Acoustic Folk Art 2, Track 10, 09:32
Turtle Dreams (Story)
Introduction:
Turtle Dreams is a guitar sonata. A sonata is three instrumentals separated by a pause between each part. The three parts together make up the whole musical piece. These three parts are called movements. In this sonata, each part or movement tells a story through music about the dreams of an amazing turtle named Roscoe Roundhouse.
Now, some may be thinking does the world really need another guitar sonata? The public is largely diversified regarding opinion on this matter. In a recent opinion poll, some listeners, indeed, saw tremendous value while others saw nada.
Current musical etiquette requests the listener to refrain from clapping or other forms of applause until the entire three-part sonata is finished. You should remain quiet with a somewhat peaceful and enraptured gaze on your face until the end of the third movement. At which time you may of course clap all you want. Unless you’ve fallen asleep.
Here then, without further delay, is the short tale of Roscoe Roundhouse. And the remainder of him as well.
Part 1:
In the first movement, we find the hero of our story looking out over the ocean. Roscoe stands on the edge of the beach where the water comes up to greet your toes. “A good day for a swim” says Roscoe as he wades into the water. And in no time at all – well, it did take some time - Roscoe Roundhouse is soon swimming in the deep blue water with his good friend Wilhelm the whale.
Roscoe and Wilhelm spin, do loop-de-loops, and breach the surface like the finest of dolphins and porpoises. “Let me ride on your nose, please?” says Roscoe with a grin. Wilhelm obliges his friend and this goes well until Roscoe’s legs inadvertently become stuck in the whale’s nostrils. Do whales have nostrils? Based on the expressions on their faces, it is difficult to know who is more surprised by this disconcerting circumstance, Wilhelm or Roscoe. The whale sneezes, sending the turtle spinning through the water, breaching the surface and flying through the air above the ocean – like a performer shot from a cannon.
At first Roscoe is completely out of control, but soon gathers himself while still in the air and descends in an elegant dive performing a reverse 4 ½ summersaults in the tuck position – which, to this very day - is still considered no small achievement for a creature with a rigid shell.
Roscoe rejoins his whale friend and together they cruise through the sea from the surface to the sandy bottoms in a wonderful display of synchronized swimming. But, eventually they do say goodbye. Wilhelm the whale goes on his way and so does our friend, Roscoe.
Part 2:
In the second movement, Roscoe prepares for takeoff on an airport runway. By bringing his back legs forward and his front legs backward and hooking his paws together, he is able to form a triangle shaped wing on each side of his shell. Do turtles have paws? Roscoe chooses to look over the flat part of his body towards his tail which he is able to spin with great speed forming a propeller. He bounces down the runway increasing in speed - a turtle bouncing along on his back with wings and a propeller - and an aviator’s hat – and takes off into the wonder of the sky.
At first, Roscoe enjoys the tranquility of the wide open spaces. Bouncing along and skimming clouds with the greatest of ease - which is a mandatory cliché for any story involving a flying turtle. Roscoe enjoys looking around at the tiny farms far below. But suddenly - for there must always be a “but suddenly” in every great story - Roscoe is ambushed by a squadron of evil geese who descend out of the sky above him from nowhere! Well, they came from somewhere, but we just don’t know where they came from.
A great battle begins as our hero, Roscoe Roundhouse, ducks and weaves in and out against seemingly insurmountable odds. Now, I should confess that Roscoe has never actually met insurmountable odds, but the hero of every great story always seems to be against them, so they must be really bad or at least many seem to think so. Occasionally, we are told, someone will take the time to actually get to know one or two of them and invite them to come over for a glass of iced tea or to play catch or just to visit. This is known as overcoming insurmountable odds.
Roscoe studies the formation of the geese and a knowing smile can be seen on his face. He continues to weave in and out as the geese crash into one another, unable to maintain their formation, until only a few are left who wisely decide to fly away. Roscoe defeats the squadron of geese without ever firing a single shot! Our hero continues on his way, once again enjoying the peaceful sky. He lands at the airport and walks to a limousine that is waiting to pick him up - to take him to the famous race.
Part 3:
In the third movement, Roscoe dreams of Aesop’s famous fable in which he is to race an arrogant rabbit named Harey Hopkins. As the music of part three begins, we find ourselves at the starting line. Both Roscoe and Harey stretch their legs and prepare for the start of the race. The gun goes off and so does Roscoe, but the arrogant rabbit is so confident in his ability that he stays at the starting line trimming his pawnails and winks at a girl in the crowd - who is not the least impressed. Eventually Harey does take off and, indeed, catches up to Roscoe and runs circles around him to show off his amazing speed.
