The Second challenge issued to us composers was titled Table Tennis. In this challenge, we were randomly paired with another composer and we were instructed to pass the piece back and forth, ping pong style.I was paired with Ryan Udairam, a fellow Twin Cities based Composer.
Upon alternating emails to figure out what process would work best for us, we discovered that we don’t live that far from each other. Our process ended up being that we would pass the piece via XML file as we both use different versions of Finale. Because of the way that we interpreted the directions (which may have been different from Charlie’s intent in retrospect), we agreed to pass the piece every 2 measures, allowing any random time signature change when it was our turn. We each picked two Instruments. Ryan picked Erhu and harp and I picked Alto flute and Crotales.
One of the main difficulties with this challenge was the fact that my current version of Finale is getting a bit ancient and was not interpreting the XML files properly.To remedy this we also began passing pdf files so that we could at least correct things visually to get a better representation. Also, I had to use my imagination a bit since my sound pallet unfortunately does not include the Erhu.
In the end, we almost ran out of time so we agreed to meet in person at an I hop in order to finish the piece. We still obeyed the rules (after all, Charlie did not specify that we could not meet in person to pull this off) by passing Ryan’s computer back and forth like a ping pong ball, making sure to use headphones. After 3 hours, gallons of coffee, and a lot of stares from people who probably had no idea what we were doing, we finished what we ended up naming Koi Fish’s Last Struggle.
Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience co creating a piece like this. Guessing at what direction another composer is hoping you will go and deciding if you will go with that or change direction is what was the most enjoyable aspect of the challenge.
In August, I decided to partake in the Composer Quest Olympics Challenge. For Awhile now, I have been listening to Charlie McCarron’s insightful podcast called Composer Quest, while I build printers as a way to educate myself while working a day job . Charlie sometimes releases challenges to his listeners to create projects that he calls Composer Quests. Until now, I had been too intimidated to submit anything . Sadly, he is wrapping up the podcast, but as a last hurrah (in addition to his World Tour), he has devised this multi challenge Composer Quest inspired by the Olympics and Bryan Schumann’s thing a week challenge. I chose to push myself to partake in all of the challenges in part because it is the last one (and thus my last chance to try it in real time), because I am trying to break my introverted habits of finding every excuse to not share my music with strangers (and avert the anxiety that comes with it) and as a chance to get to know/ collaborate with fellow composers (and again get over some anxiety that comes with talking to strangers).
The first challenge was to pick a national anthem and arrange it in any way you choose.
After hours of listening to find the right one for me, I settled on Nepal’s National Anthem,”Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka” (Made of Hundreds of Flowers).
It is one of the more recently composed National anthems and, according to my Fiance, it has a bit of a Pirate flair to the melody. I chose it in part because I liked the melody and because I find the country’s history intriguing.
The Instrumentation I chose is Flute, Trombone and Piano. I wanted to make it playable by real people and to represent the diversity of people that live in Nepal by picking an instrument from each family.
Arranging this anthem inspired me to do bit of research on Nepal, so here I will leave you with a link to this fun Infograpic with a few interesting facts about the country.
Also, Charlie has graciously organized all of the participant’s pieces into free downloadable albums. I encourage you to listen to all of the compositions created for this event (not jut mine). You can listen to and download the first album here.
The answer may not be explainable with one definite answer. Some believe that everything that we encounter in music has a subconscious effect on our own compositions, whether we realize it or not. Similarly, our own out of music experiences can impact our choice as to what we decide to write on the page or what ways we organize sound. Ego is thought to play a role in that there is an innately selfish desire to express oneself for payment or conversely, a desire to share the love of music through our own creations. It is no different from the intent of a poet or a director who wishes to show the world (whichever one this may be, inner or outer) what they have to offer.
