Need help finding music?

Often, I am not sure where to look for new music. There are so many composers and music artists out there, and I often feel that while I know a lot, I don't even know a percent of just the AMERICANS doing stuff with music.

Then I stumbled across this. It is called Gnoosic, and it randomly suggests artists/composers to you based on your given preferences. It runs the program through shortly, so you can set up another search for an alternate style or preference.

I hardly see it as an end-all solution, but it certainly might help, and is worth checking out!

the importance of performance

As an art form, our medium can be quite limiting. If you present a written piece of music to someone, they can look at it, (and if musically literate) and may understand some of it, but for the most part, our music does not truly exist unless it is performed audibly. Unlike a picture, you can't hang your music on the wall for all to enjoy. The closest we can come to capturing our art live is through recording. However, you can't have a recording if you don't have a performance.

So, that is definitely one tally in the category of why you SHOULD get your music performed. Along the same lines, since your music can't be heard without being played, it is almost as if you haven't written it if it hasn't been played.

There are other reasons you should get performances too. The more you write and HEAR, the more you learn. You can theorize about what the sounds you chose sound like, but without hearing it, you can't KNOW.

Also, writing music and getting performances lends itself to more performances. If people are accustomed to your writing, and hear your music often, they may be more willing to play for you again in the future. (Connections are important.)

One more big reason is that performances are important in your professional life. If you wrote 12 pieces this year but only had 2 performances, very few people will know your music. This means less people will seek out your music, and you will have to struggle to get performances, because you haven't been. Professional organizations, competitions, grad schools and even employers look to see how often your music is getting performed. The general phrase is "steady schedule of performances."

While that is incredibly cryptic, 2 performances a year isn't really great enough to be considered "steady." That being said, take every opportunity to get your music performed. Get pieces performed multiple times. Premieres are easy, it is the 2nd performance that is hard. Apply to competitions, where your music may be heard in a different city, state, or country, and where YOU don't have to rehearse it! If it fits the bill, get it performed, even if you may not be too proud of it anymore. Someone may still like it.

On a related note, I plan to organize another composition concert in February/March sometime. If you have ANY piece, this is a freeeeee concert opportunity. Take advantage of it.

Which piece had a profound effect on you?

When asked which piece (or pieces) had a profound musical effect on me, my musical language, and artistic goals, two pieces came to mind; Frank Zappa's "Peaches en Regalia" and Steve Reich's Electric Guitar Phase.

Peaches because it was just so cool, so long, and that awesome guitar solo. It was rock music, but nobody sings; it was chamber music, but theres a drum set and an electric guitar solo; it totally blew my mind.

Electric Guitar Phase was the first time I had every heard anything related to minimalism. For those not familiar with the piece, it is a distorted guitar riff (originally a violin) played constantly, then a second guitar playing the same riff enters, and slowly phases (moving forward or backward one eighth note at a time) in and out with the first guitar. Then a third guitar enters, then a fourth. All playing this same riff, all phasing with each other. For 22 minutes. The first time I heard it I had to hear it again. It was glorious.

I have since gobbled up all the Zappa and Reich I possibly can, read their books, played their music, and been to concerts of their works.

I love Zappa's work ethic and unique perspective on all things, I love Reich's experiments with tape and voice and layering. Just the mind wanting to experiment and discover and look what happened!

So really you can blame it all on them.

Lists of Websites

Hello everyone!

I found two great lists of useful websites for composers on Composers Forum.

--> List of useful websites for composers and musicians

--> List of useful websites for filmmakers (I suppose this is great if you are interested in film composing.)

Feel free to add to this list in the comments section and/or on the website itself.

Enjoy!

