ok, i'll post more tomorrow or something
i did a marathon on the last movement of Six Pieces After Basho...12 hours of work today...and i'm still going. i took a break to e-mail the director the final movement and all the audio while i finish cleaning the score...and parts. God, parts...
and, honestly...i got chills at the end. i think i wrote a real piece. who knew? i didn't...
ok, the screen is moving a lot, and i don't think it's the screen. lol...to sleep
I plan on doing a retrospective analysis of the piece, 1 movement at a time...really breaking down what i find in my own writing. it may prove interesting. and i may do some graphics or something to help out. i dunno bout that yet...i'm tired...g'night
2/20/10
2/17/10
intervention
Ok, seriously, i need one. I think i'm done, for now anyway.
here's the gear list i've purchased
Soundcraft Spirit Folio 16 (16 mic channels, 4 stereo channels, sharing 2 faders, 4 bus, 3 aux, Direct Out on the first 8 channels, one bad insert) $125
Oktava MK219 large diaphragm studio condenser $65
Presonus Blue Tube microphone pre-amp $105.75
Sennheiser MD280s- $108 (after tax)
Sony MDR-EX56LP ear plug style headphones (general listening/basic monitoring- $37
Event TR5s-$150.50
AND there is a possibility of landing a pair of Yamaha HS50s for $90 a pop. and they are in perfect working condition (i trust the guy selling me these WAY more than just about everyone else i bought from. heh)
and i still have some needs. I wasn't looking to turn this into a real project studio, but, it's turning into that. here's what i still want/need
Quad Core XLR cables (25' lengths is fine, say, about 6 of them.)
4 Gold Plated 1/4 patch cables (for the monitors...though i'd prefer only gold plating on ONE side, but that's beyond the point...fusing issues, basically)
mic stands (all preferably boom style)
Pop Filter (preferably metal, though i'll prolly end up with a mesh one)
1 vocal tube microphone (haven't decided on any brand yet. keeping my options open)
a matched pair of pencil condensers (Oktava 012s with all capsules is my preference here)
1 stereo ribbon mic (ok, this is just insane. lol. i'd love Royer SF-24, but i'd take a Cascade X-15, if it sounds good.)
1 cardioid ribbon mic (Beyer Dynamic M500. period. i will get one, someday)
1 vintage microphone (a Shure 55 would be cool, or an RCA ribbon style mic- which would be insanely expensive)
anyway, as you can see, i've spent about $550 already. WTH?!?!? this is really bad...seriously...AND the cables and a mic stand or 2 i HAVE to have. i can do without the other mics, and the pop filter. at least for now, on the pop filter. Once i start the trip-hop album i'll need it to record the vocals.
Still, this is all quite insane. i'm NOT a real recording engineer. this money is definitely NOT a waste, that's for sure, but, yeah...it's just expedites the whole "get a job" thing. as in, as soon as i get back from NYC in april, i will HAVE to get one, i think...if not find a way to make some money before that.
anyway, as for MUSIC! oh yeah, i'm a composer. sometimes, i forget these things.
6 Pieces After Basho is almost finished. I took the afternoon off to, um...spend a lot of money...but i hope to finish tonight. hopefully i can get to Nevada for the performance, or maybe convince the Wind Ensemble director here to give them a reading. that'd be pretty cool.
movement 5 is incredibly simple and probably the hardest piece to perform in the lot. in fact, it IS the hardest to perform. it basically comprises of 3 notes, F, Eb, and E. these notes are passed around the woodwinds until the brass enter...HUMMING. yep, humming. Dissonance. there are some other notes, in the high Vibraphone and the orchestra bells, but they are cursory. really, i just put them there so that there'd be a bit more going on. I REALLY can't wait to hear this movement performed. I think, if done well, it'll send chills down everyone's spine. what i hear in my head does it to me.
as for the last movement, it's a lot more traditional. very traditional. lots of doublings. only a few different lines going on. might use the timpani even. lol. The end will be fun, as i've decided to do some canonic writing. it may end up just being imitative counterpoint, but i might turn it into a real canon. I'm going to avoid going full blown fugue because 1) i don't think there's time for it to develop and 2) that'd be a bit too hard to follow really. it's not an easy form to play, at all.
anyway, this is a long post. I haven't posted in quite some time. Sorry about that. life got in the way a bit. I'll try to post regularly again, but there's a good chance this slows down to once every few days. heh. i knew i couldn't keep up everyday. however, the eating meals at home part is still going quite well!
