Clocking in at just over 9 minutes long, ‘Far & Away’ is the longest song in my catalog. It’s this big long epic song about being far and away from where you want to be and the struggle to get back.
Like a lot of songs from this particular album, it was recorded using a classical recording style of moving the mics about six feet away from the piano to capture not only the piano sound but also the room ambience surrounding the piano. Aside from ‘Far & Away’ only 11 other songs in my catalog use this mic technique.
Musically it’s in the key of G minor and has several distinct sections to it. The A section (intro) is based on a G minor triad arpeggio pattern in 4/4 common time.
The B section includes tight two handed dyads in odd meters of 6/4 and 5/4 time (changing meters is a feature of a lot of my music.)
The C section is the main section of the song and weaves in and out of 6/4 and 7/4 meter.
The D section at about 109 measures in, it takes on this soaring arpeggio pattern with lots of accidental notes. (In music, an accidental is a note of a pitch that is not a member of the scale.) Then ending on a Major V chord, before returning to the B section of two handed dyads.
The ending is an inverted arpeggio before the final cadence on the tonic, also known as the I chord.
Listen to ‘Far & Away’ on Spotify HERE
Listen to ‘Far & Away’ on Pandora HERE
Listen to ‘Far & Away’ on Apple Music HERE
Want to learn how to play ‘Far & Away’ on your piano or keyboard? Sheet Music available HERE