Sakari

Rivising Old Creations

As some of you may know, tomorrow I am having my composition "Hypnosis" performed at the recital tomorrow at 8pm. The most challenging part about this writing the piece is that when I wrote it to be performed tomorrow, I did not start from scratch--I decided to revise what I had completed back in January. It was performed then too, but since then, I had given this piece a rest as it was in what seemed to be a pretty "final" version at the time. Considering that this is the most I have ever revised one of my pieces (I believe I began writing it in October 2009), much of the music has changed despite the fact that my vision for it has remained the same, and I have acquired many new skills since I began writing it.

Since I wanted to retain my original vision, I realized that I had to retrace the development of the music and reevaluate the reasons behind the choices I made as a composer. For example, many of the melodic lines are designed to run contrapuntally in order to convey how the mind often has multiple trains of thought occurring at once, even at the subconscious level. When I revised the piece, I noticed that some sections were strictly homophonic, which contradicts this idea and hinders the development of the piece. Also, some melodies repeat by moving to other instruments while new ideas are explored on top of that framework. Therefore, when I altered the development of the work, I had to maintain the concept of "recurring thoughts" within each section of the piece. As a result, each section has some aspect that hints at or is reminiscent of earlier themes. (I would not, however, classify the overall work as "theme and variations" sort of piece.)

Part of the reason why I chose to revise this piece is because I believe that it is, so far, the most pivotal work that has defined my voice as a composer. Out of the several compositions that I have created which have also upheld a determined vision, this one reflects how I have been much more meticulous with making sure that the development and character of the piece remains consistent and focused. In addition, I decided to revise it because I aspire to create several more movements of this work, and quite simply, the end of it was repetitive, far too resolved, and banal (oh those lovely authentic cadences!). I also found it ironic that the authentic cadence, which strongly set it in a key, resolved a piece which in the middle began to wander far out of its original key and did not have a well-established tonic in the first place.

One question that I have for you all is, how do you approach revising a piece if your original vision has changed?

Sakari

The Euphonium

I was writing a piece for the euphonium but I just recently decided to go with the bassoon instead. I think the bassoon will better fit what I'm looking for in my piece for multiple reasons. The euphonium is an instrument that often doesn't find a place in much concert music. The reason why that is because there are many challenges that come about when attempting to write a solo piece for the euphonium.


During my attempt of composing for the euphonium, I did a little research on the history of the instrument. The euphonium is a fairly new instrument. It was invented in 1843 by Sommers of Weimar. The intonation had many flaws in its early life. In the late 1870's, someone noticed that while playing multiple valve combinations, slightly pressing the fourth valve down improved the tone. As the instrument was being improved and experimented with, it started to become more popular. It was mostly used in the military in the 1800's. People began experimenting with songs from composers such as Ravel, Wagner, and Strauss which were composed specifically for wind bands. The instrument began to be played more and more. Today, it is greatly appreciated in orchestras.


The word Euphonium comes from the Greek word "euphonia" which means sweet sounding. It was nicknamed the "serpent" because of it's snake-like appearance, which is often confused with the baritone horn. Both the baritone horn and the euphonium look similar, but the baritone horn has 3 valves and the euphonium has 4. The euphonium also has a slightly lower timbre than the baritone. It is a Bb, tenor voiced instrument with the wide range of about four octaves. The instrument takes a lot of skill to play. In order to obtain the beautiful, sweet sound, the musician must be well-trained with the ear and lips. Though there were improvements in the tonal quality, it is still takes a lot of work to get the warm tonal quality it's known for.


A popular song played on euphonium is Fur Elise by Beethoven. There are many other popular songs by composers such as Bach, Hartley, Schubert, and Lindberg. The euphonium is a beautiful instrument that really brings out the beauty of such songs. I was looking forward to writing a piece for it, but as I wrote more and more, I noticed how difficult it would be to play those melodies on such an instrument. My composition is very disjunct for the most part. The jumps would be very hard to play on the euphonium with the staccatos and a fast rhythm. I decided to change my piece to a bassoon solo, however, I do plan to write a euphonium piece in the near future.


