To link to one of my songs, click on the title
below. If the song has lyrics, you will be linked to a page that displays
the lyrics, and you will be able to listen to the music by clicking on
the appropriate link on that page. You can return to this page by
clicking on a return link or using the "back" button on your browser.
If you're not sure your browser can play MIDI files, check
out this link for further information. Also, remember that the quality
of the sound you hear will depend a great deal on the sound card in
your computer or any tone generator or MIDI keyboard through which you
play it. (It also may vary depending on the application you use to play
the song and the balance setting you're using.) The MIDI file includes only
the music, not singing, but where there are lyrics, I've written them out
for you.
Please note that I may post revisions or new arrangements
for some of these songs in the future. When that occurs, I will
try to include a note indicating the date of the revision.
If you would like to download one of my song files, hold
down the shift key while clicking the left mouse button on the appropriate
song link. Just remember, all of these songs are copyrighted. You have
my permission to play or use the songs for noncommercial purposes
(with appropriate attribution). However, the songs may not be altered
or used for commercial purposes without my written permission, and you
must include my copyright notice.
Please note: There have been some
problems with playback of certain MIDI files, including mine, on certain keyboards.
If you try to play one of my MIDI song files and find that it sounds more
like a hodgepodge of unrelated sounds than like music, please take a moment
to let me know. Please include the name of the song file and the equipment
(computer, sound card, tone generator, keyboard, etc.) on which you tried
to play it. If possible, also include a brief description of what you
heard. This may help me figure out a way to resolve the problem.
Thank you for your assistance.
REAL AUDIO FORMAT: Since the sound you hear when you play my MIDI songs depends
so much on your computer's sound card and synthesis software, I have
been looking for a way that will allow you to hear the instrument voices
that I used in composing these pieces. Until recently, using the
.MP3 file format was impractical for me. So I decided to post Real
Audio versions of at least a few of my songs. Depending on your
Internet connection speed, these files will take longer to download to
your computer than MIDI files, and if there are network connection problems,
the playback may not be smooth or clear. You may want to download
the file to your own computer and then play it offline using Real Player.
If you don't have Real Player, you can download a free, basic version from
Real.com. Click on the following link to go directly to the Real
Player download site: Download
Real Player Basic.
(Note: Following this link will take you out of this web site.
You may be able to return by pressing the "back" button on your browser.
If you haven't already done so, you may want to bookmark at least the
home page for LRM's Place, http://geocities.datacellar.net/dhcpolwnk/.)
[Songs below that are marked with an asterisk (*) are available
in .mp3 format at the URL above. Additional songs not available in
MIDI or Real Audio format also may be available at that site. Check
my MP3 site periodically for new music.]
NOTE: Going to the URL above will take you out out of LRM's Place.
You may be able to return using the "back" button on your browser.
You also can bookmark this site.
LATEST UPLOAD TO MY MP3 SITE:
"Justice for All" with Voice-Over spoken lyrics
For
a quick listen to my mp3 music, click here. A player will open
in a separate window. "Justice for All" with the spoken lyrics is the default
fist song, but you can scroll the list and play others as well.
My song for the disability rights movement.
(NOTE: The original arrangement of Justice for All is the
first song I tried to record using my electronic keyboard and MIDI software.
At the time, I knew very little about how MIDI worked and just wanted
to get the basics down. I revised the arrangement and balance a
bit on July 14, 1998, to sound better with the sound card in my new computer,
which I understand is the standard one sold with most computers these
days.) I later added a third
arrangement of this song that's in more of a folk-song style. (Uploaded Feb. 18, 2001.) Also, a
chord chart in Microsoft Word format is
now available for downloading. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site. The MP3 version of Justice for All uses the third arrangement.)
This is my remembrance of
and tribute to the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attack on the United States. Initially, I made it available
in Real Audio and .mp3 formats only (not in MIDI
format) because some of the sounds I used from my keyboard aren't
reproducible on most computers' sound cards. However, since this
is such a long piece, several people have asked me to make it available
in the smaller MIDI fomat as well. For those who have access to
a good sound module or who can put the MIDI file on a floppy disk and
play it back through a MIDI keyboard, this will give a full sense of
the music I intended as well. This is my first venture into what some
might call "serious" music. I've been told that since it paints
a musical picture of what happened, it can be considered a "tone poem."
So here it is — all 13 minutes of it.
