June Wanderings (2022)

Hello fellow adventurer! 🧝‍♀️

First off, let me wish you a happy summer and happy International Fairy Day!! 🌼

This seemed like the perfect time to let you know what I’m currently working on..

Have you heard my new song ‘Lost Garden’ on YouTube yet? It’s going to be released on Spotify July 15th!! I’m super excited to share it with you there as well, and hope you will enjoy it and add it to your playlists (maybe for writing and art inspiration 😊).

You can follow this link to PRE-SAVE it so it will be added to your library as soon as it’s out: https://bit.ly/3OlSLzu

This is the piece that you saw a preview of in my May newsletter, inspired by the secret grove of violets in the woods! Because it's a hidden spot, it really felt like stepping through a portal into a fairy garden, and I wondered, what sort of stories and adventures would happen there? What would it sound like? What would the plants say, (or sing!) if they could? 🌱

The bassoon melody at the beginning of the music came to me first, and it definitely wanted to be a bassoon! This was a lot of fun, because I don't know that I've ever started a piece with a bassoon solo before. Then I added little sparkly accents with the piano and glockenspiel. The harmony of the melody, played by the harp, is in Dorian mode (one of the medieval music scales, characterized by a raised 6th note) because to me, Dorian is a deep blue color (I have grapheme synesthesia, which means I associate letters and numbers with colors) and can be both mystical and melancholy. As for the time signature, a 3/4 waltz sound just feels whimsical, like you're dancing through the garden! After that, it came together, each woodwind taking a turn speaking and blending like birdsong, hammered dulcimer joining the sparkly textures, and the string section moving everything along. There are also four horns and a bit of choir in the chorus section as well, which felt like it fit the adventurous mood. 'Lost Garden' is the result of all this! I hope you enjoyed seeing the path it took to get there 🌿

Thank you to everyone who watched the early launch, commented on, or shared the music video, I really appreciate it!!

Finally, I wanted to share this painting with you that I worked on in between writing 😊💜

Stay magical,

June