here's the gear list i've purchased
Soundcraft Spirit Folio 16 (16 mic channels, 4 stereo channels, sharing 2 faders, 4 bus, 3 aux, Direct Out on the first 8 channels, one bad insert) $125
Oktava MK219 large diaphragm studio condenser $65
Presonus Blue Tube microphone pre-amp $105.75
Sennheiser MD280s- $108 (after tax)
Sony MDR-EX56LP ear plug style headphones (general listening/basic monitoring- $37
Event TR5s-$150.50
AND there is a possibility of landing a pair of Yamaha HS50s for $90 a pop. and they are in perfect working condition (i trust the guy selling me these WAY more than just about everyone else i bought from. heh)
and i still have some needs. I wasn't looking to turn this into a real project studio, but, it's turning into that. here's what i still want/need
Quad Core XLR cables (25' lengths is fine, say, about 6 of them.)
4 Gold Plated 1/4 patch cables (for the monitors...though i'd prefer only gold plating on ONE side, but that's beyond the point...fusing issues, basically)
mic stands (all preferably boom style)
Pop Filter (preferably metal, though i'll prolly end up with a mesh one)
1 vocal tube microphone (haven't decided on any brand yet. keeping my options open)
a matched pair of pencil condensers (Oktava 012s with all capsules is my preference here)
1 stereo ribbon mic (ok, this is just insane. lol. i'd love Royer SF-24, but i'd take a Cascade X-15, if it sounds good.)
1 cardioid ribbon mic (Beyer Dynamic M500. period. i will get one, someday)
1 vintage microphone (a Shure 55 would be cool, or an RCA ribbon style mic- which would be insanely expensive)
anyway, as you can see, i've spent about $550 already. WTH?!?!? this is really bad...seriously...AND the cables and a mic stand or 2 i HAVE to have. i can do without the other mics, and the pop filter. at least for now, on the pop filter. Once i start the trip-hop album i'll need it to record the vocals.
Still, this is all quite insane. i'm NOT a real recording engineer. this money is definitely NOT a waste, that's for sure, but, yeah...it's just expedites the whole "get a job" thing. as in, as soon as i get back from NYC in april, i will HAVE to get one, i think...if not find a way to make some money before that.
anyway, as for MUSIC! oh yeah, i'm a composer. sometimes, i forget these things.
6 Pieces After Basho is almost finished. I took the afternoon off to, um...spend a lot of money...but i hope to finish tonight. hopefully i can get to Nevada for the performance, or maybe convince the Wind Ensemble director here to give them a reading. that'd be pretty cool.
movement 5 is incredibly simple and probably the hardest piece to perform in the lot. in fact, it IS the hardest to perform. it basically comprises of 3 notes, F, Eb, and E. these notes are passed around the woodwinds until the brass enter...HUMMING. yep, humming. Dissonance. there are some other notes, in the high Vibraphone and the orchestra bells, but they are cursory. really, i just put them there so that there'd be a bit more going on. I REALLY can't wait to hear this movement performed. I think, if done well, it'll send chills down everyone's spine. what i hear in my head does it to me.
as for the last movement, it's a lot more traditional. very traditional. lots of doublings. only a few different lines going on. might use the timpani even. lol. The end will be fun, as i've decided to do some canonic writing. it may end up just being imitative counterpoint, but i might turn it into a real canon. I'm going to avoid going full blown fugue because 1) i don't think there's time for it to develop and 2) that'd be a bit too hard to follow really. it's not an easy form to play, at all.
anyway, this is a long post. I haven't posted in quite some time. Sorry about that. life got in the way a bit. I'll try to post regularly again, but there's a good chance this slows down to once every few days. heh. i knew i couldn't keep up everyday. however, the eating meals at home part is still going quite well!
