Tom Lowry
My Music
Music has been a passion for me for most of my life. I took piano lessons for 7 years starting at age 9 and have continued playing through the years. It was natural that I would make up little tunes along the way and my dream was always to orchestrate and record them. Computer technology provided the method and allowed me to realize this dream (at least partially). Below are a sampling of some of the tunes I have put together in the last couple of years:
Glassbreaker - dates from about 1974 when I was heavily influenced by groups like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. I used to segue from this into an improvisation on the Take a Pebble ostinato pattern. This song got its name when I played it as the recessional for a friend's wedding (accompanied by other friends on acoustic guitar and bass). Although originally written for acoustic piano, I made the solo section electronic so I could use different sounds.
Laundromat March - probably bears
little resemblance to the actual inspiration I had one summer day during
college in 1975 or 1976 at the laundromat on High Street in Lexington,
KY. Something about the rhythm of the machines got me into the march
frame of mind and I tried to capture what I could remember when I got home.
I was somewhat surprised to discover that the melody overlaps the chords;
on piano I've always played the melody with the left hand:
The descending chord section following this melody requires both hands
when played on piano. Without that restriction, I was able to add
accent lines in this orchestrated version.
Bittersweet - was written around 1978 or 1979 while I was living in Charleston, WV. This is a simple piece with only five chords, but the bass and Lyle Mays synthesizer sound help keep it from being overly boring. Like other songs of this period, it uses my 'mystic chord' (an 11th) - in this case a B natural over an F major 7th. The title comes from the way the music feels to me: happy, but with a touch of sadness.
Changes - was also developed during 1978 and
1979. This piece evolved from experimenting with changing the chords
under a repeated top note:
As a result, it has the most rapid harmonic rhythm of anything I've
ever done. The doubling of the melody on sax and piano is reminiscent of
some of the early ECM recordings.
Jeanne's Wedding March - I remember my sister calling me to tell me she was getting married and that she wanted me to play for the wedding. I wrote this as the processional and used a Baroque style since I thought it was appropriate for her tastes. This piece was written pretty quickly. The first section of this ABA format was done in about 5 minutes. I spent a little more time thinking about the bridge section, but the piece was finished in about an hour. It always bothered me a little that I used a minor seventh, because I felt it was anachronistic. They ended up being married by a J.P., so this piece never got used.
Song for Sue - was written in late 1988 after I met Sue (my wife). This was another stream-of-consciousness piece. I remember sitting down at the piano, thinking of her, and playing the melody as it came to me with the chords fitting so naturally. The middle section is somewhat influenced by Pat Metheny's If I Could. She liked it so much we decided to use it in our wedding ceremony - which meant I had to transcribe it for the pianist. I'm not sure Sue would want to go through that process again. In this version, I orchestrated extensively - this was actually the first piece I did with the Alesis keyboard and Emagic.
ESB - happens to be my favorite beer (Fuller's ESB) and it was often involved while doodling around coming up with this song in 1998. This is meant to be a happy piece with just a touch of introspection. It's based on a simple simple progression: Gm7, Am13, Bbmaj7 and kind of goes on from there. I'm working on a 'part II' which is based on a similar progession: Gmaj7, Am7b13, Bm7.
C & D - written for my brother-in-law Craig and his wife Doris, for the occasion of the wedding (September 1, 2001). I chose a classical-feeling piece because Craig likes that type of music. The first section is primarily in a minor key, with a version of my 'mystic' chord (minor 7th with augmented 6th) to give it a twinge. This section represents the ups and downs in life's work and relationships. It modulates into a major key to resolve all this into the joys and promise of their new lives together. I actually got to play this piece (unlike my sister's) at their wedding.
The following are MIDI files for some of the above. I like the Noteworthy player ( http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/player/ ) because it shows the score and highlights the notes as they are played.
Laundromat March
Bittersweet
Changes
Song for Sue
Here's another without an MP3 version above:
TA's Jam / Toe Jam - obviously borrows heavily
from Chick Corea and Return to Forever. The first part ( solo Rhodes)
I wrote in late 1976 while in Madison, WI. I was trying to capture
the feel of Stanley Clarke's bass lines, but I couldn't really play much
else with the right hand due to the rhythmic complexity of the left.
The transitions are in various meters and the bridge is in 11/8 - a very
popular 'new' time signature for us back then. This was written during
a time when I was experimenting with some basic quartal harmony and voicing
major triads with contrasting bass notes (e.g., the bridge sections).
Toe Jam is the improvisational part, named by Jerry Risner for our good
friend Nancy Rosato. I included a lot of Stanley's trademark patterns
and quoted bass riffs from three classic Stanley and Chick tunes - one
at the end of each solo section.
One of the most interesting aspects of putting this together was the
planning required to create the arrangement. This was always a free
jam piece and no one really knew the bridges but me. The beginning
piano part is nearly verbatim what I transcribed originally, so I thought
it appropriate to keep it solo Rhodes. The next section (the solos)
I decided to make as three choruses of the 20-bar jam for each instrument.
The Rhodes and violin parts were pretty much first takes; the guitar part
was a combination of lines composed during walks with our dog Zena (first
chorus), some construction (ascending/descending lines in second chorus),
and first takes (third chorus).
The closing ensemble section required me to create violin and guitar
parts that never existed before - mainly arpeggiated chords from the piano
part. I spent a lot of time on the drum kit part, although the percussion
accents were done in one take (with some editing).
These pieces were created in 1998-2001 on an Alesis QS6 keyboard using EMagic's Logic Audio software.