Catch A Flicker, Catch a Flame Copyright ©2020, 2022, 2024 Alphasongs LLC (ASCAP), all rights reserved,, www.Alphasongs.net. Music and Lyrics by Matthew L. Kearns Spark!  Flicker!  Spark catches! New spark lights up. Flickers spark! It lights the flame starting to flicker. Chorus Did we see flickers? Did we catch a flame? Did we see a new spark? Did we find a new game? Oh! Oh! Up!  Flickers spark! It lights the flame, starting to flicker. ​ Verse 1 Making new connections. Finding new directions. New thoughts coming from this new circle of friends. I like you! I think you like me too! Let's make some plans. Have an adventure with me. I like you! I think you like me too! We think like we could be in harmony. ​ Chorus Did we see flickers? Did we catch a flame? Did we see a new spark? Did we find a new game? Oh! Oh! The flame starting to flicker. ​ Verse 2 Having new reflections, newer introspections. Seeing things in a new way because of you. I like you! I think you like me too! Let's make some plans. Have an adventure with me. I like you! I think you like me too! We think like we could be in harmony. ​ Chorus Did we see flickers? Did we catch a flame? Did we see a new spark? Did we find a new game? Oh! Oh! (Repeat)                                                                                                                 Notes Catch a Flicker, Catch a Flame is one of my early songs, but one that received significant revisions in 2020. The original draft came to me in one 8-hour session back in August 2019. The song seeks to capture the warm excitement of making a new connection, a new friendship in the platonic sense. The punchy staccato introduction turns our attention to the flames of friendship catching on as we come together. With a new friendship, we discover new interactions, new observations, new ways to enjoy each other's company and to have fun, like a new game. ​ Lyrically, the song develops in three sections, beginning with an introductory metaphor of a fledgling spark which can, in essence, catch a flicker, catch a flame. Next, in the chorus, we reflect upon observing the sparks coming together. Finally, questions raised in the chorus are answered in the two verses. The new game is the coming together of a new friendship. “I like you! I think you like me too!” We start with a 16-bar introduction of the ostinato motif and then move into the first rendition of the chorus. Musically, this song contrasts verses with a simple crisp, staccato melody in the soprano on top of a punchy chordal ostinato in the lower three parts, transitioning to smoother more legato chord progression in the chorus. Each of the two verses is preceded by a four-bar statement, re-introducing the ostinato foundation of the verses. The rhythm of the piece is emphasized persistently in the form of hand claps in 2 parts. Performance Notes This piece is scored for a small-to-medium vocal ensemble. There are also parts written for hand claps. The clapping parts are intended to be a starting point for adding rhythmic emphasis. The clapping is intended to emphasize rhythms and enhance timing. This part is optional and could be left out. On the other hand, I would encourage adding the written clapping parts…or… For more creativity, improvisational beat-boxing can enhance rhythms even more. Have fun with it! “Audio tracks generated with Cantamus software”.