Welcome to my blog

I have created this site in order to provide performers, listeners and composers with a description of a composer's experiences with the creative process. The posts will provide discussions of the inspirations, challenges, and successes of a composer from the inception of the piece to the culmination in performance. I will provide a link to where you can see and hear the works in progress. Comments and questions are always welcomed. They will not posted unless you grant me permission.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Checklist for Composers

I recently came across a blog post by Brandon Nelson on Thoughts Before Composing a Piece that can serve as an excellent checklist for composers, not only before composing, but also during the composition process, especially when one feels stuck. When one is composing, we often feel that something is not quite right but may have trouble pinpointing the problem. This is when I encourage my students to use the table of contents of my book, A Composer's Guide to Understanding Music as a point of reference and ask themselves "How is my use of _____?", where the blank is filled in with the subject of each chapter. Brandon Nelson's blog post is even more detailed than my table of contents, and serves as another way of reviewing or making decisions about composing.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Writing my Music Practice Guide

Dear readers,

I have not posted lately about my composition activities because I am in the middle of writing my free online Music Practice Guide. Musicians spend many hours in the practice room perfecting their craft, yet how many are actually taught how to practice effectively? This free guide is designed for all musicians and teachers as a compendium of ideas that I have gleaned from my teachers, by attending workshops and master classes, by talking to colleagues, and finally, through sheer necessity of needing to help a student or myself solve a problem.

This guide is divided into four main sections; preparations, focusing practice, reinforcing learning, and making practice enjoyable. The appendix contains sample practice sessions that incorporate the ideas of the main sections and are grouped according to the development level of the musician. Most of the ideas in this guide can be applied to or easily adapted for any instrument or voice.

It is my idea to invite others to offer suggestions that can be included in this guide in order for it to be constantly evolving. At this point about a third of the pages are written. You can see what is completed by visiting my website at http://cooppress.net and clicking on “books” then “Music Practice Guide”. I hope this will turn out to be a valuable resource that will enable both the musician and teacher to spend their time more effectively, see more rapid improvement, and find more enjoyment in making music.

Dr. B

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Creating Win-Win Opportunities for Performers and Composers


In many fields where competition is stiff, one must figure out a way to stand out. This especially true in the arts where there are many talented and creative people expressing themselves at a high level of competence. It is not enough to be good and hope that someone will discover you. The artist must create methods of getting their work known. In this essay, I will discuss three programs that I created that have been instrumental in fostering my career as a composer and at the same time benefit the performers with whom we interface.
            Early in my composing career, I was exposed to a win-win idea by tenor saxophonist, James Houlik. Houlik is an excellent musician who performs on an instrument that does not have a large body of literature. In order to expand the literature and to build his reputation as an artist, he contacted several composers and asked them to write a composition specifically for him. In exchange for the composition, he promised to perform the work at least a half dozen times. He contacted me because I had started a co-operative publishing company for composers in 1972 where the music was printed on demand as orders were received. Houlik was impressed with our offerings and my music, and the connection was made. I composed two pieces for Jim and I received copies of the programs and recordings of his performances.
            I never forgot my experience with what he referred to as a “performance commission”. When I retired from teaching to devote more time to composing, I began to offer a Commission Grant through my publishing company, Co-op Press, that is modeled after Houlik’s “performance commission”. The Co-op Press Fund was established in 2000 as a means of encouraging performers to experience the excitement of collaborating with a composer to premiere a composition written especially for them and to share that excitement with their audiences by having the composer in residence. This is a competitive program that is available to individuals and performing groups living in the contiguous United States. The applicants can range from elementary level through professional and must demonstrate through the submission of a recording, their level of competency within their grade level. No money changes hands as the program is designed to provide benefits for both the performers and myself. To date, forty-one grants have been awarded.
            While there are many highlights resulting from my creation of this grant program, a few stand out as being career changers. At least a dozen of these commissions have resulted in a performance at national and international conferences. Many other musicians, therefore, heard my music and either purchased my compositions and performed them. Some have decided to apply for a commission grant themselves.
            As an illustration of what can happen when one thinks outside the box and creates win-win situations, I would like to refer to a commission grant we awarded in 2002 to Shelley Jagow of Wright State University. Jagow applied for and receive a grant for me to compose a composition for alto saxophone and violin in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers first fight in December of 2003. The resulting composition was called “Celebration of Flight” and consisted of three movements, Inspirations, Experiments, and Triumphs. The premiere performance was scheduled for January 2003 to kick off the centennial year. After receiving an excellent performance and recording, I decided to send the recording to NPR’s Performance Today to see if they would broadcast it. It wasn’t until mid-November that I heard from Performance Today informing me that they would you use the recording during their program on December 17, 2003, the anniversary of the Wright Brothers historic flight. I was honored that my music was selected as the composition used by Performance Today for this occasion and that it was broadcast over the 250 NPR affiliate radio stations.
            The success of the Commission Grant Program inspired the establishment of our Recording Grant Program in 2005. The Recording Assistance Grant enables talented performers to produce a professional quality CD in collaboration with my recording label, Emeritus Recordings. Emeritus Recordings designs the cover, tray card and insert, obtains and pays for mechanical licenses, manufactures the CD, and commercially distributes the CD through storefront, web-based, and download retail outlets. The artist must include at least fifteen minutes of my music on the CD. The performers also provide us with the digital recordings of all the compositions included on the CD and contribute $600 towards the cost of producing and marketing the CD. The artist also receives 100 CDs that they can sell at their performances and keep the profits. Emeritus Recordings keep the profits from the digital and physical sales we make through our affiliates. This win-win program has enabled us to award twenty grants and manufacture seventeen CDs thus far.
            While the income from sales of our products and airplay on radio stations generate some income that is used to sustain the grant programs, the major benefit comes from knowing that there are people enjoying the CDs, downloads and broadcasts. Reviews of Emeritus Recordings products have been very positive. For example, James Wegg of James Wegg Reviews writes that our “Collage” CD is “a delightful smorgasbord of textures and tones.”
            In 2010, I established our Fundraising Program for Musical Organizations and Schools. Once again the thinking was to determine the needs of performers and align them with the needs of my publishing company in order to create a win-win situation. Schools and musical organizations are always in the need of funding and Co-op Press desires to offer quality recording samples of our music in order to provide potential buyers with a realistic rendition of the music they are considering buying. The cost of hiring professional musicians to record all our music is prohibitive, but by making a financial contribution to a school or musical organization to record our music is both financially reasonable and assists the groups in carrying out their mission. About two-dozen works of mine have been recorded through this program and we have contributed around five thousand dollars to musical organizations and schools.
            The establishment of a professional recording portfolio for a composer is an essential step in obtaining commissions and grants. The Recording Assistance Program and Fundraising Program have enabled me to apply for and receive grants and commissions otherwise unobtainable without these excellent recordings. It is a lot of work to administer and promote these programs, but at the end of the day, I can sit back and enjoy listening to performances by top-rate artists performing the music that I have composed under these programs. This is an accomplishment that always brings a smile to my face.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Dr. B