I believe that music is the poetry of the soul through the medium of sound. It can also be an aural document of our inner psychoses : a physical reflection and manifestation of our innermost desires. If one wishes for structure and control or to freely emote, it will surface in one way or another in the music. Composing is a result of the desire to express oneself through the medium of music and is a consequence of an amalgamation of experiences, tragic or joyful, acquired information,and the desire for monetary or personal gain. In short, we write because we need to and can.
What shapes our musical voice?
Again, I credit experiences and exposure to different sounds. I believe that your musical voice as a composer will constantly evolve the more that you work at it. From personal experience, when I began writing, I would imitate the music that I was exposed to on a daily basis, most notably Nintendo soundtracks and Band music.I began to improvise new melodies around the songs, though I did not know that this was what I was doing at the time. When I got older, and a bit better at piano (though not much better at reading it), and learned what it felt like to experience the emotions evoked by varieties of pain, making up melodies became my escape and the flavor changed (albeit that these songs were elementary in nature as compared to the present). In high school, I was exposed Classic and Progressive Rock and Jazz through jamming with my brother and the Rock Band I was a part of, which brought out a brief songwriter phase.
As I’ve grown as a person and musician, my style has become more sophisticated, though I have had several occasions where others have heard the video game music influence to this day. Also, my reasons for writing certain pieces have varied as well as I continue to try new approaches and styles in order find my niche in the world of composition. Sometimes it is for a grade or specific commission and sometimes it’s because of an innate desire to spontaneously create and experiment with an idea.
First and foremost , I strive to write for the musicians that will play my pieces. I would like to share the same enjoyment that I have writing the music as I hope that they will playing it. Perhaps It is my own selfish desire to share the human condition and help the world become a better place through imposing my notes, and my hope to give the opportunity to the musician to be creative through their own interpretation of my melodies.
If you have any comments to add to this discussion, please reply below as I am curious as to what others’ thoughts are on this subject and am open to any viewpoint or related stories.
DISCLAIMER* this is a past post from 2014 that failed to get published until now for various reasons. I am sharing this now because it was an awesome experience and goes tho show that you don’t necessarily need to go to a large school to do a project like this. Sometimes it just takes a little extra persistence and creativity.
For this blog Post I have invited fellow YSU Alum, professional Sound Engineer and now Film Composer, Ryan Cunningham to co author. Last January (2014), Ryan was looking for people to play for this awesome Sr. project Idea that, to my knowledge, had not been attempted at Dana until he had done it this past November. He and his brother, Barry Cunningham, had produced an independent film and he (Ryan) had written the music. Ryan was using the opportunity to combine all of his skills that he had learned as an Undergrad by having us perform the score live (as if we were at a professional scoring session), record it and balance it, then set it to the film for all to watch in the second half of the recital.
Now I will let Ryan Take the stage and Tell us a little bit about the process in creating this Project and all of the work that went into it.
Well, the capstone for the recording program at YSU is called the “Senior Project”.The only requirements that the instructor, Jack Ciarnello, puts forth for it is that it 1.) It be something that has not been done in the last 5 years or more and 2.) Be something that you’re extremely passionate about. The school of music requires that it pool all your knowledge of recording from your coursework and that it be presented in a recital setting.
Film, TV, and game music is something that I’m extremely passionate about. More than two-thirds of my iTunes library consist of score music from all 3 genres. I decided that I wanted to do something related to that because Music Recording and Sound Engineering aren’t that too far displaced from Screen Scoring. But, I had nothing original to score to. My brother Barry is a graduate assistant at the University of New Orleans and I decided we should film a short film to give us both experience and an addition to our work reel in our respective fields. Over the course of November and December 2013 we filmed a short film in the Youngstown area. It’s called “Fading Into Shadows”.
After Barry finally got done editing it, I wrote the score in about two to three weeks. During that time I listened to tracks from various TV, film, and video game sources to try and draw inspiration for the music. I didn’t want it to sound like those sources but, hey, it was my first scoring project and I needed to start somewhere. I also posted flyers and contacted people about playing in the ensemble. I would have liked to have a full chamber orchestra ensemble but sadly, that was not to be. Finally, when the music was completed and everyone recruited, the ensemble began having rehearsals in the spring ’14 semester.
