SKU: A0.976734

CONJUNCTION interprets the convergence of Jupiter and Saturn near the end of the year 2020 as a celestial metaphor for the good news of Christ's birth in a replay of the Star of Bethlehem. Hence, its subtitle of The Christmas Star of 2020. The music, along with narration from selected Old and New Testament scriptures, delivers a message of hope amid the turmoil and chaos of current times.

It's written for smaller concert bands hungry for challenging music. Ample cues and doubling allow for flexible instrumentation while mixed meters, varying tempos and textures, and interesting solo lines provide opportunities for strong players to shine. CONJUNCTION is also available with strings for orchestra.

PROGRAM NOTES:

2020 is widely characterized for its maladies: murders, burning cities, riots, a pandemic, economic shocks, and political turmoil. For some of us, it also held personal tragedy such as my brother’s passing from COVID. But, 2020 also brought a sign of hope, namely the celestial phenomenon known as the Great Conjunction of 2020. For earth-bound observers, this was the closest approach of Jupiter and Saturn in almost 400 years as they appeared to almost touch in the early evening sky to produce the most brilliant evening star of our lifetimes. The occurrence of the event in November-December neatly coincided with the Advent season, peaking just before Christmas Day. One could hardly fail to note the parallels with the Christmas star of Matthew’s gospel which gave the conjunction its alternate name, the Christmas Star of 2020. Thus, this star spoke, to those with ears to hear, the same message the prophet Isaiah wrote about the coming Messiah, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. This star thus served to remind us that the LORD has not rejected us; He will show His favor again; His love has not vanished; His promises have not failed; He has not forgotten to be merciful or compassionate; and we are called to remember His mighty deeds (Psalm 77). CONJUNCTION: The Christmas Star of 2020 is inspired by these particulars.

For the music, I looked to Gustav Holst’s The Planets for themes that would portray Jupiter and Saturn’s pas de deux. I selected several motives from the corresponding movements mixed and matched in sometimes easily recognized quotations and other times in heavily camouflaged derivations. An exuberant polyphonic passage recaps themes from both Jupiter and Saturn when the music resolves from uncertainty into hopefulness. While Holst’s motives provide CONJUNCTION’s foundation I also used Handel’s Messiah for transitory and climactic material. You will hear his The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light in transitions and a short trombone solo. And a re-harmonization of the opening line from For unto us a child is born brings the music to a joyous climax.

Although the music stands firmly on its own, I elected to incorporate some narrative to make the musical sentiment explicit. In a commentary on 2020’s grim events, I took adaptations of Habakkuk 1:2-4 and 2 Tim 3:1-4 and set them over Saturn’s plodding and ominous harmonies. Contrasting replies shimmer with hope as the narration melds Isaiah 9:2 and Luke 1:78-79 over another Saturn motive set against pitch sets from Jupiter’s main hymn theme. Still, it’s the music that tells the story of the Christmas Star of 2020.

Please visit my website for a complete score preview: https://wheatmyermusic.com/conjunction-the-christmas-star-of-2020

I feel somewhat guilty making claim to this music as almost all the building blocks are taken from other composers. But the end result is neither a medley, nor an arrangement, rather it is something clearly new, so I call it my own with deep respect to those giants on whose shoulders I stand.

Robert Myers
S.D.G.

SKU: A0.596568

Has the Rain a Father?

This piece exists in two versions:

Piano solo

Guitar solo (without or with electronic sounds)

The piano version has no huge secrets (to clarify: the pedal is used da capo al fine without interruption).

The guitar version is written in three keys: E, G and A (Dorian). The performer may choose one or another score at their convenience.

The guitar version can also use effects of all kinds, or amplifiers that are not always used in classical music.

At the end of 2019 an album will be released on Spotify and other online music platforms with both versions of the piece (solo piano and acoustic guitar with electronic sounds).

As an example of the amplitude that the composer expects from the performers: in this record production, the guitar signal is split in two parts, panned to the right and left, and different types of effects are applied to each channel (chorus, delay, reverb of different kinds and with different parameters). The original guitar signal is also in the center. Of course, there are also the electronic sounds themselves.

A preliminary version can be heard here:

https://juanmariasolare.bandcamp.com/album/has-the-rain-a-father

Has the Rain a Father? is a quote from the bible, specifically from the book of Job 38:28. It is part of a series of rhetorical questions that tend to convince Job of his ignorance.

