Preface
Texts
Recorded
May 23, 2026
Estrellita - Manuel Ponce - Itzhak Perlman[from The Art of Itzhak Perlman]
operetta swoon song
Waiting Game - Goodness [from Goodness 1995-1998]
room filling sound
drives out troubles
or at least
extra-generational static
Eddystone Lite - Scurvy Bastards [from Piranthology]
this song often made an appearance
(modestly bowdlerised)
during Wit's
End
evening singalongs
at Peggy Bardarson's
4th of July
birthday party
Song from The Voices on Earth 1 - S. Eric Scribner [from Soundforms/Multiples]
looped whale song vibe
then an electric guitar
improvising an intimate
conversational
atop
soon joined by gentle brush strokes
of other instruments
and objects
no ingredient
is generic
as such
Bloody Mary - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
singing to the extent necessary
to fulfill the vocal track focus
of a dance
number
Just Fine - Your Mother Should Know [recorded live at The Skylark, Seattle, March 1, 2018]
a Dead Bars cover
the mundane troubles of adulting
"Mrs. Ramsay Rose. Lily Rose." - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]
figurations
are means of defining pitch space
its bounds and features
letting
out my inner Ken Benshoof
Diapsalmata Book 3
Sonata in C Major, Kk. 326 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
while I'm here
I'll just spruce the place up a bit
such elegant straircase
lines
dusting them is a dance
Kreisleriana, Op. 15 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
harmonies spill out from melodic fountains
figuration regimes
stand for
personification
characterization
what it means
for a bunch of pieces
to work
together
as a set
that they talk across the gaps to each other
that they don't
overpower each other
in this case
though they exist
as a sequence of
individual pieces
they come across
as a sequence of figuration regimes
that
happen to be assembled
into piece shaped bunches
Ungarische Nationalmelodien, S. 243b: No. 2, Animato - Franz Liszt - Carlo Grante
a quick study of metrical accentuation
2 Preludes, Op. 67 - Alexander Scriabin - John Ogdon
these tonalities are glimpsed through foliage
Basin Street Blues - Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra [from Hot Fives and Sevens]
somebody scored a celeste!
delightful
Of Thee I Sing (Stereo LP Take) - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin]
fancy vocal tricks
on 'from', 'of', etc.
the little forgotten words
Prelude to a Kiss - Ella Fitzgerald [from Love Songs: The Best of the Verve Song Book]
nothing fancy
nothing much
Why Don't We Do It In The Road - The Beatles [from The Beatles (White Album)]
a lark
Seaside Bar Song - Bruce Springsteen [from Tracks]
50s Day across the land
intro goes on too long
Physical Attraction - Madonna [from Madonna]
normalizing impulse indulgement
it isn't important to the song
that any place
within it
be in any particular relation
to other places within it
its internal
experience
is structurally uniform
The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper - T Bone Burnett [from The Talking Animals]
the man with the monotonous sneer moralizes
Sometimes I Feel Like a Moanin' Dove - Robert Shaw Festival Singers [from Amazing Grace]
dulcimeric drone
for the melody to reflect itself in
Medicine Tree - Tingstad & Rumbel [from American Acoustic]
flirting
with bringing in
the rest of Pink Floyd
but we won't
quite
Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Aretha Franklin [from So Damn Happy]
sister to sister
Product of Broad Gales and Dim Cradles - Christian Asplund [from Viola]
drifting slowly
a leaf
in heavy air
caught in tangles
we find
the contact
point
of bow and string
that of finger to string
heard indirectly
in the pitch
Don't Hold Back - Smokestack and The Foothill Fury [from High Roads & Hard Shoulders]
prelude to a proposal
declaration of feelings and intent
Requiem - Strung Out [from Black Out The Sky]
the malevolent world out there
Red Sky - Steve Layton [from Red Sky]
sounds dire
(must be the morning warning)
Sunshine Special - Frenchy's String Band [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
