Chris Schuette – Indiebear Music
  • Music
  • October1st

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    Photo Taken by Tom Dunn

    Photo Taken by Tom Dunn

    Every once in awhile, I’ll just sit down at the piano in our Family Room and start playing.  And sometimes, I’ll start recording in the hopes of capturing something amazingly awesome.  No such event occurred last night, but I still like the little two minute piece I’m posting today.  It’s just me improvising through a simple progression in the key of G.  Nothing fancy, but still a nice way to end the day.

    I plan on posting more of this kind of extemporaneous stuff if the mood strikes me…or if people seem to like it!

    I also have an accordion around here somewhere, but I’ll warn you before I start playing that.

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  • September28th

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    smallwonderI have always loved Fall in MN; the way it comes bursting in unannounced and proceeds to drunkenly tell stories about when you used to set your VCR to record every episode of “Small Wonder” back in the 80’s.  Oh sure, you can deny it all you want in the hopes that Fall decides to go away and pass out in the corner until Spring.  But the truth is, you’re stuck.  Fall is going to draw all of the room’s attention and tell the embarrassing stories while being completely oblivious to the small amount of spittle at the corner of it’s mouth. 

    I do like it when the leaves change, though; that’s always kinda pretty.

    Anyway…

    Now that my CD is done (available here at my online store, of course) I actually have time to work on some other musical projects that haven’t been getting the proper amount of Schuet-tention lately (yeah, I make up words now.)  I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon recording the li’l piece I’m posting below.   Since the Fall wind & rain were conspiring outside my window while I worked on it, I decided to call this piece “Equinox.” I also called it this because I’m fairly certain I haven’t used that song title yet.  It runs 3:00m, but you can listen longer if you like.

    Oh, and if you would like to get my future audio clips automatically downloaded to your iPod thingie, you can subscribe to my FREE podcast by clicking this link:  Chris Schuette

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  • September18th

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    The New CD!

    Posted in: Music, humor

    Good News, Everyone!  The new CD, All You Know, has arrived and is available right here.  I’ve included a Store link at the top.  And yes, I am reacting with the enthusiasm of a beloved cultural icon:

    "The new relaxing, yet accessible solo piano CDs are here!"

    "The new relaxing, yet accessible solo piano CDs are here!"

     Thanks to everyone who supported me and expressed interest in my first-ever piano CD, which is especially odd since I’ve always thought of myself as a bassoonist.

    I’ve also re-booted my FREE podcast on iTunes, so I’ll be posting out-takes and other audio tracks there as well.  Did I mention the podcast is free?  Well, it is.

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  • July29th

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    Well, I have great news: I have finally finished recording all of the tracks for the new solo piano CD. To be honest, I think the best part about recording a CD is being done with it. No more tweaking and arranging and muttering.

    The next step is have the tracks mastered and work on the CD design. And since I doubt the CD-buying public will be impressed with the way I can scribble with a Sharpie, I will be working with a local designer to come up with a good design. And no, there will be no roses or unicorns on the cover. 

    Um, maybe on the back.

    Geez, are you kidding??

    Hmm, looks kinda fake

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  • January4th

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    I really geeked out this week.  I was playing around with a phaser effect on the Rhodes keyboard, and I found a way to change the pitch in steps rather than in a smooth arc.  I then locked the steps to the tempo of the song and voila! “Weird sounding Rhodes.”  The rest of the song is almost insultingly simple.  I used a Jupiter synth patch and simulated Mellotron flutes (yes, the same ones from Strawberry Fields Forever.) with a basic drum pattern.  I call it “Eight Bits,” since it reminds me of an old video game. I hope you like it!

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  • December28th

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    As a musician, I often hear voices in my head…I mean, “songs;” I often hear songs in my head.  I came up with this week’s piece while watching my dog, Bear kinda lumbering and snooping around the house.  I swear sometimes that dog has his own soundtrack.  It’s a really short musical cue at 44 seconds, but hey, I said what I wanted to say. Enjoy!

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  • December19th

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    I know what you’re thinking: “Hey, he named this week’s piece after a battle from the early days of World War I in 1914!”  Well, yes; yes, I did.  Don’t ask me why (oh, for the love of God,please don’t ask me why!)

    I actually came up with the drums first and filled in the rest of it while enjoying blueberry pie and coffee; that’s just how the creative mind works.  With any luck, the Christmas spirit will hit me soon and I’ll stop writing these darker pieces for awhile.  Hey, it could happen!

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  • December12th

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    I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet, and at this rate, everyone will be getting a piano solo in their stocking.  Just kidding, I plan to think about considering an impending start to my shopping planning when I’m ready…which is likely be anytime now…but not yet.

    …ahem. On to the music!

    I was just noodling around with a Rhodes patch on my keyboard and recorded some improvisation.  (In other words, “Dude, I totally made this stuff up…totally!”)  Then I thought, “hey, maybe I could add some tremolo and reverb.”  Before I knew it, I had something that sounds like, well, “Styx.” circa 1979.  Not really my intention, and I’m taking steps to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.  As punishment, I decided to call this piece “Be Young.” It runs 1:17m.

    Come Flail Away, people.

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  • December5th

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    Patty & I went to the Science Museum of Minnesota last weekend.  It was my birthday, so for fun I like to ask what’s up with those dinosaurs, since the world in only 6000 years old.  They look horrified, I get a chuckle, and no harm done.  We also got to solve a murder, but before that we checked out the CSI:The Experience exhibit where you get to solve a fake murder.  They give you a clipboard, you look at “crime scene,” then do all sorts of sciencey stuff to figure out how the fake-person fake-died.  Pretty cool, although the mouth-breathers in front of us in line felt it necessary to bring a bunch of young children in with them.  I dunno, that seems a little intense for kids, doesn’t it?  Hell, I was slightly traumatized when I saw the witch melting in the Wizard of Oz (luckily it prepared for the sight of Nazis melting in Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

    Anyway, I wrote some music in a style hopefully reminiscent of the music one might hear on CSI.  I call it “See a Sigh” ’cause I hate lawsuits.  It runs 1:08m and makes me feel like a big man.

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  • November28th

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    I really wanted to write the perfect “Thanksgiving Carol” for this week.  You know, something that people could sing as a family while one member of that family has their hands in a dead bird.  Maybe after dinner, everyone would head out to sing my special Thanksgiving Carol for the neighbors while everyone starts to doze off during the incredibly catchy and somewhat annoying chorus.

    Alas, I didn’t have time to write that Thanksgiving Carol this year…and not just because I’m not really a lyricist.  Truth is, I realized that no one wants to hear a Thanksgiving Carol in this day and age…unless it’s written by Adam Sandler, of course.

    This week’s piece is a creepy little something I put together for another project I’m working on.  It’s called “Cobblestone” and it runs 0:48m. They’re coming to get you, Barbara.

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