We had to push the performance to November ’14 because of an oversight in scheduling for the recital. We lost some members due to this but we gained new members as eager to participate in such a rare and exciting project. the one thing i was excruciatingly frustrated by was how few string players volunteered for the project. That’s not to make any insinuations about the instrument or anything, but everyone seemed to busy or not willing to take a “gratis” gig. I obviously couldn’t pay them but was more than willing to offer my services as a recording engineer for any recitals they might want/need recorded. It was also extremely difficult to try and get some members to show up to rehearsal. I suppose I could’ve sent out reminder texts to remind people to show up. They’re not getting paid to play so it should have been on me to be responsible. At any of given time i could have just threw it all out the window and say “screw it” but I didn’t. I kept going because I am confidant that is what i want to do for the rest of my professional life.
I’ll admit that it was hard on my ego and my confidence. I wasn’t exactly happy when I had to put it off for a semester and replace some members. All kinds of thoughts were going through my head about it.:
“I have to do this over again. I’m gunna lose more people cuz they’ll see me as a schmuck that can’t hack it. I’m never gunna graduate. Why do I SUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKK?! ”
But I persevered.
In the recital, I conducted the music for the scenes, pieced some together with the audio/video, and played it for the audience (after the intermission). Two months later, the video has been successfully completed and uploaded to YouTube.
All in all, it’s one of my fondest and proudest musical achievements. It proves to me that when the going gets tough and you feel like life’s beating you to your knees, that isn’t when you give up. It’s when you rise up and get the job done that you can finally see whether or not it was really worth it.
At this point I will take over and tell you a little bit about what it was like from the performance standpoint.:
Performing on this recital was a completely new experience for most of us involved. We received sheet music for cues.It was similar to the way that music is in musical pits in that you may have pieces with a long tacit and maybe a hit every once in awhile. However, instead of accompanying actors on a stage, you were accompanying actors on a screen and, being prerecorded, there was less flexibility for tempo fluctuations. We began the whole process by watching the film sans live cues to get a picture of the final project. . Ryan conducted the cues wearing headphones and we took several takes to get it just right, being that this was such a new experience for all of us.
My first reaction to the music itself was that of amazement and intrigue. This was my first experience really hearing Ryan’s music and loved the darkness and neo-tonal aspects of his score. It was not quite what I expected given his mellow yet fun personality, but I nonetheless enjoyed it and felt that it accompanied Barry’s film quite well. I was also impressed at how well the film and project were put together, despite the few difficulties that Ryan discussed prior.Also, it was awesome how the recital was similar to demoing a live recording session for a film to the public, as we played the cues (which were recorded on site) and Ryan then mixed them into the film. After the Intermission, we watched the final result of the project.
I hope that reading about this project might inspire other composers to team with other musicians and people from other disciplines and think outside the box to come up with new types of projects. Overall, it was a great experience for all involved and one I won’t soon forget.
EDIT as of 11/2016: Ryan would like to note that he will be re-scoring the film in the future. A few years have passed since this project wrapped up and he has improved as a composer and feels, along with Barry, that the score could fit the film a bit better (especially since there is no longer a looming graduation deadline).
Additionally, If you are interested in seeing the film in its current incarnation, you can view it here.
This is a short post to share something that is not about music from some talented fellow humans.
I was recently asked to provide a theme song for them and I think what they are doing is kind of cool, so I am sharing this in hopes that they can get some more listeners and be able to keep doing this.
Without further adieu, here is a link to the first episode the Audio Armory Podcast.
If you are into #metalworking, #swords, #weapons and #puns with the occasional reference to #fantasyblades (did I use enough Hashtags?) Then listen to the Audio Armory Podcast and please leave them a rating and or review on Itunes or your favorite podcasting app. It helps people with this interest area be able to find them.