Monday, September 10, 2012

My future blogging

Hi everyone,

I have doing my blog for over four years and I have very little idea whether what I am doing is worthwhile to my readers. I have received very few comments during that time period. It takes a great deal of time to write about my composing process and to create the necessary files to illustrate what I am writing. Therefore, I am going to post less often and my posts will be about general composition subjects, unless I hear otherwise from my readers. I will go into details about my composition process only when those I am composing for request it.

At present, I am composing a composition for piano called Time Travel Phantasie. It is based on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I am also working on getting an opera for middle school performers that I wrote in 1979 into Sibelius notation. I have also revised my website to make it mobile friendly and to have automatic downloads of my pdf files.

As you can see, I have been very busy and will continue to be so.

I hope to hear from you regarding my future plans for this blog.

Dr. B

Friday, August 31, 2012

Pinocchio (Ballet) Performance

I recently posted the video for my Pinocchio (ballet) performed by the Spokane Youth Symphony and Sandpoint Studio One Dancers at the Festival at Sandpoint. Not the best video as we were not as close as we would have liked to have been, but fun nonetheless. - Part I - http://youtu.be/K7yBuxn9RNg Part II - http://youtu.be/6XVsm9fHY-g Part III - http://youtu.be/bp1gROcGl9w

It was an honor to have my orchestral composition adapted for this performance and there were around 2000 people in the audience. I enjoyed working with the musicians and conductor Gary Sheldon and the choreography by Scott Brown was splendid.

I also spent part of August making my website mobile friendly. Now you can see and hear every composition on either a computer or mobile device. I also made my pdf files downloadable immediately after purchase. A lot of work, but a definite improvement. Check it out at http://cooppress.net

I'm looking forward to getting back into composing.

Dr. B

Friday, June 29, 2012

Funtasies Movement 4

I have completed the last movement of Funtasies and I am pleased with the results. As my previous post indicated, it was not always smooth sailing.  I began to realize part way through the movement that what I was thinking was writer's block, was just the nature of composing some of the time. I have written some compositions that seem to come very easily and other times, composing comes very slowly, bit by bit until the composition begins to take shape. I realized I just needed to be patient and let the ideas come at their own pace. There were days when I would compose for an hour and get only two to four measures written. But those measures were good and they suggested where to go next and gradually the movement was completed.

The movement is called "Teasing" and is in a modified Rondo form ABACBA. The teasing occurs in many different ways. The first appearance is the way the movement seems to stop and start as if promising a longer line, but not delivering. Measures 14-18 deliver the longer line, however the syncopation still interrupts its flow. Measure 19-32 is a transition section that is filled with imitation, syncopation and chromaticism that keeps the teasing going.

