Lullaby for Solla Sollew
By sleepside on January 11, 2026 10:54 pm
A short unaccompanied lullaby written for and played on a manual hand-crank music box
Vent ahead. Skip this part if you don't like whining
~~
I'm caring for my partner post-surgery. I also have a personal goal to use every instrument I own at least once this year. So I thought writing a lullaby on my music box would be a nice, low-effort way to keep up the streak. I was mistaken.
Punching holes in the music sheets is a tedious process. Worse, the tines on the music box are all uniquely misaligned, which means bunches of repunches to fix (and there are still at least two dropped notes in the recording). I left off the planned countermelody because just getting the main melody on the sheets in a usable state took three hours
Next, recording problems. The music box is very quiet and must be operated by hand. I could and should have used a noise gate, so I accept the blame for background noise. But even beside that:
* The microphone has to be cranked, so even the slightest adjustment in position is noticeable in the recording
* I had to adjust my position because I need to swap between two different music sheets to play the full song
* The music sheets will not lay flat, which means they frequently flopped over onto itself or bumped the microphone, which would ruin the take
* The music box must be cranked by hand. Pro: I can play expressively with tempo. Con: I am not skilled enough to keep a stead tempo on the crank
But finally I get it recorded. Time to fill out an arrangement? Well, no. The tempo is not steady enough for programming, not without time I don't have. And it turns out my music box is not in C major as the box indicates but Ab major, which I am not a good enough keys player to follow in time. So: a single melody, 1:16 long, with a bit of EQ and reverb from Audacity. Week 2 done.
I should delete this whole vent section, but honestly, it's the most fun I've had working on this song. Next week, though...
I'll bring a big bat
I'll be ready, you see
Then my troubles are going
To have trouble with me!
Audio works licensed by author under:
CC0 Creative Commons Zero (Public Domain)