Has the Rain a Father? was composed in Bremen (Germany) on March 17, 2019 (plus details to the piano part on March 27). Its duration is about 4:30.

I asked some people about the wording of the title. Among the meaningful answers:

Which wording is better, Has the rain a Father? or Does the Rain have a father? (Bible, Job, 38:28). It will be used as the title of a music piece for piano.

Has the Rain a Father? is slightly unusual, and thus is attention-grabbing, something you want in a title. It sounds more biblical, calling attention to the allusion. In ordinary speech the Does the . . . version is more common, but for a title you don’t necessarily want common. (Johnny Wilson, former Writer and Magazine Editor (1973-1999))

SKU: A0.845981

This is a loop station composition for electric violin that I composed for my live-looping duo, The Khromatiks, in 2014. Doing my part to increase the available repertoire for extended range violins out here on the internet!

I originally recorded this tune on a 7-string electric violin with a Boomerang III loop station. That being said, there are plenty of other gear configurations that will work. Any phrase looper/sampler that is capable of playing 3 separate tracks or sections with overdubs will be able to handle this structure, such as the Singular Sound Aeros, Ableton Live with a MIDI controller, etc. If you don't play 7-string, a 5-string can also play this chart as written if you use an octave pedal to record the low bass lines. A standard 4-string can also work, although some phrases will have to be transposed 8va.

A little about this tune: a Haiku is characterized by a pattern of 5-7-5 syllables, and in this piece that refers to the meters used in each of the overarching sections. The ambient intro in 5/8 involves a quartal ostinato with long sweeping volume swells, which then develops into a pizzicato groove in 7/8. This groove forms the basis for the majority of the tune, as melodies & improvised solos drift in and out over an A and B section loop. On the final B section, the loop drops out and the violinist builds up into a more distorted strum bowing groove (which accompanies a drum solo on the original recording). As the intensity builds, the 7/8 groove is shortened back into 5/8, thus completing the Haiku. The piece ends with a restatement of the original ostinato as it fades into silence using an automated volume fade on the looper pedal.

With The Khromatiks this piece was performed as a duo with violin & drums/percussion, but also works as a violin solo. If you have a looper capable of syncing to a click track, you could also try adding bass or guitar/keyboards (players can read the chord symbols on the chart as a lead-sheet). The sky is the limit, feel free to get creative with it!

Please, if you have questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me via my website, www.kylepudenz.com/, or on Instagram @theviolinvagabond

SKU: F0.W9407

UPC: 674398230983.

This toccata creates a vivid impression of the extraordinary beauty of the northern lights. Performers develop technical fluidity, artistic use of pedal, delicate touch, and left-hand voicing with right-hand coloration. The piece begins in the key of F# Major then modulates to G, and uses 6/8, 3/4 and 4/4 meters.

About FJH Written For You Piano Solos

Sparkling and lyrical pieces which promote musical expression.

SKU: A0.931835

This collection presents its user with a series of increasingly difficult rhythms on a single pitch.

The rhythmic material in this series is organized into 10 difficulty levels. Each difficulty level contains four exercises in each of the following time signatures: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8. This gives exercises in 2, 3, and 4 beats per bar in both simple and compound meters. The first two exercises of each time signature have no ties while the remaining two exercises in each time signature include ties. In Book 1 of this series you’ll find difficulty levels 1 to 5, while Book 2 completes the set with levels 6 to 10.

The exercises in this collection are intentionally random and difficult to internalize. They don’t follow any predictable or standard groove pattern, but instead are random successions of eighth- and sixteenth-note groupings within the prescribed difficulty level. In keeping the rhythmic material as unpredictable as possible the door is left open for the materials to be used in conjunction with any number of exercises, while forcing the user to process every rhythm as its own event without relying on pattern recognition to help in identifying the rhythms.

To curate the difficulty of rhythm in as objective a way as possible I looked at all of the possible eighth-note and sixteenth-note groupings within the basic unit of one beat. Each difficulty level builds on the exercises of the previous by adding groupings that are slightly more conceptually challenging. Difficulty Level 9 contains all possible groupings, while Level 10 focuses on the more challenging groupings by omitting easy ones.

