I first ran across the Steemit Vision Quest by @cabelindsay a couple weeks ago and just got more and more inspired watching the entries each week. When he posted the theme for week six, my mind was already running in top gear. 🙃 I wanted to compose something, exercise my songwriting chops, expand my skillset, try new things... It was the perfect opportunity.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot to document of my process. Composing a song happens so much in the mind, there isn’t a whole lot of tangible evidence except a few spare notes from the times I sat down and noodled around on the instrument.
I started out thinking this would be a mandolin composition; after I completed my CPVC Irish flute and was happy with it, I knew it was a better choice for the tune.
Traditionally in Irish lore, faeries lived in the wild lands, and the phrase “Queen of the forest” immediately put me in mind of a faerie queen, taking a elegant stroll through her territory. The Irish flute seemed a perfect choice.... I imagine the tune with the haunting echo of desolate glens to carry some of the long notes (similar to some Native American flute pieces I have heard).
This morning while everyone slept, I took out my flute and noodled around a bit to tweak the musical ideas I had, and jotted them down as best I could. I deliberately chose a free-form time as opposed to a delineated time signature; there is no time as we understand it in the land of Faerie, after all! 😉
In the end, I think it came together as well as can be expected given this is the first real composition I’ve done in quite some time, and I am pleased with the results!
Thank you for listening! 🎶
More about the flute I used:
Part I: @heatherthebard/simple-system-pvc-flute-build-pt-1
Part II: @heatherthebard/simple-system-cpvc-flute-build-pt-2-audio
Part III (Addendum): @heatherthebard/cpvc-irish-flute-build-addendum-a-few-notes