The Piano Music of Michael Ortega

“It’s Hard to Say Good-bye,” by Michael Ortega

Below are two YouTube.com videos of the piano music of Michael Ortega. His music can be purchased for $1.00 per track at his Web Store here.

Michael Ortega has billed the two piano compositions as “sad,” although they do not strike me as inherently so. The videos themselves certainly are though. The middle video is a brief, although concise, presentation called “What is Music?”. I rather like it, and so did our eldest, whom is six, and about a month into his piano lessons.

I have always found the relationship of the “music video” to the actual music to be interesting. In a way, a very powerful way, I find the visual complement to be a powerful extension of expression for the musical artist. It’s like seeing your novel on the big screen as a movie. But in another way, as the consumer, I often find the music video to be highly annoying, as the expression I am watching often conflicts with the visual image I am seeing in my own mind as inspired by the music itself. I liken this to the difference between any number of legitimate readings of a story text under the general framework of Reader Response Theory, and whatever the author thinks the story is about, which is called Authorial Intent. Both prospectives are legitimate. But they often conflict with one another. But the world is a great big place, and the universe is boundless, so if we all agree to just get along, all the interpretations can too.

“Sad Piano,” by DJMichaelOrtega