Catallegro at Golf Shoe Music: Turning Cat Names into Songs
The photograph of me with Ableton Push at Golf Shoe Music in Milwaukee captures Catallegro in its live setting: sharing how a cat’s name can become the starting point for a piece of music.
From a name to a musical idea
Catallegro began with an invitation to my social media community in early 2024: send me your cats’ names and photos. I used a custom alphabet-to-note system to translate those names into musical starting points, then developed them through composition and production. Even cats with the same name could inspire different tracks through changes in key and instrumentation.
The project grew through live performance videos made with Ableton Push and into full-length instrumental pieces. Those ideas also became part of Catallegro I, bringing the interactive project into an album.
Sharing the process in Milwaukee
At the Milwaukee Synth Meet, I presented Catallegro and demonstrated how I could build a track from a name using Ableton Live and Push. It brought the process into the room: a playful prompt, musical decisions, and an emerging sound that people could follow as it developed.
That is what this photograph represents in my music story. It connects composition, live electronic performance, and audience participation. The starting point is personal and familiar—a beloved cat’s name—and the result is an invitation to hear it differently.
