Amado Ohland

So, today I'm trying to figure out "the point." Not in the sense of "why should I continue?" (because I know why, and continue I will). But more in the sense of "what is it that I'm continuing for?" (That doesn't sound any different, does it.) Am I trying to perfect a craft? Have I developed it to where it can get to? What directions or dimensions can I stretch and grow? Have I accomplished what I...

It was time for this. Perhaps my only concern is that I didn't go all the way; I could have avoided the tonal language of music entirely, and just kept it vocal and rhythmic. But I needed some touchstone with my familiar, it would seem. Well, enjoy.

...and you know what, I'm not even going to condemn that choice. If you're doing something and you know it's time to stop, do that and embrace it. That's cool. But if you're doing something not-unhealthy that you DON'T want to stop, and you feel like you HAVE to because of some circumstance, well, I'm telling you, you get to choose. Quitting, persevering... it's all a choice, just like everything...

You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't judge a song by its title. But you *can* make an impression, by how you name your song (or your book). Do be mindful of your impressions!

JUST when you think you've busted thru your latest plateau. Ah well. Maybe I forgive myself... I am tired, after all. It's not a disaster. It's just... well, keep the mistakes intact. Don't damage the mistakes! You'll ruin them!

Too squeezed for time to write a proper description. Big thanks to peeps supporting my on Patreon. Big thanks to everyone (meaning YOU) for clicking thru to this page. Enjoy.

It was a good night for cooking over an open fire with my one true love.

Already I suspect that this is too close to something I did before. I can't even remember the name of it. Same tone center. And this is iii-v-I-I where that was I-I-iii-vii... okay, maybe that's different enough. I'll link it later and you can decide for yourself.

1 - This track is a reply to “SSS Prompt 15: Sing a song for Working.” More on the Society for Spontaneous Singing at http://singthis.org. You can join the SSS at https://soundcloud.com/groups/society-for-spontaneous-singing 2 - a special thanks to my Patreon supporters. See patreon.com/amado to see what that's about. --------------------------------------------- Here's a little song about the imp...

It's the new "Drop The Mic"

This track is a reply to “SSS Prompt 14: Sing for seven minutes.” More on the Society for Spontaneous Singing at http://singthis.org . You can join the SSS at https://soundcloud.com/groups/society-for-spontaneous-singing To me, this whole exercise is about "can you keep going?" But I've proven to myself that I can -- someday, take an hour-long car trip by yourself, windows up, and sing the whole t...

The music is free. Your support is invaluable. patreon.com/amado Today I had "A Cappella Jukebox," and my Patreon supporters asked me to use a Mouth Sounds chart devised by Mal Webb to come up with some specific sounds to vocalize. I have to say that I found it challenging to use *just* those sounds, and I know I could have used them as a jumping-off point, but that didn't seem like the right appr...

Knight in shining armor? Like in the end of "Pretty Woman"? Not hardly (even if she did "save him right back"). Seems most of us are so busy trying to keep ourselves sane and out-of-trouble that we'd be hard-pressed to do anything for anybody, unless they're doing it for themselves already.

The music is free. Your support is invaluable. www.patreon.com/amado to take part in my mission! Funny story. I have this elaborate justification in my head, along the following lines: One of the few questions posed in common between my Philosophy classes and my Music classes was "so here's a person who toiled away in obscurity and never saw appreciation (or remuneration) for their work, in their...

I know that there's violence all over the world. I know that almost 3000 ppl died on 9/11, that probably three times that died in the recent earthquakes in Nepal, that there's war in Sudan, South Sudan, and various parts of Africa and the Middle East... There's drug-related violence, violence against women and LGBTQ people... And there's racially-motivated police violence against black people. It'...

Probably the best thing to come out of a very thin portfolio of undergraduate composition work. To be fair, I wasn't ready, 25 years ago, to transition from songwriter to composer. I'd be embarrassed to tell you how I got the initial ideas for this piece. But I worked them, and this is the result. Enjoy!