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First Time Out With The Baby
Second Movement of the New Born Suite
Inspiration
Written as a second movement to Becky's Birthday,
I wrote this as I watched my wife keenly assembling her new pram, anticipating
with relish taking her new baby out in her new pram.
Description
First Day
Out With The Baby mp3,
2 mins 7 secs,
2,988KB - harp, piano, strings, horns. Depicts the first outing of a proud
mother, with her new baby and new pram. Warmed by the Autumn sun, she pushes her
gift to the world past admiring strangers and through crisp fallen leaves.
Composition
Before I started writing this piece, my son suggested I write young Becky a
lullaby. It got me thinking. Although I didn't set out to write a lullaby, I did
set out to describe a proud mum walking her new baby in a pram.
Parents have an instinct for how to put their new-borns at ease. Whilst I was in
the Maternity ward, I noticed all the other fathers were swinging their babies
at exactly the same tempo. The midwives referred to it as the "daddy swing."
I chose to base this work at that "daddy swing" tempo. Also I included the sorts
of sounds and lines that would often be used around a baby: varying pitch,
repetition, smooth simple lines and plinky sounds.
I re-used the chord progression used in the first movement, in the major
throughout, to keep a connection between the two movements.
Curiously, we have used it as a lullaby twice now, and both times it has calmed
her down from "hissy-missy" to "blissful slumber" - cool!
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