Dear All,

I have recently listened to a lot of music posted by some members, and come to the conclusions that many have put in a great deal of effort and love into their pieces of music. Inevitably, there are people who can play and sequence better than others. I would like to convey that none of the contributors needs to feel inferior because no matter what the level of ability one possesses, the intention, enthusiasm and sharing often count much more than sheer technicality and flawless brilliance. I do appreciate all of your musical pieces, which are diverse, lovely, effective and entertaining.

Some, if not all of the pieces may benefit from being reworked to gel seamlessly with memorable, unusual or unique introductions and endings. The start and end of a song can be a very powerful signature, and are the first and last traces of audible sounds and emotions for your audience. Many submissions may also benefit from having one or more clear climaxes as a way to punctuate or emphasise the narrative, articulate the form and structure of each song, and elevate the emotional state(s) of the listener to high intensities lasting well beyond the duration of a song. I am not saying that every song must have climax(es). Restraint, like silence, has its uses.

The melody of some pieces sounds a bit too loud to the point of over-dominating and obscuring the accompaniment, which I prefer to be more pronounced. On a related point, since we know the melody very well, what often make a new statement in, contribute to the character of, and/or impart extra dimensions to, a song, are the counter-melodies, accompaniments and harmonies, all of which can give the song a new twist or a new lease of life.

Getting more specific, most of William Bill Forest and Frank Bez's music, along with some of Joan Banfield such as "Shenendoah" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie", do stand out from the rest, in my opinion. The person playing "This Masquerade" is also highly commended for his/her effort. The piece is very well balanced, and has a good range of instruments playing the melody. It would be even better had there been a passage in complete improvisation. For aficionados of the big band, "More Blue Jazz" by Bebop is very cool and suave. Heather Cox shares her passion with gusto on the PR-54 digital ensemble. Larry Hawk likes his piano parts and Fred Green his organs, and they both indulged themselves doing a fine job to each of their chosen pieces. "For Once in My Life" tricked me into a false expectation, for it started most captivatingly in the style of a contemporary dance exotica but soon plunged itself into a different style whose origins lie in Swing and Jazz. I really got a dose of anachronism, and wondered where the former had gone and wanted it to continue but it never returned.

I admire Bez's rendition of "Round Midnight". Typically, his Intro and Ending are very distinctive and excellent, even impressive at times, as is the Intro of "Nobody Does It Better". However, in the latter, a song for James Bond 007, the syncopated funky accompaniment has been rather tricky to play in time with. I am not entirely sure of the effectiveness of the resulting timbral combination and texture, as well as the use of piano, plucked instrument(s) and later an organ (somewhat loud) to carry the melody. Having said that, I would like to congratulate Bez on his very good use of dramatic contrasts and sectional changes in many of his pieces.

Kind Regards,

KHAI


[This message has been edited by Khai (edited 01-13-2005).]

Hi Khai
As a newcomer to our forum,with obvious credentials, I think it is great you took time to listen to the music submitted by our talented musicians. Hopefully,this will spark a resurgance of activity.

In other posts I see alot of technical prowess. Much appreciated. By me at least

Bernie

Hi Folks.
Sorry to say this.In my opinion,
This is someone who dose not know when people have had enough.you do have a way with words Khai,Are you a musician or Shakespeare?.Post your comments by all means
but get to the point within a specified time,Can we say 2000 words,
Sheeeee!! what a grouch!!!.
Thanks to all who talked me through my Cararact Opp's.I am now seeing things,colours,spelling mistakes,etc,that I have not seen for years.I get my new specs next Monday.
Sincerely.
Joe.

Dear Phil Lynch,

My mother had undergone her cataract surgery in both eyes (one at a time) last year. I hope that your new pair of spectacles will improve your vision dramatically and help you to cruise through even 5000 words or a mini novel with ease, greater patience and comprehension.

Khai

[This message has been edited by Khai (edited 01-13-2005).]

Dear KHAI.
Thank you for listening. It’s nice to know that from your point of view my arranging ideas somewhat make up for my poor playing skills as compared to the fine musicians who visit these pages.
Frank

Dear Frank Bez,

Are you kidding me? You play very well indeed! But even more delectable to my listening pleasure is the palpable sense of adventure and a degree of non-linearity that are present in your pieces.

So, without any hesitation, I would like to invite you to indulge me with more of your music. My ears, or more appropriately, my musical senses and aesthetic faculty are all yours. Send or email me more of your creative pieces if you don't mind my humble opinions or comments.

Khai


[This message has been edited by Khai (edited 01-13-2005).]

Dear Khai.
Right to the point in plain English.so brief.What a relief.Keep up the posts!.
Sincerely.
Joe.

Khai,
Thanks for your kind words about my music style/playing. I record everything live, so what you see hear is what I played. I do not bother to edit anything. If my wife likes it, I send it out and if she doesn't it goes in the can. Jann is an accomplished piano player and we played concerts around the country for 5 years togeather, with me on Organ.
Incidently I don't know why but some of my songs on Andrews website have me listed as William Bill Forrest while others are just plain Bebop. I am both. Maybe Andrew will read this and change them all to just plain ol' Bebop

Does anyone know who created and played the well arranged piece "This Masquerade"? Would the person be kind enough to identify himself or herself to us?

Khai

Dear Bill Norrie,

Hi! I finally caught up with some sleep after having only two hours the day before. Thank you for sending me a zip file of your version of "This Masquerade". I have done a comparison between your version and the one I had been listening to. I am pleased to say that they are a perfect match (literally identical twins), and therefore I must announce that you fit the bill (excuse the pun) as the mysterious person, the subject of my quest for a song-arranger identication.

I made further observations as follows. Four panel memories are used more or less in a cyclic fashion to furnish the change of solo instrument(s) in the Right 1 and/or Right 2 parts:

(1) Toy Piano & Ocarina
(2) Chiff Flute
(3) New EP Routes
(4) Symphonic Strings & Girls Doos

The left part is consistently Tremolo E Piano.

Your arrangement has a good sense of economy, and strikes a fine balance between unity and variety. Well done!

In terms of sound, the combination of Toy Piano & Ocarina is very effective and refreshing. I am glad that you avoided the less inspired or more common choice of piano or electric piano.

In the interest of saving time and getting the answers from the horse's mouth, I'd be interested to know whether:

(1) You played everything live.

(2) You entered the chord progression into the sequencer, or actually played in the Left part with the Auto Play Chord turned on.

(3) You activated the Panel Memory manually or automatically through the Music Style Arranger mode.

Most, if not all, of the versions of the song that I have come across are in either C minor or F minor. I notice that your version is transposed to Bb and you played in the key of A minor over that transposition, which later goes up a semitone during a repeat of the verse and returns to Bb in the chorus. A nice touch of modulation here! Is that your original idea or is it already in the original version of the song?

Khai

[This message has been edited by Khai (edited 01-17-2005).]