FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for this video

Q: Where can I get free sheet music for this piece?
A: Here’s a copy, thanks to Clint S. Mars:
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/debussyclairdelune.pdf

Q: Can I follow the person who made this video on Twitter?
A: Sure, Stephen Malinowski’s Twitter ID is: musanim

Q: Where can I download this song?
A: You can get it at iTunes:
http://tinyurl.com/ad9vnc
or at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Clair-De-Lune-Debussy/dp/B001OIUS90

Q: I wish I could play this piece.
A: You can! If you have a MIDI setup (MIDI keyboard with damper pedal, MIDI piano, and a computer running Windows or Mac OS X), you can play this piece using the conductor program. You need to learn the piece really well, but you don’t need to learn to play the piano. The article describing how this works is here
http://www.musanim.com/tapper/
and the software is available here (free)
http://www.musanim.com/tapper/TapperDownload.html
The performance used in this video was done using this software!

Q: Is it just me, or does this piece make everyone cry?
A: Maybe not everyone, but lots of people …
http://www.musanim.com/youtube/ClairDeLuneCrying.html

Q: Can you please do a video of ________?
A: First, check my to-do list:
http://www.musanim.com/all/MAMToDoList.html
If the music you want isn’t there, then read the “Could you please” question here:
http://www.musanim.com/mam/mamfaq.html#copyright
If the music you want isn’t on the list and seems like something I might do, email me:
http://www.musanim.com/mam/contact.html

Q: This is not the Clair de lune I learned growing up in France.
A: You may be thinking of the song Au clair de la lune:
http://www.musanim.com/img/AuClairDeLaLune.jpg

Q: What happened to my comment?
A: Questions answered in the FAQ and comments with nothing to do with the video (”spam”) are removed, as are comments containing hate speech. If you posted a comment and don’t know why it’s gone, email me (stephen at musanim dot com) with “YouTube comment” in the subject line.

Q: Is this the same recording as on the soundtrack?
A: No; Stephen Malinowski made this one. Compare the two and let me know what you think.

Q: How did you make this video?
A: You can read about it here:
http://www.musanim.com/ProductionNotes/ClairDeLune.html

Q: What do the colors mean?
A: Each pitch class (C, C-sharp, D, D-sharp, etc.) has it’s own color, and the colors are chosen by mapping the musician’s “circle of fifths” to the artist’s “color wheel.” You can read more about this here:
http://www.musanim.com/mam/pfifth.htm

Q: Who is Debussy?
A: A French composer; you can read about him here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debussy

Q: Where can I learn more about this piece?
A: This Wikipedia article is a good place to start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suite_bergamasque

Q: Wasn’t this in Fantasia?
A: Almost. There originally was a Clair de lune segment in the film, but it was cut from the final release. It’s on the Fantasia Legacy Supplemental Features DVD.

Q: Is there a way I could make the bar-graph scores myself?
A: The Music Animation Machine MIDI file player will generate this display; you can get the (Windows) software here:
http://www.musanim.com/player/
There are lots of places on the web where you can get MIDI files; I usually go to the Classical Archives site first:
http://www.classicalarchives.com/

Q: Can I use this audio/video in my project?
A: Please send me an email (stephen at musanim dot com) describing your project and I’ll let you know whether it’s okay.

Q: Why does the title include the word “Twilight”?
A: Recently, many people have been exposed to this piece through the movie Twilight. If they are looking for this piece on YouTube, they might not be sure of the name of the piece, so I’ve put the word Twilight in the title to help them find it. I think it’s better for them to find the piece and listen to it than to not find it. Some people think that the piece “deserves better than to be associated with Twilight.” I can understand that point of view, but I don’t see that way; the piece deserves all the attention it can get, and anything that results in more people being able to appreciate it is a good thing. No one is going to lose any respect for this piece or for Debussy from the word “Twilight” appearing in the title of a YouTube video.
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Duration : 0:5:7

Technorati Tags: animation, art, music, Score, visualization

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