Music - Songs With Picture

Kenneth Lavrsen's Music - Songs incl picture

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Title Published Genre Picture
Witch Dance



Witch Dance
Out in the dark wood is this ugly witch brewing a beer that will make a handsome prince see her as a beautiful woman. She is dancing around the cauldron with her broom while thinking about her cunning plan. Here is the music for it
06 Mar 2025 Pop witchdance.jpg
Feelings



This song started a week ago with a simple track by deezee. It was a chord progression played by a synth pad and the progression was very interesting and non-traditional and I started hearing several melodies as I played it.

So I imported the music into Logic Pro. I used Melodyne to analyze the chords and reconstructed it as MIDI (hard work because the reverb confuses Melodyne). After having played and improvised melodies for days I had 4 different melody sniplets and some chords I could not fit anywhere. The last step was to stitch it together by adding some glue chords and repeating some sections and here is the result. A melody I would never have come up with without the unique starting point from Dorothy.

The image is a snapshot from a Youtube short where a guy plays Debussy's Clair de lune for his guinea pig which seems to love it. Yes, obviously guinea pig also have Feelings.

Thanks deezee for your inspiration and for your permission to use your work.
01 Mar 2025 Inspirational feelings.jpg
Catching Sunlight



As days get longer, flowers shoot up in the garden, it is hard to be grumpy. Here is a bright optimistic song.
It is a fast paced jazzy piece. I am very satisfied with both the main melody and the piano improvisation which took me a long time to get to even though it turned out quite simple at the end.

Some background of the making. I started like I normally do with making a nice chord progression thinking that the end should be a jazzy song with lots of 7th chords.

For the melody development I let some arpeggiated synth play it on my iPad while I walked around and hummed and occationally captured some notes on my iPad. And then when I had the overall melody I started the project in Logic Pro by first keying in the chords.

I used the Session Piano Player to do the initial arpeggio playing. You can actually influence how it plays a lot. There are almost endless ways you can set it up and use different settings in small sections. I reduced the track to only left hand, and to get the correct voice leading I wanted I converted it to MIDI and did quite many corrections. But the result is one I am still not skillfull enough to play live.

The melody in the right hand is played live by me.

I then added the synth which is NI Glace2 with some "Ahh" patches mixed. And then I did the trumpet. Both played by hand so the piece has variations. And what I spent most time on is the piano improvisation between the synth and the trump section.
Drums are hammered in manually on the keyboard using NI Abbey Road 70s kit.
Bass is played manually on the keyboard using Modobass Modern J-Bass with some amp tweaks.
There are some small chords on a Jazz Vintage B3
And some programmed arpeggios playing with NI String Ensemble with Pizzicato articulations only. Give a nice air without being block chord like.
I had a lot of other synth sounds but I removed them one by one as the song stands best with a simple expression with small orchestra.

Image is generated by Google Gemini. "Make an image of Catching Sunlight". And followed. by "Can you replace the guy with a cute woman?"
23 Feb 2025 Jazz CatchingSunlight.jpg
Rocking Day



The 3rd song in a little trilogy. First it was the Last Day. Then the Happy Day. And now the Rocking Day.
Are you ready to rock and roll?
16 Feb 2025 Rock rockingday.jpg
Happy Day



Enough of sadness. It is time for a happy song.

And for the happy song I found a happy image. A Hoptimist. A Danish design by Gustav Ehrenreich from 1968. A silly little figure. If you touchit, it hops up and down on its spring. And then you smile.
11 Feb 2025 Pop hoptimist.jpg
Last Day



This week I am saying good bye to two colleagues that I have worked with for 37 years

And it makes me a bit sad. And it inspired this piece of music that I dedicate to Søren and Torben
30 Jan 2025 Pop buh.jpg
All My Shields Were Down 2024



All My Shields Were Down is a love song to my sweet wife Diane. How I lost my heart a cold December in 1996 in Montréal.

I wrote this song in October 2011 where I had just started learning how to play music. This new version uses the original recording of my voice, but all instruments have been upgraded here in 2024 and I also added some background voices as well (Synth V)
30 Nov 2024 Pop AllMyShieldsWereDown.jpg
This Is Karma ... Karma-Dama-Rama 2024



"If you're good, then life will be good". So true, isn't it?

When Stan sent me this song back in 2012 it was an unfinished draft he was still working on. I was immediately thrilled. Fantastic lyrics, melody, and idea. Stan quickly finished the lyrics and gave me free hands to arrange and compose additional music. I remixed the song 2024, adding more vocals, and replaced a few instruments.

I still think this is one of Stan's best written songs. I hope you all receive it well.

