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The End,
The Beginning
written and produced by Matthew Piaker
Instrumentation:
Taylor 12 string acoustic guitar
Fender Stratocaster
Roland VG-8 Guitar Synthesizer
Cymbals, snare drum, misc. percussion
All instruments performed by Matthew Piaker
This song was
written just as the calendar turned over from 1999 to 2000, and
recorded during March of 2000.
I think the
song was an instrumental attempt to portray the idea that every
end is a new beginning. We were leaving the 1900s behind, closing
a chapter, and opening a new chapter, a new millennium.
The song is
divided into 3 sections. The first section, “Beginning”,
is all based on the two chords, E minor and D major. The section
goes through some key and tempo changes, but they are all reflections
on that original theme.
The second section,
“End, New Beginning”, returns to the E minor to D major
progression, but with a new element, the G major. Something new,
but based on the old, a continuation of the old. The
idea being conveyed is that, as we travel through time, we progress
to new themes and new places, but it is all based on where we have
been before.
The final section,
“Begin Again”, is a restatement of the themes from “Beginning”,
but with all the energy we acquired in “End, New Beginning”.
It is a synthesis of all the themes, symbolic of the full circle
that is the basis our existence.
Angel On
The Waterfall
written and produced by Matthew Piaker
Instrumentation:
Ramirez classical guitar
Roland VG 8 Guitar Synthesizer
All instruments performed by Matthew Piaker
This song was
written during the summer of 2000, and recorded in September, 2000.
The song evokes
images that were inspired by my family vacation to Niagara Falls.
The Falls were at once both peaceful and over-powering. Strange
bedfellows, those two adjectives. There is something so awe-inspiring
about witnessing the Falls, both close-up and far away.
All the while,
I had this musical idea and was traveling around with a “Baby
Taylor” acoustic 6 string guitar. Every day, after viewing
the Falls, I returned to my hotel room and played whatever came
into my head. The result is Angel On The Waterfall.
The image I
have when I hear this song is that of an angel dancing over the
top of the Falls. The angel seems to come precariously close to
falling down, but it is always able to float just above all the
energy.
Biographical
notes:
I began playing
guitar over 30 years ago. As a child, I took piano lessons, and
then violin lessons. I quit both because I refused to practice,
and convinced myself I would never play an instrument. I picked
up guitar at about age 15 after promising myself that I would never
take lessons and never practice, only “play”.
A short time
later, I discovered the music of Steve Howe and Yes. I listened
to the Fragile album, over and over, stunned at what a guitar COULD
sound like. I then aspired to learn all I could about the instrument.
After abandoning
the dream to play professionally, I attended law school, married,
had children, and launched a career that had nothing to do with
music, other than that it gave me the financial means to eventually
get a few more guitars, and eventually some recording equipment.
Even so, for
the first 25 years that I played guitar, composing original music
seemed quite beyond me. I took for granted that I could play other
people’s music, but not create my own.
All of that
changed very suddenly in the summer of 1997. In August of that year,
I was invited to a party of Yes fans taking place in Long Island.
And, incredibly (or so it seemed at the time), these were all people
I had yet to meet, except on line! The party was hosted and attended
by people that posted to AOL’s Yes Bulletin Board. I was going
to meet internet people!!! And, for the first time since college
days, I brought my guitar to a party. And I played. A group of us
played. We jammed on Yes songs, mostly, and it was great fun! And
then I packed up my guitar and went home. And that was the end of
that, wasn’t it?
But, within a short time following the party, something happened.
For the first time in my guitar-playing career, I had played in
front of people that actually appreciated my playing! This was not
something I normally found, not even from my own family. And I received
several emails from people who heard me play, or who just heard
about my playing, asking me for a recording.
I did not own
any recording equipment, and had never recorded my own playing.
But the emails inspired me to try to create a tape. I purchased
a used 4 track recorder. I had no idea what I was doing, but I produced
a stereo tape of a few Yes covers and a few original tunes that
I had composed over the years. And, with great trepidation, I sent
a few copies of the tape around to people that had emailed me.
The feedback
I received from those folks was inspirational. And, something else
happened, something magical. The very act of making the tape seemed
to throw a switch inside me that had never been thrown before. Because,
all of the sudden, I found myself composing one new tune after another.
And each new tune gave me such a rush of joy when I would record
it, that I could not wait to compose and record another!
Over the next
2 years, I composed and recorded enough original material to fill
2 CDs (Flight of Fancy, and Know No Limit), and begin
a 3rd. I upgraded my recording equipment, and acquired new guitars
and other instruments with which to “paint” with music.
Creating new
music is now an integral part of my life. Like taking a new breath,
I hope there is always a new song. There is no greater rush than
finding the new music and bringing it to life. It feels other-worldly.
My mother always said music is a window into heaven.
I hope my mom
can hear me now.
~Matthew
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