DAVID J. HAHN

See, What Had Happened Was

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Not a full song here, just a groove. Sometimes I just put together a groove like this to practice my Logic chops and to create a little something.

Banana Pancakes

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This is a Jack Johnson song that both Ashley Mortensen and I really like, so we thought we’d try a cover of it. If you are looking for the chords and lyrics, we found them here (although we play it up a 3rd).

The Boy Next Door

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Here’s a recording I made recently with the very talented singer Ashley Mortensen. Doesn’t she sound great? She’s such a gifted singer. I’m always so happy to play for her.

Alone at Home

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Here is a great song for everyone – intermediate pianists or even ambitious beginners. You can purchase and download the music directly through PayPal ($10), or if you’d prefer, I can mail you (or the pianist on your gift list) a signed copy.

If you need a little help getting it under your fingers, I’d also be happy to give you a mini lesson over the phone or skype with your purchase.

Thank you so much, I’m very grateful for your support.

First Day of My Life

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I love this song. I remember the first time I heard it. It was the song playing as my alarm clock woke me up one morning. Maybe it was because I was in that particularly defenseless moment right after sleep, or maybe just because it’s a good song, but I teared up right there. I think it’s such a beautiful song.

Here are the lyrics:

The First Day of My Life
Artist: Bright Eyes

This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain
Suddenly everything changed
They’re spreadin’ blankets on the beach

Yours is the first face that I saw
Think I was blind before I met you
I don’t know where I am
I don’t know where I’ve been
But I know where I want to go
So I thought I’d let you know
That these things take forever
I especially am slow
But I realized that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home

I remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange
You said everything changed
You felt as if you’d just woke up
And you said,
This is the first day of my life,
Glad I didn’t die before I met you
But now I don’t care I could go anywhere with you
And I’d probably be happy.

So if you wanna be with me
With these things there’s no telling
We’ll just have to wait and see
But I’d rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery

Besides maybe this time it’s different
I mean I really think you’ll like me…

Mandy’s Broadway Stroll

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George Gershwin used to work as a song plugger, which was an early form of artist promotions I guess you could say.  He’d try to get people excited about songs so they’d buy the sheet music.  He’d play four-handed versions onto piano rolls (two hands at a time) and play those for the customers.  There are books out there of these 4-handed Gershwin arrangements from someone that transcribed those old piano rolls.

There’s a long tradition of pianists dubbing over themselves on recordings.  Bill Evans also dabbled in dubbing on his 1963 album, Conversations With Myself.

This recording is my own 4-hand piano-roll arrangment of a song written in 1989 by Thomas E. Broady.  Broady was a contemporary of Scott Joplin and lived in Nashville, Tennessee.  Does it make you want to buy the sheet music?

Lute-Piano-String Minor Funk Groove

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Do you hear the Leonard Bernstein reference in this one?

Wake You Up Instead – Needs Vocals

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This little guy needs some lyrics and a singer – anybody interested?  It might be a fun thing to put together.  I’m not set on that name or anything – the name is a remnant of some stand-in lyrics I’d used.

Walking Music

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Here’s a little walking music for you.  I originally wrote this to accompany an animation of a clown in a beret walking down the street.  I thought it was a little too boxy (a little too “8 measures of this…then 8 measures of this…”), and it didn’t make the cut.  But maybe it suits your stride better?  Start walking!

Names Is For Tombstones

In 2008 I paired up with an animation student and we created a short film called “Names Is For Tombstones.” In the end, the music didn’t line up entirely how I intended it to, and I there are things I wouldn’t be so literal about were I to do it again, but there still some hip moments in the animation and, if you don’t mind me saying so, the music.

It’s an odd story, as you’ll see, and Tim Burton-esque. I went with that vibe and wrote some Danny Elfman-esque creepy music, but I didn’t attempt any of his more complicated marches or up-tempo compositions.

The high tremolo strings w/ bells and underlying, unsettling bass that start around 1:38 seem to fit the conclusion of the animation. I think it would have worked better to start off with something quicker and unsettling like that as well – rather than the “creepy-but-curious” music I wrote for the opening camera pan.

The video is about 4 seconds behind where I intended it to me, so the hits are off. But the delay actually makes some new hits that are also appropriate.

See what you think. Leave a comment if you have thoughts.