"Like Grass Peeking Through the Melting Snow"

"Like Grass Peeking Through the Melting Snow." Now, that's a title!

And ... I can't claim credit for it.

A friend of mine, let's call him ... Don, because ... well, ... his name is ... Don. Anyway, Don recently sent me a very witty review of my "Blues Etude #1" that read;

"Sounds like something Chopin wrote after spending an afternoon with Thelonious Monk - and a few Brooklyn Lagers!"

You know, it's comments like that that make me appreciate the guy! So I sent him a request: "Send me between 5 - 8 notes. Something you like to play." (Don plays a mean guitar.)

And he did; "Sure! How about A, E, B, D# and F#. To a guitar player, that's an Emaj9 / A bass. A nice, fresh sound, like grass peeking through today's melting snow."

Gotta love a good title!

When I set out to write Don's piece, I figured that it would end up sounding something like a guitar riff. (It doesn't.) I also figured it might be something a bit 'bluesy.' (It's not.) Then, I figured I would have to use something more than five notes - after all, five notes are just ... five notes. (I didn't. I used just ... five notes.)

So, once again ... I was batting a thousand!

What ended up coming off my pencil was a fun, rhythmic 'Debussy-esque' piece that is almost a cross between the Impressionistic sounding Debussy and the open, American feel of Copland.

Though I submit my obvious and heartfelt apologies to both, I must admit a fondness for this piece. It has a fun, infectious rhythmic feel to it and I love the 'cushioned' French harmonic sounds.

Thanks for the great set of notes Don!

Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com


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You can get the FREE sheet music of this piece at www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html

Tomorrow's entry - a piece about cascading water falling in the theater!