Common Tone Voice Leading

I've followed Brent Heflin McHenry for a little bit and he always has insightful ways to spur the composition bug His recent post had a piece that he wrote using Common Tone Voice Leading wherein you keep as many notes as possible from a chord and move one or two with the music developing in a slow, often methodical pace. It's handy when you want to underscore stuff that is rather neutral and then want to add some acid but not change the texture. It's pretty cool and subtle.

I added my own version of his piece, using his staring voicing as my jumping in point. His makes a complete jump from bars 4 to 5 but is an excellent example as well.

Turning A Piano Piece Into A Piano Trio

I've been tasked by a group of music teachers to compose violin and cello parts for a series of well known student piano pieces. The first example is a screen shot of  "Canyons and Waterfalls" by Melody Bober, who has been very supportive of this endeavor. I am in talks with Ms. Bober's publisher to see about getting this out to a broader audience. In the mean time, if you want to see it performed, you will have to come to Tacoma, WA on the first weekend in November.

First page of the Piano Trio Version of "Canyons and Waterfalls" by Melody Bober