2/13/10
summer
Ok, i don't know specifically what i'm doing this summer, but there's one thing i want to do...
put out a trip-hop/hardcore album.
i need a break from "contemporary classical" or whatever you want to call it. i need to rock out.
record vocals with a vintage shure 55
spend time creating sonic textures from recorded sounds
and put out an "pop" album and see if anyone likes it.
there all things we need to do. mine is change it up...it's hard writing "contemporary classical" when it's all i see and hear. I'm used to doing concerts. it's weird not having that.
and when i hear Portishead followed by Rise Against! followed by Bjork followed by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, i end up wanting to do an album like them. there's so much energy there, so my feeling
my music still lacks that in the "CC" form...it's not expressing me yet. and sometimes i wonder if i even can...
put out a trip-hop/hardcore album.
i need a break from "contemporary classical" or whatever you want to call it. i need to rock out.
record vocals with a vintage shure 55
spend time creating sonic textures from recorded sounds
and put out an "pop" album and see if anyone likes it.
there all things we need to do. mine is change it up...it's hard writing "contemporary classical" when it's all i see and hear. I'm used to doing concerts. it's weird not having that.
and when i hear Portishead followed by Rise Against! followed by Bjork followed by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, i end up wanting to do an album like them. there's so much energy there, so my feeling
my music still lacks that in the "CC" form...it's not expressing me yet. and sometimes i wonder if i even can...
2/12/10
well first i had some toast...
Ok, so i didn't do much today really. i went shopping, ate out for lunch, felt like CRAP afterwards, went to pedagogy of composition, and went to a concert.
Pedagogy of composition is so awesome. i love it. that's all i got right now on that subject. lol. we're talking about assessment. and we went over our syllabi in class. it's funny, the head prof actually said "you're going to be great in an institution, writing rules and such. i bet you'll end up on every committee." lol. i followed that up by saying "you should see my lesson plans, when i write them. they actually follow MENC format!"
after class i went to a concert, the first Musica Nova concert of the semester. I take issue slightly with the name, but it's been at UMKC longer than i have, so there's little i can say. lol. I'd just like something cooler sounding like "Death Whalers" or "Alliance for the Federation of Contemporary Musical Literature" (aka AFCML) or something like that. Musica Nova sounds so...old...this from a guy who's myspace is musicaimprovica. LOL.
It was a good concert. the performers here are top notch. it's the first time i've heard any of them in a solo or chamber setting, and i was beyond impressed. really makes me feel even more that this was a great choice. the guest composer was Alvin Singleton. I found his pieces to be very interesting studies. not quite my cup of tea, but very interesting, a lot of good work. I actually like his piece for solo snare drum the most. Definitely worth playing, for all those percussionists that read my blog. (HA!)
I was probably most impressed with the piece by Asha Srinivasa. I had been hearing a lot about the piece (i know a guy who knows her...pretty well...i mean, they ARE married, after all. lol) and Asha as a composer, so i was interested to hear a piece live. It was quite well done. I was quite expressive, but not in a schamltzy neo-romantic way. I quite liked it
and now, i'm going to lay down to sleep, or something similar in thought. I might bring a piece to a MC with Alvin Singleton and this amazing pianist Teresa McCollough. or i might just sit and learn a thing or two. or 50...
Pedagogy of composition is so awesome. i love it. that's all i got right now on that subject. lol. we're talking about assessment. and we went over our syllabi in class. it's funny, the head prof actually said "you're going to be great in an institution, writing rules and such. i bet you'll end up on every committee." lol. i followed that up by saying "you should see my lesson plans, when i write them. they actually follow MENC format!"
after class i went to a concert, the first Musica Nova concert of the semester. I take issue slightly with the name, but it's been at UMKC longer than i have, so there's little i can say. lol. I'd just like something cooler sounding like "Death Whalers" or "Alliance for the Federation of Contemporary Musical Literature" (aka AFCML) or something like that. Musica Nova sounds so...old...this from a guy who's myspace is musicaimprovica. LOL.
It was a good concert. the performers here are top notch. it's the first time i've heard any of them in a solo or chamber setting, and i was beyond impressed. really makes me feel even more that this was a great choice. the guest composer was Alvin Singleton. I found his pieces to be very interesting studies. not quite my cup of tea, but very interesting, a lot of good work. I actually like his piece for solo snare drum the most. Definitely worth playing, for all those percussionists that read my blog. (HA!)
I was probably most impressed with the piece by Asha Srinivasa. I had been hearing a lot about the piece (i know a guy who knows her...pretty well...i mean, they ARE married, after all. lol) and Asha as a composer, so i was interested to hear a piece live. It was quite well done. I was quite expressive, but not in a schamltzy neo-romantic way. I quite liked it
and now, i'm going to lay down to sleep, or something similar in thought. I might bring a piece to a MC with Alvin Singleton and this amazing pianist Teresa McCollough. or i might just sit and learn a thing or two. or 50...