Recently, I saved enough Swagbucks points to afford a decent starter microphone because I want to learn how to record at at least a basic level to get better audio examples of my pieces.
This is my first experiment in multi track recording. I chose my Alma Mater’s Alma Mater because of the familiarity and special connection with the melody and lyrics.
During the Process, I have learned 1)That I am simultaneously an awful and decent sounding chorus with myself 2)Getting used to the sound in headphones versus outside sound (especially when performing with yourself) is weird, 3)Timing live audio tracks together so that they don’t sound mushy or catch too much outside noise when layering tracks is very difficult for a beginner, and 4)I can see why they say reverb can become the novice’s best friend (and how you can easily use too much)
I have a lot more to learn but I am pretty proud of this first attempt.
The Melody is By Johannes Brahms and it is arranged for vocals by Shannah Kelly (2009).
Thank you for listening and this should be the start of more music to be shared!
Hello loyal listeners. Though it is relatively short notice, I would like to announce the premiere of a long awaited piece, the Mill Creek Trombone Concerto. This will happen this Friday, August 26, at 7pm at Holy Family Church in Poland, OH (Live stream pending!) and will be played by Robert Violette (Trombone) and Mary Ann Bush(Piano).
Please enjoy a preview of the first movement with the orchestra midi mock up right here.
Disclaimer: Sadly, we could not afford an orchestra for the first time out of the box (budget cuts and the geese eating our savings and whatnot), but it is sure to sound great nonetheless!
Thank you for the listen and I hope you can attend the trombone recital (which also includes several other new pieces from fellow composers receiving their premiers as well)
For this chapter of the Blog, I have invited my former teacher and fellow SCAdian, Scott Pfitzinger to talk about a collaboration that we did for our local shire. First, I will provide a bit of background. Scott has been the dance master of the Shire of Rivenvale for a few years now. After working with him and subsequently developing an interest in this music, I suggested that we work together to create something original in the Society’s spirit of Creative Anachronism, and to provide something unique and enjoyable for the Shire.
Around the time that we got around to beginning to conspire, I had to move away. We continued our collaboration and I continued my research. For my part, I came up with the tune for the Rivenvale Bransle. It employs the Syllables from the word Rivenevale for the opening rhythm (two 8ths and a Quarter) to add a connection to the shire. This happened to be during work when I “shouldn’t” be composing. Thank God for Sol Fedge and rhythmic dictation. However, that’s another post for another day.
Scott did his part by surveying the Shire for preferred dance steps, choreographing the dance, and arranging the tune to fit the period. Most of our contact for feedback was through electronic pigeon (aka Email).
This project was very rewarding from both a creative and educational standpoint. I for one, recommend keeping one’s mind open to collaboration opportunities such as this and giving it a shot. In the end, something came out of it that many people are able to enjoy.
………And now to turn it over to Scott.
One of the most enjoyable elements of participating in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is the “creative” part. This is not just a worldwide non-profit group that tries to accurately depict the Middle Ages. Part of it is creative. Members create new things while learning about them, such as knitting and weaving, cooking, heraldry, illumination and calligraphy, and even physical activities like heavy combat, thrown weapons, rapier, and archery.
In the area of performance, the creation of new works is less common. Some bardic activities include telling stories and singing songs, some of which are written by the modern-day bards themselves. Dance and dance music is a performance category that has even less original material being written. Most of the dancing focuses on learning to accurately perform the dances the way they would have been done in the Middle Ages. Creating new works that fit into style and performance of certain locations and periods of the Middle Ages is a challenge that is not often undertaken.
In 2015, Samantha Hogan (known in the Society as Eleri verch Howel) studied several popular dance tunes from Playford’s and Arbeau’s publications and wrote a new tune that had similar structure, phrasing, and cadence. She sent a copy to me (Scott Pfitzinger, known in the SCA as i), and I added some orchestration to allow a small ensemble to perform it. Then I studied the whole thing for a while, to choreograph a dance that would fit the music. All the steps were ones that were part of early Renaissance dances for which we have documentation.