As Heaven Weeps, MIDI
format. Smallest in file size. Plays through your computer. Also
can be played directly from floppy disk drive of MIDI-compatible musical
keyboards.
As Heaven Weeps,
RealAudio format . Mid-size file with better sound quality than
MIDI format played on computer with basic sound card and FM synthesis.
This Real Audio file will take a while to download. At 56K per second,
the download still may take five to ten minutes. (Real Audio version uploaded Nov. 15, 2001.)
As
Heaven Weps, MP3 format. Largest-size file but best sound
quality of the three formats. This link will take you to my MP3
web site at <http://www.MP3.com.au/LauraRemsonMitchell>,
where you can listen to and/or download As Heaven Weeps or any of my
other MP3 songs. Download may take a long time for those without
high-speed connections, but music can be "streamed" (listened to) online
very quickly. The latest version of Windows Media Player is necessary
to stream the music, but the software can be downloaded for free from
a link in the left-hand column at my MP3.com.au web site.
Crystal Citadel *
Copyright 2003 by Laura Remson Mitchell (uploaded May 7, 2003)
This song was inspired by a poem written by my friend
Cara Rosenberg Alson. I repeated the first two or three words
of the last line of Stanzas 2, 5 and 7, and I added a chorus, but the
moving words are Cara's. (To see the poem in its original form,
go to http://motherbird.com/cara.html.)
Composing this piece was an interesting challenge, since the
poem uses neither rhyme nor a consistent meter. I hope you find
the music as moving as I found the words. As with many of my other
songs, the MIDI version may not reflect what I intended, especially if
you aren't using a good tone generator. To hear the song as it plays
back on my PSR 740 keyboard, listen to the MP3 version. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
Copyright 2000 by Laura Remson Mitchell
(uploaded Dec. 5, 2000) (Real Audio version
uploaded Nov. 15, 2001.)
Based on a
Hebrew prayer for diversity. I couldn't get the idea of it out of
my head after learning of this prayer's existence. I suspect that
the prayer really is referring to the diversity of nature, but I think
it applies equally well to diversity within the human species, and that's
how I choose to interpret it. This piece is in three parts: A transliteration
of the Hebrew prayer, additional lyrics that offer my take on the meaning
of the prayer, and an English translation of the Hebrew. Like most
of these songs, this will sound best when played through a good tone generator,
synthesizer or sound card. (It was orchestrated using a Yamaha PSR
740 portable keyboard.)
If you don't have a good sound card or tone generator,
you can get a better idea of what this is supposed to sound like by
listening to the Real Audio version
or going to my MP3
site to hear or download the .mp3 version. Both the Real Audio
and MIDI versions of the music as well as the lyrics can be accessed by clicking
on the song title at the beginning of this section.
This isn't exactly a song. It's really just
me improvising to the blues auto-accompaniment on my electronic keyboard.
But although it could benefit from some editing, I kind of liked the
sound, and I thought some other people might enjoy it, too.
This is a sequenced version of a song I wrote for
acoustical nylon guitar in the 1960s. It was inspired by the civil
rights movement and, in particular, by a human relations workshop for high
school students called Anytown USA. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
I started working on this song one day when I was
feeling burned out on policy and disability rights projects. I turned
to music to "get away" from the stress, and it helped. Hence the name
of the piece. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
The title of this piece is a spoonerism based on the old "Grade
B movies" I used to watch on television when I was a child. (MP3
version available at my MP3 site.)
I wrote this piece a few years ago, working with a
standard piano. As I played it in 3/4 (waltz) time, I kept thinking
of a carousel, while the minor chords created a kind of eerie feeling.
That's why I called the song "Haunted Carousel." In the
version posted here (I've fooled around with several other arrangements,
including a rock boogie version in 4/4 time), you may not get quite
as much of a carousel feeling, because I have added other voices and effects,
but I hope you will find it interesting — and haunting. (Note: This
was my first effort using my Yamaha PSR 740 keyboard and Cakewalk Pro
Audio software.) (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
Kickin'
It Up*
Copyright 2002 by Laura Remson Mitchell (uploaded May 7, 2003)
The best way I can categorize this one is "country rock," though
that's probably not really a very accurate description. Listen, and
decide for yourself. I used several types of guitars, pitch bends, a
rocker organ and plenty of percussion in this song. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
This song was inspired by one of the wonderful styles
created by Simon Williams for use with the Yamaha PSR 740 electronic
keyboard. After listening to my original version (which you can
hear by clicking on the "original version" link above), Simon asked if
he could make some modifications. And what wonderful modifications
they are! Simon re-recorded the strings part and added some other
very nice touches, while leaving the melody and chords unchanged.
