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Book trailer adventures, pt. 3-Serenade

Choosing Serenade for the trailer was a selfish decision. Personal preferences abound when it comes to the arts and any other choice presented before us. Let me give you the backstory on Serenade to help you understand my choice. I’ve held on to this tattered piece of sheet music for more than 30 years. I found it tucked away with my father’s music books that had somehow made their way into our piano bench along with more modern selections. The yellowed pages of the book intrigued me, and as a teen, I figured there was no way any of the music within the book would appeal to me. I was wrong. I happened across Serenade and I’ve been forever hooked or is that hooked forever? Fast forward to today. I realized at the beginning of the project that any music must be clear of copyright infringement issues. Secondly, the music must fit the story and keep with the mystery, sadness, and unsettled struggles of the characters. These issues lead me to classical music. After dismissing Mozart (even though I reference Eine Kline Nachtmusik in the book) I remembered this song, but not the name. And so began my frantic search through boxes and notes and tossed aside piano and guitar music. I was thrilled to find my father’s music book tucked away in one of my keepsake boxes. The beginning of the song, in my opinion, has a sense of longing and heartache. While the midsection of the piece can lend itself to a joyful and lighter tone, Serenade to me begins and ends with the longing, the sadness, the memories of faded away hopes and dreams. My musician had practiced the tune to perfection during the previous few weeks. After listening to two different takes on two different pianos, we settled on a discarded piano he had recently refurbished. The music was recorded on my MacBook Pro using the Garage Band software. The music runs under two minutes. The recording session took about an hour. After several track recordings, we both knew when we had accomplished our mission. It just sounded right. The subtleties in the piano keys, the way the notes trailed off and merged into the next stanza, it was simply beautiful. Next up in the process, I will working with the video editor as we match the imagery to the music.


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