Lately, I have been waking up with a tune or idea every morning. I can’t wait to jot it down and/or record it for fear of losing it. Such was the case last Friday 4th April. I felt a pulse in 6/8 time. It felt like a dance. Before I could name it, I remembered a house concert I gave to celebrate my search for the sicilienne. I could sense it. But I first wrote “Cede to the Sicilienne” as in giving into my impulses. Then I transposed to an easier key for the high G ukulele and called it “Sense the Sicilienne.”
The piece opens with a simple ascending D minor scale with the pulse of a sicilienne, a dance in 6/8 time. In this case, I deliberately wrote it in 6/4 time to make it easier to read.
It feels and sounds familiar. Was it Bach or Faure?
I googled myself for that house concert in London. The programme and photos brought back fond memories. My neighbor made different kinds of pastas for the occasion.
I am so happy that I can now play those siciliennes on the organ. It’s also much easier now to find sheet music.
The tune I first wrote that Friday morning was not “Sense the Sicilienne” however. It was in F minor which became messy to play on the high G ukulele.
First I wrote the melody. Then I added chords. This enables one person to play the melody and another accompaniment with the chords.
I then made a version for instrumental solo, also known as chord melody arrangement.
The slurs in measures 12 and 13 refer to hammer-ons.
Using DS al Coda, I’m able to save a lot of space and squeeze all the notes into one single page.
Finally, I end the piece in minor with its parallel major of D major. This “Picard Third” cadence is very typical of Baroque pieces.
As usual, I get so carried away that I stray from making the piece really easy. I think writing music that ends up being difficult is similar to entropy. Left to its own, things get messy. It takes energy to organize.
Likewise, left to my own device, I will make it hard. It requires conscious thought and effort to keep it simple.
Back to the drawing board, I will try again to write a new piece that’s really easy.
If I can’t sightread what I wrote (that is, I need to practice to record it), then it’s too hard.
Pick! Pluck! Play!
“Sense the Sicilienne” may be inserted into the second or third level of the book “Pick! Pluck! Play!”
The last page “Ukulele Chords” of the new book contains a table of ukulele chord diagrams ordered alphabetically for the chords used in the book.
I’m thrilled about releasing these two books as a precursors (prerequisite) to the 12 Chinese Zodiac Suite, which contains three skill levels.
I am recording all my new compositions in the 100 Days of Ukulele 2025 project. To me, this challenge means uploading a new video recording of a new piece each consecutive day from 1st March to 8th June 2025.
For other recent compositions and arrangements by Anne Ku, please visit the Daily Music Writing Project or scroll through the consecutive blog posts.
