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The Web

from Cello Noodles, Vol. V by Betsy Tinney

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This being the season for spooky and creepy things, I had planned for my October Patreon piece to be about spiders. Besides, October is spiders-in-the-house time here: with the cooler weather, our local spiders are moving indoors, so we have many more spider housemates now than we did a few weeks ago. Spiders don't normally bother me much; in fact, I approve of them (except in my bedroom... NO SPIDERS ALLOWED in my bedroom; just Nope). I appreciate the good work they do and the important part they play in our ecosystem; I gladly rescue them from poor life choices (like getting stranded in the sink or the litter box); and I try to avoid destroying spider webs unless I'm sure they are no longer in use.

My favorite spiders are Orb spiders, which build large, lovely, and intricate outdoor webs. The cover image is an Orb web, covered in dewdrops and glittering in the morning sun; the artist herself crouches in the center of her masterpiece, patiently waiting for her breakfast to join her. I chose this image because I thought it was gorgeous; I didn't consider whether it would sound spooky enough. (It was a spider on a spiderweb… and all that Halloween marketing says spiders are totally creepy. What could go wrong??)

Well, as I often do, I put the image on my music stand and began to play what I saw -- improvising based on the colors and the lines in the image. However, I quickly realized that this was not going to be a spooky, creepy, dark Halloween piece after all. Instead, it's a glorious, colorful celebration of the beauty of an Orb spider's creation: The Web.
In this (not at all spooky) piece, the guitar catches the glittering dewdrops and the intricate lines of the spiderweb. And, instead of evoking the darkness of a Halloween night, the cellos sing of the deep dark greens and teals of the evergreen branches and the brilliant blue, gold, and russet of the morning light. The (not at all creepy) Orb spider, a red-black dot in the center of her web, is barely noticeable in the image, although she is at the focal point. She's in the music too, albeit subtly: her color makes her a "B" to my synesthesia, so she appears throughout all the verses as the quietly dissonant B (sus2) in all the Asus2 chords, as well as the 5th in the E major chords. The choruses express the blues and greens of the evergreen and the sky, but we always return to that subtle, patient Asus2; and that little B, that small and patient spider, is always there, right at the center of her web.

Guys, I really wanted to give you a nice dark spooky song for Halloween, I really did. Instead… well… at least it has a spider in the middle?

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Cover image description: A closeup of an orb spider's web, covered with tiny dewdrops that glitter in the rising sun. In the foreground, dark-green and teal evergreen branches glow golden at the tips of their needles. In the background, deep gold and russet sunlight illuminates the lower right corner, while the deep blue of the sky dominates the upper left corner. A reddish-black orb spider sits quietly in the midst of the web, barely noticeable in the riot of rainbow colors that surround her. The title text reads, "The Web: Betsy TInney, cello." Cover image by Darius Strazdas; licensed via Dreamstime.com.

credits

from Cello Noodles, Vol. V, track released October 31, 2021
Cello & guitar: Betsy Tinney
All music, recording & mixing by Betsy Tinney
Cover image by Darius Strazdas; licensed via Dreamstime.com

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Betsy Tinney Seattle, Washington

Betsy is a cello storyteller. Using her cello and an electronic looper, she weaves rich, complex and varied tapestries of sound; her original cello compositions paint pictures and tell tales, from thunderstorms and skeletal mice to dancing elephants and humpback whales. ... more

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