:):):)

Once upon a time, I had the good fortune to visit a music store with a keyboard on display, and I began to play a tune. Though not well versed in music, this was a minimalistic piece, easy enough for my limited abilities, and it took form rapidly as I experimented with it on that long-ago fateful day.

Setting the reverb key, trying piano modified with bell tones, and finally xylophone setting for the octave above, it began to sound grand - stunningly grand! I repeated and repeated and repeated the trilogy of notes, each set of sets played by starting out and punctuating the first, proceeding down the keyboard in threes, and doubling the middle set. I then added the automated accompanyment for bass and drums, for which the keyboard provided, and which sounded excellent as well! I continued onward, and had a desire to add something - a change to the music - an interlude of sorts. Unable to guess at the best place to begin, and trying to keep the music going, I hit an off-key note, and stopped.

In all earnest I hadn't a clue that this piece would ever be put to such good use, or become so universally recognized! Hats off to Chris Martin, to All the members of Coldplay, and to the devoted fans for their continuing support and enthusiasm for this music, and the creative spirit within us all that it continually re-ignites!! For what began as an experiment, a test-pattern, an earlier remembrance of some older tune, became in the hands of experts a song titled clocks, and remains as startling as the day it arrived out of the speakers, in a form polished to perfection by them.

With All Sincerity,

-Chuck Kottke

3213213-2 3213213-2 3213213-2 3213213-2 3213213-2 ..............

Welcome to the site! :D

 

Hang on...are we to believe that you came up with Clocks? :P

I did not create clocks, but I did come up with the very basic keyboard component, the essence of it...at least I do believe so. That happened before Coldplay began playing clocks, perhaps 5 or 6 years ago, though the exact year is but a blur in my memory now.. It was played by another group prior to Coldplay's version, -sounded very much like U2, but I was intentionally avoiding paying any attention to it back then, so I cannot be certain.

Almost all creation has humble forms at its roots, but in the combined form becomes greater than the sum of its parts. So, clocks probably had evolved from that simple beginning to become something worth listening to. Even rock and roll came from the blues, which came from African rythms, each time changed - added to, blended with, and reshaped into a more modern version of its original form.

And, it may not be only something I had played once - the music at it's core is so basic, it could have arisen many times, throughout history. It may date back to the harpsichord, the lute, or to the harp itself. Any number of experimenters, trying out basic musical patterns, would have evolved that basic piece.

Still, I had stunned the mall goers at the Mall of America - stunned myself as well - for what was so simple a piece had so profound an effect! My memory is pretty clear on that! It seemed like a dream, but I know I wasn't dreaming!

I would imagine this might be hard to believe, coming from a complete unknown, but then we are all just people, coming from different backgrounds, and have contributed in some small way things we might not expect to find such resonance arising from.

With All Sincerity,

-Chuck

spooky stuff. helooooooooooo and welcome!!

hi and welcome!

Hello and welcome to the site..and yeah..:lol:

Dusty Keyboard??

 

spooky stuff. helooooooooooo and welcome!!

Hello Shiver129 - Love the Graphics!!

!:-> & Hello There Dusty Keyboard!! Dust that baby off and crank out some tunes!!!:)

Neat cartoonography - you really know how to keep fun in the world!!

 

Spooky? Whatcha mean by spooky?? Most everything we have today comes from humble roots - but it is more of a challenge to see things for what they are, and see the possibilities in the kernel of grain to become oats once sown and nurtured, than just to see the grain.

Coldplay does it best - from acoustics to synthesizer music, often in the same piece! They deserve the credit for taking whole cloth and making it come alive!!

 

Happy Trails,

-Chuck

Keep on with the Imagination Train! This has got to be the coolest bulletin board I've ever seen!!!

With Smiles - :)

-Chuck

hi and welcome!

welcome to the board

Welcome Chuck, and cool story ;)

btw one upon a time is great album of Simple Minds

Rusty Deutsch

 

Hello Rick!

(Verzeihen sie mir bitte - mein Deutsch ist nach 120 Jahren rostig!):stunned::rolleyes: :shocked2::) ;-)

 

And, for a second attempt at it: "Reihe, Reihe, rudern Ihr Boot, leicht hinunter den Strom. Merilly, merilly, merilly, merilly, Leben ist aber ein Traum."

 

Grandpa spoke Plattdeutsch, and for that I had never learned to write.

 

 

Happy Trails!

-Chuck

Hello and welcome to the site..and yeah..:lol:

welcome to the board

HI CHRIS!

Wow - the dancing C's! Now I've seen everything!!!!:):):) Slovaks run in the family as well - are they all this wild and crazy??:hat:

Charities I love - I'm impoverished from belonging to so many of them!! I love to make trade fair as well, and hope we can bridge the gap between our worlds more completely, and feel for one-anothers' plight, as we share so many common values. To "walk a mile in someone else's moccasins" is an old Native saying here, and though often overlooked, it makes all the more sense in today's world.

Right now I'm helping out a few honest people in their quest for office here in the US of A. We are in desperate need of honest government here, as a lot of positive movement is being bottled up at all levels, as the bribery has gotten the better of many in office. At the grass - roots level folks are aware of this, and I'm hopeful we can bring some change in the next election cycle.

Well, enough spiel! Thanks for the warm welcome, and keep on Partying!!!:jester::drummer::daisy::sunny::indianbrave::wacko:

 

Happy Trails,

-Chuck

Kristina of Canada!!

HI and Hello!! What part of Canada?