Roscoe Roundhouse pays no attention to this display and continues on the course, steady and sure in his pursuit of the goal. Harey Hopkins decides he’s had enough and takes off well ahead of Roscoe, but eventually he begins to feel tired and sleepy. Since he is so far ahead of Roscoe, he decides there is no harm in taking a nap and so he drifts off into a deep sleep. See if you can hear - now isn’t that an interesting phrase? Where was I? Ah, yes. Now, normally I would say “Oh, yes” which is less pretentious, but there is a certain distinction to this story that must be upheld. Where was I? Ah, yes. See if you can hear where Harey Hopkins falls asleep as you listen to the third movement of Turtle Dreams.
Roscoe Roundhouse continues steady and sure and passes Harey napping on the side of the path. Our hero keeps going while the rabbit keeps sleeping. Eventually Harey Hopkins wakes up realizing that he has slept too long. He makes a mad dash after Roscoe, but it’s too late. You must also have a “but it’s too late” in every great story. That’s just the way that great stories are made. If there isn’t both a “but suddenly” and also a “but it’s too late,” then it’s really not a great story. It can be a very good story, but not a great story and that is the difference. And so - it never hurts to have an “and so” now and then either. And so, the arrogant rabbit wakes up and makes a mad dash for the finish line, but it’s too late as our hero, Roscoe Roundhouse, crosses the finish line first, winning the race to great applause and admiration.
Epilogue:
Roscoe Roundhouse goes on to live a long and mostly happy life. His days are filled with joy, but also sometimes with sadness. And he learns that whether one lives a happy life or whether one lives a sad life doesn’t depend so much on what happens to you, but rather what you happen to.
Introduction:
Turtle Dreams is a guitar sonata. A sonata is three instrumentals separated by a pause between each part. The three parts together make up the whole musical piece. These three parts are called movements. In this sonata, each part or movement tells a story through music about the dreams of an amazing turtle named Roscoe Roundhouse.
Now, some may be thinking does the world really need another guitar sonata? The public is largely diversified regarding opinion on this matter. In a recent opinion poll, some listeners, indeed, saw tremendous value while others saw nada.
Current musical etiquette requests the listener to refrain from clapping or other forms of applause until the entire three-part sonata is finished. You should remain quiet with a somewhat peaceful and enraptured gaze on your face until the end of the third movement. At which time you may of course clap all you want. Unless you’ve fallen asleep.
Here then, without further delay, is the short tale of Roscoe Roundhouse. And the remainder of him as well.
Part 1:
In the first movement, we find the hero of our story looking out over the ocean. Roscoe stands on the edge of the beach where the water comes up to greet your toes. “A good day for a swim” says Roscoe as he wades into the water. And in no time at all – well, it did take some time - Roscoe Roundhouse is soon swimming in the deep blue water with his good friend Wilhelm the whale.
Roscoe and Wilhelm spin, do loop-de-loops, and breach the surface like the finest of dolphins and porpoises. “Let me ride on your nose, please?” says Roscoe with a grin. Wilhelm obliges his friend and this goes well until Roscoe’s legs inadvertently become stuck in the whale’s nostrils. Do whales have nostrils? Based on the expressions on their faces, it is difficult to know who is more surprised by this disconcerting circumstance, Wilhelm or Roscoe. The whale sneezes, sending the turtle spinning through the water, breaching the surface and flying through the air above the ocean – like a performer shot from a cannon.
At first Roscoe is completely out of control, but soon gathers himself while still in the air and descends in an elegant dive performing a reverse 4 ½ summersaults in the tuck position – which, to this very day - is still considered no small achievement for a creature with a rigid shell.
Roscoe rejoins his whale friend and together they cruise through the sea from the surface to the sandy bottoms in a wonderful display of synchronized swimming. But, eventually they do say goodbye. Wilhelm the whale goes on his way and so does our friend, Roscoe.
Part 2:
In the second movement, Roscoe prepares for takeoff on an airport runway. By bringing his back legs forward and his front legs backward and hooking his paws together, he is able to form a triangle shaped wing on each side of his shell. Do turtles have paws? Roscoe chooses to look over the flat part of his body towards his tail which he is able to spin with great speed forming a propeller. He bounces down the runway increasing in speed - a turtle bouncing along on his back with wings and a propeller - and an aviator’s hat – and takes off into the wonder of the sky.
At first, Roscoe enjoys the tranquility of the wide open spaces. Bouncing along and skimming clouds with the greatest of ease - which is a mandatory cliché for any story involving a flying turtle. Roscoe enjoys looking around at the tiny farms far below. But suddenly - for there must always be a “but suddenly” in every great story - Roscoe is ambushed by a squadron of evil geese who descend out of the sky above him from nowhere! Well, they came from somewhere, but we just don’t know where they came from.
