DAVID J. HAHN

Lute-Piano-String Minor Funk Groove

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Do you hear the Leonard Bernstein reference in this one?

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!

Harry Gregson-Williams Exercise

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I’m a fan of Harry Gregson-Williams’ film music, and I spent last summer renting movies by him, Hans Zimmer and Bernard Hermann.  Gregson-Williams has an interesting way of weaving warm, orchestral pads with robotic, mechanical grooves.

As an exercise I started putting together a song ala Gregson-Williams, but I didn’t get very far with it.  I’m going to work on it again and see where it goes.  Listen to a clip of what I have so far.  The drum loop definitely needs to be replaced.

Johnny

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I don’t have anything up here with a good, fat, quacking clav, so I made something today.  My favorite clav recordings are on the Bob Marley Legend album.  It’s just so tasty when the Wailers play it.  I tried to put a little Wailers clav lick in the chorus here.

Doesn’t it sound like you’re listening to a record?  No? No. It’s a pretty weak attempt, I know you’re not fooled.  But to end a song with a needle scratch?  Classic.

Books

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I like Kurt Vonnegut books, I’m a big fan. He did the percussion on this song. Or rather, his book did. Hear the beat? That’s me thumbing through a copy of Breakfast of Champions. Thank you, Kilgore Trout.

Inauguration Song

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…We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.

…Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

- John Kennedy, 1961

stars out in wonderful

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This is a odd-metered tune that seems a little Postal Service to me.  I used to listen to one of their albums all the time, maybe that’s why.  It needs lyrics, and I’ve sent it to my new friend Elizabeth. She’s going to see what she can do about adding some vocals.  I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with.

#98

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You could argue this is a kind of mash-up. This is Czerny’s piano exercise mashed with a hip hop beat and a few Gaelic singers. Think of it like the Well-Tempered Clavier meets the Benedictine (er…Irish) Monks. The Gaelic words mean, “Enya sucks.”

Man Robbing Bank

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People ask me why I gave this song this name.  I guess I think robbing a bank must be a real sad thing to do.  I mean – you must be at the absolute end of your rope to be desperate enough to rob a bank.  You can assume that the man I picture in this song, the one robbing the bank, is not a professional bank robber.  This is a desperate guy with nothing left.  A bank robbery has to be a really poignant moment for a person like that.

Electronic Engineering

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Little known fact – I’m a fan of both electronica and metal. My favorites are System of a Down and Fat Boy Slim.  Always liked them, always will.