Below is a link to a video of a beautiful euphonium duet I found onYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNQcPZFbnwE

Good friends => good music

Part of the collegiate experience is learning as much as you can, not only from your professors, but also from your peers. I would argue this is even more true for music students, and even more so still for composers. My (short) professional life as a composer has been dramatically shaped by the people around me, be it fellow composers, performers or just musically inclined friends.

In my personal experience with fellow composers, they are most helpful with relevant literature and the like. Composers are typically well versed in the literature of their time (or should be anyway). I have learned about more great composers through my composer "coworkers" than I have through the radio, books, professors, or the internet. When you sit down with someone near your age and experience level and you discuss composers and works you like, dont like, and why, you have a tendency to internalize what you learn more through the interactive nature of an in-depth conversation with a compadre. This kind of interaction is usually informal in nature and starts with one person sharing something they recently found or heard on the radio or what have you. I have spent countess hours with fellow composition students sharing scores, cd's, analyses, and ideas. The other great thing to take from your compositional relationships is their own music. Looking at fellow student compositions is a great way to grow and increase your musical vocabulary. And let's not forget how valuable your fellow composers can be for proof reading.

Performers are also a most important connection to have as a composer. While not often as well versed in contemporary literature as a whole as a composer might be, you can bet a violinist will know a lot of lit. for violin. If you are writing for the violin, you would be well advised to speak to anyone who will listen who plays the violin before finishing your piece. I have learned so much from my performers about what sounds good, what sounds bad, what is easy, what is fun, etc. This will be very valuable if you are trying to write an idiomatic, musically interesting piece.

Now, we can all do more to increase our experiences together if we make it more of a priority to get to know one another (I am bad at this too, so please dont think I am just casting stones here) and open ourselves up to critique and complement from the wealth of tallen we have in our studio. As for a specific recommendation on how to do this, its a difficult thing. I think Michael's "listen party" that didnt go over very well was a good idea, maybe a BBQ at Dr. Suter's (wink wink) would be a good way to get everyone together. Concerts are also good opportunities to be social and such, like the one Tuesday. So, go fourth and be social! It will prove to be beneficial for everyone in the long run.

Preparing for Listening Exams

Hello again, dear colleagues!

I’ve taken quite a few listening tests in my time here at Redlands, and I’ve been asked to supply some advice in preparation for those of you who haven’t experienced them before. I realize our test is two days away, so sorry for the timing, but hopefully you will find a few of these pointers helpful in your final preparations and for future studying. Here are some techniques that I use and that I find beneficial, in no particular order:

1) Listen, listen, listen. I can’t stress this enough. I try to start listening through the works as soon as they are posted, a few every couple of days until I’ve made it through all of them. Then I repeat, many times. You can listen at your desk, while you’re walking between classes, in your car, wherever—I tend to use the pieces as “background music” when I can, perhaps so that they work their way into my subconscious more, but I make absolutely sure that I have spent time just listening as well. Your most attentive and comprehensive listening will not be accomplished while multi-tasking.

2) Make a list of all the compositions and their respective composers, and organize them into categories based on their instrumentation. Don’t be afraid to research the pieces if you are unsure! This helps me identify the likely “problem” pieces—the ones that share the same instrumentation, and therefore cannot be identified by instrumentation alone, and that will most likely require more attention so that you can confidently distinguish them. Can you hum one of the main motives of Varese’s Density 21.5, and then the melody from Debussy’s Syrinx, without comparing them first? And what makes Takemitsu’s Voice clearly stand out from the previous two? Those are the kinds of questions I try to ask myself.

3) Identify parts of the music that are really striking to you, for better or for worse, and in any way possible. This can range from extramusical associations (such as Daugherty’s Desi, which immediately makes me think of Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy ever since I read its program notes) to musical references (Tower’s Tres Lent [in memoriam Olivier Messiaen] reminds me of a movement from Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps). It can be as simple as the constant presence of nature sounds in Schafer’s Wolf Music: Aubade for Solo Clarinet, or more specific: the monophonic unison line toward the end of the first movement of Bartok’s String Quartet No. 2 really stands out to me personally, for example.

