113 beats per minute is one of my favorite tempos although almost hysterically too fast for this particular theme.
Download audio file (smm-113.mp3)

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My ears are finally getting adjusted to the piano tone of the Roland HP203 – I was terrified for a few months that I wasn’t liking it - which I know is a bizarre sentence – but having lived with it now I am beginning to appreciate the clarity and the depth of the sustain – it does feel like a real piano instead of a keyboard – which makes me happy. Now all I need to do is sort out Reason and we’re back in business.

Reflecting a move away from other people and focusing more on what was happening to me, this album introduces beat tracks from the Korg Triton for the first time. Weekend Working and Frustration are classic piano and strings track, 113 and Amp Driven are multilayered tracks with a number of different beats.

Click on the track title for liner notes, longer streams and 5 minute sample mp3s.

Weekend Working (15:22)Download audio file (weekendwork2.5.mp3)

113 (17:43)Download audio file (1132.5.mp3)

Frustration (10:04)Download audio file (music2work2_frustration2.5.mp3)

Amp Driven (13:30) Download audio file (ampdriven25.mp3)

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Now playing: music2work2 – 2008 Part 1
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Download audio file (113-keys.mp3)

I’ve started every day this week by practicing to “the click” – to a metronome. I’m a big fan of prime numbers so Monday was 101 beats per minute, Tuesday 103, Wednesday 107, Thursday 109 and today was 113. I will continue up the primes until I can’t keep up and then I will start at 101 again and go down as low as I can go.

The way I set up my practice sessions is to start with scales – after a few hand exercises I work the keyboard, running 1 octave then 2 octaves, 3 octaves then 4 octaves then change key; if I make a mistake along the way I have to start again at the beginning- as the metronome gets faster so do my fingers. After scales come arpeggios with a similar game and then a break. I started practicing to a metronome 10 years ago and found that it dramatically improved my playing.

After the basics I then play whatever comes to mind – having been away for so long I’m playing with very basic simple themes and only with one voice – the piano. This theme has been developing for a couple of days although it was previously in a major key. I like the tempo of 113 bpm – it seems to be a nice pace for the left hand to work in 3/4 time while the right hand picks out the melody – I’ll probably continue developing the theme at this tempo and see where it leads. It is a little similar to scary movie music which might make its first appearance on the site later on this month!

Session built around three different beats all at 113 beats per minute – love the “Teenage Poetry” voice from the Triton ExtremeDownload audio file (1132.5.mp3)

I like to have this on and just dream, come up with new stuff – if I’m tackling a particular problem this helps me work through it.

Problem solving is one of the things that fascinates me – the idea of how do you do something if you have never done it before. The idea that as kids we are taught basic tools and techniques and then we string those together, build on them, to develop even more complex techniques which we can apply to new situations etc. What I get excited about is true innovation – that moment when you make a little leap into the unknown and come up with something truly new and unique – that is what this music is for.

Join the music2work2 mailing list – get free 5 minute samples of all music2work2 tracks as well as a bonus 20 minute playlist.

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Now playing: music2work2 – 113
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We would like to say a big thank you to Jason at http://iwearyoushirt.com and hope he has a great day wearing the music2work2 T-Shirt. If you’re new to the site check out the music – if you like what you hear you can download 5 minute samples of every track – just click on the widget.

music2work2 is pretty much what it says – it’s good music to have on in the background while you are working on something – particularly if you are in front of a computer screen. The music is instrumental, piano driven and anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes in length. It is meant to stimulate your brain while you create something magical – or even something mundane – either way – it makes the work easier – have a listen:

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Had a great night -working at 113 beats per minute – using five different grooves from the Triton and then freestyling on top – I like the way the beginning came out – need to mix the rest…actually…need to sleep…
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Now playing: Music2Work2 – 113 – roughmix
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