Mozart/Barocker: Twinkle

July 23, 2023

“Twinkle” is my version of Mozart’s famous classic. Some pieces of music don’t have much of a history, but this one came out of necessity.

A couple of years ago, I started to work as a violin and viola teacher in a music school with a tradition that requires new teachers to present themselves with a concert. In 2021, a year we all remember as one of uncertainties and shenanigans, the traditional concert was optimized into a short performance at the graduation ceremony. For this occasion, I quickly arranged Mozart’s “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to play with another new teacher, the double bassist.

For this published version I added a piano part and recorded all the parts. Instrumentation: electric viola, piano and double bass. I hope you will enjoy this rendition.

Menuetto 334 background

April 28, 2020

Ok, this was a lot of fun for me, plus an exciting challenge. I have to thank my son for the catalyst and motivation for this track.

Basically, we had to pop to the gardening shop which is not so exciting for kids and he decided to wait for us in the car. Thanks to the poor internet connection he started to play around with some translator apps. So, here we are: some profound lyrics, randomly created by my son:

Poopaliiioook!!!

Bumbumbumbmbumbubm Bumbumbumbmbumbubm
Bumbumbumbmbumbubm Bumbumbumbmbumbubm 
Bumbumbumbmbumbubm ….

The ‘words’ had a nice sway to them, as if a ‘droid was trying to hum along to some kind of tune… This got me going!

I noticed that those robot rumblings had a rhythm that would fit a time signature of 3/4 and a pitch that would make you audiate in D major. The most popular baroque and classical type of music created in this meter would certainly be the Minuet, Menuett or Menuetto. And, one of the best known minuets in D maj would be Mozart’s 2nd Menuetto from the Divertimento in D major, K.V.344. So I used this minuet for the classical element of this track.

Barocker Menuetto 334b

3/4 is seldom used in today’s popular music. Though I have tried to explore 3/4 previously, the results have never been anything to write home about. Well, this time I am actually quite happy with the beat and the feel of Menuetto 334, so much so that I’m planning to revisit 3/4 meter again. Definitely.

What would you say is a curious or under-used meter or time signature in music nowadays? Please, leave a comment or drop me a line! Thanks.