this beat is aware of its weight
it indicates no tempo
outside of itself
Vanessa, Act 2 - Samuel Barber - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Eleanor Steber, Nicolai Gedda, Rosalind Elias, Giorgio Tozzi, Regina Resnik
these people are fettered and feverish
this dancing lesson waltz is clever
not
just noir
but aware somehow
of its own camp melodramatics
Nardis (Live) - Bill Evans [from Another Time: The Hilversam Concert]
descending from street to cool
now we're on the avenue
where it's happening
the
time is not your concern
our time is
intense drum solo
Monkey - Echo & The Bunnymen [from Nancy's Mix]
even if it became a song
by a well-known band
it was song first
an idea
Turn You Inside Out - REM [from Green]
threaten and withhold
power tease
The Times They Are a-Changin' - Nina Simone [from A Single Woman]
just that one verse
no others
Tenderly - Glenn Tate [from Days of Wine and Roses]
performative romance
so everybody plays nice
and tips well
Bed That I Made - Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs [from Crooked Path]
verses to the Ellensburg skies
I Know What I Need - Red Ribbon [recorded live at The Comet, Seattle, March 5, 2013]
one does ones best
to make a credible sound
with ones equipment
and what the
venue can provide
broad stokes necessary
to cut through the social static
and
convey a thought
miniature henges won't do
Your Body - Christina Aguilera [from Lotus]
the body of the other
dis-em-souled
time to wink to your dance partner
Work / Architecture / Unity / And / The - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]
yet another Diapsalmata volume
executive summary
as though each bit
were a part of the whole
question of its own singular identity
as a group of
similars
by the thinnest of pretenses
Candy Man Blues - Mississippi John Hurt [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
American huckster charm
Psalm 23 - Allen Hovhannes - The Choirs and Orchestra of St. John's Cathedral, Denver, Donald Pearson
opens with a thought about a tonality
orchestra comes in
and any thoughts of
further development
are obliterated
an effect can't compete
with a thought
about tonality
even if
it expresses something
about the text
each successive
bit
is blind
to its fellows
gratuitous manifold amen
Just Because I'm a Woman - Dolly Parton [from Just Because I'm a Woman]
plea for parity
Give Paris One More chance - Jonathan Richman [from Jonathan Sings!]
travel brochure
Going Under - Patti Smith [from Dream of Life]
in pop-adjacent parlance
piano signifies poetic sincerity
quiet intimacy
the
single spotlight
Bogalusa Strut [from New Orleans Traditional Jazz Legends Vol. 3]
historical re-enactment
professionally accomplished
hey
a gig's a gig
imitation
Cantique de Noel - Whitney Houston [from One Wish: The Holiday Album]
a vocal star
is a token
of industrial branding
The Star - Goat [from Special Agent]
ultra cool
deadly glance
Song 04 - Dead Bars [recorded live at The Comet, Seattle, March 5, 2013]
what might be told
to the next barstool
told
here
to all the barstools
bully pulpit
Joey - Timothy Root [from Constance and The Waiting]
struggles forward
an awkward mechanism
encased
in an armored weapon
even the
irregular
becomes regular
if repeated regularly
I've Seen What Loneliness Can Do - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
the musical thought
in front of the sellable recording
comes on pretty strong
I'll Be Back - ? and the Mysterians [from The Best of ? and the Mysterians]
unfancy dance
with spinning lights
Production Line Blues - Dan Sedia [recorded live at Bard College, March 18, 1983]
climbs back into the beat
one step up
Keep Your Eyes on The Prize - Marley Marl [from In Control Volume 1]
how to compete
leadership lecture
Plaisir d'amour - King's Singers [from Chanson d'amour]
wawawawawawa bit
a spot color in the arrangement
Dialogue -Frieze of Life [from Nuclear Frog Pond]
registers
in dialogue with each other
a short study
Atmospheric/Tom (via Kalen) - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
