(Opus 7, Composed December 2005)
The Laurel Highlands is a spectacularly beautiful area. My daughter and I took a long bike ride there last summer (starting out in Ohiopyle State Park), and I’d love to go back. For those unfamiliar with the place, it’s about an hour southeast of Pittsburgh — home of the famous “Fallingwater” home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (and many other wonders). As for the tune, it reflects the natural aspects of the area — the trails, the river, the scenic overlooks, the mysteries. For some strange reason, this is the second time I’ve followed a Db theme with an F# one. I like that particular transition, probably because F# and Db share so many common notes. F# is a beautiful key to me, but I do find it mildly confusing (even as the composer) to think of notes like E being sharped. Anyway, only the trio is in F#, so if you don’t like that, you only have to get through one theme before I switch back to Db. I’m fond of this tune, if perhaps somewhat disappointed by the final theme.
This tune is much lighter in nature than the others posted below. Kennywood is the local amusement park in Pittsburgh. I don’t think a trip to the park is complete without a ride on this old classic. In the center, they have a vintage calliope-type device providing the music. That’s sort of the feel I’m going for with this tune (which explains why I’ve chosen that particular sound for the treble clef in the midi file). A final note: I have an old piece of sheet in my house called “Sunny Jim.” On the cover, there’s a little dog with a dialogue bubble. The dog says, “Rag-Time Finish!” I guess that was a marketing point back in the turn of the last century. So, here’s a modern-day version — a light-hearted romp on the keys in Ab with a bold rag-time finish. One of my favorites. However, this midi doesn’t sound too great on machines using sound fonts. If it sounds awful, try this straight 
Okay… an unusual title, I know. Perhaps some explanation is in order: Blue as in “based (somewhat) in the blues scales”; Cat as in “intended to (somewhat) mimic cats”; Postmodern as in “many influences, many textures, etc.”; Scratching, as in “pun on scratching post” and, to a lesser extent, the feel when you’re playing the main theme is kind of like scratching a cat. This tune is mostly in Db. The main theme started out as an improvisation one day a while back & I thought it was catchy, so I jotted it down. There’s a good bit of room for improv in this piece, if you’re able to do that sort of thing. I play it almost as written, but embellish a few parts and alter the timing here and there. There were a couple of measures where I just couldn’t perfectly notate it to mimic how it’s supposed to sound… but I got it about as close as possible to my intentions. The trio is not blues-based, but I like how it fits in to the piece.
I suppose the term “hottie” is universal slang meant to indicate that someone is attractive; however I don’t believe I’d ever heard the term prior to moving to Pittsburgh (where, it is often uttered by those with the deepest Pittsburgh accent as “hawty” — as in “Yinz saw some hawties dahn-tahn at the Stillers game.”). But, no matter where you’re from, I think the term has its universal connotations. If a piece of music were to be called a Hottie, it would almost certainly have to be a fast-paced rag, textured with sensual suggestions, evocative rhythms, rich chords — and it should be course fun to play. Is that what this is? You be the judge. (I like it, for the most part. The opening sections aren’t too bad but, I must say, the D theme represents some of my more inspired work to date.)
Kirby Park runs along the Susquehanna River in Kingston, PA. Its many intriguing nooks and crannies, along with the memories I have of the place, call for a bit more of an experimental effort than the other tunes posted here so far. The piece has definite ragtime roots, some references to blues, some nice rich 10ths here and there that sort of remind me of Errol, a bit of showiness, unusual modulations, maybe a little drama, a good bit of reflection, and I also threw in a few rather ethereal phrases here and there that are reminiscent to me of the fascinating composer Louis Alter. Let’s see, I believe we start out in Bb, switch to Db for a bit, and then finish off in Ab. Give it a listen. What else do you have to do for three minutes and thirty-eight seconds?!
This rag’s themes play ABBACCD - all in Ab. The inspiration is obvious. Hopefully, the A theme sets the overall mood and time period, the B section recalls many of the perils encountered, the C section recalls some of the more complex philosophical musings, and the D section evokes a river setting (and the richness of the chords in that section reflects both the general joy of this novel and perhaps just a slight awareness that Jim and Huck in fact missed Cairo, having drifted past it in the fog). (BTW, A couple of tricky chords at the end… I couldn’t figure out how to indicate with Noteworthy Composer that the player needs to strike two notes with his or her thumb simultaneously.)
This is pretty much my first piano composition (and I’m afraid that shows, as it’s a bit clunky as is). This rag has four themes, played AABBCCDD. As for the title, I’d been reading a lot about what inspires many contemporary rag composers; a sense of place and of the land seems to recur as themes. As I mulled this over, I settled on these fields as both inspirational and worthy of some kind of tribute. Neier is an extremely small town in Franklin County, Missouri, about 5 miles southwest of where I grew up. It had fields in which to run around, a cemetery, and a church where they often held dances on summer nights. Those dances are specifically described in the trio, which explains the presence of a little Dr. John-style boogie. The first theme is sort of a simple folk melody in Ab, followed by a habanera section in Db, then the trio in F#, and a F# ending theme.