As soon as summer vacation ends, Halloween decorations appear in the front gardens in New England. Skeletons and cob webs adorn the windows of houses with falling leaves lining up the roads. Just after I postponed 3 Chord Thursday’s Halloween themed session in an e-mail yesterday, I woke up hearing the persistent mash of tubular bells and the theme from the movie Halloween.
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80’s rock music
I found a radio channel that plays music that makes me feel like a teenager. One of the songs has an electric guitar intro in a minor key. It’s so sticky that I decided to “borrow” it for this new piece.
If you recognize it and know the name of the band and song title, let me know and I’ll send you the sheet music to my new “mash up.”
The second section wanders into something Spanish or Latin. Maybe it’s the Andalusian cadence or half of it.
Tubular Bells from the Exorcist
The third section is where I venture into Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, or a look alike or sound alike version of it.
What’s interesting about Tubular Bells is that it’s in 7/8 time and there’s not a single rest in the entire instrumental piece. It just keeps going.
What’s fun about writing for the high G ukulele is that it opens up many possibilities for fingering. I want to use the high G string. So I tab out what I like to see used.
Halloween movie theme
The theme from the film Halloween is just as persistent and nonstop as Tubular Bells which was chosen for the movie The Exorcist.
At some point I can play them one after another to feel like it’s one piece.
Where to put this piece?
I’ve already written at least 61 pieces for Pick, Pluck, Play! With just one more book to compile, I very much want to include this piece. This means one or two pieces will have to be moved elsewhere. A book 6 perhaps?
I’ll move B-A-C-H in a Waltz and B-A-C-H in a Minuet into a separate book, maybe even a SPECIAL EDITION, and save it for March 2026 when we organists celebrate JS Bach’s birthday with concerts galore.
The Mango Tango Ostinato has a duet and trio version. The trio will be premiered after a workshop in an all-day event just outside of Milan, Italy in late October.
Next step
Compile Book 5 of Pick, Pluck, Play!
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