Greg's Gazebo

[greg]

I struggle to find any clue that you want to compose music.

Well, I'll just let you struggle all by yourself then...

[Scarpia]

I also say "May" because I want to go to school in May, and I just won't have any time to compose at all for 4 years.

Well, I'll just let you struggle all by yourself then...

You are planning your excuses for not composing four years into the future!  Henning, on the other hand, composed his viola sonata while riding a bus to work through the streets of Boston.   I'm not a composer, but when I feel driven to do something I go to work in the morning with bloodshot eyes because I was up half the night working on my project.  If you've got the passion to do it, you will do it. 

[greg]

You are planning your excuses for not composing four years into the future!  Henning, on the other hand, composed his viola sonata while riding a bus to work through the streets of Boston.   I'm not a composer, but when I feel driven to do something I go to work in the morning with bloodshot eyes because I was up half the night working on my project.  If you've got the passion to do it, you will do it.

I'm not sure how he writes in his head like that- I don't know how to.

When I'm going to school and working full time, there won't be any time to do anything. I could try, but I doubt I could get much written. Me having to sleep 9 hours a day doesn't help. I just slept 10 hours last night and all I feel like doing is staring into space, hoping I'll feel better as soon as possible. I've been trying for the last few hours to continue my work, but I can't concentrate. (Last week, I felt like I was exploding with ideas and was having fun with it).

There's a difference between wanting to do something and feeling like doing something.

[DavidW]

Greg, why do you sleep so much?  Do you just need that much sleep or are you depressed?  I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive.

[greg]

Greg, why do you sleep so much?  Do you just need that much sleep or are you depressed?  I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive.

Good question. I really, really, wish (if it were humanly possible) that I didn't have to sleep. It really is a waste of time.

I really don't know what the problem is exactly. I can only go so many days at a time until I just lose my energy. I just went nearly 2 weeks until I basically fell apart Thursday and Friday, and I thought that was very unusual to go that long feeling normal. I regain my energy after a couple of days, usually, so I bet I'll have it back tomorrow.

I used to know a guy that said he slept 14 hours on some days that he was off. I heard one possible explanation is the messed up fast metabolism which drains your energy (he had that problem even worse than me, which I didn't know was possible)  . Then again, he said he was bipolar, but I thought the moods change over a long period of time. I could definitely tell, seeing how different he was from one day to the next.

[DavidW]

Oh it's just a weekend thing then.  I thought you meant every day!

I get 5-7 hours per day during the week, 8 hours is my sweet spot, but I compensate with 9-10 hours per day during the weekend.

[greg]

I regain my energy after a couple of days, usually, so I bet I'll have it back tomorrow.

As predicted. However, I have a pretty good idea of how to "keep" my energy. I will have to try this out...

Also, what is amazing to me is how much of a difference there is when I am writing vs. when I am writing in a certain direction. It's probably impossible to explain in words, but when I just sit down and write, it'll be a struggle- however, when I decide to focus on a certain "direction" or "mood," notes come from nowhere that I never would have thought of, and the music kind of composes itself. I think this may be one of the key differences between a great composer and someone who just writes music. You can teach yourself so much, but if you don't have that original style that is your own, you can only have so much success in writing. I will definitely have to consciously focus on that "feeling" that I want to express, because the second I take my eye off that (which is extremely easy, unfortunately), composing is a struggle. As I'm writing now, the only notes I've accepted conform to this...

[karlhenning]

Fascinating.

[greg]

Fascinating.

Really? 
Hey, if you could even understand what I was saying in that post, that itself is fascinating! 

[ibanezmonster]

Good news. I have written something.

It is a piece for solo electric guitar which is entirely on the clean chorus setting. It is very slow, mysterious, meditative, and I suppose a few minutes long (haven't timed it).

This is completely different from anything I've written before. I had been working on this on and off for probably a month now, but just today I decided to completely cut out most of what I had written (which was distorted guitar) and work around "that melody" which I originally had planned to add at the end.

The piece is very unique and will probably only cater to a few people who will love it, and the rest will just be bored by it. The only thing I can possibly compare it to would be the clean/chorus sections in Meshuggah's Catch 33, but even then, it's quite different from that.

4 years it took to write an op.7...  now that I understand the way my mind really works much better than I did years ago, I might be able to write an orchestral work eventually. The only way I can write is during a day off, hours at a time (with no sense of having to do anything the whole day). And then, I can only do this procedure once every one or two weeks. But I will also have to figure out my personal procedure of writing for an orchestra, as well.


The title?... no clue yet. But, I'll upload it soon- maybe today or tomorrow. 

[ibanezmonster]

The title... a couple of ideas so far.
1- Under Lucid Skies
2- Dream Guide

(a Dream Guide is a dream character in a lucid dream who is (instead of being an ignorant and brainless regular dream character) someone who knows everything about you).

[karlhenning]

Good news. I have written something.

Excellent! Knew you would, when the time came.

[ibanezmonster]

Okay, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/v/v3yTVaAIA-c&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

It's op.7 Under Lucid Skies.

The recording sucks. Kinda ruins the important subtleties, but it will at least give you an idea of it. Also, please excuse my little brother bursting in my room at the last second, yelling, "Good lawd, man!"

[Luke]

Two minutes in and moved to write - this is very effective, Greg, very simple, pure ideas, beautifully paced and patiently worked through. Haunting stuff. I also love the sound - I never understand what you are talking about with this stuff, but there is just that hint of an edge to this essentially soft tone which works very well. I like it a lot!

[ibanezmonster]

Wow, Luke, glad to hear that! The sound I used was just the very first setting on my Line 6 amp- it puts the Chorus Flange and Delay on at the same time.

I think, to explain the title better- it can represent the feeling of being in a lucid dream (you know, when you know you are dreaming). And if you think about it, here you are in another world, disembodied, because your real body is in bed, yet you are only controlling an imagined body. Then you look up at the sky, which seems so real, yet it isn't.

My mom used the term "in limbo," which is perfect.  I think I've broken through to a different sound on this one- expanding from this would be an interesting task. 

[ibanezmonster]

One more note: I memorized the whole thing and played it. I'll write the score before long.

I think memorizing it is way easier, but if I wrote a complex orchestral score, I don't know if I'd be able to use that method.  Physically writing while making up the music is just not fun for me, and slows down everything. Well, I guess super memory will be a necessity! 

[karlhenning]

Okay, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/v/v3yTVaAIA-c&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

It's op.7 Under Lucid Skies.

Lovely! Bravo!

[ibanezmonster]

Lovely! Bravo!

Thanks, Karl!

[ibanezmonster]

op.8 Through the Rift of Dreams

Let's just see how this goes is all I'm going to say for now...

but I have a good feeling about opus 8. First few bars I'm still sketching (nice ideas so far), but the name I just thought up and it fits perfectly (I've been thinking of a perfect title for a couple of years, actually).

I'm writing this for the Takemitsu competition, and it's scored for a somewhat standard orchestra, because I don't want to risk, for example, them not having a corresponding model of synthesizer keyboard to what I need. Also, I'm writing directly into Sibelius full score, as it just feels most comfortable that way, rather than the traditional short score on staff paper while on the keyboard.

[Karl Henning]

Work well!