M. 33 begins the B section. The left hand of the piano plays a syncopated idea consisting of wide intervals and frequent rests. The right hand inserts a jeering four note motive. The saxophone plays a melodic idea centered around a descending minor third, the universal teasing chant interval. Some of the roles are reversed at m. 41. From M 47 to 60, the ideas develop and introduce a triplet figure that represents laughing. M 61-75 is a return of the A Section. From M 75-88, the transition section occurs once more but this time with more of the laughing triplets.

M 88 begins the C section in 7/8. I feel this as a chase scene, as if a game of tag is being played. It builds in intensity all the way to M 115 before subsiding into a return of the B section at M 118. M 146 brings back the final A section which morphs into a coda at a faster tempo. The ending continues the teasing by avoiding a strong cadence with deceptive chords and melodic lines of vague tonality/modality.

A lot of the programmatic aspects of the movement must have been happening subconsciously while I was composing the piece, but it wasn't until I was nearing completion, that I was aware of how perfectly the musical ideas present different kinds of teasing.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/funtasies_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Writer's Block

Hi everyone. I wrote this for my Writing for Fun" group that meets at the Cottonwood Library and thought I'd post it on my blog as others might find something of value in it.

Dr. B

Writer's Block


Most of us have experienced it. I am experiencing it now in both my music composition and in trying to come up with a topic to write about for this week’s writing group. I experience it every time I sit down to write a new composition. With over three hundred and fifty compositions to my credit, I wonder how I am ever going to write something new.
            New! That seems to be the key word. Here is a definition I found at dictionary.com regarding creativity:
Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
How does a creative artist constantly transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.? It seems like an impossible task.
            I think that “new” is overrated. All the arts went through a period during the second half of the twentieth century where newness was exalted just because it was new, rather than for a work of art’s quality. As Robert Ehle states in his article From Sound To Silence: The Classical Tradition and the Avant-Garde published in the March 1979 Music Educators Journal, “the quest for new ideas without old associations has led to the abandonment of music as sound and the emphasis on music as pure idea.”
An example of music as pure idea would be John Cage’s “4:33” where a pianist comes on stage and sits at a piano for four minutes and thirty-three seconds and does nothing. The idea of the composition is that the sounds in the room are the music.
In the world of theatre, consider Samuel Beckett’s play Breath. Breath is an unusually terse work. Its length can be estimated from Beckett's detailed instructions in the script to be about 25 seconds. It consists of the sound of “an instant of recorded vagitus” (a birth-cry), followed by an amplified recording of somebody slowly inhaling and exhaling accompanied by an increase and decrease in the intensity of the light. There is then a second identical cry, and the piece ends. No people are seen on stage, but Beckett states that it should be "littered with miscellaneous rubbish." He did specify however that there were to be “no verticals”, the rubbish was to be “all scattered and lying.”
The visual arts were not exempt for the newness craze. There are many examples of abstract art that consists of a line or two on a white canvas. I think I’ll create a painting with nothing but a white canvas and call it a painting of a polar bear sitting on an iceberg during a blizzard.
So what is it that creative artists really do? Many years ago, I attended a lecture on jazz trombone playing at the Eastern Trombone Conference. The lecturer described trombone styles as falling into three categories, preservers, innovators, and refiners.
 Preservers are those people who create by copying and already existing style. For example, if I wrote a composition of my own using the tonal language and contrapuntal techniques that Bach used in the early eighteenth century, I would be considered a preserver of a bygone era.
Innovators are those people that try to do something that was never done before. I believe that innovators are very necessary, otherwise we would never move in a forward direction. However, not all innovation is good and only time will be able to separate the good from the bad.
Refiners are my favorite creative people. Refiners take what has come before them and what is new and put those two together in a manner that incorporates the artist’s own personal vision. They take what has stood the test of time, combine it with fresh ideas, and come up with a personal statement that is modern. They do not reward newness just because it is new. Rather, they discriminately filter the new to see if it has practical applications.
With my musical compositions, I feel that I am a refiner. So when I sit down to compose, I’m using my favorite techniques and sounds that have stood the test of time and try to put them together in a new and fresh way. Sometimes I consciously use music I have written before and give it a new setting; new instrumentation, add a section and/or take away a section. Sometimes I borrow from myself without even knowing it.
For example, I am currently writing a composition for tenor saxophone and piano. After working on a part of it, my wife said to me, what are you doing with “Pinocchio”, a composition that I wrote in 2001 and that will be choreographed and performed at the Festival at Sandpoint in Idaho in August. I replied, “That is my tenor saxophone composition, not Pinocchio.” But there is a section in the saxophone piece that sounds like a section of Pinocchio! I must have had Pinocchio on my mind and borrowed subconsciously from myself.
In conclusion, I believe that to be creative doesn’t mean that one always needs to do something totally new, something that has never been done before. Creativity means taking one's craft and putting things together in a manner that is unique to the artist. Many different things can inspire the artist to create, but if one sets out each time to create something totally new in the artist’s field, one can easily experience a block. I guess I solved my “writer’s block” for this week’s writing group as I wrote this essay. I hope that this creativity will carry over into my musical compositions.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Funtasies Movement 3 and Revision to 1 & 2

