# Innocence Lost (Featuring Spitfire Labs and Cinesamples)



## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

"Innocence, once lost, can never be regained. Darkness, once gazed upon, can never be lost." ~John Milton

This is the rough draft of the track "Innocence Lost" which is the first movement of my trumpet concerto "The Seven Stages of Grief." The piano will be (might be) transcribed into more child-like instruments such as various music boxes and toy pianos that would be difficult to perform in a live situation. In this version the piano plays most of the off-staged flugelhorn and muted trumpet melodic parts to give you a sense of how it will be put together with the soloist. Thank you for listening and thank you more for commenting.

Please disregard in the score where it says Movement IV since it's going to be Movement I now with some added trumpet parts to the score also.





(Edit: 8/9) Final version of the accompaniment track for the soloist. This version is not only in the correct key but written more appropriately concerning range and rhythm for accompanying flugelhorn/ trumpet.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

(Edit: with score now.)


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## Vischebaste (Aug 2, 2017)

Lovely. Hard to see how it would work better when replaced with the intended final instruments (especially the kid's instruments), as for me, the background recording already anchors the meaning to childhood. Music boxes, etc, feels as though it might be overplaying what at the moment feels like a clear but subtle connection. That's intended more as a compliment on the piece in it's current state than anything else though!


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## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

Vischebaste said:


> Lovely. Hard to see how it would work better when replaced with the intended final instruments (especially the kid's instruments), as for me, the background recording already anchors the meaning to childhood. Music boxes, etc, feels as though it might be overplaying what at the moment feels like a clear but subtle connection. That's intended more as a compliment on the piece in it's current state than anything else though!


Thank you so much, my friend, I take that as a huge compliment, and that's exactly why I posted it here for suggestions. Thank you for taking the time for reassurance on this piece.


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## rottoy (Aug 2, 2017)

What's with the background noise that sounds like someone rustling a small sheet of paper?

Great music, by the way.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

rottoy said:


> What's with the background noise that sounds like someone rustling a small sheet of paper?
> 
> Great music, by the way.


I appreciate it Rottoy, and my sincere apologies for taking a picture of you on the stairs and uploading it to this track on Soundcloud.  

I believe the name of the sound is "Moss" which is from @Spitfire Team Spitfire Labs Tundra Atmos when you play a C# right beside middle C. The other sound that you can hear clearly at the end is an old scratchy vinyl record.


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## rottoy (Aug 2, 2017)

It's probably Christian fondling a packet of crisps in the mixing room, somehow picked up by the close mics inside the actual hall.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

rottoy said:


> It's probably Christian fondling a packet of crisps in the mixing room, somehow picked up by the close mics inside the actual hall.


We can only dream.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 2, 2017)

Vischebaste said:


> Lovely. Hard to see how it would work better when replaced with the intended final instruments (especially the kid's instruments), as for me, the background recording already anchors the meaning to childhood. Music boxes, etc, feels as though it might be overplaying what at the moment feels like a clear but subtle connection. That's intended more as a compliment on the piece in it's current state than anything else though!


Question for everyone, do y'all think that Spitfire's Soft Piano, or Felt Piano, would be better in this situation than what I used here?


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## storyteller (Aug 2, 2017)

I liked it.  Every note was important. Every note had meaning. Every note had emotion. Thank God. Such a great thing to hear.


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## The Darris (Aug 2, 2017)

Okay. This type of music is what I'm into. Well done. I can't remember, are you a trumpet player? If so, you need to record the solo trumpet part and mix it into this rendering because that would really make this piece shine, even as a demo. Just my thoughts. Anyway, can't wait to hear the rest of this concerto. 

Best,

Chris


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## Hywel (Aug 3, 2017)

Wow, that is so different from the usual pieces that I hear around here. I liked the non-musical sounds setting the scene and the delicate piano lines with the added sounds complementing the lines and creating a totally dreamy atmosphere. I listened to it several times and heard something new each time.

I'm not overly familiar with trumpet or flugelhorn so can't really comment but I think there's a case to be made that the piano should stay!

So well produced as well for a "rough draft" - I wish my finished pieces were as well done...

Great work.

Hywel


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## Rodney Money (Aug 3, 2017)

storyteller said:


> I liked it.  Every note was important. Every note had meaning. Every note had emotion. Thank God. Such a great thing to hear.


I am paraphrasing this, but I believe it was Tchaikovsky who said something like, "Every note I ever wrote was not by accident but had purpose." Or was it Stravinsky? And I have tried to make it my composition oath also. I am not going to lie, in college I had an extremely tough private composition teacher who would say, "If you cannot give me a clear explanation why every note is important I will erase it even if you love that note more than life itself." Needless to say, he never had a chance to erase any of my notes. Thank you so much for taking notice. Even in the score I will stress over every little detail including note and articulation, and since I noticed from an earlier post in another thread concerning today's music, I am deeply honored, touched, and humbled by your comments. Thank you once again, my friend, and may our music continue to tell stories.


