The Pufferfish Variations, by Chris Opperman

The Pufferfish Variations

by Chris Opperman

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Undersea adventures from Chris Octopus, the great piano tuna and Hake Keneally the master guitarfish. Milo Ken-Eel-y and Rachel Aholehole lend a fin.
Each of the five songs is based on a different fish scale. There's no trout about it, these will not flounder. Every clam-position is a pearl to behold and will give joy to your little starfishes.
So pull up a perch and start herring these Nep-tunes before it's too late.... any manatee now....

Neon Dreams Of An Octafish Favorite track: Pufferfish!.

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Still Waters, Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? (Standard Edition), Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? (#ProveYourHumanity Infinitely Improbable Edition), four improvisations, The Pufferfish Variations, Chamber Music from Hell, And If You Know, and Aphrodite Nights. , and , .

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1.	O Little Starfish 01:13	lyrics	buy track
O Little Starfish (July, 1998) O Little Starfish, your points are so sharp! O Little Starfish, you’re not just another carp Do re fi sol me re, do re fi la! Do re fi sol me re, me fi me re sol do. Asterias forbesi moves on his tube-like feet. He feeds on mollusks, and boy, that is just so neat. La sol fi me sol fi re, la sol fi ti sol la! La sol fi me sol fi re, me fi me re sol do.
2.	The Octopus is Red 01:52	lyrics	buy track
The Octopus is Red (August, 1999) Here comes a shark who’d like to be fed The Octopus is red.... Me re do ti So le fa le sol Me re do ti re do Oh, Octopus Vulgaris! Use your jets to swim away. Me fa fa fa! Me fa fa fa! Me ra do do Ti ti re do Here comes a shark who’d like to be fed The Octopus is red.... Me re do ti So le fa le sol Me re do ti re do
3.	This Jellyfish 00:48	lyrics	buy track
This Jellyfish (September, 1999) This Jellyfish is translucent in the water Umbrella-shaped, ‘bout the size of a quarter They like to eat microscopic animals called zooplankton Called zooplankton Craspedacusta sowerbii, “Freshwater jelly-fish!” I cry You won’t find them in the sea, But in a river in Tennessee! This Jellyfish is translucent in the water Umbrella-shaped, ‘bout the size of a quarter They like to eat microscopic animals called zooplankton Called zooplankton Re do re Re re mi do!
4.	Sea Horses 01:35	lyrics	buy track
Sea Horses (September, 1999) Sea Horses, Don’t you know that I love sea horses? Hippocampus breviceps Down in the ocean blue Sol fa sol Do ra me fa sol le Sol fa sol Te te te le sol sol fa sol Do ra me fa me ra do Nineteen to twenty two Fin rays on his dorsal fin Oh, please Mr. Seahorse It’s time for the big race Just do your best At eight cycles per second Do ra me fa sol le te Te le sol fa do te le sol le te Te te sol sol me me Le le fa fa ra ra Sol sol me me do do do do do do te do Sea Horses, Don’t you know that I love sea horses? Hippocampus breviceps Down in the ocean blue Down in the ocean blue... Down in the ocean blue... Down in the ocean blue....
5.	Pufferfish! 03:31	lyrics	buy track
Pufferfish! (July, 2000) Pufferfish! (Pufferfish!) Pufferfish! (Pufferfish!) I’d like a puffy pufferfish! Sol fa mi re do la fa sol! Arothron hispidus! Sol fa mi re do la fa sol! Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum-pum-pum Pum-pum! Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum Ba-da-rum-pum-pum-pum-pum Pum-pum! Pufferfish!

about

The Pufferfish Variations
composed for and dedicated to Milo Keneally

The Pufferfish Variations are a series of pieces that I composed for Milo Keneally between 1998 and 2000. Milo was four years old and I had just arrived at Mike’s house to work on Oppy Music, Vol. I. Milo came up to me and inquired, “Hey, Daddy’s Friend, do you know what an octopus is?” and, playing along, I said, “Why no, why don’t you tell me?”

Milo started with "Well, an octopus is a sea creature that feeds on mollusks and other small sea creatures” and continued on from there! Apparently, Milo preferred to read about sea creatures before bed as opposed to bedtime stories. Since they were so into sea creatures and getting to be about the age when they would begin their formal music education, I decided to compose these little pieces.

Each one of the movements contains factual information about a particular creature of the sea as well as the melodies with solfege syllables from different modes in order to open up the child’s ears to modal harmony.

I. O Little Starfish, is based on the C Dorian scale.

II. The Octopus is Red, is based the G harmonic minor scale (with some liberties regarding re and ra).

III. This Jellyfish is based on the D major (Ionian) scale

IV. Sea Horses is based on the C Phrygian scale

V. Pufferfish! is based on the F Mixolydian scale.

We all had a great deal of fun recording these in the studio with lots of smiles and laughter. My sincerest hope is that these will make you smile too!

credits

released January 21, 2022

Musicians:
Rachel Arellano, lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5), background vocals (track 5)
Chris Opperman, lead vocals (tracks 2, 4, 5), background vocals (tracks 2 & 5), piano (all tracks), percussion (track 5)
Mike Keneally, lead vocals (tracks 3 and 5), background vocals (tracks 3 & 5), acoustic/electric guitars + percussion (track 5)
Milo Keneally, lead and background vocals (track 5)

Composed by Chris Opperman and published worldwide by Phantom Moo Music ASCAP

Produced by Mike Keneally

Recorded by Mike Harris at Signature Sound in San Diego, CA - October 2000

All tracks mixed and mastered by David Kerzner at William Paterson University Studios - January 2022

Cover art by the fabulously talented Beth Jean!

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about

Chris Opperman Clifton, New Jersey

Chris wields a special array of expertise. He's a composer of wildly original music, a top orchestrator/arranger, a visionary educator, and a trusted music industry advisor.

With Arnie & Eric Roth of AWR Music, Chris has worked on several international tours including Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY.

His arrangements have been performed at premiere venues including Carnegie Hall. ... more

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