The purpose of the blog is not only to describe what I'm doing with each composition, but also to provide insights to the compositional process and that often means sharing what does not work as well as what does. Often, when I am working on a multi-movement composition, what seems to work when I create the movement needs some minor revisions to work within the context of the entire composition. Such is the case with the first two movements of Funtasies.

First of all, I revised the title of the composition to reflect the fact that the composition will be used on a CD of Sonatas for Saxophone and Piano. As I mentioned in my first post on this composition, it is in a loose sonata form, but I wanted the title to contain the word "sonata"so it is now called Sonata "Funtasies" for Tenor Saxophone and Piano. The other thing I did was to take all the altissimo register saxophone parts down an octive and put optional 8va on them. I still would like the altissimo register in those spots, but in case a saxophonist has not yet mastered the altissimo register, the person can still play the piece. My indications preserve the musical line by taking phrases down an octave instead of just the high notes. I made these changes in my final version so they do not appear in the individual movements that are posted.

When listening to the first movement in the context of the other three movements, I realized that the left hand of the piano was too repetitious at M. 54 - 65. I changed some of the rhythms and pitches to create more interest.

I was planning a slow movement as part of Funtasies, and worked on that quite a bit, however, it did seem to fit into the spirit of the composition. It is difficult to make a slow movement sound like fun as the tempo seems to suggest a more serious emotion. I thought of calling in "Reveries" where one can conceive of reflecting on fun times, but I was still not satisfied with that. Instead, I took the 2nd movement, that was already very legato, and slowed the tempo from quarter = 200 to quarter = 176. This actually made the movement more whimsical and provided the needed contrast.

Both of these revised movements are posted along with the originals, so that you can compare the two versions.

Movement 3 "Witty" is in a scherzo style. The melody and harmony are based on thirds but are not in any clear key because the thirds will freely vary between major and minor creating an atonal quality. Sometimes the thirds outline an augmented triad (all major thirds) or a diminished 7th chord (all minor thirds). There is also chromatic passages that sound almost 12 tone because of the lack of repetition of pitch. With this being said, there are frequent places where tonality is briefly established to contain the atonality. Contrast between staccato and legato is another way the movement is witty.

The last movement "Teasing" will be in a rondo form to close out the Sonata.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/funtasies_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Funtasies Movement 2

The second movement is now called "Whimsical" instead of "Innocent" as originally planned.  The use of the 5/4 meter and the playfulness of the lines makes the movement more whimsical than innocent.

This movement was almost complete when I was writing "Funtasies" for clarinet and piano so the transition to tenor saxophone and piano was not difficult. The form of the movement is ABA'. I added a eight measures to the B section as I felt it climaxed too soon, otherwise it is similar in form to the Kaleidoscope duet for flute and clarinet. The A sections are more complex than its flute and clarinet cousin due to the addition of another line in the left hand of the piano and for harmony. Parts of the B section also have added lines and harmony.

Measure 36 ushers in the B section. I particularly like how the phrases start diatonic and end up chromatic. Each phrase adds tension as they lead up to the climax at measures 65 and 66 where the instruments burst out into uncontrolled laughter.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/funtasies_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Monday, June 4, 2012

Funtasies

I am commissioned to compose a piece for Jeffrey Kyle Hutchins, saxophone and EunHye Grace Choi, piano and because I have been writing a lot lately for alto saxophone, I decided to write for tenor saxophone this time. Another reason I chose this instrumentation is because of the scarcity of solos for tenor saxophone and piano.  This composition will be used on a CD titled "American Saxophone Sonatas". After communicating with Jeffrey about the piece, he mentioned that he prefers programmatic pieces over compositions that are just called Sonata. This led me to a composition I started a few years ago for clarinet and piano that I never completed. In this composition, I was taking a four movement duet I wrote for flute and clarinet called "Kaleidoscope" and was converting some of the ideas for a clarinet and piano composition. I thought I'd see if this would work for tenor saxophone and piano.

If you have been following my blog, you are aware that I occasionally recycle my music. When I come up with something I really like that has had limited performances, I like to see if I can transform it into another composition. While the basic ideas may be the same, the new instrumentation often suggests new ideas and ways of treating the material. That is what happened when I began to work with the first movement and this version has more harmonic material, a few new rhythmic variants, and more counterpoint than its flute and clarinet cousin. I also extended the second theme in this version.