Music and Lyrics: Stan Loh
Additional music: Kenneth Lavrsen
All instruments: Kenneth Lavrsen
Lead vocal and vocal harmonies: Stan Loh
Additional vocals: Diane Chayer and Kenneth Lavrsen, and a few Synth V voices at the end
Photo: Stan Loh
Original was published 22 Jul 2012

I hope you all sing along at the end when you hear this song.
17 Nov 2024 Folk KarmaDamaRama.jpg
Autumn Day Dreaming



Autumn Day. Grey outside. Warm inside. A cup of warm coffee and some cool music playing. This is piece with jazzy chords but without the swing.
10 Nov 2024 Jazz Autumn-Day-Dreaming.jpg
Rhône



Rhône is a song I have been working on since 2014. It started as a chord progression and a theme which is still in the final version. What took time was to arrange it and add additional themes so that the song got the variations and development that makes it worth listening to.

Rhône is one of the main rivers in France and Diane and I love to visit the wine districts along the river and drive around in the French Alps
19 Oct 2024 Pop rhone.jpg
Strange Love



Strange Love was the working title of the song. And it stuck
An easy listening latin like song with jazzy chords and and attempt to keep the song in D phrygian.
09 Sep 2024 Latin strange-love-rain.jpg
And Then We Die (2024)



Pop song with lyrics sung by me. The song is about my life philosophy: Live your life while you still have it and do not let anyone tell you that they know better than you, how to live your life.

The title sounds dramatic but the song is actually upbeat and should bring a smile to the faces of most people.

I wrote and recorded this song in 2012. Here is 2024 I just lost my father. He made it till 81 years old. I was not close to him and the major reason I have not been active in iBandstand is mainly that he died in Sweden, but all 3 children live in Denmark, and the red tape I am facing and the total lack of flexibility from Swedish institutions is draining me of time and energy.

I mean.. I send an email to a bank in which he just had a credit card and the account is in the red so we owe the bank money. They refuse to answer with a final statement by email. They insist on sending it my snail mail to the my fathers address. And then they send me a paper letter to my Danish address saying that they send the statement to the Swedish address. Yes, then I can travel from Glostrup in Denmark to Tyringe in Sweden which takes two hours of driving each way and a bridge fee of 350 DKK just to pick up a letter. The estate also has an account in Denmark. No worries there. They send everything by email. And that is just one bank. It is utterly horrible the way the Swedish society handles things when a person dies, especially when the children do not live close to their dead relative. It is like they are trying to force you to spend 10000s on lawyer fees. All because everything happens with paper and no flexibility. I actually have no issue with the Swedish language. I understand Swedish pretty well.

Nah, But back to the song. Here in 2024 I completely changed the arrangement, added more instruments, added vocal harmonies. Only my own vocal from 2012 remains.

06 Aug 2024 Pop AndThenWeDie.jpg
Picnic In The Meadow



I do not know where this song came from. I just felt like making a waving romantic old fashioned tune.

When I played it for my wife I asked "What shall I call it?" She said: "I see a picnic in a field".

"Hmm", I said, "Let us call it Picnic In the Meadow, that sounds more romantic"

I think the Meadow could be somewhere in France. Does that make sense?
02 Jun 2024 Inspirational picnic.jpg
I Still Love you



In April 2024 Dave (Sprout) posted a song "I still Love You". I loved the melody and it stayed in my head for weeks and I kept on going back to listen to it.
Finally I asked Dave for permission to make a cover version which he accepted. Here is the result.

Music and Lyrics: Sprout
All instruments played by Kenneth Lavrsen
Arrangement, mix, and additional lyrics by Kenneth Lavrsen
Vocals are generated from midi and text and love using Synthesizer V

Also available in
full CD Quality
25 May 2024 Pop sprout-love.jpg
Punk Moments



It is time for a little style change. You may think "He forgot to take his pill" when you hear this.

Years ago I wrote a song called Moments That Matter as a request from my wife for a work event. And later I made a version for my own work place. The lyrics were sort of corporate BS. So I also made a punk version just for fun. It was never published because I did not know how to make distorted guitar sound right. I have since learned. Power chords! That is the secret.

I had a lot of fun making this including the horrible picture of me as an angry old punk. I hope you get the humor. And as Billy Joel sang - "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me".

I'd better take my pill now
14 May 2024 Rock punkmoments.jpg
Midnight Child



Another great song by Stan Loh

All instruments played by Kenneth Lavrsen, April 2024
14 Apr 2024 Pop midnightchild.jpg
Circle Dance (Acoustic Orchestra)



Genre this time is folk music with a Nordic sound and feel. A folky tune that would be great to grab each other in the hands and dance in a large circle. Like I experienced people doing in Barcelona when they dance the Sardana.

I originally published this in 2013. In 2024 I created two new versions. This version is a new fully acoustic classical orchestra version

The instruments you hear are in order of appearance
- Upright bass and piano
- Cymbals
- Clarinet
- Domra and mandolin
- Female voice, celeste, bassoon
- Flute, alto saxophone, acoustic guitar, violins, violas
- Shakers, conga drums, timpany, hi-hats
- Hand claps, cellos, double basses, oboe, female voices (singing pa pa papapa), tubas

You should also check out the new synth/acoustic 2024 version

Also available in full CD Quality
31 Mar 2024 Folk CircleDance.jpg
Circle Dance 2024



Genre this time is folk music with a Nordic sound and feel. I use a mix of traditional instruments, synth, and voice. The rhythm is slow (75 bpm) and strong but without heavy drum beating. A folky tune that would be great to grab each other in the hands and dance in a large circle. Like I experienced people doing in Barcelona when they dance the Sardana.

