Manus Hand at the Keyboard

I've always been musically inclined -- at least I think so, but perhaps everyone is. In my youth, I played the trombone for a while, and then the saxophone for a lot longer. My father always wanted me to learn to pick the banjo that was my great-grandfather's, and I'm sorry I never did. He also has an old accordion around the house that I would pick up every so often and fiddle around with. And I'm a world-class whistler. (Honest.) One thing I always wanted to learn (and perhaps I never will) is to play the piano. I can play with one hand fairly well by ear, but that's it.

Well, for Father's Day, 1998, I received a very nice electronic keyboard, and soon discovered that by plugging it into my computer and using a music sequencer program, I can compose music without actually teaching myself to play it. So I have lately been indulging myself in the fascinating world of creating MIDI files, and have decided to stick my compositions out here on the Web for all to see. So if you are interested at all, here is my fledgling collection, which I intend to grow.

Ragtime

Irish Folk Songs

Original Compositions

"Please Say You Will" "Finnegan's Wake" Untitled (Opus 1)
"(A) Picture Of Her Face" "Spancil Hill" "Just The One" (Opus 2)
"Tricky Fingers" "The Rising of the Moon" "Sore Feet" (Opus 3)
"Troublesome Ivories" "The Spanish Lady" Untitled (Opus 4)
"Dictys on 7th Avenue" "The Rocky Road to Dublin"  
"Pork And Beans" "The Wild Rover"  
"The Junk Man Rag"    
"The Music Box Rag"    
"Castle House Rag"    

And here is something I have no place for: The Clay Gallopade is a ditty written for the 1844 Presidential Campaign. Didn't help Henry Clay much, but here it is for all you Whigs out there....