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Transition

The main intent of this piece was to convey my personal mental journey that accompanied my leaving Amazon. At the time I left, my mental health had declined greatly, and my self-image was incredibly negative. At much encouragement from my wife, I (read “we”) took a risk and left Amazon. The following months gave me personal space to rediscover what was important to me.

This piece represents that in a tangible way. I have had more time to rekindle my love of music and compose. I have recorded more, played more, and spent more time making music with my wife April and out friends. I have spent more quality time with my family than I have in years. I’ve spent more time in nature, and taken better care of myself mentally and physically.

There’s a few melodic motifs and themes that reappear throughout the piece:

The “self” theme is loosely inspired by To A Wild Rose by Edward MacDowell, a piece I learned as a piano student years ago. It’s introduced in A minor in the second movement but eventually transitions to E♭ major using some more “idiomatic” jazz chord progressions. The intent is to reflect my own internal shift of my self-image as a result of my leaving Amazon.
April’s theme explores the idea of using minor tonalities as a tool for expressing “introspection” as opposed to “sadness,” which people typically attribute to a minor key. It’s explored in a few keys, but in its first exposition it’s distinctly in Am but harmonized over an Fmaj7 It’s loosely based off of To Zanarkand, one of April’s favorite tracks in the video game Final Fantasy X.
Minerva, our dog, also has a theme! It’s based off of the Lydian Dominant Scale (a raised 4th and lowered 7th). I personally like that scale, and it is used extensively in jazz improvisation. The theme itself is inspired somewhat by Debussy’s Golliwog’s Cakewalk. It’s decidedly phrenetic yet playful, which matches Minerva’s personality to a tee. It first shows up in E♭ in the first movement but eventually gets layered in all over the place (also apt).

I’m very proud of this piece, although I do not think it’s perfect. I think it does represent the beginning of something new for me, and I’m excited to explore that. I hope you enjoy playing it as much I’ve enjoyed writing it. I suspect some parts may be “unplayable” due to my ineptitude with the notation software or general oversight. Hopefully my intent is still conveyed. I’ve also recorded this piece and made it available for streaming. You can find it on my discography. I don’t think I do it justice, but it was a good challenge to record!