Location (grandparent | parent | this page): RodMer Arts Home Page | Rod's Music | Keeping On Program Notes

If you've already read the program notes immediately below, or want to skip them for now, you can click here to go immediately to:

• the computer-played MP3 and MIDI files, or
• the live-performance MP3 and MIDI files

Complete Table of Contents (TOC) of these Program Notes

• The Basics
  • Introduction
  • Instrumentation
  • Duration
  • Composition date
  • Brief comment
  • First performance
  • Second performance
  • Third performance
  • Computer performers (when human ones are absent)
  • Both computer and live performances provided (on the MIDI and mp3 files)
  
  
• Structure notes
  
  
• Computer-played MP3 and MIDI files
  
• Live-performance MP3 and MIDI files
  
• Score package
  

The Basics

Introduction

Instrumentation

Duration

Composition date

Brief comment

There is an intro in F major leading to a Theme 1 Section (also in F major) building off one of the figures in the intro. It modulates at the very end into D major, which is where the Theme 2 Section (the main driving force of this piece) takes over. It begins with a sort of pop baroque sound, fairly straight. Later it is repeated with a syncopated bass. A brief episodic interruption occurs twice to sort of 'wind up' the energy on an A7 chord leading back to the main theme. At the end, the arpeggios I mentioned earlier appear, and then the section draws to a close. We go back into F major with a bridge on a tango beat, which in turn leads back into a Repeat of the Theme 1 Section - but this time some arpeggios have been added as flourishes. It modulates at the very end - but this time into D minor. This now leads to a Repeat of the Theme 2 Section starting off in the newly established D minor. For perceptive ears you will hear a little Bach quote in the bass. After an arpeggio bridge, we return to Theme 2 again, but this time with a swung rhythm. Later it's repeated straight, and now in the major again (but with a faster bass). The two episodic wind-ups (on A7) occur again and the last of these leads to an abrupt end - of what might otherwise, who knows, go on forever.

To Merike the piece suggests one of those railway repair cars which two men manually pump (with a sort of hand see-saw) along the tracks - working their way up the hills (Theme 1 and the 'windup' episodes) and coasting down in an effortless roll into the valleys (Theme 2).

First performance

February 8, 1998 at the Art Gallery of Northumberland (in Cobourg, ON, Canada)
As part of a mini-concert accompanying the walking tour of the Merike Lugus sculpture show Transient States

Piano: Rod Anderson

Second performance

A second performance was given (again with me on piano) at the Bamboo Club in Toronto on April 14, 1998 as part of the launch of Merike Lugus's new book of poetry Ophelia After Centuries of Trying.

Third performance

A third performance was given (again with me on piano) at a house concert here at SwallowHill on Feb 28/04 (as comic relief to much better performances of Little Piano Suite and SwallowHill Skip by my cousin Cecilia Ignatieff).

Computer performer (when human one is absent)

Like all the MIDI files here, it is in General MIDI form. The General MIDI patch (on the 0-127 numbering system) is:

	Part	General MIDI patch
		name	#
	Piano	GM Grand Piano	0

How it sounds will depend on your own playback software.

On my own synth I used the following patch:

	Part	Sound Module	Patch
			name	#
	Piano	Roland RD500	Gr Piano A1	0

This is what you hear on the mp3 files.

Both computer and live performances provided (on the MIDI files)

MIDI files are provided both for (1) the computer/synthesizer simply playing the notated score (with a fair amount of tweaking by me to build in as live-as-possible dynamics changes and tempo changes and (2) a live performance by me (recorded directly onto MIDI). The mp3 files, however, are as yet only of the computer performance. The computer performance may be a little cleaner (the computer doesn't hit any wrong notes) but the live performance is (hopefully) a little more expressive.

Structure notes

Computer-played MP3 and MIDI files
(Click on icons below to play MIDI and/or download MP3 files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation ...... Excerpts	Min: Sec	Complete MP3 files (better sound)** file size	MP3 file excerpts (better sound)** file size	Complete MIDI files (not as good sound but quick)**
	The complete piece (computer-played):
1995	Keeping On ... piano solo (computer-played)	4:53	3.3 MB
	How the MIDI file sounds depends, of course, on your playback mechanism. On my computer, MIDI files are played by the QuickTime PlugIn and the piano is almost as good as the mp3 file -- though the latter is perhaps very slightly mellower. Of course, if you have a synthesizer, you can download the MIDI file and set the piano to your own preferred patch -- but that's more work than downloading the complete mp3 file.
	Short excerpt (computer-played):
	...... excerpt from the first theme (computer-played)	0:20		0.2 MB
	This short mp3 excerpt is from the first theme (after the intro finishes) and gives a slightly better piano timbre than the embedded MIDI file.

** If you have a high-speed connection, forget about the MIDI files and just use the MP3 files (better). If you have a dial-up connection, consider the faster (but not as good) MIDI file only if the MP3 files seem to be taking too long to play or download.

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Live-performance MP3 amd MIDI files
(Click on icons below to play MIDI and/or download MP3 files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation ...... Excerpts	Min: Sec	Complete MP3 files (better sound)** file size	MP3 file extracts (better sound)** file size	Complete MIDI file (not as good sound but quick)**
1995	Keeping On ... piano solo (live performance)	5:13	2.9 MB
	This "live performance" was simply me playing live onto the synth keyboard and capturing the result to produce the related MIDI file and mp3 file. Again the mp3 file gives a slightly better piano timbre than most playbacks of the embedded MIDI file.
	Short excerpt (live performance):
	...... excerpt from the first theme (live performance)	0:17		0.2 MB
	This short mp3 excerpt is from the first theme (after the into finishes) and gives a slightly better piano timbre than the embedded MIDI file.

** If you have a high-speed connection, forget about the MIDI files and just use the MP3 files (better). If you have a dial-up connection, consider the faster (but not as good) MIDI file only if the MP3 files seem to be taking too long to play or download.

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Score Package
(Click on icons below to download pdf and rtf files)

Year	Title ... Instrumentation	Description	No. of score pages	Score (pdf file) file size	No. of text pages	Text (rtf file) file size
1972	Keeping On ... piano solo	Piano score	10	0.2 MB	3	204 KB

(you will need the free Stuffit Expander for decompressing the rtf.sitx files)


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http://www.rodmer.com/RodMusic/ProgramNotes/KeepingOnNotes.html -- Revised Jul 28, 2005
Copyright © 1997-2005 Rod Anderson
rod@rodmer.com
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