Tanner Helland’s Interesting Stuff

This piece uses a really simple mix of instruments - four pianos and a drumset - to create a driving yet haunting theme unlike any of my other pieces.  The simplicity of “Purgatory’s Mansion” is remarkable - I really like this recurring simplicity idea, if you haven’t guessed - and I think that’s why it’s such a dramatic piece despite its lack of orchestration.  With the piano being my favorite instrument and the one I’ve studied the most, you’ll notice it shows up in almost every one of my compositions for at least a cameo appearance.  “Purgatory” is one of the few pieces that really uses it front-and-center, and I like it.  Pianos are great.

Your first question is probably “what the - are Zargansk?”  I don’t know, but this is what it sounds like when they march.

“March of the Zargansk” is a very bass song.  (That’s not the correct usage of “bass”, but I’m using it anyway. :p ) Over 90% of the song takes place below middle C.  There’s something ominous about the bass clef and I like exploiting that.  And, MIDI instruments sound best in the low bass range because the human ear isn’t as precise in those low wavelengths; thus, the synthesized instruments sound more realistic than, say, a piccolo or flute in its natural range.

Were I to pick another name for this song that didn’t involve imaginary names, it would probably have something to do with “inevitability.”  This song conjures up images of something really big, really bad coming…and there’s not a thing you can do about it.  Inevitable indeed.