The movement, as well as the entire piece, is not in the classical sonata form, however, it does reflect sonata-like qualities with contrasting themes and movements. I also incorporated programmatic titles into the title and the names of each movement. The composition is called "Funtasies", a play on the word fantasy. Each movement will represent a different way of having fun. My titles for each movement are as follows: I. Boisterous II. Innocent III. Pleasant IV. Witty V. Teasing

Boisterous came from transforming the "Kaleidoscope" movement Quadrangles, therefore much of the melodic, harmonic, and meter is based on four. After a two-measure rhythmic introduction by the piano, the saxophone states the first phrase of the main theme. The phrases of the theme are frequently interrupted my a rhythmic vamp. The flavor of the main theme is loud, energetic, and staccato. There is a lot of interplay of lines among the saxophone and the two hands of the piano as the material develops.

Measures 37 & 38 provide a transition to the quieter, more lyrical second theme that begins in the piano at measure 39. The saxophone takes over the theme at measure 45 with the piano answering the sustained notes with the rhythmic idea of the introduction. The secondary theme is then treated contrapuntally at measure 54.

There is no development section. Instead, the recapitulation that begins at M 69 transforms the two themes slightly as the movement gains momentum.  A coda, beginning at measure 104, that uses the main theme ideas in a faster tempo, brings the movement to a boisterous close.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/funtasies_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Friday, May 25, 2012

Avalon for Trumpet and Piano


Avalon was composed during 2012 for trumpeter Christopher Wilson. Chris wanted a lyrical composition with long melodic lines and this parameter gave rise to the title and idea of the composition. Avalon is the legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It was the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds after the Battle of Camlann.

The composition’s structure is more influenced by the rhetorical device of anaphora than by any specific musical form. Anaphora consists of a repeated sequence of words that begins a series of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis. The open motive, stated by the trumpet alone, is the anaphora phrase that represents the magical and mysterious qualities of Avalon. It occurs three additional times in its entirety, though slightly transformed by the use of additional harmony. It also permeates other parts of the composition, but in a less recognizable fashion. Each time it is used, the material that follows it develops freely.

The other unifying device used is a figure of a dotted eighth and sixteenth followed a long note a perfect fifth higher. This motive represents the sword Excalibur and all the good deeds King Arthur is known for. It appears seven times during the composition, mostly in a gentle context that only hints of the heroic deeds to come. Around two-thirds through the composition, the motive develops into its full-blown heroic nature. It is also used as the final notes, sounding a benediction to the work of King Arthur.

Throughout the composition, the trumpet and piano parts constantly interweave, creating a mostly consonant harmony along with contrapuntal tension. Rhythmic variation and slight tempo changes add interest and enable the melodic lines to develop as if someone was narrating a story about the legendary deeds of this benevolent leader.


I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/avalon_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Saturday, March 31, 2012

River Suite Movement 4

The last movement that I composed for this suite is called "Harlem River Funk". Before I talk specifically about this movement, I'd like to discuss the order of the movements and their titles.

For me, the creative process is not just conceiving something and then writing it down. I start with a general idea of what I want to do and the details come as the composition progresses. The same is true with the order of the movements. But often when a piece is completed, I find that it can be strengthened by making some changes. In this case, the realization came while composing the last movement.

An important element of my music is balance and proportion. I am also sensitive to not overstating my welcome, meaning that I don't just keep composing because there is still potential in the musical material. I try to be sensitive from a listener standpoint, which is not always easy to do. It often takes me several hours to compose a minute's worth of music and in doing so, I am thoroughly acquainted with it, much more so than a listener would be. I often need to detach myself from the piece and try to put on a new set of ears. In doing this, I realized that the order of the movements was not the best and that their titles could be more descriptive. Therefore the order of the movements and titles are now I. Pecos River Barn Dance, II. Mississippi River Blues, III. Harlem River Funk, and IV. Pee Dee River Revival.

The "funk" style has a lot of intricate syncopation, a minor blues tonality, some harsh dissonances, and a lot of repetition. All these elements are present in this movement. It begins with the saxophone playing the main syncopated theme with the pizzicato violin providing punctuation. At M. 5, the piano left hand provides a bass line and the right hand provides punctuation. It vamps by itself for two measures before the saxophone and violin come back in with their opening material. At M. 11, the violin introduces a seductive minor blues melody while the piano continues its role. At M. 16, measures 7-10 are essentially repeated. M. 20 introduces a new syncopated chordal idea in the right hand of the piano and saxophone joins the left hand of the piano providing punctuation whenever the chords sustain. This idea modulates up a half step that creates excitement. At M. 28, the excitement is interrupted with a return to the piano vamp before the saxophone takes over the seductive minor blues melody with the violin providing an intricate counter melody that serves as both punctuation and a line of its own. At M. 35, the main melody returns but this time in the violin. M. 39 brings back the piano chordal section with its half step modulation. Things are building now and I let it go this time by shortening the piano chordal figure into a two note riff that creates a 3/4 hemiola within the 4/4. Both the saxophone and the violin alternate by answering the piano with technical flourishes. This three measure section goes through three modulations, first up a whole step then up a half step. During the last modulations, the violin plays the first part of the seductive melody. The movement ends with a FF multi-octave statement of the main theme with an abrupt ending. This abrupt ending is one of the reasons why I felt this movement was not good for the finale of the piece.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/river_suite_blog.html. This page now has the movements in the correct order although the titles and movement numbers have not been corrected on the pdf files you are viewing.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Saturday, March 24, 2012

