John Dick's Music Project

"Down By The Sally Gardens"

2011-06-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

The popular Irish traditional tune "Down By The Sally Gardens" has always been one of my favorites. In 1909 the Irish composer Herbert Hughes (1882-1937) set the verse of the poem Down By The Sally Gardens, by poet William Butler Yeats, to music using an old Irish air titled The Maids of the Mourne Shore. That is the melody we all associate with the modern version of the song. The word "sally" or "salley" is a version of the word "sallow," which is a tree. It is close to the Irish word saileach, which means "willow." So, whether you are down by the sally gardens or the willow gardens, this is a great tune to sing along with. I present my solo piano arrangement.

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Quick Music Update

2011-05-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

There's a saying in the music business:

"Practice for two hours each day, everyone knows you're not good, and you know you are not good. Practice for four hours each day, everyone thinks you're good, but you know that you are still not good. But practice for eight hours each day, then everyone knows you're good, and you know you are good."

Well, for brevity's sake, I haven't been able to practice much these past six weeks or so as I have been learning new job skills at a new job in a whole new occupation for myself. Hey, I love and have a passion for my music, but someone has to pay for piano upkeep and shelter. My old profession of civil engineering design work for over 28 years went the way of the horse-and-buggy (but without anything else to replace it) after the 2008 "residential and commercial real estate" crash, and it was time to find another line of work.

However, for these past two weeks I have finally been able to sneak in more piano practice time each day and sharpen my "chops." As I greatly appreciate your patience, I am working on new music to record and post coming next month in June 2011, including one of my own new piano compositions. So, I invite you to please check back soon and often. Thank you so much for your interest.

Cheers, John

"Lord Inchiquin" by O'Carolan

2011-03-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Irish composers was blind harpist Turlough O'Carolan, 1670-1738. For many years I've enjoyed listening to other artists' interpretations and arrangements of O'Carolan's music, of which he wrote over 200 compositions, surviving only in melody form. When I was able to return to playing piano, I decided to pick a few of my own favorite O'Carolan tunes, add some chords, and arrange them for piano. "Lord Inchiquin" is just such a tune. It has such a happy spring to it. Whether or not Lord Inchiquin himself was such a happy fellow, O'Carolan painted him as a happy kind of guy nonetheless, as the melody indicates. O'Carolan was greatly influenced by his contemporary, Vivaldi, who's music O'Carolan greatly admired. Much of O'Carolan's music was commissioned by his many patrons. Enjoy!

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"Danny Boy" solo piano

2011-03-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Originally arranged and included in a musical tribute to my friend Mick O'Connell, I thought it would be appropriate to present this popular Irish tune by itself for St. Patrick's Day, when we're all a little bit Irish.

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Musical Tribute to Mick O'Connell

2011-03-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

“In the context of pursuing rational values, it is always best to follow that passion which makes one feel most alive at living.”
--- Michael J. O’Connell, 1933-2010
(military veteran, family man, businessman, and dear friend)

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