Greg's Gazebo

[Joe_Campbell]

And that reminds me of a Shostakovich quote.
From memory, so it isn't exact: "I write my next work because I'm not satisfied with my previous one."

That might have actually been where I got my paraphrase from, anyways!

[greg]

I think I'm just going to not worry about composing much for awhile. I just don't have the time nor the environment to get stuff done when I have to worry about a million other things. For one, I don't have days off. All weekend I work, and not only does it ruin the weekend, but Friday is ruined because of anticipation and Monday is ruined because I need a day to recover from the weekend.

What I need to focus on doing is filling in the gaps of musical knowledge and then, with that, doing "improv-composing" with my OWN ideas. "Improv-composing"  is basically just going on the piano and improvising, or pretending like you're composing but not writing it down. It's not like performance improvisation, either- you can backtrack or formulate themes and experiment- is basically like brainstorming on the piano.

Once I study enough scores and know them inside out, I might have a better chance to formulate my own "big" ideas. It seems that most composers have their own "big" ideas which make them stand out- and they usually have several. For example, Prokofiev has a fascination with white note themes, especially when played with one hand while the other hand is playing the black notes- see part of the beginning of the 6th sonata, and also a section in the op.11 Toccata, where the LH plays the theme in the high register while the RH adds black key notes in the same register- "dissonance for dissonance's sake". Recently, studying the last movement of Bartok's 6th SQ helped me understand a direction i was thinking about going but didn't "know" about it until I looked though it.....


I want to give up the idea of writing a String Quintet for the NYAE competition. I'll use the time to study more orchestral scores and work through everything until I can write just one that I'd be very confident about submitting into the Takemitsu competition. I need to think about every single aspect of music and develop a personal aesthetic, and then go to the keyboard and improvise on those ideas, until it feels like I could just go on all day. That's when I'll be ready to say what I want to say.

[karlhenning]

A million is a lot of things to worry about 

[greg]

Here's an old idea I've had which I haven't figured out how to use. A technique I call "line blurring" only because I've never seen it before. I think Stravinsky did something like this, though.

A million is a lot of things to worry about 

Yes, it is, and that is a rough estimate. 

[greg]

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[greg]

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[greg]

Just thought I'd share a brief piano lick I came up with today.

[karlhenning]

It's got that Debussy vibe . . . .

[greg]

It's got that Debussy vibe . . . .

Really?
Now that you mention it, I kind of get what you mean. 
But I was thinking that it sounds instead so much like Rachmaninoff, especially if it were played near the end of a phrase.

[greg]

I think I finally get how to compose the best I can, given the knowledge I have at the moment.
It's this simple: compose with the clearest mind possible. The clearest mind possible is when I have nothing I need to immediately do or worry about, so I take a nap in the afternoon, wake up and see my guitar (or walk over to the keyboard) and just play for no reason or previous intention. From there, a few minutes in, I develop an absolute focus, and the best material comes out.
At this point, even if I try to worry about something, it's hard to- which is a shockingly good thing! 

It seems you can feel it in your head- complete emptyness, devoid of thoughts, which is extremely rare given my schedule. So, hopefully, I'll be able to get more of these moments, since it seems the only wise time to compose.

[karlhenning]

Splendid post, Greg. Buona fortuna!

[Joe_Campbell]

...time to stop posting in the "Schoolgirl Crushes" thread...

[greg]

True, this is much more important.

[karlhenning]

Bring that hammer down, Joe!

[greg]

 

[greg]

A few things....

I'm writing op.13, which for the moment, I'm calling "Shadows", and it's for solo clarinet. When I'm done with this, I'm going to be working on my first symphony. 
I'm very happy with what I've written, although it's painfully slow writing. The last few days, I've written probably a minute worth of material, but realized it didn't sound right coming right after what I just wrote, so I just kept it written on the page without crossing it off. Hopefully, during the course of the piece, I'll get to use this material again (since I think it's good)- however, I won't force it, or convince myself that I need it, since that's a deadly mistake that can make it sound like you're just writing a bunch of bullshit.

When I started writing this, I wanted simply to experiment with melodic writing. I wanted to test myself. However, I wanted only melody, with no accompaniment, so I ruled out piano. Also, I didn't want to be tempted by possible extended techniques or effects, so I ruled out all string instruments, (and especially) including electric guitar. I also wanted it to sound good, with an instrument that can have a smooth tone, and is easily listenable to for a long time. What else, besides the clarinet? 

I'll have to post what I've written so far once I get Noteworthy or something else installed on my laptop...

for now, some more thoughts cont'd...

[greg]

I spent all day with two main chords in my head as a base, and some lines as a melody over it...
basically, a back and forth F-Ab (I-bIII)
mid range:
F  Eb
C  C
A  Ab

i'm thinking this will be the foundation of my style. Whenever I think of this, there's two main sources that immediately come to mind.

1- the song "Fuan na Kokoro", from Final Fantasy 7. I've circled the part with a similar progression (Ab-C). Something about that part of the game, especially with the music, is really something. It's a big ghetto, and at the end of it, there's a church, where the flower girl (Aeris) is. It's sort of symbolic for the only hope left in the place, which is a miserable mess. On an abstract level, when I think of these chords, I sometimes see black, with a slight touch of purple, and even a slighter touch of blue, possibly (could be an abstract interpretation of the game area).

2- the final movement of Mahler 9... I've already mentioned this so much, that I'd rather not add much, except say that for some reason, when I think of this chord progression, and think it's a "Mahler 9" thing, I see mountains.

But really, to me, it represent something else, which makes me want to expand on this idea, musically- it seems to represent the feeling of thinking of experiencing something beyond human experience, which goes beyond all rules and possibilities of the universe, but will never be possible (and even more impossible is to put this into words).  

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/xO1V9OSW3ys&feature=PlayList&p=2351049CA43A6CC6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

[karlhenning]

Activity in the Gazebo, spendid!

Write more!

[mikkeljs]

although it's painfully slow writing. The last few days, I've written probably a minute worth of material, but realized it didn't sound right coming right after what I just wrote, so I just kept it written on the page without crossing it off.

A minutte of materiale on a few days?! I would consider that as quite a lot. Although Im getting incredible more productive, I can still only write about 5-10 seconds of music pr day.  

I like very much your kind of diary of your composition process. Have you thought about study composition some day, maybe far in the future? Copenhagen has some really good composer teachers, which is probably the only corner of music, where Denmark can be proud. There is a great culture of composers, on the conservatory is Hans Abrahamsen, Bent Sørensen, Niels Rovsing-Schow and Niels Peter. Hans Abrahamsen was very talented from early age but got a block, and he is a very good for orchestration and notation. Bent Sørensen is among the 3 of my absolute favorite composers, and Niels Peter is one of the leading composers of electro-acustics in the world. He studied in Paris with all the famous ones and they asked him to stay and teach.

And if Im right, immigrants can study for free in DK, or at least it is very easy if you insist to go there!

[karlhenning]

And if Im right, immigrants can study for free in DK, or at least it is very easy if you insist to go there!

Can you study in English there, Mikkel? Is mastery of Danish required?