Dave Heffner Music

MUSICIANS AND SONG DETAILS
(see Lyrics)

• Dave Heffner. I have written the music and lyrics, engineered, and produced all of the songs in this album, except where noted below. I am primarily a composer and keyboardist, but am experienced in audio engineering with Pro Tools and various plug-ins. With the exceptions of performances by guest artists, I play and sing all the remaining parts. 
• Janet Heffner. My wife Janet sings on many tracks, helps with lyrics, marketing, and continues to be my biggest fan. Her involvement with music as a vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter has been life-long as a student, teacher, and performer.
• Susan Kieren, oboist, of Rochester, NY, is known for her warm tone and voice-like playing.  Susan studied oboe at the Eastman School of Music with Robert Sprenkle.  She has degrees from the University of Michigan in music education and performance on both modern and baroque oboe. Susan has performed extensively in the United States and appeared as a soloist for  9 years at the Orvieto Musica Chamber music festival in Italy.  She performs regularly in Rochester with the Catholic Diocesan Festival Choir, Lyric Chorale, Candlelight Quintet of Bethany Church, Amadeus Chorale, 12 Corners Klezmer Band. She was music director for Shakespeare in the Park for 3 years.
• Bruce Klepper. Bruce received a degree in music composition and theory. He wrote music for many years but never made a career of it. In 2014, he retired from business to devote himself to composing music.  He is currently involved in writing music for Danse Etoile Ballet (www.danseetoile.org) and collaborating with other musicians on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bruce-klepper-1 
• Anna Rader.  My daughter Anna had lessons in flute, trombone, guitar, piano, and voice. She took private voice lessons for many years and sang in choirs and choruses throughout school and college. Anna has given many sacred and secular solo performances including several musicals with lead roles. 
• Arianna Rader. My granddaughter Arianna has sung with the Boulder Children’s Choir and takes piano lessons from me. 
• Alfonso Llorente Sardi. Alfonso is a multi-instrumentalist living in Bogota, Columbia who has collaborated wiith me over the Internet by contributing original acoustic and electric guitar tracks. He is a lawyer and horse breeder by occupation. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/abogllm 

SONG DETAILS
(see Lyrics)

YOU CAN DREAM (Anna and Arianna Rader - vocals) Style: electronic pop. 
The message of this song can be best described by the pre-chorus, "You can dream and you can change. All the world is your domain." Several vocal effects of my voice were added for creative enhancement. Anna sings the verses and is joined in the chorus by Arianna. I am grateful to have them participate. 

FOUR FOUR WORLD (Dave and Janet Heffner - vocals, Alfonso Llorente Sardi - electric guitar) Style: progressive rock. 
"I'm three-four in a four-four world" in the first verse, sums up the song. In other words, you might feel left out because you are different? This song was a response to a challenge given at a music producer's meeting. Members were to write a song in a tempo other than the common four-four time, which is used in the majority of music today. This production introduces Alfonso of Bogota, Columbia, who plays his 2006 Strat, supporting a progressive rock sound. 

LOVE TODAY (Anna Rader - vocals, Alfonso Llorente Sardi - acoustic guitar) Style: singer - songwriter. 
This song ballad was inspired by the phrase in the first verse, "I wondered what memories I'd leave behind." My compositions are often complex, but occasionally a song needs more simplicity. In the end, I reduced the drum, bass, and strings notes and eliminated the electric guitar. Alfonso redid the guitar track with a beautiful acoustic rendition. My daughter Anna Rader sings the reflective words with her rich soprano voice. The song concludes with, "to show some love today." 

MYSTERIOUS WAYS (Susan Kieren - oboe) Style: electronic. 
This is a song about our world. I always wanted to write a song for a pipe organ. I am playing a Roland RD-2000 for the Pipe Organ and Grand Piano sounds. As in an orchestra, the oboe timbre stands out nicely in a crowded field of other instruments. Susan Kieren of Rochester, NY recorded her oboe at her home. With the assistance of her musician son, Jon Dexter of State College, PA, files were exchanged over the Internet and mixed into the final production. 

TEAR IN YOUR EYE (Dave Heffner - vocals, Bruce Klepper - arrangement) Style: ballad. 
I was inspired by this chord progression when teaching my granddaughter Arianna the use of seventh chords. Contemporary classical composer Bruce Klepper added a rich harmony to the flute and string tracks. 

LOVE FROM THE HEART (Anna Rader - vocals) Style: ballad. 
This is a song about true love. As the lyrics question in the chorus, "What more can you ask than love from the heart?" Vocalist Anna sings the lead, as well as the backup and vocal effects, in this song. 

NUMBER SEVEN (Dave and Janet Heffner - vocals) Style: progressive rock. 
I am having fun with numbers here. This song is the seventh song on my seventh album, played at seventy-seven bpm in Eb minor, which is the seventh position in the Circle of Fifths. Listen to the lyrics carefully for more on the number seven. 

SHOULD I STAY (Anna Rader - vocals) Style: pop. 
This is the first completed production following our recent move from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Happy to be working with singer Anna again. I wrote this dance song for fun! 

OLD JEREMIAH (Dave Heffner - vocals) Style: electronic. 
This song was presented at a music producer's meeting as an experimental composition. This unique piece combines an old spiritual, electronic music, classical piano, all to a hip hop beat. 

SIMPLE LIFE (Dave Heffner - vocals) Style: singer - songwriter. 
I sing and play keyboards in this simple ballad about the riches around us. 

SUPERHERO (Arianna Rader - vocals) Style: alternative rock. 
Does it get any better than working in your studio and producing a song with your granddaughter? This song is in honor of the superheroes who are mentors, teachers, leaders, and parents to the next generation. 

CHEESE, BABY (Dave Heffner - vocals) Style: electronic dance. 
This song is dedicated to my grandson Abraham, who loves dance music and cheese!  After hearing him singing "Cheese, Baby" for a couple weeks, it seemed natural to write a song. A tough music critic, he gives this song a “thumbs up,” which is the only endorsement I need. 

TWO MINUTE WORKOUT (Dave Heffner - vocals) Style: electronic. 
It started out innocently enough: "What could I write for piano at 180 bpm?" Then I manipulated my voice using a popular plug-in. So, why not add a sub-bass to test out my new speaker? After many bells and whistles and massive editing cuts, one ends up with a frantic two minute track. Perhaps this reflects being stuck in my house for a couple of months. (lol) 

COLORFUL (Instrumental, Bruce Klepper - arrangement) Style: jazz. 
I wrote this piece for a ballet production about the artist Henri Matisse. I chose the trumpet sound on my keyboard when writing the lead part, since I consider it to be a very colorful instrument. Bruce’s arrangement skill brings out some rich harmonies in the saxophones and brass sections. I was inspired by posting the word “colorful” over my keyboard for a few weeks.