I’ve always been disappointed the One Note Samba by Antonio Carlos Jobim doesn’t stick to one note, though the tune is catchy as hell. So for this second piano meditation I decided to try sticking to one note, and only one note.
That doesn’t mean one frequency. In this case I used five different octaves of G, but never left G.
It’s not all that pretty, and I made a point of breaking up the rhythms so the time and tempo felt fluid. In fact, the piece is a bit stressful at times, with all of the repetition, but who says music must always be pretty. Art not only imitates life, but it amplifies life too. And while repetition in our own daily lives may beat and beat on a muffled drum, it’s normal that an artistic interpretation of that sounds with more tension.
In addition to the repetition of the G, I discovered while recording that the pounding Gs started to generate a lot of feedback, which I ended up using in the piece. And since I played this on an electronic keyboard, which is always perfectly in tune, there are plenty of harmonics floating over the monotony.
Enjoy.
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Flickr photo by procsilas
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Journalist, writer, musician and Long Island family man. Regional editor for Patch.com covering much of Suffolk County. Jazz lover, wine geek, iPhone addict.
This is great, from the first notes this is what it reminded me of, “Out of my hands” by Dave Matthews Band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QYvvc0zyNU
Both are eerily beautiful pieces