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## bigcat1969 (Aug 4, 2017)

I'm not skilled enough to know why that is an awesome piece of music. I just know it is an awesome piece of music.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 4, 2017)

The Darris said:


> Okay. This type of music is what I'm into. Well done. I can't remember, are you a trumpet player? If so, you need to record the solo trumpet part and mix it into this rendering because that would really make this piece shine, even as a demo. Just my thoughts. Anyway, can't wait to hear the rest of this concerto.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Chris


Thank you, my friend. Hopefully soon I can finish this movement fully, edit movements 2-6 and then start on the finale. Sometimes that sounds just like a dream, but I felt as though I broke down some walls this week. I am a trumpet player, but I would first need to purchase a good microphone and then actually learn how to record live instruments, especially brass since the room is everything for those types of instruments, and I hate playing in dead, non reverberating spaces like my home studio. So, if y'all have any advice concerning recording brass instruments live then mixing them with samples, please let me know. This piece is being commissioned by a professional trumpet player so I know Jon will definitely have it recorded not only at the premier but also the professional studio at his conservatory. I will share the entire concerto once all is written, said, and done! Thank you for the interest in my work.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 4, 2017)

Hywel said:


> Wow, that is so different from the usual pieces that I hear around here. I liked the non-musical sounds setting the scene and the delicate piano lines with the added sounds complementing the lines and creating a totally dreamy atmosphere. I listened to it several times and heard something new each time.
> 
> I'm not overly familiar with trumpet or flugelhorn so can't really comment but I think there's a case to be made that the piano should stay!
> 
> ...


Ah, thank you so much for your words. It means a lot, and the funny thing is I think I hear something new every time I listen to it also even though I purposely placed every one of those textural sound effects in the movement for a reason. It is a complete honor that you decided to listen to it several times. Thank you so much. That is truly humbling.

Yep, this is just the rough draft and now I am thinking about the final version. I got a new mixed piano sound that I have came up with that will hopefully sound even better with more personality, and now I can actually place the piece in the rightful key of F Major instead of the E. I haven't shared why I did that, but I did it so my trumpet player would not discovery the track yet and start playing with it. I am sneaky like that. When I am ready, then I will give it to him while I look for y'all for suggestions and comments on how to improve each movement. Thank you, again.

I have 13 private students that I teach either in their homes, my home, or even churches, and often I will warm-up off to the side playing the opening 6 bars of this movement. My students will say, "Mr. Money, what is that?" And then I will say, "Oh nothing, just some junk I need to finish this summer." Then they laugh at me knowing that it is for the concerto. They know me.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 4, 2017)

bigcat1969 said:


> I'm not skilled enough to know why that is an awesome piece of music. I just know it is an awesome piece of music.


You are way too kind, my friend. I don't deserve your words. If you like, I could share a little of my inner thoughts concerning this movement.


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## Iskra (Aug 5, 2017)

Beautiful piece, really beautiful. Love the atmospheres (and the piano sound is nice).
I agree with the Darris, would love to hear the trumpet playing his part.
Very moving music, so I would love to hear some of your inner thoughts if it's ok, of course.
Please don't let this thread dissapear and keep us all posted on the evolution of your trumpet concerto. Pretty please


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## bigcat1969 (Aug 5, 2017)

I would love to learn about your inner thoughts concerning the movement. Going from what's in the head to the composition often proves elusive for me. So I would love to get some insight.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 5, 2017)

Iskra said:


> Beautiful piece, really beautiful. Love the atmospheres (and the piano sound is nice).
> I agree with the Darris, would love to hear the trumpet playing his part.
> Very moving music, so I would love to hear some of your inner thoughts if it's ok, of course.
> Please don't let this thread dissapear and keep us all posted on the evolution of your trumpet concerto. Pretty please


I will definitely share with everyone the progress of this work, and the recording with my soloist once all is complete. I am looking forward to it also. I was also thinking about sharing one movement here, the third movement, that is for solo instrument only with no accompaniment that people could have permission to try their rendering skills concerning realism and expression. I don't know if anyone would be interested in that though, but they could use any solo instrument they choose. If people are interested, I will share the score. It's very aggressive in some places, might even sound great with a stringed instrument with staccatos and spiccatos.

Thank you, my friend, for enjoying the piece. I am now working on the, hopefully, final version of this movement, and then the most exciting part, giving it to my soloist, Jon. The goal is to make him "speechless." The piano is a mixture of different piano samples, but last night I added Spitfire's felted soft piano to the sound. I wished their triple felt piano was sampled and finished now. I could certainly use that sound, because I am looking for unique sounds that would be troublesome to produce in a live situation, nail sound on the key and all. @christianhenson The "piano" that you hear in this rendering is a mixture of Piano in Blue with Cinematic Studio Piano, but now the added felt hammers of celesta practice pedal gives the sound another blanket of ethereal presence.

In my next post I will talk about my internal thought process concerning this movement.


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## Rodney Money (Aug 9, 2017)

(Edit: 8/9) Final version of the accompaniment track for the soloist. This version is not only in the correct key but written more appropriately concerning range and rhythm for accompanying flugelhorn/ trumpet.


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