Reading (POST 11)

On Wed the concert band read through my piece. It was a great experience and I am very grateful that so many people would come together to play my music. It really was intimidating at first...I knew everyone was going to play and hear something that I had written.... and end up judging it on one hearing. At least I was.

some observations,
- The piece sounded completely different than Sibelius! The balance was completely different. One thing I have learned from this composition project is that I should concentrate less on the sound of the midi file and think ahead to the sound of the real band. Far too often during this composition process I was slaving over dynamics that made the computer file sound exactly as I imagined. All of this changed when the piece was translated into the live setting.
- I realized that this piece is more difficult to play than I had initially thought. If it were to be preformed then it would need alot of ensemble work in small sections. This piece could end up being a challenge for the gower band which could both work to my advantage and disadvantage....
- Articulations and details!!! I really tried to give as much detail as I could in the score for this reading but I still feel like I came up short. It ended up sounding very choppy and staccato. This had forced me (which is a good thing) to go back and articulate every phrase differently.
- The tempo I had in my head and that which the band played my piece at was a little slow. I think it could be pushed a bit more for the ideal sound.
- I felt that the ending I had really fell flat. I have since gone back and re-written the end. This new conclusion allows all the players in the band to participate.

Writing music for such a large group of musicians is something I will be exploring in the future. I have put more work into this composition than all my other combined. Its great to hear something finally come together after months of working one note at a time.

Parts for concert band (POST 10)

I have been very busy as of late...

Not only have I finished my piece for concert band but have submitted all the parts for the reading. I never realized how much work proper ally preparing each part could be. It seems that the real work begins AFTER the notes have been written.

I am very interested to hear the piece played by a real band and not just the midi file through Sibelius. I found myself mostly writing the piece for the midi and not thinking ahead to the sound of the real concert band. I'm sure things like dynamics and articulations that I have marked will come out much differently on WED.

Finishing Touches (POST 9)

Today I finished my concert band piece... now its jsut the down to the fine details...

I would like to

- Add more tuba.... there really is not much playing for the tuba player at the moment
- Add more articulations.
- Put in rit markings
- Come up with a name!!!
- Print off some of the parts to see how they look
- Maybe tinker with the ending...

Composition (POST 8)

I have been working on my piece for concert band for several weeks now. It has been going very well. I have about 3 minutes of music.

Some goals for this week

- Fill in texture. Try orchestrating some of the parts that are played by only one type of instrument.

- Develop the theme more. Right now my piece is sort of repetitive. I could take some of the material I have and really write some counter subjects that would contrast well with the themes that are present.

- Try and graph out my levels of tension. On a scale of one to ten, so far the piece only reaches about a 5 in tensions levels. This could be something that I could use to give the music more direction

Presentation 4 (POST 7)

I presented my third and final piece for solo piano in class today. I wrote this piece using an idea I had a month ago. I took this idea and further developed it. It only took me two sittings to finalize the piece.

Some comments I received

- Sort of repetitive. Could use more variation with the rhythm
- Good flow of ideas, logical way of stating idea and developing it
- Sounds a lot like another piece of music (which i have no heard). Should introduce some pitch changes to make it more "original". People were comparing it to a piece by rush. It would be interesting to hear this piece. If anyone can remember the name Let me know!

Presentation 3 (POST 6)

Some comments I received on the second piece I wrote, the first in the suite.


- at measure 22, the entire mood changes, a lot of new colors are introduced. perhaps I could introduce this sooner

- I am using consistent intervals

- The entire third system could be expanded and developed more. Possibly use acceleration? Only two notes are sounding for 4 measures. Acceleration could give this passage another dimension

- Fix tempo markings

Newfound Music Festival (POST 5)

I thought this years Newfound music festival was great. Not only did I get several opportunities to perform new works, I was able to listen to a lot of contemporary music.

- The Friday night concert was great. This first half of the program was music from two of our composers at MUN, Clark Ross and Andrew Staniland. I really enjoyed both of these pieces. What stood out to me the most was the texture that Andrew was able to create through the use of sparse chords and "word painting" on the piano. The text was very clear and the piano was used a tool to emphasis what the character was feeling. Great!

- Saturday Night student composition concert was also a great success. Great crowd and everyone's music seemed to come across well in the concert hall. I was especially happy with the way that Tim interpreted my pieces. I thought he treated the colors very well.

- Late night Saturday concert featured music from the Americas. Great selection of pieces which contrasted very well with the rest of the festival.

Presentation Day (POST 4)

Today I presented a piece that I wrote last week. Overall I would say that I am very happy with the outcome. The piece features a very simple melodic line which is developed and contrasted. It is only a page and a half in length and i feel that this piece is is the most consistent thing I have written. One idea, it does not over state itself, it does not exist longer than it should.

