blog 3

I've got the week of hell to deal with this week. So much to get done....so little time.

I think for Friday, I'm going to try and have about 75% of the piece done. This means a lot has to be done. I plan on expanding the intro into something bigger/significant.
I want to also expand my other sections and not have then so choppy/short.

I want there to be more space...which is hard when I have a constant ostinato on the go. I want some more smaller ensemble work between maybe 2 or 3 instruments, and try to re-orchestrate some themes/motives, and work on that.

I have a bunch of ideas planned, so hopefully I can get a lot of work done.

AH.

blog 2

I've just finished my preparation for class tomorrow. It's.....going.....slowly....

I don't know....maybe I'm lacking inspiration, or knowledge.....definitely the latter.

I like what I have, and know that it could turn into something good....maybe even great. But I just....can't seem to see the end picture yet.

I've changed the beginning three times already, and I'm still not satisfied..grrrr.

I discovered a new "section" which is good news. I think if I can expand on what I've come up with already, I'll be in business. I just need to figure out HOW

Bah!

New school year, new pieces, new fun times!

So this is my first entry for the fall 2010 4100 course!

The first piece is for flute, viola, horn, piano and percussion. The EMC will be visiting St. John's and are awesome enough to read through our pieces! Very exciting!

This is an unusual instrumentation, certainly for me at least, and it will really push me to be creative for this project.

I've started to fiddle around with the idea of polytonality, and using a pitch collection for my melodic/harmonic material(s). I have a 027 pc set but I'm thinking of using a 017 as my main motive. I have a recurring two sixteenth and eighth note rhythmic motive, but hopefully I'll be expanding on that!

I have a few more thoughts floating around in my noggin!

More tomorrow hopefully!

Well it's been a week or two since my last posting! So here goes...

Since the last update, I've heard the MUN Wind Ensemble play through my piece! I was sort of wondering what the difference of hearing it on my computer to hearing a live performance/reading with actual instruments would sound like. Would it change EVERYTHING? Would it make my rethink things about the piece? Would my orchestration be good or bad? There were so many ifs.

Most of my questions were answered with only one hearing. It didn't change everything! It didn't cause me to question my compositional decisions, or feel embarrassed, which was great. In terms of my orchestrations, I'd say mostly it was decent, but somethings that may not have been balanced/ appropriate during reading were probably due to the piece being sight-read. There are a couple things that I may change, but mostly I'm happy with it. I LOVED some of the chords that I created! I was really glad for sticking with my original thought for harmonic qualities and progressions.

I really wanted this piece to be a little/twice as long. There were some sections that really could have gone on longer. So maybe I will expand it this summer for something to do.

I got a taste of hearing a large ensemble play something that I wrote, and more than anything it was a tease/ desire to continue writing pieces like this so I can keep getting these experiences and opportunities. I have only been composing since the beginning of the school year, and let me tell you, hearing an ensemble play something I created really makes me realize that this is something that I really want to be doing and glad that I'm doing theory and composition as my major.

I had a great time composing/arranging this term! I'm excited to get started on a new project(s) over the summer!

Finished!

Well well well....

It's been a little while since a post.
BUT EXCITING NEWS! I think I just finished my band piece! Hurraaaay!
I feel pretty good about it too! There are a few things that I need to fine tune, mostly orchestration issues, typical... but nothing too taxing! I'm pretty satisfied with the form. I think so anyway... when I hear the band play in on wednesday, I'll know for sure. Well I guess that will answer a lot of my questions and curiosities about this piece.
Since my last presentation, I had a sort of march like thing happening, which meant to lead into a new section/ climax (which it does, as it turns out). Last week I added a new melody that played right into my climax. Right after the high point, the texture slowly gets less and less, as does the dynamic and tension. Then there is a restatement of my opening material, only orchestrated mostly for woodwinds, instead of brass, and I finish it off with a direct restatement of the very opening percussion.

I feel pretty good about it all! I'll hopefully present tomorrow in class and hopefully everyone else will like it too. I wasn't able to present on thursday because I discovered Thursday morning that my car decided to have a flat tire, and I spent all morning at a garage.....-_-....

Thats it! Now on to printing parts for the reading!

So I'm presenting my band piece again tomorrow, and I've got a few more things added since last week. I've extended one section, and beginning to think of ways to build to the climax of the piece. I've been having some trouble lately being happy with what I'm coming up with. It's just not fitting quite the way I want it, or hear it to. Hopefully it'll clear up soon, I think I just need to get away from it for a while and re-focus. I'M THINKING TOO MUCH ABOUT IT!
So hopefully people will give some helpful feedback to try and pry me out of the compositional ditch that I'm stuck in right now!

Since my last post I've really dug into the wind band tune. Last week I presented twice, which was nice. On tuesday it was impromptu because there was a lot of time left to the class and I had at least something to show. It wasn't much, since I wasn't prepared, but I had gotten a better idea of my piece done since my previous turn.
My main idea is still with a gradual build up to a climax, and then a gradual decay until the end. I'm working around an A flat lydian scale mostly, but not strictly. I am using a lot of major chords with added 2nds and 4ths, which creates a very neat dissonance.
I present tomorrow with a little more new material. I have a 2nd section started, and I want some feedback before I start to really dive in.
I have a pretty good overall structure in my head, which is comforting, since we don't have a whole lot of time left! yikes! I'm really enjoying composing for wind band, and hopefully be able to write some other pieces!
Well, I'll have a more up-to-date post shortly after tomorrows class.