DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE
Massachusetts
C
A Flat
f minor
D
x3
Dans Leur Absence (in absentia)
(Headphones recommended)
235. Dans Leur Absence (in absentia)
Emily Hope Price
Cellist, Singer, Composer & Home of The 365 Project
Category Archives: Cello ensemble
233. Joshua Stacy, I made this for you. Love, E (A Study on a Chopin Mazurka)
DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE
Joshua Stacy, I stole this photo from your Facebook.
This began by recording the left hand piano part of Chopin’s Cinq Mazurkas, Vivace Op. 7, No. 1. I made a slight change in the chord progression. There wasn’t a plan. Sometimes the best laid plans aren’t laid.
There are 4 cello tracks: pizzicato (plucking) with delay, bass pedal, 2 different, but related, melody lines.
Through the whole process I thought about my friend Joshua Stacy, also a cellist, who just hiked the Appalachian Trail by himself. It is a feat, and he is always a friend of whom I think so fondly. When I think of him, I feel motivated to be better, wiser, and more decisive. I don’t talk to him very much, but when I do, I’m reminded of how a single person has the power to make another person feel..for the lack of a better word…Good. Good in the most pure sense that there is. So, I felt it appropriate to dedicate this one to him because he was on my mind. This is not the first 365 that has been dedicated to him. This one was, too.
Joshua Stacy, I stole this one of you, too. This is Springer Mountain – the southern terminus of the trail.
Joshua Stacy, I made this for you. Love, E
229. The Art Film Cello Trio (trial #2)
DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE
Emily Hope Price in St. Louis, MO – photo credit: Allan Crain
It’s funny how events in your life lead you to people who introduce you to people who introduce you to other people and so on. I met a man through a girl I performed at Puppet Playlist with in New York who creates web documentaries who was looking for music to add to his films. She put me in contact with him, and he recently contacted me to do some work for him creating instrumental pieces. He doesn’t really ever need anything longer than 1.5-2 minutes, so it’s really nice, but also challenging to fit what he needs in that space of time. He’ll send a request saying: (This isn’t an actual request, but they kind of sound something like this), “This is going to go into a short documentary about an art collector from the Sao Paulo, Brazil. There will be voice overs, so something minimal but moody and moving forward and building to a climax at the end.” I really like him. He’s patient, enthusiastic but honest and straightforward. He’ll tell me straight away if it’s not working. It’s great working with him.
This piece was created from his request that I either compose or improvise something over a drum track he sent me (which you can hear a solo section of in the beginning). He gave me specific direction on mood and what he was looking for, but not so specific that it was limiting. I ended up creating 4 different trial tracks for him to use. This being the second one, it wasn’t until he sent me an actual clip of the scene I was writing for that I understood what needed to happen. This version was much too busy and chaotic especially considering there was to be quite a bit of voice over. I need to finesse the end as well. He ended up liking the 4th, much more Philip Glass-inspired, composition I sent him. Ever heard of Philip Glass? I highly recommend him – look him up and have a listen.
I’ll be honest and tell you that this is largely an improvisation – responding to each of the three cello voices as they were added on top of each other. For those of you who have followed the 365, you know this is my preferred M.O. a lot of the time, but I enjoy traditional scoring as well. In this case, where I was sent a drum track that ebbed and flowed within itself, it was easier to feel it out improvisationally rather than a formal score.
CONSTRUCTION/RECORDING:
1. Original drum track sent to me
2. 3 cello tracks
I moved to Brooklyn last year into a very small apartment, and I’m still trying to find the sweet recording spots hidden within it. This recording was done a little hastily as I was leaving for tour and wanted to get something out as soon as possible. Someone should publish a book on how to build a quickly collapsible recording space into the tiniest apartment - because you still have to walk around, cook dinner, and play with your dog while tripping over all of your recording equipment in the corner of the room.
Here you go: Hope you’re doing very well. Thanks for listening, reading and sharing.
The Art Film Cello Trio (trial #2)
220. Tearsumina’s Entrance (Sketch)
DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY
Have you SEEN some of the pictures google brings up under "Succubus"?! I opted for this version...