Some comments I received,

- mm. 16 - 19 - I feature a passage in the bass clef. This is the only instance that this low register is used in the entire piece. Perhaps I could find a more effective way of creating a thicker texture while still sticking to the upper registers.

- The 5/8 passages were good!, But do not sound like 5/8 at all

- Pause at mm. 39 could be extended. This would play with the listeners expectations

Presentation 2 (POST 3)

On tuesday I presented my second "piece". I recieved several helpful comments.
What I learned,

- I have several ideas, 4 to be exact. Each one could potentially stand alone as a seperate piece.

- Ideas 3&4 were most unified, both feature arpeggio passages that repeat. I should take these and further develop them.

- Since I am only using a certain unmber of chords, I could write out the pitches as block chords and listen to differnet voicings, while adding and subrtacting notes. This could help me develop more chords that could be introduced as the idea develops.

- My second idea, although written in 3/4, is very ambiguos, it is very challenging to feel the down beats or any regular pulse. This could be a piece on its own

Understanding the Keyboard (POST2)

The keyboard has essentially become the center piece of western classical music. It is supposed to be every composers best friend. The perfect instrument.

Since I play guitar and am a very poor pianist, it is a challenge for me to write good flowing music that fits onto a keyboard. It is a completely different way of thinking. Two hands which have many possibilities.

I started listening and examining scores from great keyboard composers from the past. I took ideas and passages that I liked and modified them to make them my own. Most notably

- Scarlatti - K. 14 in G Major
- Chopin - Prelude No. 15 Op. 28
- Rachmaninoff Etude - Tableaux Op.33 No.2
- Liszt - Three Concert Etudes S.144 No.3 "Un Sospiro"
- Scriabin - Vers la flamme, Op.72

Writing for Piano (POST1)

Upon recieveing the assignment (write 3 short pieces for piano) I thought I would get a head start and compose as much as I could before the first presentaiton day. I ended up with two ideas, both a page each which will serve as a skeleton to two pieces.

The first is based upon a 5/8 pattern in which is repeated several times while a second voice plays over it creating thick texture. This can be further developed by rhythmic manipulation.

The second is basically a set of arrpegios based on a lydian scale that eventually modulates. I am especially pleased with this sketch.

Final Considerations

I thought the concert went extremely well .Everyone's compositions really were brought to life. Since i preformed my own piece, I was able to not only write the notes but actually interpret it for the audience. I think there is a special connection to a composer and his music. While preforming your own work you are essentially giving others a glimpse into yourself.

All the performances were well polished especially considering how little time we had to get everything finalized and have the scores in the performers hands for rehearsals.

One of the harder things about this course was scheduling rehearsals. You have to consider everyones' schedule and I ended up approaching several people who i had never spoken too, asking them to play my music in concert.

Details

I have learned many things about composing while taking this course. One of the most important would be musical detail. This really is just as important as the composition itself. Like learning anything new, the more you practice the more natural it becomes. I think that over the two projects that we were assigned I have made progress in learning about the art of preparing a score. There could honestly be a course just about this.

Since my second piece included a guitar, I had to include string markings and fingerings. Although I have played studied and played through many guitar scores, it really was eye opening how much care one must take when considering fingerings and positions.

Concert Review

On Saturday, Nov 14, I attended a concert by the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Program

Haydn (1732-1809)
- String Quartet in D, op. 20 No. 4 (Hob.III:34)
Allegro di molto
Un Poco adagio e affettuoso
Menuetto: Allegro alla Zingarese
Finale: Presto e scherzando

Derek Charke (b. 1974)
-Sepia Fragments

Dvorak (1841-1904)
-Quartet in G, Op. 106
Allegro moderato
Adagio ma non troppo
Molto vivace
Finale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro con fuoco

This was honestly one of the best concerts I have ever attended. It was evident from the first note of the Haydn quartet that the ensemble was full of energy. The music was brought to life with virtuosic ease that never stepped over the boundary of the composition. As far as chamber music goes, this was some of the tightest ensemble playing that I have ever witnessed.

The real highlight of the program was the second composition. Sepia Fragments. This is a newly commissioned work by Derek Charke. He describes the work as "a musical journey from the present to the past". The piece was organized into four distinct sections. Starting with an original fiddle tune, the piece slowly evolves through the quotation of other works. Derek pays tribute to the quartets past by quoting pieces that they have recorded and preformed in the past. - After the introduction, the first quotation is from Schumann's String Quartet No. 3 in A. We then get a quote from the third movement of Shostakovich's eighth String Quartet. This is followed by a waltz like texture that hints at the first movement of Tchaikovsky's String Quartet in D. The texture is slowly built up until it finally fades. The piece is brought to conclusion with a slow ambient ending that hints at "remembrances from the near and distant past".