2/10/10
YEAH! WHAT?
Ok, what time is it? i don't even know.
I won one auction the last 4 days of bidding. one! but it was a good one. scored an Oktava 219A for $65 after shipping. can't beat that. now i have one of the vocal mics i need for my trip-hop album.
I also kicked a little ass in the composition world today. I really put my head down and plowed through 11/12 of the 4th movement. gotta finish a few measures, decide if i'm going to make this movement a little longer, make sure i have all my markings in, and BOOM. should be done tomorrow afternoon. too tired to keep it up tonight.
I read a great article sent to me by a friend. here's a link
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/arts/music/07modern.html
It's pretty straight forward and i agree with it 100%. i HATE being asked "is that what you wanted" after someone plays a passage. play it like it's written, interpret it as you will, and if i totally hate it, i'll probably tell you and come up and change the score. otherwise, have confidence, and PLAY IT!
I get tired of "you have to play this piece THIS way" as a mentality anyway. a musicians job is to interpret what's on the page. There is no "definitive recording," there is no "perfect way to play something." period. end of story. are there completely wrong ways to do it? yes. tons. and its a performers job to know what's appropriate and what isn't. But it doesn't mean we should all play pieces in the exact same way. There's already a recording for that snapshot of the piece. be an artist, make it moving.
I dunno about other composers, but it's certainly how i feel.
I'm still hoping to get a pair of monitors. I tried for a pair of Yamaha MSP5s today, but they jacked up in price like crazy in that last minute. oh well. i'll save the money, maybe buy some Rokits off a friend in Indiana.
And this movement is gonna be sweet. i really think so. just like Holst's 1st Sweet. yep, it's like drinking simple syrup baby! lol. oh man, i'm getting delirious.
on other news, i've decided to write a concerto for:
2/8/10
ah
finished mvt III. it was nice to finally have it done
I followed through on the plan, melody, high WW play a note, it gets passed to low brass, the melody has that note taken away.
worked out quite well. I varied a bit, at the end, to create a sense of finalization, playing around with an [ 0 2 5 ]. it appears mostly as a m3 M2 order, but occasionally i switch it up. there's actually a great deal of [ 0 2 5 ] in the piece, which is funny, because it is, primarily, modal. yep, it's written in dorian mode and my main chord revolves around playing with m3rds, M2nds, and P4ths. fun times.
Oh, the whole piece is in Bb but i run through the modes. Though, really, it's hard to tell the main tonal center. I set out to do mvt. III in dorian mode, but it kinda ran into myxolydian quite a bit. happens
anyway, onto 4, which i've swapped places with 5. lol. a nice trumpet fanfare to start, i think. lol.
it's really cold here. really really cold. kinda sucks.
and i have yet to successfully snipe an auction. lol. i have doubts i'll be able to pull it off. I'll prolly just haggle like crazy at a store and see what happens
dippermouth blues
Sorry if anyone expected a post about Louis Armstrong. that's not it
Watched the Superbowl. The Saints really did play a better game. I got a little tired of the coverage though. Yes, i get it already. a little more unbiased coverage definitely would have been nice. and, no, i don't think there was bad officiating. Manning blew it when he threw the pick.
other than that i spent the day feverishly composing. I hit gold on a melody and started going. I took a break, saved it, did some things- namely transfer over some old audio files from way back. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. fun set of discs! and i should have dug them out earlier for listening. Anyway, I came back, tried to load the piece
corrupted file
Yep, dunno how, but it was a goner. And...for the first time in quite awhile, i had nothing more than a melody and some sketches of how the accompaniment would go in my handwritten sheets.
i just spent an hour or so recreating it. the voice leading is different...worse, i think...bugger
Well, i got it back to where it was, from memory, as best i could. and i started going on...if i hadn't lost that hour, i'd prolly be done.
as is, i'm too tired. bugger. I'll finish tomorrow and ATTACK mvt IV with a vengeance with an eye toward finishing tuesday night. Yep, setting some high goals on this one. it happens occasionally.
also, didn't get the TR6s or TR8s. Still hoping for the CAD e300. i put a bid in on a pair of Mackie MR8s. again, not what i'm really looking for, but they will do. I also have a bid in on an H2 recorded for $70. if it works, it's worth it for halfprice man. lol
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