Originally coined by famed country songwriter Harlan Howard, the phrase “ three chords and the truth” is often used to describe the impact of the great American song. Throughout the history of American music, from Appalachian murder ballads to Taylor Swift’s Teardrops on my Guitar, what most effectively causes our bodies to erupt in goosebumps is musical simplicity, the bearing of our deepest truths vibrating through wood and metal into glimmering moments of profound emotion.
When Carrie and Rolf of OboeBass! approached me with a commission, I struggled a lot with figuring out the core of what I was being asked to write. They brought forward the idea of Americana in music, and I went through a few different ideas before realizing that the way forward was finding that which most touched American hearts in music. After deciding to write five original songs for oboe and double bass, I also decided to enrich the concept of the work with five airs on four tunes important to my family’s musical heritage, all derived from The Fireside Book of Children’s Songs. Collected and edited by Marie Winn, this collection of songs shaped my childhood, as my paternal grandmother and I worked through most of the book instead of watching TV. My grandmother also sang these tunes to my father, who sang them to me, and I decided to incorporate them into this work to immortalize a personal American musical tradition and contextualize my melodic sensibilities.
Three Chords and the Truth: An American Songbook for Oboe and Double Bass is five short original songs interspersed with four familiar tunes, each a quiet, insular musical world. These songs and tunes are vulnerable, bittersweet, and infinitely hummable.
Three Chords and the Truth: An American Songbook for Oboe and Double Bass is under exclusivity until 2026, at which time it will be made available at Trevco Music.