After the intermission, the Dvorak was played with great energy. This was a great way to end the program as it contrasted the opening Haydn quartet very nicely.

2nd Presentation

Yesterday I presented my finished composition in class. It went well. Some general comments I recieved

- Perhaps introduce Guitar in the "intro". It seems to come out of nowhere in measure no. 10
- In measure 37, the texture is thinned out considerably. I then re introduce a thicker texture right at the end of the piece. I can see how this would seem redundant, but am going ot wait ot actually hear it in rehersal before changing it.
- The last chord does not seem like the final point of the piece. Perhaps tweak this to make it sound more final.

Considerations

I have finished my piece. Any changes made from now until the concert will only be small. I am quite happy with the outcome. Originally this piece was written for marimba but I decided it sounded better on vibraphone.

I ended up writing three different pages of ideas that I based the final product on.

I first wrote a 4 and a half measure arpeggio line for guitar that repeats several time throughout the piece. This ended up serving as the central accompaniment for the voice. The vibe part was added after. This section is contrasted with a slower 9/8 section that is constant until the very last few measures.

Since I am a guitarist preforming mostly solo works, I found it quite challenging to write a part that fit into an accompanying texture while leaving enough space for the other parts. The voice had to stand out above everything else so making the guitar take a back seat was something I defiantly struggled with during this project.

Second Piece

For my second composition I chose to set a text. The instrumentation will be

- Soprano
- Guitar
- Marimba

The text I will be using is a Shakespeare sonnet. #100

Where art thou, Muse, that thou forgett'st so long
To speak of that which gives thee all thy might?
Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song,
Dark'ning thy power to lend base subjects light?
Return, forgetful Muse, and straight redeem
In gentle, numbers time so idly spent;
Sing to the ear that doth lays esteem,
And gives thy pen both skill and argument.
Ride, resty Muse, my love's sweet face survey,
If Time have any wrinkle graven there;
If any, be a satire to decay,
And make Time's spoils despised everywhere.
Give my love fame faster then Time wastes life;
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.

Getting ready for the concert

So this has been an insanely busy week. Working out the fine details in each of my three pieces seemed to take much more time than I had anticipated. The hard part was finally closing Sibelius and accepting what i had down, knowing I would not be able to change anything else before hearing it in the concert.

Since i wrote two slower more atmospheric works, and one faster more ambitious work, it took me awhile to settle on an order and in the end I left it was I wrote it (chronologically). The two slower movements surround the more rhythmic one.

I think the pieces work as a set, but could also be preformed alone and would still create an effective atmosphere. I also came up with titles for them individually

I. Haze - The piece really is a gloomy atmosphere which leaves the listener with a sense of timelessness. I thought the word Haze described this very well

II. Advert - Which literally means to draw your attention to something. To point something out. Since i use a lot of rhythmic accents over a more flowing line, this title fit very well

III. Comatose - I received several comments on this piece. Particularly the piano line which was described as "going no where" and "no direction". I did edit it a little but i was quite happy with the part myself. This piece can be described as Comatose which means Unconscious

anyway I have done a lot of work on this music and am happy with the outcome. I am definatly looking forward to the concert and hearing these works preformed on the big stage.

Revision Of Number 2

So i played the revision of my second piece in class and it went very well. I agree that a little tweaking could do it some good but over all i am happy with this composition.

Some of the comments

- Could be longer..... Because i am using a 5/8 time signature and placing eight note rests on random beats the piece does seem to have a feeling of timelessness. The listener looses track of the bar lines. In order to make this more effective the piece could have been longer and developed much more slowly. I have a lot of material that repeat's a lot.... It could potentially go on for longer and would still not seem boring.

- At measure 35 There is defiantly a point of highest tension. This is further than 60% of the way through the piece. I could rethink this. Maybe lengthen the material after or just have this happen a little before.

- The vibes have a repeating line that piano never plays. The material in both instruments is very different. This is not bad BUT I could incorporate some of that moving line in the piano

- Make use of the huge register that the piano has. I am sticking to the ledger lines for the most part. Maybe write in some double octaves.

That is All

Revisions and such

My third piece was played this week and it turned out very well. Some of the general comments i received,

- Good Unity of character throughout
- Could be expanded
- Piano line seemed "random"
- Good use of staccato under the resonating vibraphone
- Perhaps repeating motives too soon
- Jazzy sounding few measures in the last system which could breath a few extra phrases before the end

Im not sure if agree that the piano line was "random" there is a structure that I felt i stuck to and was able ot achieve what i had initally planned.


Now on to revising my second work

This piece needed alot of work. I have many ideas but all together they lack a sense of coherency. Somethings I am keeping in mind when revising

-Delete 4/4 measures of chords during the intro
-Keep 5/8 bars
-Expand on the vibraphone line
-Try and create more of a sound scape texture. Less Random more structure