So, this was NOT a reject! (WHAT?!) YES! Not a reject from the movie… however, this isn’t exactly how it sounds in the film, either. James Frazee is a magician when it comes to making things sound INCREDIBLE. So, what you’ll actually hear in the film is cleaner, bigger and tougher. This is a cue for the entrance of a succubus (the PG version of a succubus). Do you really need any more lead-in than that?! I didn’t think so.
In getting ideas for a PG-rated succubus, I played around in garageband with some of the midi samples and loops. This is what came out of my experimentation. James Frazee worked his magic, made me a basic percussion line from his fancy-shmancy pro-tools to which I added, cello, violin, chopsticks on banjo (true! try it some time), some midi percussion and vocals.
Tearsumina: Succubus
Tearsumina’s Entrance (Sketch)
214. One Year Ago Today
DAY TWO-HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN…(but still on sabbatical)
Harvey Robinson Took This Picture! http://www.monkeywhale.com
I thought that in honor of today being the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the 365 Project, despite there being some unavoidable road blocks, I would post a song. I mean, why the heck not?!
Happy New Year, my friends! I actually feel one year older… wow. I don’t think it’s ever felt this marked before. My body, my mind: I’m ready for a vacation.
I made this sketch a few days ago. One of over a hundred sketches, drafts and finals I’ve completed in the past few months. Some have made the cut into the film, many have not. This one made it into the movie, and I wanted to give you a sneak peek of it here in honor of the year mark. This cue marks a very Hollywood-type scene where the hero sends his love away to safety… bring on the cheese! It’s a short one, but I assure you, its coming about was no easy task… sigh…
For those who don’t know: my dad sent me a BANJO. I cannot tell you how handy it has become in a time of need! Wow! What a fantastic instrument, and I’ve had a great time teaching myself how to play this monster.
One Year Ago Today
Love to you… The project will be back to finish the rest of the 145 songs in a few weeks – I have yet to calculate a decent starting period, but when I do, YOU WILL KNOW.
Love,
EHP
168. September 1913 (W.B. Yeats)
DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT
William Butler Yeats
I have to RUN out the door, but I will paraphrase the song today:
I have been reading as much writing as possible so I might improve my own brain. This is a poem by W.B. Yeats. I find his work so lyrical. It’s really beautiful.
This is a study. The bowed (arco) cello parts are improvised. The vocals and pizz cello part were recorded simultaneously. This is the second take I did of this. I did a dry improvised run on this poem and took ideas I got from that to the second take. I had my own agenda as far as melody and other accompanying parts go. I tried to stray away from tempting habits. (There are two or so lines of this poem that just list names which I didn’t take the time to prepare, so that part is actually kind of humorous to me: just singing a list of names and trying to get them all in!)
September 1913
What need you, being come to sense,
But fumble in a greasy till
And add the halfpence to the pence
And prayer to shivering prayer, until
You have dried the marrow from the bone?
For men were born to pray and save:
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Yet they were of a different kind,
The names that stilled your childish play,
They have gone about the world like wind,
But little time had they to pray
For whom the hangman’s rope was spun,
And what, God help us, could they save?
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Was it for this the wild geese spread
The grey wing upon every tide;
For this that all that blood was shed,
For this Edward Fitzgerald died,
And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone,
All that delirium of the brave?
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Yet could we turn the years again,
And call those exiles as they were
In all their loneliness and pain,
You’d cry, ‘Some woman’s yellow hair
Has maddened every mother’s son’:
They weighed so lightly what they gave.
But let them be, they’re dead and gone,
They’re with O’Leary in the grave.
158. “The Narybiens Have Stolen My Baby!” (Test 1)
DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT
I said, “Jon, give me a [cool] name for a group going to war.” (I actually said “nerdy”, but I mean nerdy in a cool way because nerdy is way cool.)
“The Narybiens”, he says. I ask him to give me another one and he says, “Karneeguas”
Plot:
Shot on the set of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. First frame: a woman crying out into the air (subtitled), “The Narybiens Have Stolen My Baby!” THEN! The Karneeguas prepare for battle to get the stolen child!