River Suite Movement 3

The third movement is called Mississippi and is influenced by the blues. Because this is a slow blues, I selected a triple meter of 12/8 to get the triplet feel instead of using a duple meter with swung eighth notes. All the material in this movement is original unlike the first two movements where existing folk songs were used. The melodic material is created from a derivative of the blues scale. The harmonic material comes from a mixture of triads and 7th chords that hint at polytonality, and 9th and 11th chords, along with an occasional chord in 4ths.

I had some good ideas in this movement, but struggled with balance and proportion. The first 8 measures were added after measures 8-28 were created. I had difficulty moving forward from measure 28 and I discovered that the reason was because things were out of balance before then. After I added M. 1-8, things fell into place.

The form is an arch form (ABCBA). The A section begins moodily with a bass line in the piano left hand. At M. 5, the violin and saxophone introduce a motif (motif a) that will be enlarged in the B section. The piano finishes out the phrase with another motif (motif b) that will also be used in section B. Section B begins at M. 9 with the melody in the saxophone (motif a) and a response in the violin using quadruplets. The violin then does motif b and the saxophone has the response at the end of the phrase. The roles are reversed at M 16 before a cannon between violin and saxophone using motif b finishes this section.

M 23 ushers in section C with the use of lush harmony in the piano and the melody mainly in the left hand. At M. 27 the violin and sax take over this melodic idea and expand it before bringing the B section back. I like to vary my material slightly when ideas return. The most notable is the triplet feel eighths in the piano right hand, but there are also subtle differences including a tonality shift from the original statement. M. 48 brings back the A section and the movement ends quietly and mysteriously.

I added a lot of tempo changes and tweaked some of the ideas to help the transitions between sections flow seamlessly. These little details add a more artistic touch.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/river_suite_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Friday, March 16, 2012

River Suite Movement 2

The second movement of River Suite is called Pee Dee. The Pee Dee River runs through North and South Carolina and the movement is inspired by spirituals. The two spirituals I used as the basis of this movement are "Keep in the Middle of the Road" and "Little David, Play on Your Harp."

Like the previous movement, I was challenged by trying to preserve the integrity of the spirituals and at the same time giving them my own individual treatment. I started with a slow, rubato version of the chorus of the first spiritual. Each phrase is interrupted by an arpeggiated figure in the piano right hand that is constructed from characteristics of a blues scale, namely 3 and b3, and 5 and b5 in close proximity, as well as using the b7. M. 17 ushers in the Allegro section with the verse of "Middle of the Road." I use a little octave displacement to add interest to the melody, incorporate call and response, and introduce a running scale in the piano. At. M 27, the phrases are divided among the instruments and the running scale takes on more of a presence. M 34 and 35 introduces a hemiola rhythm that will have more of a presence as the movement develops. The verse is used again at M 36 but this time with modulations up a half step on each phrase. M 54 is a two part canon using the chorus. The canon switches to the piano at 62 and the violin and sax play a counter melody.

M. 71 has a vamp in the piano that uses borrowed chords, therefore disguising the modality and tonality while sax and violin alternate phrases of the verse of "Little David." M. 89 uses the chorus of "Little David" and has call and response. M 102 uses hemiola to modulate up a step to the new key (D to E). M 116 & 117 expand the hemiola to modulate from E to Gb. M. 130 begins another series of modulations and the piano is syncopated behind them. Scales (blues variant), syncopation, and borrowed chords are all used for the ending of the movement.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/river_suite_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Monday, March 12, 2012

River Suite Movement 1

My newest composition is written for one of Co-op Press' Performing Partners, Jason T. Laczkowski. Jason is a wonderful saxophonist who frequently performs with Anna Draper, violin and Joshua Russell, piano. This marvelous trio can be heard on Jason's Emeritus Recordings CD "Come Down Heavy." They asked me to write a piece for them in a crossover style, similar to Yo Yo Ma's "Goat Rodeo" release.

