I have a dilemma today. Soon I will be waving goodbye to my friends who have been with me the whole way through school, as they head off to the wonderful world of university and life, while I stay for one more year where I am. The reason for me staying isn’t that important, but I will say that I am at school for one year more than most people and now have to suffer the consequences by watching my friends leave for places better and more exciting.
So I decided that perhaps I should be doing something in my year’s final school assembly to say goodbye in a proper manner. Words, no matter how well crafted, will never speak as strongly as music so I have decided there would be no better way of saying thanks than to play a song. This is where you guys come in. I have a choice of a few songs and I would like to ask you to kindly listen to the songs and help me decide what to play. I’ll give a little introduction to each piece next to their link.
1.Opeth-Patterns in the Ivy. Those who aren’t familiar with the band probably wouldn’t believe that opeth is a death metal band listening to this stunningly beautiful (but short) song, but they are. The version I play is on piano only, the guitar part just played in the left hand while the piano melody is played with the right hand as usual. If you like the song, you can find sheet music for it for free on a website called ‘vkgoeswild’. Her version is the one I play.
2.Dream Theater-Wait for Sleep. I love this song by one of the best progressive bands around. The problem with this track is I am useless at singing whilst playing the piano and would need heavy practice to get it right. The singer-La Brie-also has a much higher voice than mine making life tricky. At the moment I play this track without vocals but parts sound quite empty without them-despite this it is probably the highest contender of the songs I am putting up here.
3. Ludovico Einaudi-Andare.Now this will be the hardest one to ace piano part-wise, but everyone loved a bit Ludovico Einaudi. Hauntingly beautiful, both mournful and hopeful at the same time, this song really makes me feel things i can’t really explain. In this respect it explains the situation of a goodbye to good friends better than any other song could. However there are parts that i make mistakes on every time I play it and most importantly-the pages in my sheet music book for Einaudi never stay open…infuriation when trying to play a song! As the word Andare is the verb ‘to go’ in italian, it does seem very appropriate.
4.Sonata Arctica-Tallulah. See how 3 out of 4 tracks so far are from metal bands? Good metal bands write beautiful songs! its not all screaming and thrashing of guitars. Anyway, although a love song is perhaps not the best choice of song for the occasion it is a wonderful piece. Main concerns on this one are: I would need to sing again (although much easier than singing with ‘wait for sleep’; There are alot of instruments that would not be being played and would sounds a little sparse in a hall without them.
5. Ludovico Einaudi-Uno. (I love how the advert before this video just happened to have Einaudi’s music on it!) I would only play this track if I’m playing another with it (perhaps wait for sleep or patterns in the ivy as they too are very short). A very calm piece yet a quiet urgent expectation somehow resonates from those carefully placed notes. It truely is a joy to play.
And from these five wonderful pieces i want to pick one or a combination of the shorter songs to play. I would be hugely grateful if you all were to listen to these songs and tell me your favourites-it may just help me choose what my year will enjoy the most too!
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