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Abe Effress, 11, playing saxophone in Marina Del Rey

I have been playing saxophone since I moved to Los Angeles from the mountains of Colorado four years ago. This year, I wrote a piece for piano and submitted it to the Composers Today program for young composers. I became very interested in making music, and have started to realize it is a passion that I want to pursue.

I decided to really challenge myself with this new song, "Misted." This is the first time I have composed music for two instruments, piano and saxophone. The saxophone that you hear was inspired by a spider that has been living outside of my windowsill in the room I share with my brother. This song is in a minor key because for one day the spider was not there and it made me sad when I thought my new friend had gone away. Many of my creations, especially my writing, are dark and gnarled, like the branches of my mind.

In this song, I also included my love for music production in the form of a beat, which I added in GarageBand. When I started making songs on GarageBand this summer, my parents decided that I could get an Instagram account for my music, fiction stories, drawings, and any other art created by me. The positive response I have been receiving from real professionals in the music production industry has motivated me to work even harder.

Here is a link to the full audio with the piano and drums; and this is the link to me playing the saxophone part out on the Pacific Ocean in Marina Del Rey, and to more of my work on You Tube. There is a video of the spider on my Instagram page, @wearing_a_wig.

I really hope you enjoy "Misted." I did my best to write down the notes for both instruments even though the piano is naturally in a different key than the alto sax. Thank you for taking the time to check out my work!


From the Stone Soup Editors: Do you play saxophone? Download a printable copy of Abe's composition, 'Misted', and try playing it yourself. Leave a comment for Abe below, and if you do try his music yourself, send us a recording of yourself playing his piece. Enjoy!

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Comments

  1. I love music and when I hear it it makes me want to dance,I want to learn to play it and it puts me in a good mood. thank you for the music.

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