My Farewell...(Updated 6/13 With 4 New Songs)

...to rock and roll.

This is going to be a bit of a long post so I don't really expect many people to
read the whole thing. So for anybody who wants to cut to the chase, there are
a few music links at the end of this you might want to check out. However, they
are not rock or pop music songs. So you might want to hang around for some of
what's to follow before you end up listening to something that just might take
you by surprise.

I've been trying to make it in the pop music business as a songwriter for 35
years with no success.

The reasons are simple. My demos.

I can't sing.
I don't play very well.
My lyrics are so-so
My recording quality is poor.

You put all that together and you simply aren't going to impress a publisher
or anybody for that matter.

But I always knew my music, which is all I ever really wanted to be was a
composer, was good.

So I finally decided to take away all the things that made my music bad.

The singing
The playing
The lyrics
The recording quality

I was determined to make it all about the music and nothing else.

Well, I finally have.

Growing up with a classical background and even getting a music minor in
college, I realized that it was time I went back to my first love.

Composing classical music.

So I recently got a hold of Finale 2012 and started writing.

No singing
No lyrics

The playing? The software plays everything back note for note perfectly so
there is no quality loss there.

The recording quality? Straight from the software to wav file. No noisy
analog processors anymore or any of that.

Finally I have recordings that I would be proud to play for anybody who
appreciates classical music. Naturally, I'm not going to play this stuff for
most of my friends, but whatever. I can't worry about that anymore. I was
so hung up on creating music to impress them that I forget that I should have
simply been concentrating on doing what I'm good at.

See, classical music may not be your cup of tea but nobody can tell me this
stuff isn't good. Beethoven good? Maybe not. But there are few Beethovan's
today and I think I've got just as good a chance of being published as anybody
else.

I don't quite know the classical music scene as well as I know the pop scene
for getting published but my choir director (she's the one who actually got me
into doing this) lives next door to a Grammy Award winning artist who happens
to be into the classics. So maybe he can help me out.

Bottom line is, I'm saying goodbye to rock and roll. I've given it 35 years of
my life and it's given nothing in return. I'm going to be selling my recording
equipment and just keeping one keyboard to help me with my composing.

Even though, professionally, this has been the most difficult time of my life
for me, it's probably the happiest I've ever been in my life. When and if you
listen to the compositions below, you might actually hear that in the music.

But my days of singing bad pop songs and playing meh keyboards and tapping
out drum parts that are, in a word awful, are over. My days of bad lyrics
and even worse recordings are over.

I don't regret the years I put into pop music. I've written a few things that I
actually like. That has to mean something. But this CD I'm working on (I have
6 compositions done so far) is without a doubt the best music I've ever
written. It's not even close.

All the compositions have been written for full orchestra. Let me tell you, if
you've never tried doing that before, it's real culture shock. It's harder than
it looks. A LOT harder than it looks.

Anyway, here are the 6 compositions with a brief description for each one.

In The Clear Night Air -1:31

A cross between Murder She Wrote and The Three Stooges. Short, bouncy,
catchy, and living proof that you still can't take the pop out of the classics.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...ight%20Air.wav

A Day At The Circus - 2:16

Similar kind of tune to Air. This one is very catchy and probably my personal
favorite "fun" piece. I could picture this being a theme for an old 80s TV show.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...e%20Circus.wav

Of Love And Tears - 2:59

This one slows it down and is a bit more esoteric. It does pick up a little
towards the end but for the most part, it's a mellow piece. Kind of haunting
at times, especially the main theme.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...nd%20Tears.wav

The Grand Jester - 3:21

A rather simple piece as far as arrangement. Mostly piano and strings with
some harp and assorted brass and woodwinds during the middle section.
I love the "ELO" like low strings in the last 20 seconds or so. Yeah, I'll always
have a little rock in me to the end.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...d%20Jester.wav

Call Of The Wild - 2:29

I sometimes can't get this one out of my head. It's a call to animals and if
you listen carefully, you can hear the theme and how, at the end, they all
come together. Very catch "pop" kind of "hook" at the end that has had me
up at nights. Love the way it builds during the "Hey Jude-ish" finale.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...The%20Wild.wav

The Great Days Of Old - 5:31

This is my showcase piece. It's a rhapsody, which means it has about 10
different parts (Hello Bohemian Rhapsody) and about 5 or 6 key changes.
This is probably the best piece of music I've ever written. I gave a copy of
this to my choir director on Sunday. I hope she likes it.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...20Of%20Old.wav

Added 6/13

The Royal Wedding - 2:16

Second of a 3 part suite. Starts slow with bells and some funny stuff. But builds towards the end. Kind of the way I picture a royal wedding. Jester was
part 1.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...%20Wedding.wav

Enter The Emperor - 2:50

The piece is another rhapsody and all over the place but finishes the way it
begins.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...%20Emperor.wav

Spielplatz Kinderlied - 2:07

My wife said this sounded like a merry go round so I came up with the name
which means playground children's song.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...Kinderlied.wav

The Last Chord - 3:07

Another rhapsody that rocks at the beginning after the intro. The rhythms
in this get really funky. The finale is pure schmaltz.

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/music/...st%20Chord.wav

That's it. I hope you like it, though I really don't expect a lot of folks to even
listen to this stuff. Classical music is really an acquired taste if you've been
brought up during the age of rock and pop music. I was lucky. I had a mom
who was a concert pianist AND an opera singer.

Mom, I miss you. I wish you could have been around to hear these.

Any comments are welcome but not expected.

At least you won't have to listen to me sing, play, or make crappy recordings.