I originally published this in 2013. In 2024 I created two versions. This one is a completely new version with better instruments and better mixing and mastering.

You should also check out the acoustic version

You can also listen to the file in full CD quality
30 Mar 2024 Folk CircleDance.jpg
Spring 2024



Back in 2015 on iCompositions JCLeonard and I did a collaboration. He posted a beautiful track for open collab. A classical style piece with a lovely simple progression and nice harmonies and decorations by a piano and bells. When I heard it, a melody started forming in my head and I knew I had to record it.

The thing with open collabs is that it is always a patch work and choice of instruments and the chords, the harmonization, may not fit the melody perfectly. I always wanted to redo the harmonization and write a chord progression that fit the melody better and also to arrange the orchestra and remove elements that never really fit my melody.

So here is Spring in a 2024 version, completely rewritten and rearranged.

So here it is. A slow elegant piece that describes the wonderful spring that we are in the middle of. My favourite time of the year.
31 Jan 2024 Classical Spring.jpg
Time (vocal version)



I have earlier posted an instrumental version of this song and I always promissed myself that I would write lyrics for it.

I take a long time to write lyrics. Especially this song took time because I had a clear idea what I wanted to say in the song and it was difficult to find the right words. But here it is.

A piece with huge orchestration. One of those that took quite some time to make. Originally made in 2019. I remixed it and replaced some sound libraries in 2023. And in 2024 I added the lyrics and recorded it. The voice is Kevin from Synth V.
31 Jan 2024 Pop time.jpg
Where To Find Me



Where to Find Me
Music and Lyrics by Stan Loh
Stan was inspired by an original poem by Catherine Prutton

Musical instruments played, arranged, and mixed by Kenneth Lavrsen

The image is from Google Earth and shows where to find Stan and me . Note the long physical distance but short artistic distance.
22 Jan 2024 Pop WhereToFindMe.png
Night At The Lake



This piece tells the story of walking around a lake in the forest in the middle of the night. We hear the animals. Then the early morning begins and finally the sunrise in its glory.

The night piece is a string instrument and flute. Then as the twilight begins the main theme is played on piano and as at the sunrise we hear the full orchestra.

I hope you enjoy the trip
04 Dec 2023 Classical NightAtTheLake.jpg
Sophisticated Hoods



A new song written by Stan Loh. Stan sings, plays guitar, and also provided a drum track. I added two additional guitars, acoustic double bass, a synth based on vocal sample, and some percussion. And I mixed the result.
30 Nov 2023 Pop SophisticatedHoods.jpg
The Joys Of Life



Stan writes:
A reflective song about love life. Kenneth Lavrsen developed, arranged, and did all the instruments in this wonderful backing.
20 Nov 2023 Pop TheJoysOfLife.jpg
Hymn of Peace 2023



This is a new version of a song I posted in 2012. A simple song with simple melody, simple chords, and a simple message. I always wanted to repost this song one day with actual lyrics. The occation is that we need peace right now more than ever. Voices are a mix of AI voices and my own voice.
13 Nov 2023 Classical peace-dove-md.png
The Perfect Couple



The Perfect Couple. That is Diane and I naturally. This song started by making some fun chord progression with several key changes. And then I bought Synthesizer V - a fantastic vocal synth software. And as I played with it making rubbish lyrics, the whole thing ended up with this result. Some background. When I do not make music, I automate things in our house. The geek! And the suitcase story goes back 10 years where Diane had been travelling and she woke in the middle of a nightmare where she dreamt that she had lost her suitcase. At the same time I played with music in Garageband on my iPad and the very first primitive song I did was called "Where is my suitcase?" which I never published. I hope you have as much fun listening to this as I had making it. The singers are Synth V voices Solaria and Kevin
09 Nov 2023 Pop perfectcouple.jpg
Idea



It started as a musical idea.
And it ended with a lot more ideas
And the title became Idea
21 Oct 2023 Pop idea.jpg
The Night



It has been a year since I released a song.
This has been worked on for a long time and what started as a Banjo country inspired song ended up as an upbeat synth instrumental
The image is made at a random image AI site where I asked it to make a cover picture for a song called The Night
22 Jun 2023 Pop TheNight.jpg
Everyday Hero



Everyday Hero was composed with a dear friend and colleague in mind. A special one that put his own health at risk to help me when I needed help. A friend that waited for me in a hospital waiting room till 4 AM in the morning.

Thank you, my everyday hero. You know who you are
29 Mar 2022 Classical everydayhero.jpg
Charming



Charming is the working name of this song. It ended up as a complete mess of genres and there is no story behind it. So charming it is. It starts jazzy and ends up as a 4 to the floor banger.
28 Mar 2022 Pop charming.jpg
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Topic revision: r3 - 31 Mar 2024, KennethLavrsen
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