Andy and Me for clarinet and CD (2006).

Andy and Me is designed to be a kind of duet. First, between the Clarinetist and himself (the recorded clarinet sounds on the CD) and later between the clarinetist and the dog, Andy. In order to make this obvious to the audience, I have the piece start out with a single note which is answered a few seconds later by the clarinet sound on the CD. The sound on the CD is merely a recording, but it should sound like a response to what the live clarinetist played. I've left a number of seconds of silence at the beginning of the CD so that the clarinetist (or someone else) can start the CD, the clarinetist has time to get ready to play, and then the clarinetist can play the first note with a reasonable amount of silence before the CD sounds. This sounds complicated, but it's not really. It just requires the clarinetist to practice starting the piece. I had thought about making the piece truly interactive. I could have had a computer that recorded what the live clarinetist played and then played it back a few seconds later so that the clarinetist could have truly played a duet with himself. While this idea appealed to me, it made the piece much more complicated to present and I don't think it would have enhanced the audience's enjoyment of the piece. I wanted the piece to be simple to present because it is a good piece to perform for children. The clarinetist Michael Dean has played this piece in schools for children as a part of a presentation about the clarinet. Since the piece does not need a complicated setup, merely a CD player, it can be performed anywhere.

Andy and Me, Michael Dean, clarinet (excerpt).