You Wouldn't Have Me Any Other Way

My husband showed me this song the other night and I've been completely obsessed with it since.  I absolutely love the video with the vintage-inspired images and her cute collection of butterfly wings and it has a hot air balloon (always a good thing in my world).

The song itself is so beautiful.  I love the lullaby piano and her harmonies.  The words are so visually vivid while still so sweet.

  You know how there are quotes you wish you'd said or ideas you wish you'd thought of?  Well, this is a song I wish I'd written.  

P-I-A-N-O oh oh! Lesson Three

I know that there are plenty of marvelous musicians who read my blog but for those who are not as familiar with music, here are some quick facts and history about the very best instrument in the whole universe.

1. The piano gets its name from "pianoforte" - piano being interpreted as "soft"* and forte meaning "loud." This is because the piano was far more responsive to the touch of players versus the harpsichord or clavichord (which were the common keyboards at that time).

2. George Michael owns the piano on which John Lennon wrote the song Imagine.

3. The piano is a mishmash of an instrument: you strike a key which activates a hammer (making the piano a percussion instrument) which then strikes a string that vibrates and creates the sound (making the piano, in a way, a stringed instrument).

4. You know those pedals under the piano? Well, the most commonly used one is the one on the far right called the sustain or damper pedal. What it does is allows the strings of the piano to continue vibrating after they've been touched, sustaining the notes. This gives that romantic, more reverb-y sound.

My favorite thing about pianos has to be its versatility of sound- it can be romantic and elegant or Jerry Lee Lewis rock n' roll! It's also one of the few instruments that can really stand on its own.

I know I barely touched the marvelousness that is a piano. So if you have any questions, just let me know! And tell me what you love about pianos!

*Piano actually doesn't mean "soft" even though that's what it means now in music. At the time, it meant "on a plane or level" which would be "normal" sound. So a "pianoforte" could play both normally and loudly.

Musical Muses

As a female singer-songwriter, I am a little embarrassed that the primary musical inspirations I mention (Sting! Harry Connick, jr! Randy Newman! Thelonious Monk! Etc.) are men. So I wanted to discuss some female musicians and songwriters that have influenced my music.

Sarah Vaughan

She was the very first jazz singer I discovered and she's still my favorite. Her singing is so emotive and Her Lullaby of Birdland is breathtaking.

Astrud Gilberto

I love Astrud's sexy but innocent voice and her completely unaffected manner of singing along with her song choices. AND she got to do a duet with George Michael. Here is a video of her singing Bim Bom. So adorable!

Suzanne Vega

The Christmas after I first started writing music, my sister-in-law gave me Nine Objects of Desire by Ms. Vega and I listened to it around nine million times. Caramel is one of the sexiest songs off the album.

Emily Loizeau

Emily Loizeau is delightfully quirky and her piano playing very accomplished. I actually wrote another blog entry about her a while ago. Here is Jalouse from L'Autre Bout de Monde.

Madeleine Peyroux

Her music is just so delightfully arranged and sung and evokes feelings of Paris in the rain. I love her cozy Don't Wait Too Long.

Cold Coffee

I was in Winter Park doing a sound check for an upcoming show, and my camera-savvy sister took some photos of me enjoying my blueberry scone and delicious German Chocolate Cake-flavored Coffee Cooler from Barnie's (basically chocolate milk with caffeine... yum).

Hooray for the New Year!

 

Hello all!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday!  I truly enjoyed mine but am now (like many others, I'm sure) happy to begin a brand new year.  So, I wanted to wish you and your loved ones a prosperous, music-filled and delightful 2009! 

 

My music videos are up on YouTube!  Visit my page (http://youtube.com/iamemmamusic) and make kind comments and high ratings!  While you're there, check out Vespersaw's channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vespersaw); she has posted several fan videos.  If you're a YouTube account holder, you can even subscribe to the channel and be alerted the instant a new video is posted.  Whew!

 

I'd love more friends!  If you are a MySpacer or Facebooker, be sure to look me up and, if you invite me as a friend, I promise I will cordially and graciously accept.   

 

Lastly (but not leastly, of course) I want to extend my appreciation to you for your support throughout 2008!  The only way that I am able to thrive as an indie musician is by your word of mouth, by you buying cds to give to friends and by your attendance at my shows through the year.  

 

Thank you tons and tons!

 

 

 

I've been interviewed...

You can read my recent interview at Unsigned, the Magazine's website.  Very lovely!

I'll be in Paris next week hopefully lining up shows for the summer so if you try to contact me during the next week, I won't get back to you.  But it won't be for lack of love- just lack of Internet access.

Check back in because I'll be setting up shows for the end of April.

Tunes and Tea!

On Friday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m. I'll be playing at Infusion Tea (1600 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, FL 32804) so it will be an excellent evening filled with Infusion's delicious tea (or hot cocoa, if you prefer) and my songs. It is a family-friendly environment so feel free to bring anyone you're related to, regardless of age.

In other news, my CD is available locally at Park Ave CDs (2916 Corrine Drive, Orlando, FL, 32803), so if shopping online (via my website or iTunes) is a terror of yours and you won't be available to attend my show on the fifth, I highly recommend stopping by there to pick up a copy. It's a great store and you'll feel hip-er (hipper? hippier? more hip?) just walking in.

I hope to see all sorts of friendly faces on the fifth! Hooray for October!

Hooray! A Facelift!

For my website that is! Not that I'm making a statement for or against plastic surgery, of course. The redesigned website is lovely thanks to website designer Evelyn Wilkerson of Hybrid Designs (www.hybriddesign.net) and graphic designer/photographer Ben Garcia!

One of the marvelous new perks of my website is that you can buy my newest CD through PayPal. If you want your CD autographed, be sure to mention it on the notes in PayPal and I'll gladly tear off the shiny and professional plastic wrap and autograph it for you or whoever (whomever?) you want it for. My CD will also be available on iTunes in the next week or two so if downloading is your preferred method of music acquisition, just hold out and I'll be sending out another letter when it's up on iTunes.

I also want to thank everyone who came to my CD release party. It was quite possibly the most fun had by anyone in the greater College Park area on September 8. Quite possibly. If you couldn't make it, or did, and want some more, come and see me because I'll be performing at Infusion Tea (1600 Edgewater Dr. Orlando, FL 32804) on Friday, October 5 from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Thank you everyone for your fabulous support and please check out my website and tell everyone you know about it! Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Everyone!

Caps for Sale!

Well, not caps, exactly, more like... my CD! I've gotten rave reviews and I don't think it matters that all the reviews have been from my family members! Quite possibly they'd be tougher critics than anyone, I think. If you don't agree, check out some clips of my music at cdbaby.com/cd/emmawallace or at digstation.com/emmawallace or even at myspace.com/iamemma. Enough options? I certainly hope so!

Oh, the excitement!

I have hopped through all the preliminary hoops to having my first (debut!) CD finished. I've approved the artwork, the master and they're going through with the duplication. It's unbelievably exciting. You know how when you've dreamed of something so long and so hard, it's almost difficult to realize you're getting it. So, three cheers and a rah! I have the CD release party scheduled for September 8 from 7 - 9 at Infusion Tea.

Welcome to my world of blog!

Hello! I am Emma - an independent musician gearing up for her first full-length album release. I describe my style as "indie jazz" because I want jazz purists to know that I'm aware that my music isn't really jazz. But it's jazz-inspired... does that count? I play piano and sing - you can hear some of my very early songs at www.iamemma.com. Feel free to listen and comment and give me wise advice about making a career in the music industry.