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Deer Tracks is my collective title for a number of short solo mandolin pieces that I've written over the last few years. Just across the Upper Iowa River from my neighborood in Decorah are some beautiful bluffs laced with man-made hiking and bike trails. Running between these human trails is a complex network of animals-only pathways. At some point I began to think of these slightly odd mandolin pieces as being my own deer trails; music slightly off my own well-worn musical paths.
I spent a week in Fredericton, New Brunswick in August of 2002 attending a conference. Most evenings I was free to take long walks and write music. I had recently been listening to Marilyn Crispell's beautiful CD, Amaryllis, recorded with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian. I loved the performances but I was equally moved by the short, seemingly simple, compositions. These pieces inspired me to feel more free to write shorter pieces of my own. While you can see that I recognize a few earlier pieces as being composed in the same spirit, most of these Deer Tracks come after that encounter with Crispell's CD and my few days at the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel.
Deer Track: August 2002 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: June 25, 2003 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: July 2, 2003 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: January 23-24, 2005 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: October 2002 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: Thanksgiving 2001 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music, p.1) (pdf sheet music, p.2)
Deer Track: September 7, 2003 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: June 2, 2004 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: April 8, 2004 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: July 1, 2002 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music, p.1) (pdf sheet music, p.2)
Deer Track: June 27, 2003 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: July 13, 2003 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Deer Track: August 18, 2002 (mp3 192kpbs) (mp3 96kpbs) (Scorch sheet music) (pdf sheet music)
Reading the scores or, better yet, playing through this music will show you that most of these pieces start with a short phrase, often repeated. Most times these phrases, even if they sound a little odd, are fairly simple to play on the mandolin. There are only a few measures in any of this music that are very difficult, most of it ranges from easy to moderately hard. As a composer I have little interest in and, frankly, little talent for composing virtuosic music. Still some things I come up with are more difficult than others and most of these deer tracks have some moments that challenge my limited abilities.
The written music is presented without dynamic markings or other instructions. You can choose between using the Scorch plug-in from Sibelius or the Adobe Acrobat Reader to see the scores. I tend to play these pieces slightly differently each time and I hope you will try them different ways also. The recordings presented are meant to be demos, not perfect renditions. It was hard enough for me to get most of the notes right. It's always easier and more fun for me to write the music than it is to present it to others in some coherent fashion. This webpage is a great way for me to share this music without much cost on my part and I hope you enjoy it.
Most of the recordings were done during the week before Easter 2005. I used my Breedlove Olympic mandolin for these. A few pieces were recorded earlier and may feature the sound of my Rigel A+. A Korg D1600 machine and an inexpensive condenser mic were my recording tools.
As you can see below both these recordings and the sheet music they are based on are presented here under a Creative Commons License. My intention is to make it clear that you can use the written music and mp3 files for any non-commercial purpose as long as proper attribution is given. If you have any questions or comments please mail them to me at goodinjo@luther.edu. I'm not linking my email address here in the hopes that it will deter at least some spam.
John Goodin, April 2005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Created on ... March 29, 2005 ; latest update ... Sept. 4, 2005