Children's Albums!!!

After I completed and recorded my last work, Several Nocturnes, I sat down and asked myself, how can I make money with my music?

This question coincided with an extended pause from anonymousbjorn for various reasons. The biggest reason, related to posting on my blog, is that all of my creative energies were focused on recording children’s songs.

Children’s songs are great! I have countless children’s songs and my children love them. They sing along to these songs, they sing along to the radio, and more recently, they love Moana! But as a parent these songs can sometimes....drive you crazy. As you are moving your family from point A to B and listening to “Twinkle Twinkle” for the fifth time in a row that is sung by a chorus of six to nine year olds, it starts grating on your soul.

Back to my music. I have been writing music for 27 years and I have always focused on Classical music with my style mellowing out over the last decade. In-between writing my more formal, larger works, A Light in the Attic (2014), 3 Simple Minuets (2014), Halloween Suite (2014), Passacaglia (2015), Several Nocturnes (2016), and the works I have not recorded yet, Inspired by Silliness Suite (2014), A Tiny Symphony (2015), Sanguine Symphony (2015), Bernie visits Troldaugen (2016), and Sally the Sad Saguaro (2016), I would write two to three minute children’s songs as practice. I would look at Mozart, Bach, Grieg, Beethoven and like for inspiration and write songs that were simple and fun. I soon realized that I had dozens of these songs that kids and parents alike could like and do I dare say it, could make money!

Three children's albums:
My children's songs follow a pretty straight forward format; statement of melody, melody harmonized, variation on melody or variation on harmonic progression, rinse & repeat, and done! Sometimes I throw in a simple fugue in the middle with statements at the dominant or subdominant just to liven things up. From December 2016 until July 2017 I recorded them in my music studio using my small instrument collection: my Hofner Contemporar for the bass (with nylon wound strings), AnueNue Papa tenor for the oompahs (with a low G), and for the melodies and countermelodies my Gretsch CE100 (with nylon wound strings), Cordoba C9, Gretsch 5120 (with Thomastik-Infeld George Benson 12s), Dean DOA AE, and my cute little Glockenspiel.

After I recorded a few of these songs I tested  them out on my kids and as the songs were playing in the background they would sing and enjoy them. Success! Now that I have my draft version of my three albums out I still have a lot of work to do; market research, create some cover art, re-record numerous tracks, even out the post-production, and find a distributor! In the meantime, enjoy these drafts of my children’s songs and enjoy!

Dedication:

To my wife and my sons for whom I do everything.

Song/Week: The Day After Halloween Suite by Bjorn Mercer

The Day After Halloween Suite is second part of the work A Light in the Attic Suite. Both suites take their inspiration from Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic but The Day After Halloween Suite movements are the spooky, icky, and ghoulish poems.

Most of the movements will have a main melody with a counter melody but some have a main melody, secondary melody, and a counter melody (played by the Gretch and/or the Godin). Along with the main melodic content there will always be the harmony (Godin) and the bass line (Ibanez).

As far as the overall product, I am 100% happy with the composition (the actual music), I am 60% happy with the performance (guitar and bass playing), and I am 51% happy with the mixing (Cubase). That gives me an average of  73% which is passing but I still have a lot to learn.

Dedication:

I dedicate this to my one and only, my #trueheartsduet, my wife. Without her love and support I would not be where I am today and I would not be able to focus on my hobby with such dedication and clarity.

I would also like the continue to thank Ryan for letting me borrow his Ibanez bass and Paul for the Godin classical guitar.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/bjorn-mercer/sets/the-day-after-halloween-suite

Song/Week: Live from Lincoln Theater, The Milk Carton Kids

I am blown away.

Rarely, when it comes to popular music, am I blown away but these guys are amazing! When you read comments about The Milk Carton Kids people will compare them to a cadre of great musicians over the last 50 years but they do not need to be compared to anyone; all we need to do is listen to their harmonious voices of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, listen to their wonderful guitar playing, and try to decipher the shimmering lyrics.

Song/Week: 3 Simple Minuets by Bjorn Mercer

I was trying to figure out what to call this piece and I went back and forth between attempting something clever and something straightforward. In the end I decided to call it what the movements are; three short, simple minuets.

For those who are not familiar with minuets, the minuet is a European dance form in ¾ that eventually led to the scherzo and the waltz. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, pretty much everyone wrote minuets in one form or the other with countless contemporary composers looking into the past for musical inspiration.

