I ran away for a while...

But now I'm back! I didn't die or anything...

I don't have anything new to post right now. No new sheet music or recordings of me playing yet. However, I did change the focus of this blog slightly to focus more on music and less on me. That doesn't mean I won't talk about my life, it just means I won't talk about the monotonous things that I am sure most readers wouldn't care about. Now I'm focusing mainly on the music. That is one of the two reasons I changed the title of the blog. The second reason being that Berklee has a blog that had the same exact title, meaning that my blog would never be found in a search. As far as the content I post, this is what you could expect:

For starters, I will now include

• Recordings of me singing with the Y Chromotones, a vocal ensemble I am in
• Reviews of albums, good and bad, old and new, and how they affect me
• More sheet music transcriptions
• Recordings of me playing those sheet music transcriptions
• Recordings of me playing just about anything
• Concerts I've attended, want to attend, or will never want to attend
• Music news

Anything you recommend I will take into heavy consideration. I will try to post more, although I have no promises as of yet. If I promised, I would probably cross my fingers, and if you saw, I would cross my toes. What am I working on now? It's anybody's guess *cough* *cough* Last 5 Years *cough*! Bye.

Sheeps and Fishes and Record Deals

Another week another blog, I always say.

Actually, I never say that...

Anyways, some things this week. I transcribed not one, but two songs this week. The first song was Sheep by Pink Floyd (sheet music here) and Get Too Close by Brooke Waggoner (sheet music here). It took me two days to do Sheep and one day to do Get Too Close, which was also on the same day I did Sheep. You might be like "Will, I don't give a sheep's butt if you did them on the same day. I don't care when you did any of this." And that's the way it should be.

Also, I recorded a piano track for an original song written by Natalie Duffy and so far everyone that has heard it thinks it is amazing. She is hoping to send it to Atlantic Records, which means in addition to them hearing her sing, they get to hear me play. Exciting stuff right there. That doesn't mean I'll get signed, though, but at the very least I'll get credit for playing for the track. I don't have the track available for you guys to listen to at the moment, but I'm sure I'll be able to post it within the next couple of weeks. Maybe.

And lets break some grammar rules in order to keep with the theme of starting every paragraph with the letter "A". SKYZONE is freaking amazing!!! It is basically this huge room made of trampolines. The Y Chromotones and I went there the other day to play trampoline dodgeball and it was a great experience, because nothing says fun like getting pelted in the face with a dodgeball while you're ten feet in the air. In addition to that, we started singing to bystanders at the bus station and on the train. It's so much easier than setting up for band events because there are no instruments to deal with and we take up a lot less space.

My artist recommendation of the week would have to be Brooke Waggoner. She is a singer/songwriter that plays the piano and she makes amazing music. Check out any of her songs from her three albums either on YouTube or Spotify or iTunes or ANYWHERE. Trust me, it's quality music. It is more of a pop style, but it is by no means overbearing like what you hear on the radio. Go check out her music now!

Erica wanted me to mention her in my blog... hmmmmm.... fine.... But please be nice and offer your condolences to her fish, Boo, who passed away the other day. Marcio gave the eulogy. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the service, but I'm sure he lived a great life in his little fish tank separated from the rest of fish society. May he live in eternal happiness in fish heaven. Amen.

Ask me anything. Comment on my posts. Remain anonymous if you want, just please give me feedback on what you want me to talk about. What do you want me to transcribe? What do you want me to play? What do you want me to shut up about? Do you want me to post stuff like this???

King

Dede

De

Yeah... That's what I thought. So let me know what you want and I will post again next week, if  you will stay with me until then, that is. Bye!

P.S. - Call Me The Breeze is coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plans

I just realized that the keyboard solo to Light My Fire continues with the guitar solo, so I'm going to have to do a continuation of it. Not now, though. It is really low on my priority list, because right now I am working on Sheep by Pink Floyd and then Call Me The Breeze by Lynyrd Skynyrd. If anyone has any requests let me know and I will most likely work on them for you, and even give you credit for requesting it :)

Smokin'!!!

I finally did it! I've transcribed the keyboard solo to the song Smokin' by Boston. I am on my way to learning it and can't wait to be able to play it all the way through! Also, I'm moving my sheet music page over the next couple days to Google Docs so it will be easier to print, view, manage, and share all my music as opposed to Photobucket. Link to Smokin' is in the sidebar, but you can click here if you want to see it also :)

Also, I got some fish for my blog! You can feed them if you like.

