In December In Mesilla

To bring this piece to life, I focused on the church and the fallen snow along with the words “twirl in breezy cartwheels” from the poem. The poem helped me come up with the idea of a looped melody that intensified with every repeat. The choir melody came from the idea of how I viewed a choir to be singing during the holiday season. However, I put a twist on the harmony since the painting comes off as a harsh time in winter with all the leaves already on the ground and everything looks to be bleak. It is beautiful, but bleak.

March

One of my first recordings in college. Guitar driven and very rhythmic ideas that form a heavy groove. Subtle changes every time something is repeated. The idea behind March was to have the feel of men walking in straight lines going into battle. The bass drums in the beginning are imagery of automatic weapons going off in the distance.

The Metal Hilsboro Mined

The Metal Hillsboro Mined was so fun to make. I decided to use Logic Pro X loops to tell a story through specific words from the poem while I added the chorus manually. “The desert whispers” can be heard from what sounds like a woman’s voice in the high end. “The town once was everything’s hub” is the focal point and is only played once to show it no longer is there. The title helped me with adding the clanking sound of a pickaxe being used in the mines. If you listen closely, you can hear sound effects coming and going in two different directions. Thats to show the desolation of the town now. From what it was to what it has become.

You Wore a Skirt

Nostalgia. The poem reminds me of younger days. Lovers playing. Lovers being together. Almost with childlike innocence.

A New Mexico Romance

I focused on how the leaf would dance in the wind before falling to the ground. How it may swirl, down then up, until finally falling onto its resting place.

New Mexico Winds- A Romance

I used a guitar based harmony and melody to convey how the wind moves. Since clouds take time to form, I let the melody kinda float around for a while until everything comes together in the end.

Opening Art for Solitudes and Fragments

As an opening for the project “Solitudes and Fragments” I only had the painting to work off of. I imagined if I was standing there. The trees look to be blowing in the wind. I see a church in the background. So I imagined that I am walking to Church and hear the church bells. The painting is from somewhere in New Mexico. So Spanish style guitar felt appropriate.

On the Banks of the Rio

I added water to the background and used it as my starting point. I focused on how a lonely tree may sing . Humming a simple melody. Soaking up the water while bathing in the sun. Lonely but beautiful.

Guitar Solo Exerpts

Piano Ideas and Classical Training