4) Check out the music score for study and listen along. A library of our size obviously isn’t going to have all or even most of them, but it’s worth a try. I actually have the three string quartets checked out—sorry, I definitely didn’t mean to hog them. Please let me know if you want to borrow them!

5) Familiarize yourself with the prominent motives of each piece. I was having some difficulty distinguishing parts of the Debussy and Ravel string quartets—the melodies tended to mush together in my mind, despite having listened to the works several times back to back. I finally tried to sing the melodies, along with the recording and then by myself, and I was surprised at how helpful that approach was. I had never tried that before, but now I can play through each in my head much more successfully. Some people find that writing out the motives is helpful, too; that was a popular method when our class had a test once on all the Beethoven symphonies.

6) Did I mention… listen? I personally would not be able to cram for a listening test, and I don’t think that many of us can. Listen well in advance, and listen often! And make sure to devote a fairly equal amount of time to each work. By this I mean that it’s all too easy to group them into the ones that you really like and the ones that you don’t like as much, and then “forget” about the latter group as you focus on the former. I’ve been there (…Beethoven symphonies…) and it can be pretty detrimental, so give them all a fair chance!

I’m sure I’m forgetting things, but that’s a basic overview of my process. Please feel free to contribute any study and preparation techniques that you find helpful!

Good luck, and happy listening!

Words of the wise...

I'm burning the midnight oil working on program notes for the next RSO concert, and I came across this quote from Ravel while researching his Piano Concerto in G.

"The G-major Concerto took two years of work, you know. The opening theme came to me on a train between Oxford and London. But the initial idea is nothing. The work of chiseling then began. We’ve gone past the days when the composer was thought of as being struck by inspiration, feverishly scribbling down his thoughts on a scrap of paper. Writing music is seventy-five percent an intellectual activity."

As the kids say these days, "true that".

Blog Assignment: 6 Weeks

I have now been here at the University of Redlands six weeks. Coming from a big school like UC Riverside, it was strange at first. On such a large campus, you blend in much easier. Some of my classes had hundreds of students. With a class that size, it doesn't really matter if you miss a class here and there because the professor doesn't know the difference, and if you fall asleep, nobody is going to notice or care. So the change to such a small campus was a big one. It's a very different experience here. And so far, I think I'm much more comfortable now. It's easier to connect with other students and I can actually get to know my professors a bit. Overall, it's a friendlier campus. I'm not saying UCR is unfriendly, but with so many students, I shared classes with people and still rarely ran into them.
Also new to me this year is studying music exclusively. I didn't switch my major to music until late last year and I only took one Fundamentals class before arriving here. I started out as a Physics major and then realized I hated Physics. Although my current work load can get a little overwhelming, it's much easier to get things done because now I'm more interested in what I'm studying. I've never been very good at balancing everything, but I think I'm improving lately. Being a commuter, I don't have a room to go back to during my breaks so I like to just sit down at a piano and either write, play around with what we're learning in theory, or just see what happens. It's a great way to pass the time and often one of my favorite times of the day.

So how are the rest of the newbies adjusting?

ASCAP Cuts ASCAPlus Payments To Members Despite “Stunning Revenue and Distribution Growth”

Hello fellow composers!

Shortly after we discussed ASCAPlus in class, I received a link to this article in my e-mail and I figured that it would be of interest to you all. The article is from Royalty Week Magazine.