Some suggestions for how to use this book include:

• Practice sight-reading. When doing so it is encouraged to cycle through the exercises quickly rather than dwelling on a particular exercise for a long period of time. The goal in practising sight-reading is not to learn the material but to develop the skill of reading new material.

• Use a metronome! The most important thing you can do with this material is learn how to read these rhythms and play them in time.

• Advanced metronome work: Place the metronome click on weak beats. With the metronome clicking only on the beat you run the risk of relying on the metronome to give you the time. Placing the metronome click on non-strong beats forces you to take responsibility for the time. For example, instead of putting the metronome click on each quarter-note in 4/4, play the exercise with the metronome giving the second eighth note of each beat, or the last sixteenth note, or beats 2 and 4, or only the downbeat of each bar. Be creative with this one! The possibilities are limitless.

• Develop independence between hands by playing a repeating pattern in one hand while reading an exercise in the other. Expand on this by adding patterns in hands and feet while reading a rhythm with a remaining limb. This is a great exercise for drummers and percussionists but any instrumentalist could benefit from coordination practice.

• Use these rhythms to practice scales. Instead of playing scales in straight sixteenth-notes, try playing them in the rhythms given in these exercises.

• Write in sticking patterns, dynamics, accents, phrase marks, or other articulations for you or your students to practice. If you’re not happy with the ties I included, feel free to add some of your own.

• Combine the above exercises in any way that you think will be beneficial to your practice.

As with any of the Dots and Beams books, the uses for this particular collection are limited only by the imagination of the musician using it. I encourage anybody using this book to find as many uses for these exerci.

SKU: A0.931836

This collection presents its user with a series of increasingly difficult rhythms on a single pitch.

The rhythmic material in this series is organized into 10 difficulty levels. Each difficulty level contains four exercises in each of the following time signatures: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8. This gives exercises in 2, 3, and 4 beats per bar in both simple and compound meters. The first two exercises of each time signature have no ties while the remaining two exercises in each time signature include ties. In Book 1 of this series you’ll find difficulty levels 1 to 5, while Book 2 completes the set with levels 6 to 10.

The exercises in this collection are intentionally random and difficult to internalize. They don’t follow any predictable or standard groove pattern, but instead are random successions of eighth- and sixteenth-note groupings within the prescribed difficulty level. In keeping the rhythmic material as unpredictable as possible the door is left open for the materials to be used in conjunction with any number of exercises, while forcing the user to process every rhythm as its own event without relying on pattern recognition to help in identifying the rhythms.

To curate the difficulty of rhythm in as objective a way as possible I looked at all of the possible eighth-note and sixteenth-note groupings within the basic unit of one beat. Each difficulty level builds on the exercises of the previous by adding groupings that are slightly more conceptually challenging. Difficulty Level 9 contains all possible groupings, while Level 10 focuses on the more challenging groupings by omitting easy ones.

Some suggestions for how to use this book include:

• Practice sight-reading. When doing so it is encouraged to cycle through the exercises quickly rather than dwelling on a particular exercise for a long period of time. The goal in practising sight-reading is not to learn the material but to develop the skill of reading new material.

• Use a metronome! The most important thing you can do with this material is learn how to read these rhythms and play them in time.

• Advanced metronome work: Place the metronome click on weak beats. With the metronome clicking only on the beat you run the risk of relying on the metronome to give you the time. Placing the metronome click on non-strong beats forces you to take responsibility for the time. For example, instead of putting the metronome click on each quarter-note in 4/4, play the exercise with the metronome giving the second eighth note of each beat, or the last sixteenth note, or beats 2 and 4, or only the downbeat of each bar. Be creative with this one! The possibilities are limitless.

• Develop independence between hands by playing a repeating pattern in one hand while reading an exercise in the other. Expand on this by adding patterns in hands and feet while reading a rhythm with a remaining limb. This is a great exercise for drummers and percussionists but any instrumentalist could benefit from coordination practice.

• Use these rhythms to practice scales. Instead of playing scales in straight sixteenth-notes, try playing them in the rhythms given in these exercises.

• Write in sticking patterns, dynamics, accents, phrase marks, or other articulations for you or your students to practice. If you’re not happy with the ties I included, feel free to add some of your own.

• Combine the above exercises in any way that you think will be beneficial to your practice.

As with any of the Dots and Beams books, the uses for this particular collection are limited only by the imagination of the musician using it. I encourage anybody using this book to find as many uses for these exerci.