WHO WILL WIN!? WILL THEY SAVE THE STOLEN BABY!?!?
Starring:
Elijah Wood as The Baby
Lacey The Laceykins as The Woman (with subtitled speaking parts)
Boba Fett as The Narybiens Leader
Kevin Costner as Himself
This whole thing actually started out as being, “The Anti-Jingle”, and I suppose it still could be. (All that initiated from finding out recently that a friend of mine – and amazing singer/musician – did the voice-over at the end of the now famous Snickers commercials with Betty White and Aretha Franklin. Crush, Ivan!)
In the end, after all is said and done, I figured that the anti-commerical could wait and that it sounded more like a battle scene or something than anything else. I did it really quickly and the perfectionist in me has some problems with it – but battles are DIRTY! So be it!
Could there be more cello? YES!
“The Narybiens Have Stolen My Baby!”
153. The Commercial: Diet Ginger Ale (The Art Songs: Part One)
DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE
Am I really still doing this?
Yes. It surprises even me.
Commercial: Diet Ginger Ale (The Art Songs: Part One)
Three celli. R: 45 minutes. L: 36 seconds.
76. Walking, Following, Returning (A Scene: Austin, Texas)
DAY SEVENTY-SIX
Unfortunately, this is yet to be another day where I cannot write very much. Though I will tell you, as it is 12:25 am, Pearl and the Beard have played their last show at SXSW tonight and, hence, have ended our tour. We are so sad! We’ve had such a wonderful time and have met some of the most amazing people!
Joc and Jeremy will be dropping me off at the airport at 5:30 am to attend Jonathan’s father’s memorial service… quite a change from the blaring sounds of Austin, Texas during the festival. It’s a shocking dip into reality just off of tour. They have to drive thirty hours back to Brooklyn…
This song is based on a scene that happened to me very quickly today: I walked out of a venue, was followed by a friend who called my name, but I could not hear him. He came from behind me, startled me, and I hit him very hard: more than once. I feel bad… and I mistakenly gave him a backhanded compliment by saying the words “nerd but…” when I should have said “You’re a nerd AND….” Being a nerd is good and should never be followed by a but unless it’s “You’re a nerd, but I really think you should be a bigger nerd than you are because that would be way cooler…” So, I walked, I was followed, and I returned to whence I came.
Recording: Took place in a garage this morning while eating a fried egg and toast with tea. It was pretty good. I didn’t immediately like this one at all; in fact, I almost scraped it, but I stopped myself.
Writing: Bass developed first, then motiv, the accompaniment. All other decisions were based of this model in this song: asking myself what range does it need now? What textures? This is a very short song done in a very short space of time….maybe an hour total? Hour and a half probably.
Now, I must sleep. Will revisit…
EHP
Walking, Following, Returning (A Scene: Austin, Texas)
52. Taking A Light To Where There Is None (A Dedication)
DAY FIFTY-TWO
I am flying home from Miami!
This is a dedication piece. I didn’t intend it to be. I started playing around on my loop pedal and brought what I had found to garageband and recorded it all there.
As I started creating it very quickly, not being too picky or redoing a lot of tracks, I found myself playing around with sound effects, as Guy Capecelatro tends to do. I like this… it makes me think of Laurie Anderson’s (sound artist) work I heard once that had a bunch of foot steps in it. I love the sound of footsteps.
Before I knew it, I was putting together a piece where I wasn’t sure if the person was leaving from one place and going to another or returning to the same place. The clock suggests the latter, but because the door sounds are different, it makes me think they left a friend’s house and walked home… I’m not sure. It took only a few hours to complete. I am slowly changing my perfectionist ways.
In any case, as I devised the song, someone kept popping into my mind for some strange reason (it must have been the nature sounds). I have befriended a bird lover who lives in the middle of the mountains (or so I’ve been told) of California, plays the cello and is a great musician. This song, even in all its imperfections, is dedicated to him: all the way into the top of the trees.
Taking A Light To Where There Is None (A Dedication)