As I was describing these pieces to one of my colleagues the other day, she asked me what my inspiration for these three movements were. Unlike A Light in the Attic that was directly inspired by the poems of Shel Silverstein, 3 Simple Minuets was inspired by my #trueheartsduet, my wife and partner. Although these pieces are not swelling with passion like Mahler or sublimely beautiful like art songs by Faure they are inspired by the woman who holds my heart, takes care of my children, who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, and is the one I hold as I fall asleep.

I would like to thank Paul Nersesian for letting me borrow his Godin; it is a great instrument and fun to play.

Song/Week: A Light in the Attic Suite, by Bjorn Mercer

I finally did it, I recorded my first home studio work and uploaded it to SoundCloud. This endeavor to write music and perform it with the instruments I have in my house started in June 2014. Since then I wrote several works but A Light in the Attic Suite is the first one I performed, recorded, and mixed myself.

A Light in the Attic Suite started in 2004 when I wrote some simple melodies to poems by Shel Silverstein. Fast forward to 2014 I took those melodies and wrote a suite with five to eight parts, depending on the movement.

This performance of A Light in the Attic is a draft. I call it a draft because I performed all the parts on my Schecter guitar and my friend's Ibanez bass (thank you Ryan). By laying down all the tracks it allowed me to work on different compositional aspects of each movement and adjust when needed. The next step in the process will be to record the entire work again and add my acoustic instruments to incorporate different timbres possibilities giving the work a completely different feel than the current draft. 

Please be patient with my guitar playing and my inexperience with Cubase, the DAW I am using.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/bjorn-mercer/sets/a-light-in-the-attic-suite

Song/Week: Lauda per la Natività del Signore, by Ottorino Respighi

I performed Lauda per la Natività del Signore several times back in the day and it is one of my favorite works of all-time. Now it is not the Pines of Rome, it is not the Fountains of Rome, and it is not even Church Windows by Respighi; but it it better. This work is pure chamber beauty that relies on vocal and instrumental subtleties and perfect harmonizing rather than bombastic brass and orchestral effects.

Turn it up, shut out the world, and enjoy.

Song/Week: "Gamma Ray," by Echosmith

Over the last few months, I have heard Echosmith’s song “Cool Kids” on the radio and have liked it but had not given it much thought (besides I liked it a lot more than Pitbull or Jason Derulo). But recently, two days ago exactly, I stumbled upon their YouTube channel and I have to say, I am blown away.

First, these are some talented kids. They are all under the age of 22 and they are super talented and already have a sound that is unique to them. Their music has a maturity that many musicians in their 30s and 40s struggle to attain. I also like their music because it reminds me of the music I loved in the late 80s; it is funny how music, like fashion or any type of art, is cyclical.

Second, these are some cool kids. They seem to be very real in their videos; they never seem to be burned by fashion or glamor. Since they are all so young they could easily be obsessed by fashion and the pressures of pop-culture but they seem to be very strong or are getting some good guidance.

Third, these kids have been working hard. In going through their videos on YouTube they have videos that are four-years old; they have been working on their sound, crafting their personas, and practicing. Like my favorite YouTube singer/songwriter Daniela Andrade they have been learning their art by covering songs from the best artists out there.

The song I am highlighting is “Gamma Ray.” I like this song because it showcases their sound and it sounds like two of my favorite artists from 20-years ago; the Smiths and early REM. Three other Echosmith songs that I particularly like,  besides “Cool Kids” are “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me”, “Two Way Street” (no one covers Kimbra), and  their excellent holiday song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Song/Week: A Puzzle Cannon

I wrote this puzzle cannon around 10-years ago and it is not bad. Below are the instructions:

• The opening line (below) is the alto.  The order of voices is alto, soprano II, tenor, soprano I and bass (it may work other ways, but I don’ bother to see if it was invertible);
• The Da Capo symbol is where the voices enter;
• The voices will either come in on tonic, subdominant or dominant;
• The entries are tonal, not perfect (no chromaticism, don’t use any F#s or Bbs; just keep it in C Major, or if you want to think of it modally, Ionian);
• Please excuse the cannon for not being perfect.

Give it a try!

Song/Week: “Phillip,” performed by Kate Davis

Great performance; simple and beautiful.

