It’s that time for my third of three music compositions. This one featuring a wonderbar double bass player and myself cranking on the piano a jazzy snazzy tune to brighten up your day.

I would suggest you pile up the volume for your bass otherwise that double bassist is going to be quieter than that bloke in my math class I never knew until graduation. Also please excuse the double bassist not-so-jazzy-sounding-playing as he is actually a classical player and isn’t used to Jazzy pieces. (Yes, classical and jazz D.B players are very different).

Full of fun and ad-libbing in this piece! Lots of jumping octaves for the piano, lots of chromatic scales to brighten up the day (for both piano and DB), and this piece contains some nice chord combinations that would frighten some pianists. Syncopation is seen throughout, yet the piece maintains a classical jazz feel to it nonetheless.

A nice break sometime in the middle where the DB player gets to touch his bow (he’s plucking the rest of the time), and I get to rest my hands from jumping around all the time.

CLICK: “The Spice of Life” Music Composition

You know you want to hear it.

Of course, there is a lot of potential development, extended melodies, more variation, etc. However, this being my first for a double bassist and also note that this was the very first rehearsal with the bassist: it was a go there, show score, play, record – so on the whole I think it turned out pretty well. This piece in fact I had a lot of trouble due to a brain block being unable to decide how to extend it in a way that would have a nice solo for the piano and the bassist, so also due to time restraints (examination), this was scrapped and instead the instruments tend to complement each other a bit more than I intended to.

Again, my music analysis goes back to this being a very fun piece to play (though quite challenging – I might release the score later) – as in, really fun. Lots of jumping around, and it also gives areas where you can change it to whatever you want, as is the custom in most jazz pieces.

A final reminder to turn up your volume and especially bass speaker (or equivalent) as if you don’t hear the bass it might sound like somebody’s plucking a rubber band instead. (not a very nice sound). Of course, the usual note: yes, I composed this piece myself and I’m playing the piano.

…and if you missed the two previous compositions, you might be interested in hearing “Surprises“, a very modern and abstract piano solo, and “From Midnight Until Dawn“, a very lyrical and emotional piece featuring a violin.