Tag: guitar

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Moon Cats outside my Window

“Moon Cats from outside my Window” was painted by Sanford Bender with acrylic paint and colored pencil on canvas board on May 29, 2021.

I awoke just after midnight to a most supernatural music outside my window as cats appeared singing under a full moon. That is what I imagined when I listened back to the music I was composing with tracks of guitar, slide guitar and harmonica. The painting of the nocturnal scene was finally realized two and a half months later from drawings in my sketch book. Whereas an irate neighbor may react to this lunar concert by lunging for a garden hose to spray amidst a torrent of profanities, I was drawn deeply into this feline world of sensory agility and mindfulness for which the music was my portal.

“Moon Cats from outside my Window” – Music by Sanford Bender composed on March 13, 2021.

“Moon Cats from outside my Window” is composed and performed in three tracks for acoustic guitar, acoustic slide guitar, and harmonica by Sanford Bender.

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Riding into the Starlit Night

Darkening evening on the ride home -Sanford Bender

Since I don’t go to the park until later in the afternoon, I am often there riding my yellow bicycle back to the car as dusk sets in. I quicken my pace as the inky blackness settles around me, and the few farmhouses and barns are left behind. Gazing up into the lofty pines upon hearing the distant hoot of a great horned owl, I begin to perceive myriads of stars glittering above me. The music in my mind that I hear that evening may not arrive until another day. But, the melodies and rhythms have already embellished my soul, and like the stars, will gradually reveal themselves in their delicate splendor.

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Polar Ardor

I am excited to share news about the short film Polar Ardor, my musical collaboration with animator Camille Wainer.

POLAR ARDOR

A short animation about polar life and love.

Inspired by the paper cut style of early animator Lotte Reiniger, Polar Ardor incorporates the additive techniques of woodblock stamping and Chine-collé printmaking to recreate a delicate landscape threatened by division and deterioration. The whimsical music of composer/architect Sanford Bender accompanies each stage of the polar bear’s journey through a varied composition using only two symbolic forms (the heart and the puzzle piece). Simply and subtly, Polar Ardor offers an optimistic message about the importance of collaboration and compassion in the face of an uncertain future.

Release: 2021

Length: 1.33 minutes

ANIMATION BY : Camille Wainer

MUSIC BY: Sanford Bender

PRODUCED BY: Documinute Productions LLC

You can watch the trailer below and check out Camille’s other films on her website.

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Music: Be Your Own Best Friend

I could hear the music in my mind as I was driving home from a disappointing meeting with an art group to which I belonged. The night was cold and clear and the sky glittered with stars. I reached for my guitar as soon as I arrived home and recorded a track. I followed by recording a second guitar track, and after listening to my improvisation was lifted out of my despair.

Conchs
Two Colorful Conchs by Sandy Bender
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Gone, a musical poem

This poem with guitar accompaniment is about an unruly cat who did not come home one night. We had not really connected, but I don’t know what can be expected of a cat. I was committed to him even to the point of tumbling down the stairs when I heard his encounter with a shrieking fox.

My cat appeared to be grinning at me that morning when I returned from the hospital. I suppose that he had worked out his differences with Reynardine the fox. Now, he was meowing for a more domestic meal and a fresh bowl of water.

“Bobcats” by Sandy Bender