythm and style is very different than yours, it's just an illustration of what a soft, warm rhythmic choir can bring to an acoustic piece.

 

Last edited: Dec 22, 2022

Love it Man!!! big Uke Fan

 

A real lydian love! thanks for 01:13 minutes of contemplation!

 

Frank Zappa is reserving a seat for you in his Heaven band.

 

Thanks, that's the nicest compliment I ever got. Frank is my favorite composer. One of my nicknames for my daughter is even Frankie as I use his name as a sort of talisman to enhance her own innate wonderfulness.

 

@Lois Lane .... I listened to all 3 songs by Emma's Dream... they're each one awesome and brilliantly performed. All 3 are intricate without being needlessly complex, the vocals on the 2 songs that have vocals are beautifully engaging and the ukuleles in uke madness are lovely (especially the ending bends).

All 3 tracks have a warm live sound. And I thought I heard Pink Floyd influences on all 3 of them... which is always welcome.

Great work!

 

Thanks for listening, Kinghtsurfer. I still remember my best friend Seth in 1973 making me smoke a joint of Panama Red and then placing my Realistic (Radio Shack's finest) headphones over my ears, putting down the needle on the Dark Side Of The Moon LP and wishing me a good trip. After that it must have been at least 500, 600 or even more hours of listening to their catalog as the years have rolled by, so yea, the band oozes from my pores and has be an influence, if not purposely, then subconsciously.

I appreciate your kind words.

 

If we're ever in the same place at the same time it would be great for you to re-produce this track with me. Your vision sounds exciting and I would be a willing tool of your vision!

 

That sounds like a cool project! The mix of ukulele, piano, tambourine, and percussion, with Moondog's influence, should create a unique sound. The oak baritone will add some depth to your tracks. Keep it up!