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| Song List
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| Album Notes
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| For those who have had the pleasure of attending one of Gordon's concerts, you are aware of his efforts to engage the audience by explaining his approach to each song – its history, arrangement, motifs, and chord progressions. This album includes his "personal notes" to better acquaint you with his artistry. It is an insight into his musical world. |
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| Reviews
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"Personal Notes" by Gordon Mark; Daniel Ho Creations Genre: Instrumental 'ukulele. Distinguishing notes: Gordon Mark has been a uke player for decades; his repertoire has always spanned the genres, from Hawaiian to film to the classics to Tin Pan Alley. Thus, the 11 selections in this outing represent all musical camps, from "Makalapua" (one of the earliest tunes he learned to strum) to popular vocal favorites such as "Pua Lili'a" and "Waika," from pop evergreens such as "Mona Lisa" and "Days of Wine and Roses" to longhair compositions by Chopin. He does a savvy blend of Tchaikovsky with Helen Desha Beamer, demonstrating his limitless instrument and his ability to adapt. Our take: Mark is on target with a gentle, appealing entry — with unabashedly romantic results. |
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| Gordon's Notes
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| One of the first songs I learned on the `ukulele was Makalapua. In songs that comprise both music and lyrics, I am usually more interested in the melody line than I am the words. With Makalapua it was no different. I loved the melody line then, and I still do today. Admittedly, I had no knowledge of what the words meant, as I am not well versed in the Hawaiian language. However, I hear different moving notes andvoices whenever I play the piece. For example in the chorus, (if the song was played in the key of F major) the chord progression that I hear would be Bb6, Gº, C7, F, D7, G7sus, C9, C7, Am, F7, Bb6, C9, C7, F, Am, Cm6, D7, G7sus, C9, C7, and F, rather than Bb, C7, F, C7, F, F7, Bb, C7, F, C7, F…and probably never played the exact same way twice. Mona Lisa… Daniel Ho’s request. A three to five minute practice session to learn the song and see if I got it right. Daniel said that it sounded beautiful so I just went with it and “winged it.” I first heard Pua Lilia about 30-35 years ago as sung by Marlene Sai on one of her albums. As usual, whenever I interpret a song, I tend to add chords…all the while realizing that the melody line needs to be maintained. However, in many songs, and especially in Hawaiian pieces, there are several verses. As a soloist without the benefits of other accompanying instruments, I have a self-imposed requirement that no two verses be played in exactly the same way, using exactly the same chords, notes, etc. Otherwise, hearing one verse would be the same as hearing the entire piece. I Only Have Eyes For You and Days of Wine and Roses are standards that I feel will be continually heard for a long time. To make sure that this does happen, they, as well as other beautiful standards must be re-introduced periodically to the listening audience… so here they are! Feelings, Waika, and For Once In My Life, are played on a baritone `ukulele. Due to the one octave lower top 4th string (guitar tuning), these pieces take on a different character. Whereas the third string would normally be the lowest on standard tuning, now the fourth string becomes the lowest. In Feelings, the song starts in the E minor chord structure or position, not necessarily the E minor sound. The E structure note or third string is moved backwards a half step each time while maintaining the positioning with the other three strings. With Waika, the verse begins in the G chord structure. The third string is moved forward a half step to form a G augmented structure, then another half step to form an E minor structure. The note is finally pushed forward another half step to form a G7 structure. For Once In My Life starts in the F structure or position. The note on the third string moves forward a half step each time, and at the third forward movement, the chord structure changes to an A diminished position. The common thread that runs through these three pieces is a low note moving either forward or backward while maintaining the melody line. As for these last groupings of songs, I chose to present them as an example of the infinite influence of classical works. Chopin’s Nocturne needs no introduction. The Polovetsian Dances, from Alexander Borodin's opera, Prince Igor, and Stranger in Paradise from the 1950's musical Kismet are of course cut from the same cloth. I believe that Peter I. Tchaikovsky and Helen Desha Beamer had to be on the samemusical wavelength. Symphony #5 Opus 64 and Kimo Henderson Hula both open with nearly similar chord structure types and timing; and both are exquisite! |
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| Credits
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Record Label: Daniel Ho Creations Recorded: 2005 Release Date: October 2006 |
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