Let me know what you want me to transcribe next! It doesn't have to be just classic rock keyboard solos; it can be anything you like. So leave suggestions and maybe I'll work on it, maybe even play it. So that is it for now. Hope you enjoy my work (and Boston's work) and I look forward to posting more in the future! Bye!

I Can Run!

So in the course of a month, I was able to cut my mile time from 8:11 to 6:47!!! Due to a pain in my left foot, though, I couldn't do the full 4 miles like I normally do and had to stop at 3, but I do what I must to avoid any serious injury.

Also, the solo that I am transcribing is nearly complete, like I said. Once I get my proficiency out of the way (because of a blunder by the piano department TWO MONTHS AGO), I will be able to have the sheet music uploaded and ready to go. I already have the first half memorized, so that is very exciting. I'm hoping The Uprising, or a band here, can play it with me because I am stoked that I'm learning this solo, and I'm sure all of you guys will love it to. Just a couple more days and it will be unveiled :D

Listen to Menomena. They're good for you. Their music requires more an acquired taste, but once you get used to them you will be able to truly appreciate the experimental musicality of this group. I can't even begin to pick which song from their album  "Friend or Foe" is my favorite, so listen to them all. I haven't listened to much of the "I Am The Fun Blame Monster" yet, but from what I've heard it doesn't disappoint. That's all I have to say for now. Bye!

Resolution Failure...

Well I guess I couldn't hold true to most of my New Years resolutions... except for one, but probably not the one you were expecting or hoping for. I really haven't written any new material, HOWEVER, I did get around to recording a sample sound that I may use in future compositions. Essentially it is the echo of a piano. I hold down the middle pedal on an upright piano and attack the note and quickly release, which creates an echo of the note (or chord played). If I record it and delete the initial attack, it creates a very ambient sound. This is what it sounds like unedited.

And edited.

Now I know it's nothing exciting because it is meant to be ambient noise, nothing more. I can envision myself using this as a part of a song in the future, but in no way is this the main focus of the song. I might sample it to make a cool pad effect on my keyboard, but that means doing each individual note...
Whatever, that's what transposing is for, right?

Fitness-wise, I've gotten around to running 4 miles at least twice a week, and just yesterday I got to the point where my legs gave out before I ran out of breath (in fact, I didn't run out of breath at all), so that is a good sign (I think...?). I workout at least 5 times a week and I feel that I'm getting in much better shape. I did manage to run 4 miles in 30 degree weather once because the fitness room was locked, and I can say I probably won't do that again. Probably.

Also, I have new sheet music coming out within the next couple days. I just need to spot check a few notes and chords and I will post it on here as soon as it is finished, regardless of whether or not it's Sunday. I will say no more on that.

More of my life, I saw three movies this week, which is quite impressive for my standards. The first one was The Woman in Black, which overall was a pretty good movie. It was suspenseful at times, but most of the scares were predictable so I ended up laughing when they happened. It was still a creepy movie, but the last 30 seconds just kind of ruined it for me with a fairytale ending for an otherwise dark film. The second movie was Red Wings, and although it had a very good plot, the delivery (namely the acting) and production value was not that great, which ruined the experience for me. The third movie was The Room, which was my second viewing, and if you've seen it you should already know what I want to say. Also, I got a free movie ticket for cleaning up spoons! It pays to be helpful.

Lastly, I guess I'm an official member of the Y Chromotones as I haven't bailed out yet and do not plan on it. We're getting a lot of music, and I'm not quite sure how I'll memorize it all, but I'll get by. We are singing at a Valentines Day concert tomorrow at Cafe 939 at 7 and it should be a very fun show.

I can't wait for you guys to see the song I've transcribed, because it is by far the most difficult one I've done by far, but it is also the most rewarding. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and I hope you read the next one next week.


OH! I ALMOST FORGOT!!!! I found the apartment I'll be staying in next year and it is just about finalized, minus a few payments! I'll get my own room, it'll be close to the school, and it's going to be awesome! And my bedroom window doesn't face a brick wall, so that's also a plus! Okay, bye.

If my blog was Twitter...

It is 3:38am and I'm going to bed because I'm freakin' tired...