Inside the Music: Urban Wheels

Photo of the Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Built in 1793 it is known as the "Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution". Click the image to visit the National Park Service website for the Old Slater Mill.

My composition Urban Wheels is based on an ostinato. In a musical context, "ostinato" is an Italian word used to describe a continuously repeated phrase or rhythm. It is derived from the Italian word for  "obstinate" meaning stubborn or determined.
 
​I grew up in the mill city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island and remember as a child going with my mom to pick up my father at the textile mill where he worked. The wheels of the machinery at the mill had their own noisy and stubborn ostinato that went non-stop day and night. My father's work with those relentless looms was very repetitive. But just as an ostinato in music creates a backbone of support for the composition, those mills provided my parents with an income that allowed my brothers and me to follow pathways to other possibilities. This song is an attempt to honor the repetitive work that they, like so many others, did to improve their lives and the lives of their children. 

As you listen, the bass and piano ostinato represents my parents, the melody riding over that backbone represents their children and grandchildren. 

Enjoy!
Bruce

Many thanks to guitarist Jim Robitaille for his contribution to this track. Visit Jim's website for info about his new album "Sonic". 

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From the album Blue Rose. (Sheet music for many of these songs is available on the Original Music page.) 

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to the title track Blue Rose​ on YouTube. 
Click here to listen to the entire album on YouTube.
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