I have recently been watching episodes of the History Channel's "How the States Got Their Shapes" and became aware of the importance of rivers. This led me to and idea of doing a piece called "River Suite" which will have four movements, each named after a different river. The selected river would reflect a different segment of cultural life in the United States. For example, the first movement is called "Pecos" and reflects a Saturday night social event common in farming and ranching communities, namely the barn dance. Subsequent movements will be called "Peedee", Mississippi", and "Harlem" and reflect spirituals, the blues, and funk respectively.

"Pecos" incorporates three fiddlin' tunes, "Hop Up, My Ladies", "Golden Slippers", and "Blue Tail Fly." My challenge in this movement was to make these tunes sound fresh. By fresh I mean adding some ambiguity. Ambiguity is an important characteristic of art and adds to its expressiveness. Folk songs are very simplistic and therefore contain little ambiguity. Some of the techniques I used to accomplish this was obscuring tonality, adding rhythmic asymmetry, adding melodic variation, and adding counterpoint.

Ambiguity of meter occurs in the very first measure with the use of syncopation in a 5/4 measure before settling into a 4/4 meter where ambiguity of tonality takes over. The verse of "Hop Up My Ladies" will enter on measure 4 in the key of C, but measures 2 & 3 have a D as the bass note and chords built in 4ths as the rhythmic harmony in the piano right hand. The 4th beat of each measure consists of E and Bb, a melodic rendering of the tritone to further obscure tonality. At measure 4 when the tune comes in, the only change is that the bass note goes down to C. This basic concept of ambiguity continues to measure 22 with octave and instrumentation changes adding interest to each phrase and counterpoint adding interest at measure 19. Measure 23 ushers in a key change and a variation of "Hop Up My Ladies" still keeping the harmony obscure through the use of 4ths. Pedal point drones are added in spots as well as combining the verse variation with the chorus of the tune, thus creating contrapuntal ambiguity.

M. 42 relaxes the tension a bit by slowing down the rhythmic values, but still has tonality tension as there is an abrupt modulation to Db for one measure then d minor for the next before settling into D major for the verse of "Golden Slippers". At measure 42, I create a fiddlin' tune variant of the verse for the violin and add chromaticism in the piano. M. 52 ushers in another abrupt modulation and offsets the chorus of the tune by one beat giving this section rhythmic ambiguity. At M. 56, the chorus is back to its original rhythmic placement. At M 61, I use a lot of rhythmic asymmetry to create interest to the "Blue Tail Fly" tune.

M. 85 brings back sections from earlier in the work at every increasing tempos to bring the movement to a rousing close.

In the fiddlin' tune sections of this movement I left the sixteenth notes as single bows. I'm am uncertain as to what note groupings are common in playing fiddlin' tunes. On Saturday night, I went to a concert by Celtic Spring, a very talented family of musicians and dancers, an tried to figure out the bowing pattern on the fiddlin' tunes they played. It appeared to be a combination of alternating bow direction on every note, and grouping 2, 3, and 4 notes together into one bow direction. The decision seemed to be based upon whether the line was going up or down and what part of the beat the up or down began on. Rather that me ( a non-violinist) trying to figure out the bow direction, I decided to leave the notes without bow direction markings and let the violinist figure out what is comfortable for he/she. I want all the notes to be cleanly articulated except for where I have specifically marked slurs.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/river_suite_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Poetics Movement 6

The last movement of Poetics is inspired by the poetic form Gogyohku, a Japanese poem that does not have a restricted syllable count and is used to record a fleeting moment.

Nighttime Tragedy

Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Sirens screech like banshees
Split the silence of the night
In bed I pray
For the dead
And for those that survive.

My music for this movement is a little over three minutes in length, much longer than the poem. I tried to capture the two contrasting parts of the poem, first the tragedy itself and then my feelings while lying in bed. Both of these take time to unfold musically.

The sirens are represented by the glissandi in the viola. Unfortunately the artificial playback of these glissandi does not capture the sound I'm hearing but it will give the listener an approximate idea. The double bass line captures the anxiety of the crisis through diminished sounds and tremolos. Measures 10-13, with it's rhythmic intensity and chromatic harmony, represents EMTs rushing to the rescue.  These two ideas alternate frequently until M 38, where a third sound, the horn of a fire engine (diminished 5th double stops in the double bass) enters. This section ends with the two instruments doing the fire engine horn followed by a low tremolo in the double bass (m. 51-54).

M. 55-76 serves as a transition to the prayer section by a gradually slowing descending line punctuated by pizzicato heartbeats. The prayer goes from M 77-end and is hymn-like in design.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Poetics Movement 5

Movement 5 is based on a cinquain, which is an American Poem invented by Adelaide Crapsey. It is five lines long and uses a syllable count of 2,4,6,8,2 to determine the line breaks. Three possible variants are mirror 2,4,6,8,2,4,6,8,2; butterfly 2,3,6,8,2,2,4,6,8,2; and reversal 2,8,6,4,2. I combined mirror and reversal in my poem therefore creating a syllable count of 2,4,6,8,2,8,6,4,2.

