A New Project...

Beginnings of the Second Composition project.
I have a sense of completion after my last composition project. I went to staples and had it bound, and now t is finished and looking very professional. I like the sence of completion and achievement that I get because of this project being done.
Now for the second task! Figuring out what cliché to use for my second project. We were told to think of a musical cliché and then use it to create a piece revolving and evolving around it.
I wanted to boo this work on something that interested me so I was messing around with a few ideas. I landed on Brass Band Music. I have (and still do) played with different brass band groups mainly with the Salvation Army. And there are specific stereotypical roles for each instrument. I thought I would play with that idea a little bit in this composition. Perhaps take the instruments out of their normal roles and put them into a new one! Ah yes... I like that idea.

Instrumentation:
Cornet
Alto Horn
Trombone

I am presenting my beginning idea in class tomorrow!
See you then!
-Melissa

Revisions...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you're all enjoying midterm break! I know I am. I just got home from Gander late last night. And today I am getting back to some school work.

I am beginning the revisions for my character pieces. This involves adding details such as dynamics and simple edits to my pieces. The majority of my revisions are coming out of my second piece. I am changing the motive I used at the beginning to make it a little more unpredictable. I am varying the rhythm, and the play between the piano and the tuba. I also need to come up with some names for these pieces. I think that picking one word to describe each piece is going to be difficult. I am also picky about this sort of thing, and I want to make sure it is exactly right for what I have written.

I hope your belly's are full! I'm about to take a break from my work to eat my thanksgiving supper! mmmmm.

-Melissa

Phase one about to come to a close...

Composition has far more steps than I ever thought. I was naive enough to think that you just sat down and wrote down and wrote a piece and that was it. I had no idea that there were so many dimensions to the process before.

As intimidating as it may be sometimes, I think having your pieces played in class is one of the most important steps in this composition process. It is very interesting to hear what others have to say about your ideas. Everyone catches something different that maybe you didn't hear, as well as ideas about how to improve upon your composition.

My last piece was written in an attempt to finish off my set of character pieces with a bang sort to speak. I noticed that my other two pieces were missing something that most of my other class mates have already achieved. Energy. I mean, I guess my other two pieces had a different sort of energy, but my last one I wanted to be exciting and energetic, but in a mean unapologetic sort of way. I used a lot of sixteenth notes in the piano and tuba to add to the energy I wanted. I also tried to use a motive again (which I did in my other 2 pieces) however this time I was mindful to use it in a different way, and an unexpecting way every time. I think in my second piece I took Dr. Ross's advice to heart a little too much (with my repeated motive 5 times in a row, the same way every time). So hopefully nobody will suspect where this piece is going!

Completing the first whole assignment with all these epiphanies makes me very satisfied. I am very glad this course turned out to be like nothing like I thought it would be!

-Melissa

Word to the Wise (Or Note to Self?)

Hi Everyone...

As one of Dr. Ross's newest entries states, notation software is a problem for some. I am one of the some. I have never felt a need to purchase a software program before for the bit and pieces of composing I've done. Just now I have finished off my second piece (hand written I might add). All I have is the 2008 version of Finale Notepad. Well folks... it is what it is. Its free. Therefore it is extremely limiting. So this is why I had to hand write this character piece. It was just too complicated for poor old Finale Notepad to handle. And here is where my advise comes in: check over your hand written work. BEFORE you print off eight copies. Computers catch our mistakes. So its a lot harder to see them with our own eye.

(I hope you don't mind) To save myself time I changed the meter of a couple of measures. Keeping in mind what Dr. Ross said about my first draft of my first character piece "sometimes mistakes can make your piece better." In the name of composition, I will hope that everyone finds that these mistakes make my second piece sound better, and not think that the mistakes are there because of my sloth.

-Melissa

PS: This week I thought I would respond to the comments I received in class. So stay tuned for another blog entry soon!

One Down...

Well I have one piece "finished" (note quotation marks). I completed my first character piece this weekend after my many attempts and failed attempts. When I played the bare bones of my piece in class, and heard it played by someone else for the first time, I realized where it needed to go. Dr. Ross talked about using one particular idea that I had (the displaced chromatic scale) and expanding on that. I took this particular suggestion, and made it the motive for my entire piece. I decided I could use it in more ways than the one I had been using before. I took the notes of the motive and shared them equally between the piano and the tuba, and varied tempi of the notes to increase and decrease tension.

I also sat down with the tuba player who will be playing my piece and asked him for advice on comfortable register and style with him. This was a good way to go about it to as I would like the players to enjoy playing the music, not only (me) the composer listening to my work being performed! Stay tuned for the very last note in the tuba - he said it was his favourite note on the instrument to play!

Like I said before, getting started was the hardest part. I dove right into my first piece with no information. I didn't read the blogs (sorry Dr. Ross - you could probably tell anyway!), I didn't have any sort of strategy at all. That was the problem. Writing piece doesn't have to be this huge undertaking like a Mozart Symphony or anything. It can just start with one simple idea (like the new motive for my first character piece). I feel much better about this piece now then I did this time last week.

Tomorrow is the day! I Hope you like it!

-Melissa

Our First Piece...

While my composition career has only been 2 and a half weeks long, I think I've found the hardest part. Getting started. I have written the first 3 or 4 measures of my first piece about 4 or 5 times! I'm finding it hard to get into an idea that I like, and that I will enjoy writing for the duration of this assignment. I have a feeling that once I get over this hump it will go more smoothly.

Here's hoping...

-Melissa W

The Beginning...

Time for a little honesty: When it came time to register for this fall semester, I only registered for composition because I "needed" it in order to graduate in the Spring. The idea of composing has always intimidated me. It is a very personal process. However, as the classes go on, I am realizing a bit more of what it is all about. This week, making up the 13 chords, I realized that I am growing with the idea of writing my own thoughts down on paper, and that the classmates in this course, are there to help, not to criticize.
This being said, my uncertainty is not completely gone, but I think this course will be a great experience!

Until next time,

Melissa W