Once it was all put together, it was presented to our local branch of the SCA, called the Shire of Rivenvale. The dance was called The Rivenvale Bransle since it was our intention to create the dance for our shire. When we ran through it with our local group, we discovered a couple of steps that needed to be tweaked to make them flow better, so members of the shire were also part of the final creative process.
The Shire of Rivenvale has already embraced the dance as their own. It is part of our standard repertoire and the audio, video, and instructions have been posted on our website. Input from other members of the SCA in different regions and kingdoms has been mostly very positive. A couple people have gotten into discussions about very specific steps and what kinds of dances they were used in, but many others have just accepted it as a creative SCA work. Hopefully the Rivenvale Bransle will spread and become a fun addition to other local groups as it has with the Shire of Rivenvale.
As for myself, it was a great learning experience. I have already gone on to complete a second dance and to work on more tunes that can be similarly choreographed. It is a very enjoyable way to be “creative” in the area of dance in the SCA
If you are interested in the SCA, please visit www.sca.org
As Fabcebook so graciously reminded me, It has been a year since graduating from Youngstown State University. In some respects, it hasn’t felt like a very long time (and in the grand scheme of things, it’s really not), though in others, It has been a trying learning experience. This year was a bit of a unique challenge. In my last few semesters of undergrad, it became increasingly apparent that two main issues were standing in my way of progressing to where I feel I need and want to be; Lack of a drivers’ licence and car and lack of financial means to make it on my own.Though I could come up with a plethora of valid arguments and excuses as to why I never learned to drive before now, the bottom line was this: My lack of a drivers licence severely hindered my ability to get a job to fund my expeditions and through extension, limited opportunities and options I would have otherwise had to further my career. As such, this year I moved to Minnesota with my Dad and Step mom and worked to earn that licence, get a decent job, pay down student loans , and get a car. This year will be more of the same building of a foundation so that I may one day be able to devote my time fully to music.These are the main reasons why I can not afford return to school until at least the next year.
As far as the musical side of life is concerned, I have managed to keep a foot in music by joining the Centennial Community Band. Though I do not get to practice trombone to the extent that I would enjoy (as living with your parents and working a job where you wake up at 3am makes finding reasonable practice time difficult) this has helped keep my playing chops up and be around musicians at least a couple hours a week. Also, I have managed to complete a few pieces, Most notably, a Dance Tune for my former SCA shire (post about it coming soon) and The Mill Creek Trombone Concerto which will be premiered by my fellow colleague and friend Bo Violette this Spring. Musically, I plan on using 2016 to attend more music oriented events around the Twin Cities area, create and follow a more structured plan increase my productivity and focus when composing and studying theory and history (as I aim to return to school in 2017), and hopefully find ways to update this blog more often. I suppose you can consider these my New years Resolutions.
Now on to the list of things I’ve realized since Graduation:
The NAWM is a lot more enjoyable to listen to when you’re not studying for a test.Seriously, take out your old Music History cds and give them a second chance. You just may hear something that may not have piqued your interest before as you were memorizing for the sole purpose of passing the class.
Have your Elevator pitch Ready and fine tuned for the rest of the general population. The reality of it is that most people who are not in the arts do not understand it when you say ” I want to make music for the rest of my life” or ” I went to school for Music Theory and Composition “and will ask you what you can do with the degree. I can not tell you how many condescending “have fun being a secretary for the rest of your life.” comments I have received..grr………
When it comes to getting things done , time management is your best friend. Also do yourself a favor and stay off Facebook to increase productivity
Driving is both terrifying and freeing at the same time.