Ever since I discovered Kate Davis I have been trying to figure out what song to highlight. I thought about posting “All About That Bass” with Post Modern Jukebox; a performance that highlights her singing and incredible bass playing. Then I thought about her Kennedy Performance when she was a Presidential Scholar and shows off her jazz singing and again, incredible bass playing.

I finally decided to go with “Phillip” because it shows off her performance chops as a rock star. She plays the uke and guitar fine, her singing is poignant, the instrumentation is interesting, and her presence on-stage is just right. The quality of the recording is less than ideal but the performance communicates everything you want from a song and persona that will hopefully rocket her great things soon.

Song/Week: “Clap Hands” - George Krikes & Ryan Lerman (Tom Waits cover)

This cover rocks! First the source material is excellent; there is no better songwriter than Tom Waits over the last few decades. Second, George Krikes does a great job of singing with some effects on his voice adding interest and intensity. Third, Ryan Lerman is awesome! Not only does he do a great job of playing the drums and bass, but he is a great guitar player and the solo in the middle of the song rocks (I think he is playing a Gibson ES-335, too cool). Finally, the video is just right. The nice thing about YouTube and the contemporary music scene is that you do not need a huge budget to produce a good looking video. What need is good music that is marketed with a video that highlights the music, not the people, and this video does this perfectly.

Song/Week: Royals, Walk off the Earth (cover)

Great version of the song! I like that it was shot in one take using children’s instruments, ukuleles, bass ukuleles, and a didgeridoo. This would have been incredibly difficult to record because any one of the five musicians could have made a mistake at any time ruining the take.

Enjoy!

Song/Week: How to Make a Hit Pop Song, Pt.1 by The Brett Domino Trio

Best how-to video ever! I love it from the use of bassoon, playing Jason Derulo riffs on the kazoo, writing the perfect song lyrics, and magic production dust. 

You have to watch it to experience the brilliance.

Song/Week: “Say it Ain’t So,” Sarah Blackwood ft. Emily Bones (Weezer cover)

As someone who was a young adult in the late 90s I loved Weezer. Nerd-rock exemplars! When I discovered Walk off the Earth I soon found Sarah Blackwood’s YouTube channel and this version of “Say it Ain’t So” with Emily Bones. To put it mildly, this is the best cover of this this song ever! Two chill gals playing a Weezer song, a cat sleeping at their feet, and a distorted ukulele.

Enough said...enjoy!

Song/Week: “Burn,” Postmodern Jukebox (Ellie Goulding cover)

I heard about Postmodern Jukebox on NPR a little while ago and finally remembered to find them on YouTube. Wow! First, they are crazy talented from the leader of the group, Scott Bradlee, to the excellent singers, and all of the instrumentalists.

Without saying too much I will let Scott Bradlee speak for himself:

"Growing up as an aspiring jazz pianist, I wasn’t interested in listening to anything that might appeal to those that I deemed to possess a less than refined palette of musical taste."

“What I found is that, despite my initial aversion to the stuff I was hearing, I was unable to truly categorize this as ‘bad music’ without first defining a set of arbitrary, culturally-defined criteria."

"My goal with Postmodern Jukebox is to get my audience to think of songs not as rigid, ephemeral objects, but like malleable globs of silly putty. Songs can be twisted, shaped, and altered without losing their identities–just as we grow, age, and expire without losing ours–and it is through this exploration that the gap between 'high' and 'low' art can be bridged most readily."

Good writer, excellent points, and great music!

Each song that Postmodern Jukebox performs is in a different style from mariachi, to 20s New Orleans Jazz, 60s Doo-Wop, R&B from every decade, 40s swing, et cetera. Each song is brilliant with great arranging, solid musicianship, loads of creativity, and a good touch of humor.

I am highlighting “Burn” originally performed by Ellie Goulding but to get the Postmodern Jukebox experience you have to plugin and start listening.

Song/Week: “Feist sings 1, 2, 3, 4” by Feist

Ever since I became  a father I have become very familiar with children’s television; PBS, Disney, and everything else. PBS, and especially Sesame Street is a godsend; educational programming that is entertaining and appropriate for all kids (Dinosaur Train is also quite good).

One of my favorite songs sung by a star on Sesame Street is “Feist sings 1, 2, 3, 4.” This version, along with 4 monsters, 4 chickens, and 4 penguins dancing is adorable! Along with being one of the most viewed Sesame Street songs on YouTube is also has a curious Like and Dislike ratio; 40k Likes to 11k Dislikes (May 2014). This seems like an awful lot of Dislikes for a song that is simple, benign, and super-cute (maybe that is why parents do not like it, it is not educational enough).

