Dear All,

I have recently listened to a lot of music posted by some members, and come to the conclusions that many have put in a great deal of effort and love into their pieces of music. Inevitably, there are people who can play and sequence better than others. I would like to convey that none of the contributors needs to feel inferior because no matter what the level of ability one possesses, the intention, enthusiasm and sharing often count much more than sheer technicality and flawless brilliance. I do appreciate all of your musical pieces, which are diverse, lovely, effective and entertaining.

Some, if not all of the pieces may benefit from being reworked to gel seamlessly with memorable, unusual or unique introductions and endings. The start and end of a song can be a very powerful signature, and are the first and last traces of audible sounds and emotions for your audience. Many submissions may also benefit from having one or more clear climaxes as a way to punctuate or emphasise the narrative, articulate the form and structure of each song, and elevate the emotional state(s) of the listener to high intensities lasting well beyond the duration of a song. I am not saying that every song must have climax(es). Restraint, like silence, has its uses.

The melody of some pieces sounds a bit too loud to the point of over-dominating and obscuring the accompaniment, which I prefer to be more pronounced. On a related point, since we know the melody very well, what often make a new statement in, contribute to the character of, and/or impart extra dimensions to, a song, are the counter-melodies, accompaniments and harmonies, all of which can give the song a new twist or a new lease of life.

Getting more specific, most of William Bill Forest and Frank Bez's music, along with some of Joan Banfield such as "Shenendoah" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie", do stand out from the rest, in my opinion. The person playing "This Masquerade" is also highly commended for his/her effort. The piece is very well balanced, and has a good range of instruments playing the melody. It would be even better had there been a passage in complete improvisation. For aficionados of the big band, "More Blue Jazz" by Bebop is very cool and suave. Heather Cox shares her passion with gusto on the PR-54 digital ensemble. Larry Hawk likes his piano parts and Fred Green his organs, and they both indulged themselves doing a fine job to each of their chosen pieces. "For Once in My Life" tricked me into a false expectation, for it started most captivatingly in the style of a contemporary dance exotica but soon plunged itself into a different style whose origins lie in Swing and Jazz. I really got a dose of anachronism, and wondered where the former had gone and wanted it to continue but it never returned.

I admire Bez's rendition of "Round Midnight". Typically, his Intro and Ending are very distinctive and excellent, even impressive at times, as is the Intro of "Nobody Does It Better". However, in the latter, a song for James Bond 007, the syncopated funky accompaniment has been rather tricky to play in time with. I am not entirely sure of the effectiveness of the resulting timbral combination and texture, as well as the use of piano, plucked instrument(s) and later an organ (somewhat loud) to carry the melody. Having said that, I would like to congratulate Bez on his very good use of dramatic contrasts and sectional changes in many of his pieces.

Kind Regards,

KHAI


[This message has been edited by Khai (edited 01-13-2005).]