All of this time in the “Real World” has made me want a full time life in Music that much more. Although I am generally happier than when I first started out being the meticulous person that I am (Too much freedom without direction is not a good thing for me), I have been starved from the daily musical interactions that I had in College. I have nothing against those who work a job much like the factory job I am working now and are genuinely happy doing it, but it does not satisfy me spiritually in the way music does. That being said, I am grateful to have a job in this economy that I don’t despise though I will be using my spare time to work towards my dream. Besides, A little time among people from a different background is a humbling experience and it is probably good for us to be reminded that there is more to the world that what we in the arts do. Despite It all, I still LOVE MUSIC!
Perspective is a Funny thing- That professor that you were angry at or test that you were nervous about passing that you probably cried will not matter in the same emotional magnitude once you graduate and start out in the “real World”. You may remember the things that upset you once in awhile, but you will probably be more concerned with paying bills and taking care of life that they won’t phase you the same way.
One of my former composition teachers used to use the expression “New Music, what nobody wants and nobody needs”. Given today’s current trend in performing recycled music, orchestras supposedly dying according to several searchable articles on the internet, and because Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart seemingly leave leave little room for the (Fill in the blank with recent up and comers of the world), it is easy to get sucked in to this belief. The irony is, we composers are the very ones agonizing over every note despite this perceived world view that many of us paradoxically share. But, it’s just that. A perception.
Human nature predisposes us to seek out patterns and leads us to be uncomfortable with the unfamiliar; in this case, a new piece. The more unorthodox the piece, the more most of humanity seems to be repelled. This is likely why Bach Brahms, Mozart (and a few other well known dead white guys) tend to be programmed more commonly than, say female identifying composers and composers of color. And, yet, there will always be that small fraction of the populace that will be intrigued by the deviation from the norm. Let’s take a look at Fluxus performances in New York City in the 1960’s for example. The experience of music through unorthodox performance and lack thereof or (performance through unorthodox music) was arguably odd by most people’s standards, yet it enticed a large enough number for a niche audience and, through continued experimentation, inspiration of others to try the medium/art form, and performances, it was lifted to a level of relevance that lives on today. It’s influence can be experienced at modern contemporary music festivals and read about in music history textbooks. But, there is still this resistance that I have encountered in class discussion where my peers will reject this as being music. I am almost certain that when this argument is brought up, whether it be fluxus or rap and hip hop or today’s pop music, the opinion will always exist that it is either “bad” or not real music” simply because it does not fit the established pattern that people are used to listening to. Yet, the evolution of the art of music persists.
Then there’s a “race” in entrepreneurship to not only create a product (your music), but figure out how to convince your buyers (in this case conductors or the public) to consume your music, and only the best at the latter half, tend to survive. It is difficult to survive, because even pure grit and determination will not guarantee success, whatever your personal definition of success may be.
Those of us who are lagging behind in the perceived marathon will likely get discouraged. “Why does nobody want my music. Why Bother?-All of the great music was already written” are just two of the defeating thoughts in many of my fellow composers minds. However, without practicing the craft, evolution and progress is not possible. Sooner or later, everything becomes old hat and people stop listening.
Most of this is relegated to a museum or academic library to be buried for years until some random person exhumes it for their Music history report, only to be buried again. Speaking of which, if you went to university for music, think of all of the early church music you listened to that-lets face it , sounded basically the same. The church designated strict rules that, for centuries, prevented composers from deviating from the accepted practice.Finally, when reform began and progress was made, so too was the change reflected in the music. The general purpose of augmenting the service was maintained, but the interest and variability of pieces increased over time. The church still kept the old but over time embraced the “new” (for the time). This is why we can go from John Taverner to John Tavener in one church service and enjoy both of their pieces while possibly receiving a similar message when comparing two separate pieces from two separate composers from two separate time periods.
Imagine if we all stopped creating, what monotony that would create for the world, or even just for your own daily life. After all, one doesn’t choose this path because they find writing music blase. Quite the contrary if you ask me or just about any other composer.
Going back to that original statement, perhaps my old professor was a little right. But then, perhaps he was also a little wrong. If your music manages to touch just one person, even if it’s yourself, to me, it is worth creating.
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