skittery bugs
nervous as squirrels
Song 04 - Canals of Venice [recorded live at The Coment, Seattle, March 5, 2013]
Rob has such a particular voice ping
that the process of finding a sound
with
which to effectively support it
is full of not quites
unaccompanied
power alto
hymn
Lamb of God - Keith Eisenbrey - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [from Keith Eisenbrey #8: 2001-2002]
an early experiment
in mod-17 serial thinking
composed from syllable count
out
My Bucket's Got a Hole In It - Sonny Burgess [from Sun Records Definitive Hits]
innuendo is fine
if it's humorous
and you commit to the bit
good old boy hoedown
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience [from Electric Ladyland]
composed doorway passage
pulls in quick
so be prepped
it ain't pop
it's a
strutter's wet dream
BP BLP; BWLP - Benjamin Boretz, Ross Rabin, J. K. Randall, Marjorie Tichenor [from Inter/Play]
at first we can hardly move
for imputed impetuosity
and impertinacity
we're
shy
after all till
we tip over
into communality
at which pass
we prepare our
corner nests
and turn to face
our facing faces
our sound
is no longer
mine
a
meeting of muses' musings
in the muse lounge
or
later
over coffee and
omelettes
at the muse diner
it approaches us
eyes meet
down to the mess of it
let's whop up something to eat shall we?
we'll be taking this apart
for a
while
banging and ratchet wrenching
we're getting a transmission in
from a few
dimensions over
it breathes deep and slow
and we are birds now
and caw as
crows
time to re-enter the day to day
Circle of Power - Soundgarden [from Ultramega OK]
a magic symbol
in and of itself
is without power
Louis Cort U.S.A. (Cajun French) [from The World Sings Goodnight]
the production of the album
does less service to this
than it might have
William Tell Overture - Brave Combo [from Box of Ghosts]
I guess they're having fun making the audience smile
pop light classic
Notebook A: 2. Symphonies - J. K. Randall [from Open Space 22]
a list of them
by incipit
in relational order
Where Are We Now? - David Bowie [from The Next Day]
fingers are crossed
just in case
the moment you know
you know
Perpetual Motion 1 - Tom Swafford [from Violin Improvisations]
simulacra of notes
in a frantic flux
The Nether-edge - PJ Harvey [from I Inside The Old Year Dying]
has been to poetry class
legend hero meter
Come Sunday - Duke Ellington and his Orchestra [from Ken Burns Jazz]
is that a viola?
or a muted violin
on the lower strings?
{NB:
Ray Nance is
credited with violin,
so I guess it's the latter}
Long Distance Operator - The Band [from Music from Big Pink]
retelling a Chuck Berry story
in order to veer from it
a fragment
just a few
verses
No Art In The West - The PKs
even young children say
with drum solo
to cap it off
Love Rescue Me - U2 [from Rattle and Hum]
porch ready song
see how nice it can be
if it doesn't go all stadium
and how
weak it becomes
the moment it strays
hide behind the sha la las
Senza Tetto, Senza Cuna - The Black Cat Orchestra [from Dante's Inferno Live Score]
street fair
busking band
pass the hat
Track 14 - Eckstein Middle School Students [from Mach 6]
one of those
military history buff
tone-poem marches
Forever and Always - Taylor Swift [from Fearless]
the poem describes a betrayal
which it harps on
in permanent umbrage
Coterie - Learning Team [from Aporia Coda]
emerges onto a small stage
from a strum
voice has a Sting-like texture to it
Sugartooth - Brandi Carlile [from By The Way, I Forgive You]
celebrating a lost soul
jump back in
with the song title
now and then
so the
kids will know
what to look for
on the streamings
Rothwell - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [December 17, 2023]
a demonstration
of what composition with pitches
might do
if
it could get away
with it
To Aunt Rose - Allen Ginsberg [from Holy Soul, Jelly Roll]
a loving portrait
We'll Never Know - The Rusty Dedrick Orchestra [from Irving Berlin, All By Myself: Notable Compositions 1926-1933]
composed with dance
as an integral part of its doing
