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Updates, and more to come

Posted by sara-garrard

It has been a busy Autumn into Winter! PIANOWRIMO 2021 is now over and there are 30 pieces up on my youtube. I will now work on getting the recordings ready for album release and the sheet music ready to go — just need to decide on the title for the whole thing… which piece has the best title?

Also generally meaning to post and update here on the website more. As ever…

But today I’ve had revamp of the sheet music page, for a start switching up the plugin for one that actually works and displays all the relevant posts… I’ve also linked from there to various of the piano sheets I’ve posted up here on the blog over the years, so the “Free” section is looking a lot more replete with material now! Please do let me know if you play or want to perform any of them:)

Long did I toil (ukulele version)

Posted by sara-garrard

Been doing a bunch new little folk songs and hymn rewrites — but here’s one from a bit ago that I wrote on piano, that also works perfectly well on ukulele.

“Long did I toil”   
By Henry Francis Lyte

LONG did I toil, and knew no earthly rest,   
Far did I rove, and find no certain home;
At last I sought them in His sheltering breast,   
Who spreads His arms and bids the weary come:
With Him I found a home, a rest Divine,
And I since them am His, and He is mine.
Yes I since them am His, and He is mine.  

Yes, He is mine—and nought of earthly things   
Nor all the charms of pleasure, wealth, or power,
The fame of heroes or the pomp of kings,   
Could tempt me to forget His love one hour.
Go, worthless world, I cry, with all that’s thine:
I my Saviour’s am, and He is mine.
I my Saviour’s am, and He is mine.

Whate’er may change, in Him no change is seen;   
A glorious sun that wanes not nor declines;
Above the clouds and storms He walks serene,   
And sweetly on His people’s darkness shines:
Changes may come; I take or I resign,
Content while I am His and He is mine,
while I am His and He is mine.

Two kinds of music boxes

Posted by sara-garrard

I’ve definitely ironed out some mechanical issues I was having in music box tape making, and made a couple 30 note tracks I’m really pleased with:

I’m also though trying out making pretty short and loopable ones back on the 15-note box; sounding something like a mini box with cylinder you might buy.

These are a lot quicker to make, obviously because they’re shorter and lesser in scope, but also specifically because it’s 15 notes all the diatonic ones of 2 octaves, it’s not too hard to write notes straight on and get a feel for where the notes are. (The 30 note box has a wider range with some chromatics, but only a few notes, all the chromatics in the middle, only tones towards the top etc — so it’s hard to glance at the grid and appreciate where a note might be. Though I’m sure you can learn it too…) But yeah, even though the tone of the bigger box is… mwah, beautiful… the smaller one is actually still very sweet and idiomatic and we can do things with it.

Songs of the West

Posted by sara-garrard

Been sketching a few “faux folk” songs lately – just writing new but kinda in-genre tunes for lyrics from this 1890 collection, without reference to the tunes given. Here are three that are recorded all through.

That’s right it’s …

Posted by sara-garrard

…more music boxes. I will do something else at some point (as well as more music boxes. Actually I’m off and on thinking about how to do some bigger piece including a music box.)

One of these days I might make a post outlining “tips and tricks” of how to do these because I feel like I’ve racked up a bunch of things I could have used earlier. But at the same time I don’t think I’m anywhere near done discovering really obvious things, and I’m still having trouble making the tape feed smoothly as a main thing, so maybe not quite yet.

Anyway, absolutely loving the 30 note music box. It offers a LOT of potential and flexibility, and with the recent two (you can see a little preview of these) especially I’ve been trying to make more of the potential of the box and its kind of characteristic style.

This one is an arrangement of a piece in a really very different style, so that was fun! also involves winding the handle VERY FAST. Collapsed Expressway by Mitsuto Suzuki.

Things to come? Ahead On Our Way and Cloud Smiles by Nobuo Uematsu. Hear those runs! and octaves!