Signs of Spring.. in the Winter?

I absolutely love this cover! LOVE IT! Even if there is a coloring error underneath his/her chin. Still, I think I may frame this piece.

Archive # 74

I don't really know where this piece comes from. Two things lead me to believe it's not my great-grandmother's: 1.) Her name is not written on it and 2.) It's way too easy to play! Thus, I must surmise that she never played it. That being said, I do know that someone did. Firstly, it's tattered from use. Secondly, when you look inside there are F-sharps pencilled in all over the place which tells me that whoever played it was a beginner who was still struggling with key signatures that weren't C Major. In this case, G Major was throwing them for a loop!

Of course, I talk as if that still doesn't happen to me. I'll admit that I tend to play whatever key I want a song to be in... that is, before begrudgingly relenting and submitting to what is written after a long atonal series of notes that in no way resemble a melody.

In any case, I think it's safe to say that my great-grandmother picked this up with all the other freebies at the dime store she worked at.

On a side note, the Theodore Presser Company, which had owned the copyrights to this song, still exists! Amazing that they have survived! Perhaps its because their base was in Philadelphia and not New York, where there was more competition. Of course, to confirm this thought, I checked my database and find that there are quite a few companies based in Philadelphia. Eclipse, and Hatcher at the very least, though I haven't checked to see how those companies have done towards the end of the century.

I would love to write more boring things about this song, but I've got to go unload hay. Fun, seeing as I'm incredibly allergic to it! Hay fever. Talk about a sign of spring, eh?

An Exercise in Copyright Law

I don't mean to be crude at all when I say that copyright law is an absolute and utter b*tch, but it is. It really is. It's easy enough for my pieces which are before 1923, since all of those copyrights are have entered the public domain. However, for the ones between 1923-1950, I have to make sure that their copyright wasn't renewed in the 28 years after their publication. If it has been, it means there is a 95 year wait period before it enters the public domain. Needless to say, it's not been an easy task.

Take for instance, this lovely song:

I look, and I look, and I cannot find a secondary publication of it which may mean that it wasn't renewed. All copies I am aware of are published in 1929 for the movie, The Pagan. The question, however, remains, does that mean its copyright hasn't been renewed? I'm not entirely sure, seeing as there was a movie made in 1950 (starring the esteemed queen of the waves, Esther Williams) that features the song, and is appropriately called Pagan Love Song. It is all so confusing!

I've also found out that the publisher, Robbins Music Corporation, is owned now by ubiquitous Alfred Publishing Company (or Belwin) which makes me wonder how many of its copyrights were transferred to APC. Logically, I would have to suppose a lot of that would depend on when APC acquired the company. I guess it's time to start seriously researching.

My Buddy

Watch my fingers wiggle and perform "My Buddy", and wish you never heard my awful voice! Now on to scan some more covers and learn about how sheet music was printed in the early 1900s!

I'm aware I played this a little fast, but, really, it's within in the range of the tempo given on the sheet music, and I think it's incredibly boring to play slower... ah, my old habits of adolescence returns.

Covers for "My Buddy"

The sheet music of "My Buddy" has two covers, so far as I'm aware. One extols its virtues by proclaiming that it was sung by Al Jolson (famous to us people nowadays as the Jazz Singer), and the other that of Mary Katherine Campbell (two-time winner of Miss America).

Image from (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctod/536375071/)

archive # 43

These covers naturally raise a question of gender. Who is singing to who? Man to woman? Man to man? Woman to woman? Woman to man? The covers are so markedly different, it's hard to say. I will discuss it, however, in the next post, but I ask you to consider the covers, the singers, and the lyrics. What do you think?

(Verse 1)

Life is a book that we study,

some of its leaves bring a sigh.

There it was written, my buddy,

that we should part, you and I.

(Chorus)

Nights are long since you went away.

I think about you all through the day.

My buddy, no buddy, quite so true.

Miss your voice, and touch of your hand.

I long to know that you understand.

My buddy, your buddy misses you.

(Verse 2)

Buddies through all of the gay days,

buddies then something went wrong.

I go alone through the gray days,

missing your smile and your song.

Pronunciation Guide

I thought people may be confused about how to pronounce the lyricist of "My Buddy", Gus Kahn's, name, so I made a quick how to video.

It's easy once you get the hang of it, eh?

"My Buddy" Sight-reading

The first song I've decided to play is "My Buddy" (lyrics: Gus Kahn | music: Walter Donaldson).

Archive # 43

In any case, the following video is me sight-reading/singing "My Buddy", and not doing a terribly good job of it. There are also little tidbits added in for the musical inclined.I'm not sure if I'm going to do this every time for a song, but it's kind of fun to see how badly I do the first time going through it :)

75 Pieces Archived

I have officially scanned in seventy-five pieces of music!

How many have I learned to play? About... four...

Still, progress is progress.

Here are some covers that I particularly like:

Archive# 53

Archive # 49

Archive # 33

The First Post

I’ll start from the beginning, shall I?

I was born in 1985, and I suppose then I probably had some sort of knack for music. Or at least, I’d like to think so. Perhaps I would cry with perfect intonation… or pump my small, chubby fists to Pink Floyd. Unlikely, really. My intonation is questionable, at best, and it took me several years of constant metronome use to learn how to stay on beat.

So where to start? As with everything, there are a million beginnings, some so far away they are taken for granted, as if they were always there, mired in the non-linear.

I shall start in two places. The death of my grandmother, and my love of music. My mother says I inherit all my talent from my grandmother, which I have to believe seeing my father’s side of the family is completely devoid of anything musical except a somewhat questionable respect for the strangest singers*.

My grandmother died before I was born. When I was sixteen, I inherited her sheet music, which she inherited from her mother. At the time, I was into playing Beethoven, and I cursed the fact that, while I loved Chopin, I had difficulty playing his music due to their flat-ridden key signatures, and counterintuitive rhythms. Then, I was listening The Smashing Pumpkins on repeat, and admiring the orchestrations of Elliott Goldenthal in Interview with a Vampire. I had no interest in old music. But if I must be frank, the truth was that I liked having it. It gave me status.

How is that for beginnings?

After about eight or nine years, I found my sheet music and started going through it. Then, I was hit with a bit of inspiration.

So, this is the Appleton Sound Project. I’m not entirely sure what it is yet, but I know it has to do with the archival of all my sheet music, and learning the history of people that are no longer remembered. It is my research project, and my chance to connect with music I had never heard before.

Welcome.

* My dad, rather inexplicably, likes Yes and Rush.