Uptown Girl - Billy Joel [from The Essential Billy Joel]
it's a New York thing
portraying a singer
Minstrels - Canadian Brass - [from More Greatest Hits]
drollery and puppets
and a bit of song
Another Lover/Where Are You - Janet Jackson [from Janet]
dreamy smooth production
like a baby's bottom
P.I.M.P. - 50 Cent [from Get Rich or Die Tryin']
community leader
sign on the office door
Moonlight Water - True Bugs [from 25 Songs]
my adventure at sea
Katie's Farm - Swamp Meat [from Elephant Graveyard]
vocals squeezed
up to the ceiling
and walls
by the mass
of guitar amp output
Improvisation #2 - Taylor Ho Bynum, Mark Dresser [from THB Bootlegs vol. 4]
this music
has bodies attached
to the making
of the sounds
and also
attached
to our methodology
of taking those sounds in
double bass
is a magic resonance
box
speaks quiet
but with puissant presence
Chamber Music IX: Northen Light - Steve Peters [from Chamber Music]
depth of field
textures of near and far
"A" Blues - Scrapper Blackwell [from The Art of Field Recording]
partition of the guitar strings
by touch
Lester Left Town - Wayne Shorter [from The Classic Blue Note Recordings]
an ample space
to spread ones wings
but
you gotta move at a clip
to avoid the
drag
so step light
these events
are atomic sounds
self-constellating paths
will be traced
distinctions will be made
if I should find myself
tracing a path
ought I
to
stop
out of principal?
if so,
how?
and
in tracing a path
one might
personify
that is
imagine a being
that is
this episode of events
events
might share
terms of time-extent
and become a partition
and
are personified
we
grant them
the eloquence of puppets
the cat wants to chew on my journal
Keep Me as the Apple of an Eye - Cambridge Singers [from Brother Sun, Sister Moon]
words lifted
but only with approved melodies
and approved locution
Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber, Pt. 2 / Conclusion - Wu-Tang Clan [from Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)]
set up a scene
and play out the act
brag of badassness
these tracks have a bunch of accreted parts
Public Service Announcement - Jay-Z [from The Black Album]
I am what I am
Thanks 4 Nothin' - Mariah Carey [from E=MC2]
her vocals
are layered into the song
from the booth
Seven Auras - Joey Largent [from Earth Drones]
reed arithmetic
create a drumming
by exciting a space
with specifically
intonated wave sheets
like swords
through a magician's magic closet
usher in the heavy pipes
these events can't be counted
May 29, 2026
Banned Rehearsal 1090 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer]
a growing glowing
melody
is an earmind focus
a tier apart
from language
a
cycling figure
allows itself to be used
to index
the location and contour
of
any other figure
a pianissimo
and a hush
passed by
In Session at The Tintinabulary
May 24, 2026
Atwater - Keith Eisenbrey
a fun little tune in B-flat
May 25, 2026
Gradus 434 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
now the notes are numbered
and there are many
music parts
drift
in slumber
nonstandard notations
no tenths of innings here
shh
these notes may be
dreaming
working out their passage
in darkness
analysis
of the way
a music
implies
a syntax
is
to argue
from the assumption
of a syntax
smoke billows
rising
in a strangely organized way
we surmise
a hidden
or occult force
such as
an engraved head
with pursed lips
blowing
this
does not
proceed
like a sequence
of figuration regimes
though sometimes
it is that
///
{see enclosed figure}
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 32: Sabbatical Improvisations (part 3) 2014
In 2013 I had reached an inflection point in my big project, Études d'exécution imminent, and took a sabbatical (indifferently observed) from composing written-down music. I filled the time with various forms of improvisation, both "in-the-moment" composing, and sometimes puttering about with multi-tracking and other digitally applied effects. Here is the third bunch of them.
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
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