Chant noir

Here is an unusual musical creation from a few weeks ago (with video added today):

Happy Birthday from The Alcotts

My official 20th year of blogging began on February 24th, although I failed to post on the 19th Anniversary this year. (I promise I won't forget next year when it's the 20th!) It's been a very busy winter, but a few days off means I'm finally back with new stuff to share.

Bartók Bells (Emptying the Desk Drawer #10)

A quick post featuring festive bells to end 2025 - a year in which I had the most blog posts of any year since 2014. This is a perfect example of the kind of not-so-serious but fun multimedia I find myself creating on social media. In this case, I think it also provides a nice little window into how my mind works in these situations...for better or for worse.

I can, can't I? (But, should I?)

While prepping for a school Christmas concert about a month ago, I went to some notation files folders to find my own accompaniment arrangement for Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," a song I was slated to play with a big group of enthusiastic 8th graders. As I looked through multiple versions, I was surprised to find one with a left hand which borrows from a big hit of the 19th century - although it didn't carry the idea very far.

The Quick Carol (Emptying the Desk Drawer #9)

Time for a little Christmas cleaning. I was looking for something else among the tens of thousands of files on my computer and came across this micro-project I barely remembered from 2020. Someone had posted the following "formula for a Christmas carol" meme: