Bagua Nagila

New Tune

Hey folks. I just wrote a new tune that’s pretty cool. One of my musician friends suggested trying “speed composing”, or “speed writing”. Sit at the piano and write as fast as you can without any expectations and not too much editing. Forty five minutes later I had a good start on this tune. Another hour the next day, and it’s done.

I guess that’s actually long for a short tune, but not too bad.

On this tune, I actually wrote the first few phrases of the melody first, with no harmonies. Then, when I started harmonizing it, I got a big surprise. It didn’t sound at all like what I expected, based on the melody, but it works.

The next day I wrote the next section. So then I talked with my buddy who suggested the speed writing and told him about my tune. I mentioned looking for a title and he said, “Bagua Nagila”, without even a pause. It was so funny I couldn’t refuse. We had been talking about Bagua. I guess Bagua Nagila is Jewish Bagua.

It’s funny, musicians are always goofing about substitute lyrics for tunes. Or unique titles for tunes.

So, I made a video trying to play this new tune. The recording is rough in spots, but the tune has a lot of potential. I like it. It’s fresh.

There’s a pdf, too.

Bagua Nagila