Composition of Love and Family

Nothing goes by luck in composition. It allows of no tricks. The best you can write will be the best you are. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Just before my senior year in high school, my dad was relocated to Minneapolis for his job with Sears. Suddenly I was going to have to start all over at a new school, and in my senior year no less. I was devastated, how could my parents do this to me!

We rented a house and my room was a refurbished garage that had a piano in it that was too large to ever leave the room. It had been brush painted a rustic red and had faded in time both in color and in tonality. But I was thrilled and spend many an hour plunking away on the piano with my skills from the three months I had lessons in first grade.

That year at 17 years of age, I purchased an easy to play book and note by note sussed out some of my favorite popular tunes. At some point that year, the year before I left for college, the year I met my wife Suzy, I created a song that I liked. Just from noodling around, I composed a song that spoke to me on a couple of levels.

Speed ahead a number of years, Suzy and I were married with two lovely children both of which were fascinated with the piano and my song. Both of them learned it just by watching me. We still play it sometimes today. Even I do on occasion although I never pursued playing piano in any serious way.

For this festive holiday season my son Aaron captured my first and last composition and put it on paper. He even named it for us. So I thought I’d share it with the family.

 

Here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n4prdls4y13e5kg/Allegro%20and%20Vivace.mp3?dl=0 is a link to the audio of my son playing it. Happy holidays folks.