Setting The Mood

Sometimes, when you are listening to music, you hear the same piece of music by two different musicians, and one you like, the other well, it's only so so. The question is why?

Is it that the one we like is technically better? (No not necessarily)

Is it that we prefer the musician or musicians performing it? (Again
not necessarily)

The answer in many cases is MOOD.

Mood is something that sets the feeling of the piece of music. As you
listen for example to Ebb Tide, you can almost expect to hear the
waves lapping the shore in the background. You may remember the
sweeping strings on many Strauss waltzes. If it was done by electric
guitars, would it feel the same as you danced romantically with your
partner? I think not.

Do not get me wrong here. As an organist, I am a great one for playing
pieces of music in completely different ways. I was influenced greatly
in this when my Dad bought an LP record at Christmas, in the late 1960's
called "Tijuana Christmas" by the Torero Band. It was brilliant,
containing fast moving Christmas Carols with good Latin style rhythms,
plenty of trumpets, marimbas and tubular bells. It was so good, that
Granada Television in England, used it as the background music for
their Christmas TV Program adverts. I still love it after all these
years.

If you set the stage so to speak by having instrument sounds that link
to the music, then you can get away with murder in your playing
quality, because the mood is right. I used to play the Skye Boat Song,
and Amazing Grace on the good old Lowrey Citation Spinet organ, by
using the Reed/String tab down for Upper Keyboard, have Reverb on full, Vibrato on full and hold the Glide pedal in.This caused the organ to bend its overall sound back half a tone and gave a surprisingly good BAGPIPE sound. Yes, it was good. You could also do the same trick with an 8 foot flute tab, to get an authentic sounding Calliope (Fairground type organ for those who do not know what that is)

So, back to mood.

For today's attached piece of music from me, I have given you a link
to a little gem that I have put on YouTube.

I am an avid Western Fan. Fantastic films with great soundtracks, (The
Horse Soldiers, The Big Country, Shenandoah, The Magnificent Seven,Gunfight At the OK Corral The Alamo {John Wayne version} etc.) great TV Western shows (High Chaparral, The Virginian, Cheyenne, The Lone Ranger { that one was actually The William Tell Overture} etc.,) The mood of the music involved can give you a feeling of quite, noise, tension, of Indian attack, of flowing water and many other things. I especially like the soundtracks of Dimitri Tiomkin who did many for the films of director John Ford.

If you can imagine that instruments out in the wild west tended to be, Bow Fiddle, Guitar, Harmonica, Banjo, Fiddle and the occasional Accordion and so sounds were limited. In my presentation/ interpretation, you will hear the sounds that set the mood for the piece.

See what you think and send me an email or comment with your views.

You Tube Link

I hope you enjoy it.

Bye for now,

Robin