A short yet accurate comment explains the high number of Dislikes, “The people who disliked this video also dislike puppies, candy, fireworks, and joy.”

Song/Week: “Portrait of Someone,” by Daniela Andrade

I found the perfect musician with Daniela Andrade. Having first started on YouTube six-years ago she has recorded countless videos of covers and originals and has an enormous amount of talent for such a young woman. She sings, plays the guitar, provides rhythmic support when needed, and collaborates well with others.

I only ‘found’ Daniela Andrade a few months ago and at first I thought she had not found her ‘sound’ but the more I listed to her music the more I realized that she had found her sound somewhere in 2012. The quality of the songs starting in 2012 increased dramatically and it is not just because her recording technology improved; she also found her ideal range, created solid arrangements on the guitar, chose really good songs to cover, wrote some excellent originals, and matured as a musician.

Recently, my son and I have been watching Ratatouille; a delightful movie with a special message. My favorite quote is at the end of the movie when Anton Ego is critiquing Remy’s cooking:

“In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, ‘Anyone can cook.’ But I realize only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”

I apply this to Daniela Andrade; great artists can truly come from anywhere. Thank you Edmonton and thank you Honduras for giving us such a special talent!

Song/Week: Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich by Heinrich Schutz

This is one of my favorite mid-17th century works. Written in 1650 as part of Schutz’s Symphoniae Sacrae III, Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich is a powerful three minutes of music that contains sacred text from Acts Chapter 9. Amazingly, this short work only uses three lines of text and the way Schutz uses them is masterful. From the San Francisco Bach Choir, I found the following translation:

Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich?

Es wird dir schwer werden,

wider den Stachel zu löcken.

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

It will become hard for you

to kick against the thorns.

These three lines of text are so artfully crafted, varied, and developed that this work never gets tiresome or repetitive. Schutz passes the text from voice to voice allowing for different ranges and voice timbre to highlight the lines and individual words especially at the end when the tenor proclaims “Saul” over and over (see the tenor part below).

*Music taken from IMSLP.

Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich uses a large(ish) ensemble (mostly voices) that pre-dates the idea of the orchestra yet is orchestral in concept and execution. It is polychoral and I like that even though it is from the middle of the Baroque it does not follow all of the rules of tonality and is modal.

To finish off this #songoftheweek that is over 360 years old I challenge all composers and songwriters out there: what can you do with just three lines of text?

Song/Week: “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Pentatonix (Gotye cover)

So I like the original by Gotye but my favorite thing about that version is really Kimbra. For me, the Pentatnoix cover brings out all of the best aspects of this song; good melodic line, interesting harmonies, and a sad story. I never watched any of the seasons of The Sing Off on NBC of which Pentatonix won the third season and I discovered the band watching Sesame Street with my son and the song “Pentatonix Counts (and Sings) to Five.”

With “Somebody That I Used to Know” along with other songs like “Say Something”, “Valentine”, “Run to You”, and “Aha!” the group has really found their sound. Each singer is versatile, talented, and special props to Avi Kaplan who sings bass and Kevin Olusola who is the rhythm section and plays the cello at times.

Great group and I am hoping for more ingenious covers in the future!

Song/Week: “April” by Imaginary Future ft. Kina Grannis

Great song. Imaginary Future, aka. Jesse Epstein has a wonderful voice with beautiful back-up vocals provided by Kina Grannis. The accompaniment is simple, straight-forward, and never overwhelming. I read through the lyrics and I am not sure what the song is about, I am sure that it is something sad and poignant, but the video is cute and touching.

Just a great song.

Song/Week: “Wrecking Ball,” Walk off the Earth (Miley Cyrus cover)

Wow; I honestly did not know this song was this good. When it first came out all the press was about Miley being naked on a wrecking ball; I watched the video once and ignored it since. But after discovering Walk off the Earth and finding that Sarah Blackwood did a cover I was intrigued.

This song is great! The lyrics are sad, poignant, and thoughtful and the music is good. What really makes “Wrecking Ball” stand out is the performance by Sarah Blackwood along with her friends Jenni, and Emily. This simple performance is sublime; the two and three-part harmonies are beautiful, the guitar accompaniment minimalist, and the solo parts haunting.

Wonderful song because of Sarah, Jenni, and Emily.