I Love the quick video - looks like they're dancing the jitter-bug:pleased:

~~~~Keep experimenting --- chance favors the prepared notes!~~~~

Welcome Chuck' date=' and cool story ;)[/quote']

Hey there!

I'm from Toronto :) Yeah, that dance they do :lol: I think I really need to come up with a new sig, it's been there for awhile now.

 

And you're from, near Lake Michigan I see! Very nice

Hey there!

I'm from Toronto :) Yeah, that dance they do :lol: I think I really need to come up with a new sig, it's been there for awhile now.

 

And you're from, near Lake Michigan I see! Very nice

YAY TORONTO! I was born in TO!

 

Welcome to the board! When I was 15, I came up with, independantly mind you, a series of chord changes on the piano that turned out alot like 'Live To Tell' by Madonna. I'm not saying I wrote the song...definitely not...but with only 12 notes and 12 keys, it's inevitable that we'll come up with similar ideas!

Hmmm! Toronto's not too far off in the Great White North...:) I think the video's very funny! Sped up a bit, I hope! (jitter bug dance?)

Green Bay's the nearest town of any size around here - not quite Downtown Toronto, but the valley goes with it as well - and an easier commute!

 

One of my friends from college days gone by moved there - all the way from Belize! Got his Masters in Business from Toronto, and likes the climate, despite the quite apparent difference in temp's!

 

Well, I need rest, :sleeping:

 

Happy Trails Kristina!

 

-Chuck

Hello Rick!

(Verzeihen sie mir bitte - mein Deutsch ist nach 120 Jahren rostig!):stunned::rolleyes: :shocked2::) ;-)

 

And, for a second attempt at it: "Reihe, Reihe, rudern Ihr Boot, leicht hinunter den Strom. Merilly, merilly, merilly, merilly, Leben ist aber ein Traum."

 

Grandpa spoke Plattdeutsch, and for that I had never learned to write.

 

 

Happy Trails!

-Chuck

 

Hey Cuck,

 

welcome to the site! :) The story about clocks is great. So your father spoke Plattdeutsch? It's a kind of dialect here in North Germany and very similar to Dutch. Unfortunately I can't speak it very fluently, but I understand all of it. ;)

Hello Kristina!

Hey, I like the jitterbug! Though, I would imagine if it's been there for a while, it might need a refreshed design. Lake of the Michiganers. Our great inland seas! How's the weather there in Toronto?

Red Green Nearby?

 

I like your quick-film there! Is this the alarm clock band??:cool:

Good Morning Larry!:)

Glad you understand it - all I remember were those few choice moments - like when Grandpa got angry, and then we learned a few German swear words!! (but a few others as well, like the Lords prayer, some funny jokes, etc.) I didn't know it was similar to Dutch - Thanks for that tidbit of info.!

I got a kick out of those You Tube videos on clocks - all those pianists trying to play it!! It's really very easy on a synthesizer keyboard, but pretty tough to do on piano!! I've got to give all those who try credit for it - they do an excellent job. Really, the Xylophone came the closest in tone though.

Still, nobody does it better than Coldplay! When I hit wrong notes at one point, they came up with an excellent changeup to the music, and added a beautiful singing part, nice humming bass, and percussion that brings it alive so much more.

I wonder how they endure all the concerts. Wow, that's got to wear a person out after while?? I'm glad they have the stamina to keep cranking out the great music, though!

Happy Trails Larry!

--Chuck

 

 

Hey Cuck,

 

welcome to the site! :) The story about clocks is great. So your father spoke Plattdeutsch? It's a kind of dialect here in North Germany and very similar to Dutch. Unfortunately I can't speak it very fluently, but I understand all of it. ;)

Hello Rick!

(Verzeihen sie mir bitte - mein Deutsch ist nach 120 Jahren rostig!):stunned::rolleyes: :shocked2::) ;-)

 

And, for a second attempt at it: "Reihe, Reihe, rudern Ihr Boot, leicht hinunter den Strom. Merilly, merilly, merilly, merilly, Leben ist aber ein Traum."

 

Grandpa spoke Plattdeutsch, and for that I had never learned to write.

 

 

Happy Trails!

-Chuck

 

 

Oh that's okay :)

 

:lol:

:hat::hat::hat:

Drums are nice - I enjoy a good drum circle every now and then!! - Just think of a piano as a giant drum set. The strings could be seen as long, thin, twisted drums, and the hammers as drum sticks! It's just a big set of tuned drums, basically;)

Happy Drumming!!

-Chuck

Hello to All !!:):):)

Now I remember the tune I had bouncing around in my head, and which I couldn't quite get the right fingering for (the chords that matched) - It was from YES - Wonderous Stories, near the end of the song, where a synthesizer keyboard played an electronically muted horn part, played as accented notes in threes and fours. The Lyrics went something like this: "Hearing Your Wonderous Stories... , Hearing Your Wonderous Stories...., (Synthesizer-Keyboard Part), It is no lie, I can see into the future...., Imagine everything...."

And, from that memory I tried at the music store to reconstruct the keyboard part! Unable to get the right chord and fingering, I kept going down the chords that came to mind, repeating each one as I went in what I thought was the right sequence, and could not quite guess it! But what I had played was equally beautiful, though somewhat by accident. I decided to repeat the basic pattern at each chord, and in doing so found a very entrancing melody! Adding the upper octave, and changing the setting to xylophone gave it an exceptionally beautiful quality! What good karma to have accomplished something so amazing, and have had the ear of a master of the keyboards - It was a rare moment of convergence that I will always cherish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Muse~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Happy Trails!

-Chuck

You seem like a real nice and cool guy chuck!!

 

:nice:

Hi Chuck!!!!!