Jeff Epstein: Singing

Visit my music pages on ccmixter.org, or myspace. If you are so inclined, you can see my singing resume.

Updated Thursday, 11/12/2009: Added sheet music for Never Get A Turn (under "only melody" section).
Updated Thursday, 4/30/2009: "Wayfaring Stranger - Train Acapella" now sounds a whole...lot...better (higher sound quality, roughly the same music). It was picked as one of ccmixter's "top-ten cool music for the week" (song two).
Updated Tuesday, 4/28/2009: Added "Wayfaring Stranger - Train Acapella"
Updated Thursday, 4/23/2009: Added "Fun" section.
Updated Tuesday, 4/14/2009: Added "Leave It" intro, "Where I Stand" harmony, and "Wonderful Dream" acapella.

Songs with harmony

Listen (mp3) Length Key Song Original Artist Criticism, notes, and comments [listen] 4:18 E m Wayfaring Stranger - Train Acapella Bo Heart My third submission ("remix") on ccmixter.org. Picked as one of ccmixter's top-ten cool music of the week (song two). My acapella arrangement of Bo Heart's beautiful vocal. Aside from Bo's lead vocal, everything else is me. Easily the most ambitious musical project of my life--both the arrangement and the singing and recording. Eight tracks of harmony and four tracks of percussion, on top of Bo Heart's beautiful lead-vocal track (not to mention the click track and stay-in-tune-chord track). Beyond volume and resinging mistakes, my voice is not altered in any way. There is an information page for this song. (ssssmmMACK!) [listen] 4:01 F M Wonderful Dream - Fun Acapella Jacinda Espinosa My acapella arrangement of Jacinda Espinosa's song. My second submission to ccmixter.org of somebody else's music. What fun! Both doing it, and the song itself. It starts off sparse, and builds to a giddy silliness. Five tracks in all. There is an information page for this song. [listen] 0:42 G M/m Acapella (introduction only): Leave It Yes Yes, it's all me :' ). My first real venture into (Audacity) audio editing and track creation. My goodness, if I can do this on the very first try.... This took about six hours of work, including transcribing the original into sheet music, and then singing and editing the tracks. [listen] 3:41 E M Where I Stand - Harmony Shannon Hurley My first submission to ccmixter.org, where I alter somebody else's music. I added a harmony track throughout the piece. There is an information page for this song. [listen] 4:00 E M Harmony: Carolina In My Mind James Taylor [The file is significatly degraded because the song is not mine.] I added an extra harmony track to my favorite James Taylor song. I don't want to be featured, I want to be backup. The levels are pretty good, not perfect. I came up with this probably fifteen years ago. I have created harmony for practically every song the guy's ever written.

Songs with only melody (just me, no instruments or harmony)

The first song is one I wrote. The next three are audition pieces. The rest are just some of my favorite songs in the universe, as it is currently understood by scientists. The levels (volume), on all but Never Get A Turn and the National Anthem, are low. It was before I understood how to increase the volume of my microphone.

Listen (mp3) Length Key Song Original Artist Criticism, notes, and comments [listen] 3:36 A M Never Get A Turn Me A kids song I wrote in February 2009. My first honest-to-goodness copyright, too. This has been submitted to ccmixter.org. Here is the sheet music I created with LilyPond. [listen] 2:08 D M When I First Saw You From Dreamgirls An audition piece. [listen] 1:25 F M Few More Miles To Go Take 6 This is a shortened version, and another audition piece. True story: I sang this with Take 6 (one of my two musical dreams is to sing with Take 6...the other being to harmonize with James Taylor, which I am ready to do tomorrow). After a concert they were signing autographs, and I said "if I coincidentally started singing, would you perhaps possibly happen to consider backing me up?". They did. Sherrie my genius wife called our machine and recorded it for posterity. Not exactly the best quality, but proof none-the-less :' ). [listen] 2:10 A M National Anthem John Stafford Smith My audition tape for the Philadelphia Phillies. Maybe someday... This has been submitted to ccmixter.org. There's also an experimental, top-secret, improv-ish, not the greatest but still pretty cool, three part, me-only a capella version. [listen] 2:50 B M Here We Are James Taylor Sang this in college once, with a James Taylor imitator-guy, who played guitar for me. I harmonized with him for a couple songs, too (see "Few More Miles to Go"). [listen] 2:04 Eb M Grow For Me Little Shop of Horrors My dream part is Seymour. I am Seymour. [listen] 4:23 Db M One More Minute "Weird Al" Yankovic I sing this frequently to Jacob (in non-opera mode, of course). One of the few liberties I'm allowing myself as a parent :' ). My favorite Weird Al song. Beautifully twisted. [listen] 2:45 E M Naturally Huey Lewis & the News What a stinking great song. I was crazy for both Billy Joel and these guys for many many years. [listen] 3:25 C M Even Now Barry Manilow As close to belting as I'll dare venture. I am in the very-hush-hush-discreet fan club of Barry Manilow. Darn my parents for playing him over and over again throughout my childhood! My wife has the same problem. We are both in counseling. Our support group meets every Tuesday. [listen] 2:59 Ab M Going to go back there someday Gonzo the Great Just a sweet song. This is what I'm singing to The Beast In the Belly. Jacob's song is I Don't Want To Live On the Moon. [listen] 2:16 Db M Wave the White Flag Elvis Costello Dedicated to Fred :' ).

Just For Fun

Listen (mp3) Length Song Original Artist Criticism, notes, and comments [listen] 1:48 Canon in C Eileen Finley My favorite song from my elementary school choir. The Tawanka Singers...thes the Trevose Singers...then the Bucks County Community Choir...and now the Pennsylvania Youth Chorale. Note to self: I would have saved a half-hour of work if I used a click track. :' ) [GO]   A Daddy and His Boys Super-Herbie, Squeaky, Daddy Audio from the website I created for my boys. Singing, talking, squeaking, you name it.