Simon has very kindly given me permission to post his version here.
Note: Unfortunately, neither version sounds very good using a standard
computer sound card. Both versions were orchestrated for the PSR
740 keyboard. For those who have good sound cards or tone generators,
I think you will be able to enjoy the MIDI versions. (MP3 version of original
arrangement now available at my MP3 site.)
This is an experimental effort at playing around
with a theme. I composed the piece entirely at the computer (i.e.,
using sequencer software but without any playable musical instrument,
even a MIDI keyboard). (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
This piece consists of piano variations on the children's
song "London Bridge Is Falling Down." I have been working on London Bridge
variations for several years as a way of learning how to make melodies more
interesting. This is my first piece using the techniques I have learned into
a single piece of music. I hope to create more selections based on London
Bridge variations in the future. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
This song evolved from my playing around with ninth
chords using a lovely piano ballad style on my PSR 740 arranger keyboard.
After recording the basic melody and chords, I changed a couple of instrument
voices and added a flute track for harmony and flavor. You may
or may not get the full sound of the different voices by playing the MIDI
file through your computer sound card, but you can listen to it
in the .mp3 version at my MP3 web page. (MP3 version available
at my MP3 site.)
This piece was written and orchestrated using my PSR
740 arranger keyboard and may not sound as interesting when played back
through a standard computer sound card. However, I tried to check
for any major problems before uploading this file. It is another
attempt to use variations on a theme. I hope you find it interesting.
(MP3 version
available at my MP3 site.)
On the
Road
Copyright 2004 by Laura Remson Mitchell (uploaded July 18, 2004)
This song starts out with a jazzy chord that just appealed
to me and adds a melody using a blues scale. While I was working on
the song, I tried several different approaches, but the song kept pulling
me back to the structure you can hear in the final result. This sounds best
if played through a Yamaha PSR 740 or compatible MIDI keyboard or tone module,
but even if you have to listen via a standard computer sound card, at
least you can get an idea of what I had in mind. To hear more closely how
the song sounds on my 740, check out the MP3 version available at
my MP3 site.
A kind of old-fashioned love song, in two arrangements,
including one in the romantic jazz ballad style of the 1940s. For those
who might be interested in trying to sing along with the jazz version,
I created a third arrangement (available only at my MP3 web site) which
uses a choir voice to indicate where how I intend the lyrics to fit in with
the jazz arrangement. You still won't hear anybody singing the words,
but you should be able to follow along. (MP3 versions of both the
original jazz ballad and the jazz ballad with the melody overlay are available
at my MP3 site.)
This song uses several types of guitar, a rocker organ
and a little bit of sax along with a lot of percussion. It's one of many
songs that I don't know how to categorize. The MIDI version should sound
fine if played on a Yamaha keyboard, and maybe on other arranger keyboards
or tone modules as well. But for those who are listening on a computer
that has just a basic sound card, you won't get the true flavor of the
piece. Check my
MP3 web site to hear the music as I intended it.
Some of my long-time friends may remember this one,
a guitar instrumental I wrote sometime around 1964 or 1965.
Until now, it hasn't been recorded either in sound or in musical notation.
At some point, I may try to add some orchestration, but for now, this
is just basic folk guitar plus an added percussion track. (MP3
version available at my MP3 site.)
(uploaded Oct. 23, 2001; revised version uploaded
Jan. 31, 2002 by Laura Remson Mitchell)
This piece makes use of the "Cool Night" style in
my PSR 740 keyboard, though it was at first inspired by an original style
created for the 740 by Simon Williams. Again, it was orchestrated
originally for the keyboard. Your computer sound card may not give you access
to all of the instrument voices used in the piece, but I hope you will enjoy
it anyway.
Copyright 1998 by Laura Remson Mitchell (uploaded May 5, 2004)
Another of my blues efforts. This replaces
"True Blue Shuffle," which I recorded using a shuffle style from my MIDI
keyboard. This version (which uses my own variation on a piano style) is really the way I wanted True Blue to sound in
the first place. True Blue also is available at my MP3 web site.
This page was last revised July 18, 2008.
.
Number of visitors to this page since Dec. 6, 1998:
LRM's Place has
been honored with the "Top of the Hill" Award
by Geocities/Capitol Hill.
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Songs by Laura Remson Mitchell 
