Information:

• Source: The Wonders of Music Notebook
• Key: G Major / E minor
• Measures: 48
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:06 min
• Pages: 3 Pages

“Some may say that I couldn’t sing, but no one can say that I didn’t sing”.
Florence Foster Jenkins

FAMILIAR NOTES
Most of us, can’t explain in plain words, perhaps afraid of being banal, how a handful of organize music notes can create melodies that have the eminent capability of demanding our attention and make, under approval, our entire existence tremble of raw emotion, because, we actively anticipate pleasure upon hearing familiar notes, music can become an important antidote to our live struggles or an enhancement to our joyful days

But, the lyrics of a song are also an important element that could makes us excited or could makes us frown upon their meaning. I know some popular songs that to me are a deal-breaker based...

Information:

• Source: All Year Round Music Notebook
• Key: C Major / A minor
• Measures: 64
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:11 min
• Pages: 5

“Witnessing the fullness of June, one has to do it without air conditioning.”

TIGHT GRIP
The month of June marks the beginning of summer above the Equator. Each year by then, you can already tell if the heat will be unstoppable for the rest of the season. I believe part of our character in adulthood is conditioned, in great measure, by the kind of climate we grew up in. Clearly, I’m not talking about the political climate _ I’m referring to weather conditions _ although let’s be honest, both can leave you feeling equally scorched by August.

I do believe that growing up in relentless heat, teaches people patience, or just resignation. Cold climates build character, which is code for "you learn to accept that joy is a distant memory...

Information:

• Source: All Year Round Music Notebook
• Key: G Major / E minor
• Measures: 45
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:07 min
• Pages: 5

“But here I am in July, and why am I thinking about Christmas pudding? Probably because we always pine for what we do not have. The winter seems cozy and romantic in the hell of summer, but hot beaches and sunlight are what we yearn for all winter.” ― Joanna Franklin Bell, Take a Load Off, Mona Jamborski

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD
When it comes to the weather, there’s more than meets the eye. The energy it releases_ wether is cold or hot, rainy or stormy, or just cloudy _ affects my attitude in ways I have not been able to describe. Certainly, a lot of times is easier to complain than to be inspired by it, or to be depressed rather than to be appreciative. I often surprise myself wishing for rain when it is sunny, and wanting a sunny day...

Information:

• Source: All Year Round Music Notebook
• Key: C Major / A minor
• Measures: 48
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:32 min
• Pages: 4

“I have been younger in October than in all the months of spring.”
— W.S. Merwin

FULL MOON
I was out for a walk last night. It was only 7 pm, but the temperature was already dropping fast. There were some clouds in the sky, and as I walk down the street, I could see the mountains in front of me. From behind the mountains, a bright light was beginning to shine. As I continued walking, the light grew gradually brighter - until suddenly there it was: the most beautiful full moon I’ve seen in a long time.

I stopped in my tracks and I admired the satellite for a few minutes before turning my attention back to the road ahead. I finished my walk, but even after I got home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the celestial body. How quietly it...

Information:

• Source: Before The Sun Goes Down Notebook
• Key: F Major / D minor
• Measures: 49
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:32 min
• Pages: 4

Now all my teachers are dead except silence. _ W. S. Merwin

PRELUDE TO BAD NEWS
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy silence and eagerly embracing it, and those who fear it, avoiding it at all cost as if it were the plague. In nature, silence is often regarded as a prelude to bad news, a moment when the world holds its breath. Complete stillness, presents itself, just right before eminent danger, making the quiet feel less like peace and more like a warning.

Silence can be unsettling in certain situations. For example; when I think about the stillness that dominates the bottom of the ocean - even if waves were crashing 100 foot high above on the surface - nothing would disturb the untamed quietness of the...

Information:

• Source: Before The Sun Goes Down Notebook
• Key: F Major / D minor
• Measures: 36
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:09 min
• Pages: 3

There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage. _ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

JOVIAL DEMEANOR
How is it that life manages to inflict pain with such jovial demeanor - always precisely, always at the most inconvenient time? No matter where I turn my attention, there is always things to fix, something to mend, articles to repair, things to restored, details to revise, items to glued, an object to patch, areas to clean, situations to correct, positions to adjust, attitudes to tolerate, status to modify, time to coordinate, circumstances to arrange, conflicts to resolved and ideas to confirm, plans to align, thoughts to sort.

It almost feels as if the sole purpose of life is to watch...

Information:

• Source: California Sessions Notebook
• Key: G Major / E minor
• Measures: 36
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:30 min
• Pages: 3

Even when the skies are gray in California, they’re a different shade of gray. - Oscar Levant

McKINLEYVILLE
For everything that happens in life, there’s always a beginning and_whether we like it or not_a conclusion. When I moved to Humboldt County back in 1998, landing in a little town called McKinleyville, it felt like opening the first page of a brand-new book. It was the beginning of a life filled with excitement, where every corner held a fresh adventure and the sense that anything_absolutely anything_could happen. And there I was, living in a small town where, apparently, nothing much happens. Yet somehow, in that quiet little nowhere, chaos, wonder, and a kind of magic kept finding their way to me.

I was twenty-seven years old...

Information:

• Source: All year round music Notebook
• Key: G Major / E minor
• Measures: 48
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 2:42 min
• Pages: 4

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. (Sonnet XCVIII)”
― William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets

BACK TO LIFE
What is it about the spring season that appeals so much to me?, For one, I see nature coming back to life - colorful flowers bloom, birds sing again, and the air grows warmer and fresher. Perhaps it’s because I grow tired of the darkness and stillness of winter. April feels like a welcoming month, full of light, resurgence, and promises.

Winter darkness fades
Butterflies returning home-
All life just began.

With expectation, I too wait for the sun to return, and, almost imperceptibly, it finds its way through, quietly preparing the days to be brighter, longer,
and warmer. The world then seems refreshed...

Information:

• Source: All year round music Notebook
• Key: D Major / B minor
• Measures: 48
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 3:22 min
• Pages: 4

“December is the toughest month of the year. Others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, October, August, and February.” — Unknown

ABSTRACT NONSENSE
Whoever said those words was on point when he noted, in a typically sarcastic way, that life is difficult. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’d add that life does not care - it simply moves on, indifferent to our struggles or victories. At times, life feels like one of those abstract, nonsense modern paintings hanging in a gallery - a mess of loud, colorful strokes that critics and intellectuals pretend to understand, but lack of any real meaning or comfort.

From a very young age, I realized music always came to my rescue- whether it was December or August...

Information:

• Source: California Sessions Notebook
• Key: Eb Major/G Minor
• Measures: 36
• Parts: Cello and Piano
• Duration: 2:37 min.
• Pages: 4

Once upon a time in Sacramento, the city that puts the gold in the Golden State._

MEMORIES TO HOLD
A lot can happen in twenty years _ countless memories to hold onto, and many more to forget. Twenty years is enough time for a city to change its face, for streets to fill with new stories, and for old ones to fade into lonely corners. That’s how long I lived in Sacramento. It’s not that I kept a scrapbook of every event, trying to preserve each moment for the years ahead, though it’s probably not a bad idea to have one. Still, so much of the city lingers in me _ its light, its sounds, the way summer evenings seemed to stretch forever.

I can almost hear the soft rustle of trees along the levee, or recall the scent of rain after one of...