This song is about a feeling, not an event. I've felt this way several times in friendships, and I'm happy to say I was wrong every time. Those times turned out to be periods of awkwardness, not the growing-apart they seemed to be at the time. I guess I'm just a rampantly insecure person.

So the song may be a lie, but I think it's still an important one. It's still the way I really felt. And in a world overstocked on love songs and understocked on songs about everything else, I'm proud to present a song like this.

Love is important, but friendship and family also nurture the soul. Their loss is also to be mourned.

Recording Notes
(see also My Sister's Guitar recording notes)

"In The Sighs" has five tracks:

• Vocals
• Harmony vocals
• Viola performed by my mother, Kay Heuer
• Flute
• Guitar

Effects:

• Noise reduction
• 3-D reverb

Okay, maybe I overdid the reverb. But it sounds pretty neat on headphones. The reverb was based on an "Empty Parking Garage" preset in my sound program. Although I think, in general, reverb is a good thing, so far, I've only used it in the slow songs.

I wrote (I actually, physically wrote down!) the viola part for my mom, but she improvised the solo. Afterward, I added a flute part, turning her solo into a duet. Since viola is pretty rare on the tape, while flute is common, maybe I should have left it as a solo.

Questions, comments or suggestions about this web site? Email me at aaron.bentley@utoronto.ca