ASCAP Cuts ASCAPlus Payments To Members Despite “Stunning Revenue and Distribution Growth”

Sakari

Blog Assignment: Singing

Because my primary instrument is guitar, my only option to fulfill the ensemble requirement was to take choir. This is the first time I have sung in a choir, and really, the first time I've ever tried to sing seriously. Though its not my favorite time of the day, choir has had some influence on me as a musician. It has given me a better understanding of vocal technique, the nuances of a good vocal performance, and how choral music is different than instrumental music. To be completely honest, the most challenging aspect of choir is memorizing the lyrics to this french song that we have to learn! But other challenging aspects for me include isolating and focusing on my individual line, projecting, and remembering how to sing the more chromatic lines. This experience has been rewarding because it has helped me control my voice, which is very useful for sight-singing and ear training. I have definitely improved my sight-singing after a month of choir. I have also learned how to properly support my lungs when I sing. And if I wasn't sure of it before, I have certainly learned that I am not a good singer.

Excellent video

I just stumbled upon this online, which is a great example of what you can create with just a little creativity, a go-getter attitude, and some looping software (plus recording.) My favorite part creating your own instruments, is you have the opportunity to create a sound that may have never existed until you made it. I hope you enjoy it!

Balancing the Professional and the Academic

Hey Everyone,
Like most of us, my schedule is very hectic. I am a full time Graduate student who also teaches and plays professionally. Aside from being a student I teach privately at Yucaipa and run the music programs for Grove Junior and high school. I play with the Inland Valley Symphony and play in pit orchestras for multiple theater companies in the Temecula valley. With most of my days being filled with various responsibilities, I found myself doing most of my composing at night. Having a busy schedule like mine is not the ideal situation for composing but i still need to have a means to live my life and stay connected to professional networks that get me gigs. One of the ways i stay focused on my new compositions is to internalize the work through out the process of creation to completion. I am constantly thinking about musical intent, how i can make the work unique and how to maintain my individuality. whenever i have ideas i like i jot them down, either in notation of in a written description. I come back to these ideas and incorporate the one i like into the work. I feel this approach is valuable because it allows me to be unrestricted and explore many directions. As an undergraduate i used to be locked into my initially writings. I used to think that because it was written down it was finished and would just keep moving forward. This type of mentality made my compositions banal and, in many cases, less cohesive. As my studies progressed i realized that good compositions have many revisions, just like any well written paper. I found that making sure to have time for composing is a must. Pick a time every day that you can dedicate to writing and stick to it. having a busy life makes it all to easy to push it to side.
By far, the most important tool you can have to manage your professional and academic life is a planner. Knowing in advanced when you have time to write shows you every opportunity have time to compose. Always take advantage of any free time you have. Many of the ideas you have may never be used but at least you have materials to draw from. Balancing a professional and academic life is not any easy task but it can be done. mainly you need to find a system that works for you the best or cut out activities to have more time to compose.

Blog Assignment: Composing on Piano

Since I've only written music for guitar before, I've never used a piano to compose. However, recently, I have begun using the piano as a compositional tool. I found that when writing music for a monophonic instrument, like flute, that it is much easier on piano compared to the guitar. I have more range and I feel like I have a easier time visualizing what I hear. However, since I have virtually no piano skills to speak of, piano is only useful to me when composing single line melodies and things of that nature. When putting chord progressions together, I still turn to the guitar as I actually know how to construct chords other than root position major and minor triads. As I get more comfortable with the piano, I think that as I continue to write for instruments other than guitar, that it'll be my main instrument to compose with.

Less is more

As I work on my newest piano piece I am constantly discovering how much more less can be. Now that may sound confusing at first, but I can do so much more with a small, two note motive than I can with a rhythmically complex 10 notes within a beat.
The main melodic motive I'm using is simply a dotted half note on tonic and a half note a fourth up in a 5/4 measure. This leaves so much space for whichever hand is carrying the melody to "embellish" or just do extra things to add color to the piece.
Had I used a denser series of notes there would not be time or space for the hand to jump around the keyboard playing little fillers.

Music Resume?

Happy Friday everyone, I'm applying for the Aspen Summer Music Festival to study classical guitar and as part of the application process, I need to submit my current resume. Can someone help me construct a good music resume? I have absolutely no idea what to include or how it should be formatted.

Thanks homies,

Ian Jennings Rowe