Tag: guitar

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Creekside

“Creekside” (“My first concertina piece!”) composed, performed and recorded with guitar and concertina on separate tracks by Sanford. R. Bender on July 31, 2021
“Creekside” painted and drawn with watercolor and colored pencil by Sanford R. Bender a while ago

I just bought a 40-button “Anglo” concertina a week ago. Wind instruments operated with bellows and their “old world” sound had intrigued me for quite a while. I was also fascinated by the difference of this instrument from the harmonica and clarinet where I have to rely on breathing and embouchure. Producing the joyful or wistful sound of a concertina would however, require the dexterity and theoretical understanding of pressing buttons on each side while pulling and pushing the bellows in rhythmic time. The painting “Creekside”, seemed appropriate to the music in its depiction of a meandering stream flowing through its carved channel of forested and stone armored embankment.

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Shells

“After a hard day’s work” composed , performed and recorded with guitar on two tracks by Sanford R. Bender.
“Scallops” drawn with colored pencil by Sanford R. Bender in June 2015.
“Scallops and Conches” drawn with colored pencil by Sanford R. Bender in June, 2015.

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Recovery and Relief (Sea Mountains)

“Recovery and Relief” composed, played, and recorded on solo guitar by Sanford R. Bender on May 3, 2021
“Sea Mountains” painted with acrylic paint on paper by Sanford R. Bender a while ago.

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A brief passion

“A brief passion” (Trunk Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands) drawn by Sanford R. Bender a while ago.

“A brief passion” composed, played and recorded by Sanford R. Bender with guitar on two tracks a while ago.

“A Brief Passion”

A passion can pass,

In a twinkle of an eye,

A leeward glance,

A breath and a sigh,

Inhaled fragrance,

With luster of jade,

Horizons of memories,

That never fade.

Sanford R. Bender April 19, 2021

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A lull in the battle

“Amiens Cathedral Interior Elevation” drawn with pencil by Sanford R. Bender in 1991
“Amiens Cathedral Exterior Elevation” drawn with pencil by Sanford R. Bender in 1991

My drawings of Cathedrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens from the thirteenth century were drawn while researching Gothic architecture, and how cathedrals in France were being constructed with arches, vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, and stained glass windows. After drawing the horizontal and vertical lines of the structure with straight edge and triangle, I soon became entranced and astonished by how consecutive arcs drawn with a compass established a rhythm that appeared to dance gracefully across the page. The visual motion of the arcade struck me deeply as being musical, my other passion. The original guitar composition, “A lull in the battle”, inspired by medieval music, is what I imagined as being evocative of an exhausted knight pausing from battle, only to reflect and mourn a bygone romance.

“A lull in the battle” was composed and performed with guitar by Sanford R. Bender on July 17, 2016
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Not from where I came

“Not from where I came” was painted with watercolor and gouache by Sanford Bender in 1985.

I played banjo more than guitar for a while since I especially enjoyed its mirthful and spontaneous independence. This instrument could provide enlightened commentaries on the most tragic and haunting occurrences of lost love, betrayal, revenge, murder, and perhaps even evoke valor and the emergence of integrity.

“Not from where I came” was played and recorded on May 5, 2021 with one track of acoustic guitar with metal slide, and then improvised over with a second track of five-string banjo.

This music for guitar with slide and five-string banjo is reminiscent of traditional ballads travelling from place to place like fairy tales with subtly changing variations over a common theme; only to alight into my own imagination as another powerful resource fueling my creativity.

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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