A great battle begins as our hero, Roscoe Roundhouse, ducks and weaves in and out against seemingly insurmountable odds. Now, I should confess that Roscoe has never actually met insurmountable odds, but the hero of every great story always seems to be against them, so they must be really bad or at least many seem to think so. Occasionally, we are told, someone will take the time to actually get to know one or two of them and invite them to come over for a glass of iced tea or to play catch or just to visit. This is known as overcoming insurmountable odds.
Roscoe studies the formation of the geese and a knowing smile can be seen on his face. He continues to weave in and out as the geese crash into one another, unable to maintain their formation, until only a few are left who wisely decide to fly away. Roscoe defeats the squadron of geese without ever firing a single shot! Our hero continues on his way, once again enjoying the peaceful sky. He lands at the airport and walks to a limousine that is waiting to pick him up - to take him to the famous race.
Part 3:
In the third movement, Roscoe dreams of Aesop’s famous fable in which he is to race an arrogant rabbit named Harey Hopkins. As the music of part three begins, we find ourselves at the starting line. Both Roscoe and Harey stretch their legs and prepare for the start of the race. The gun goes off and so does Roscoe, but the arrogant rabbit is so confident in his ability that he stays at the starting line trimming his pawnails and winks at a girl in the crowd - who is not the least impressed. Eventually Harey does take off and, indeed, catches up to Roscoe and runs circles around him to show off his amazing speed.
Roscoe Roundhouse pays no attention to this display and continues on the course, steady and sure in his pursuit of the goal. Harey Hopkins decides he’s had enough and takes off well ahead of Roscoe, but eventually he begins to feel tired and sleepy. Since he is so far ahead of Roscoe, he decides there is no harm in taking a nap and so he drifts off into a deep sleep. See if you can hear - now isn’t that an interesting phrase? Where was I? Ah, yes. Now, normally I would say “Oh, yes” which is less pretentious, but there is a certain distinction to this story that must be upheld. Where was I? Ah, yes. See if you can hear where Harey Hopkins falls asleep as you listen to the third movement of Turtle Dreams.
Roscoe Roundhouse continues steady and sure and passes Harey napping on the side of the path. Our hero keeps going while the rabbit keeps sleeping. Eventually Harey Hopkins wakes up realizing that he has slept too long. He makes a mad dash after Roscoe, but it’s too late. You must also have a “but it’s too late” in every great story. That’s just the way that great stories are made. If there isn’t both a “but suddenly” and also a “but it’s too late,” then it’s really not a great story. It can be a very good story, but not a great story and that is the difference. And so - it never hurts to have an “and so” now and then either. And so, the arrogant rabbit wakes up and makes a mad dash for the finish line, but it’s too late as our hero, Roscoe Roundhouse, crosses the finish line first, winning the race to great applause and admiration.
Epilogue:
Roscoe Roundhouse goes on to live a long and mostly happy life. His days are filled with joy, but also sometimes with sadness. And he learns that whether one lives a happy life or whether one lives a sad life doesn’t depend so much on what happens to you, but rather what you happen to.
Song Notes
Turtle Dreams is a guitar sonata that tells the story of a tri-modal turtle named Roscoe Roundhouse. In his dreams, Roscoe can swim with whales, fly high above the clouds and can also win a foot race. Since the sonata is a musical representation of this story, it seemed appropriate to share the story as well as presenting the musical interpretation. Credit for the story line of the third movement, should of course go to Mr. Aesop (620-564 BC). I should also share that my Dad came up with the name for the turtle – and my wife and daughter helped with the name for the rabbit!
Turtle Dreams is a guitar sonata that tells the story of a tri-modal turtle named Roscoe Roundhouse. In his dreams, Roscoe can swim with whales, fly high above the clouds and can also win a foot race. Since the sonata is a musical representation of this story, it seemed appropriate to share the story as well as presenting the musical interpretation. Credit for the story line of the third movement, should of course go to Mr. Aesop (620-564 BC). I should also share that my Dad came up with the name for the turtle – and my wife and daughter helped with the name for the rabbit!
Song Credits
Words and music by Mark Lehnhoff [2014]
Story line for the third movement from Aesop's Fables (620-564 BC), The Tortoise and the Hare
Guitar, Author and Storyteller: Mark Lehnhoff
Recorded and mixed by Josh Woods, J2 Music Productions, Louisa, Virginia
Produced by Josh Woods and Mark Lehnhoff
Album Artwork: Rob Hatem
Copyright 2014, 2017
Lester Chester Music, LLC
All Rights Reserved
Words and music by Mark Lehnhoff [2014]
Story line for the third movement from Aesop's Fables (620-564 BC), The Tortoise and the Hare
Guitar, Author and Storyteller: Mark Lehnhoff
Recorded and mixed by Josh Woods, J2 Music Productions, Louisa, Virginia
Produced by Josh Woods and Mark Lehnhoff
Album Artwork: Rob Hatem
Copyright 2014, 2017
Lester Chester Music, LLC
All Rights Reserved
