ST. GEORGE, Utah — A local St. George composer has created a musical soundtrack for the city's downtown, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Glenn Webb grew up in St. George and is a percussion professor at Utah Tech. Like many of us, he's walked down the city streets with a song in his head.
Now 58, Webb has taken some of those melodies, as well as those of others. to create a soundtrack for someone walking through downtown.
"I know specifically one that I wrote in 1984, a melody, and I wrote it down in a notebook and it was brought back for this, this occasion here," said Webb. "So I've always had some idea of melodies, rhythms, textures around some of these areas in town and downtown."
With some help from the city, that soundtrack is now in an app 17 months in the making called the SG Music Walk. Using GPS positioning, the app plays 23 different instrumental selections depending on your location. The music shifts from new age to jazz in 23 separate downtown zones.
Walk near the Catholic church and you might hear a mix of electric guitar and xylophones. Stand near the Tabernacle and you’ll hear violas sounding like voices.
Webb said the music does not have a message specifically for each area.
“Very little of that," he said, "because I didn't want to tie it to a particular site or a business or anything,” Webb said. “So it can't be the water feature, it can't be the Tabernacle when they’re in the same area. I tried to have it be fairly neutral."
The exception to the rule is the St. George Temple, which Webb said has a deliberately serene sound.
Webb was inspired by composer Ellen Reid’s Soundwalks in places like New York’s Central Park and L.A.’s Griffith Park.
There are multiple music selections for each area.
“You'll go past a spot one day, you'll hear it played on the flute. The next day, next hour, you might hear it played on violin or on the marimba or something different so that it wasn't the same thing every time." Webb explained.
St. George is known for its many public works of art and sculptures. Webb believes the SG Music Walk is the sonic equivalent of that.
“It's not a boombox experience,” he said. “It’s supposed to be more personal, more intimate, reflecting on the music, or I hope the music leads the listener, the walker to reflect on some different things and relax. And so it's a little bit of music therapy. “
Webb hopes to expand the soundtrack beyond downtown St. George to the rest of the city. He thinks other cities and towns in Utah could also use their own soundtrack wherever someone has a soundtrack going through their head.
For those in St. George, the app is available for iPhones now, while the Android version is still being developed.
