Entry Music (2008)

When I started graduate school in 2008, I bought a Mac laptop for the first time and immediately started experimenting with GarageBand. Initially, the concept for this music was that it would function as theme music for a podcast or some other radio program. I didn’t have a specific program in mind, but that was the driving force behind the idea.

A few of these songs simply use samples or loops created by GarageBand. When the drumming or piano sounds accomplished, that’s a clear indicator that it’s likely created by the program. In the songs below, only the drumming in “Entry Music 18” is from the program. All other sounds I made using the digital instruments.

And that’s how it is with most of the songs. Nearly all the sounds are me making them by using the MIDI, tapping out the melody or rhythm on the keyboard of my computer, most of it on the home row. I’d hold “Tab” for sustain and occasionally bump up to the black keys. But the beauty of this set of songs for me is its playful simplicity and its amateur quality.

Listen to the album on Bandcamp.

Listen to “Entry Music 7” and “Entry Music 18” below.