The Music Corner for Piano Lovers

Ghosts With No Home: A New Piece for Cello and Piano

19 Feb 2016 News

It's been a year since I had any time to compose. But a few weeks back, I decided to go back to one of my songs,and complete it. And I'm happy to say that I'm ready to upload a pdf file to my web site. It's uploaded on SoundCloud, so you can listen to it here: Ghosts With No Home. The URL, if the text link doesn't work, is: https://soundcloud.com/ntcomposer/ghosts-with-no-home-ntustin-1

Ghosts With No Home is a song (pop, if you're particular about genre categories) about the dreams that need us to manifest them. It takes its title from the refrain: "Waiting for me; ghosts with no home/Yearning to be; destined to roam." After the last verse, the refrain changes to a more positive: "Waiting for me; ghosts that still roam/Yearning to be; they'll find a home; they'll find a home."

The piece was initially composed for piano, but I thought it would be fun to let the cello sing the vocal line. But if you don't have any cellist friends or know anyone who sings, you can still have fun with the piece since the RH plays the vocal line as well. I had two reasons for doing this.

The first is that I'm not particularly fond of playing songs where the piano part is merely an accompaniment to the more interesting melody taken by voice or some other instrument. The second is that I took a cue from Haydn, who late in life published a set of songs in which the vocal line was replicated by the piano, thus saving space, he said. But I think Haydn realized just how boring it would be for the pianist to be relegated to playing a chordal accompaniment. His songs like mine were for amateur musicians.

The piece is at an intermediate level, and once I've uploaded the version for cello and piano, I will upload a separate piano version with some tips on performance and practice. This is one of those songs where because of the use of syncopated rhythms, it's easier to listen to the song until you know it well enough to sing along or to hear it in your mind before you begin playing. And when you do play, rather than count, it would be easier to use your ear for the rhythms. More on that when I upload the piano version.

For now, just listen to the song, and enjoy! Ghosts With No Home. The URL if you're having trouble with the link is https://soundcloud.com/ntcomposer/ghosts-with-no-home-ntustin-1

 

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