Uncertainty

Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Soft hugs
Warm caresses
Words of deep affection
Your beauty ignites my senses
Hoping
Can my thoughts be echoed by you?
How can I let you know
What my heart feels?
Don’t know

The syllable count is reflected in the number of notes in each phrase with the exception of measures 13-16 and 30-end where I repeat the two syllable (note) phrase "don't know" four more times to add to the uncertainty. M. 17 begins a repeated variant of the poem as the music was too short without it. I tried to keep the music mostly homophonic in order to not obscure the syllable (note) count, but it also serves the purpose of creating a calm, contemplative movement that is in contrast to the other movements of the piece. The only place I depart form the homophonic style is in measures 8-10 and 25-27 as these sections are canonic reflecting the words "Can my thoughts be echoed by you?"

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Poetics Movement 4

After about  month of running back and forth to rehearsals and performances of my "Arizona Centennial Overture" in honor of Arizona's Centennial, things are calming down again. During that time, I managed to work on and complete the 4th movement of Poetics. The influence for this movement is the bantu poetic form.

The bantu originated from Swahili speakers therefore incorporating the idea of call and response. The stanzas are couplets where the first line is more metaphorical and the second line more concrete. Since I wanted this movement to be at a fast tempo and to contain a lot of energy, I wrote a bantu about competition.


Competition Bantu

©2012 Sy Brandon

The hope of a new season
Unfailing optimism

The return of the team core
Reunion

Those with promise not yet realized
Freshman class

Unexpected talent discovered
Surprises

Who will stay and who will go?
Anxiety

Working on things you already know so you don’t forget them
Drill

The strong and weak make music together
Rhythm

A chance to wow the hometown crowd
Opening Day

A grueling test of endurance, talent and fortitude
The season

The only time you root for other teams
The standings

The Darwinian Principle: Survival of the fittest
The playoffs

A tug of war where dreams are realized or shattered
The championship

A chance to say, “There’s always next year”
The loosing clubhouse

A fleeting moment of glory before the need to prove oneself again
Celebration

Call and response between each instrument permeates this movement with alternations of which instrument is the leading voice. M. 1-15 reflects the first stanza and I used a lot of rising lines to reflect hope and optimism. M. 16-36 represents reunion through the use of double stops. M. 37-56 represent the next two stanzas where promise (triplet figures) and surprise (wide intervals) are the themes.

M. 56 & 57 serve as a transition to a slower tempo. M. 58-71 create anxiety through pizzicato and tremolos. M. 72-88 connotate drill, through repetitive triplets, and fundamentals, through descending fifths. This section concludes with M. 89-106 where downbeats and afterbeats represent working together with rhythm. 

M. 107-109 serves as a transition back to the original tempo. My ears were shouting at me to return to the opening material and not introduce any more new ideas. As I read over the poem, I realized that the emotions of stanzas 8-12 are similar to the emotions of the first four stanzas, so returning to the opening material made sense poetically as well as musically. The last two stanzas are reflected from M. 156-end.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Monday, January 23, 2012

Poetics Movement 3

A triolet is the inspiration for the third movement and it is the first rhyming poem that I am including. There are 8 lines in this pattern; A, B, rhyme with A, A, rhyme with A, rhyme with B, A, B. Once more I used one of my own poetic creations for the programmatic aspect. It is a triolet about creativity and it reflects the creative process of my wife, Anita, when making polymer clay jewelry.

Creativity Triolet by Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Ladybugs upon a leaf
Or a monarch butterfly
Nature's colors, my belief
Ladybugs upon a leaf.
Creating jewelry can give me grief
But mostly I get high.
Ladybugs upon a leaf
Or a monarch butterfly.

I am free with adhering to both the line delineation and the rhyme scheme of the poem. The double bass begins the movement with serene arpeggios in fifths and fourths reflecting the serenity of nature. The viola flits about like a lady bug or butterfly from m. 2-9 representing the first two lines of the poem. M. 10 - 21 reflects the third line with a soaring idea that is treated imitatively and chromatic passage that moves in contrary motion. M. 22-27 uses the first part of m. 2-9 to create a rhyme A.

M. 28-34 has both a change of tempo and meter. There is no evidence of rhyming with A as the musical material is very different because it is reflecting the building of frustration when one tries to create and it is not going well. The repetitive viola sextuplet, the enlarging of the double bass chords, and the growth in dynamics are all symbolic of the trial and error process of creativity. M. 35-40 represent line six with a lyrical melody and implied lush harmony. The softening of the dynamics at the end of this section is a relaxation of the high before repeating M. 1-9 (the first two lines of the poem) and arriving at a pleasing, quiet ending.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Poetics Movement 2

The second movement is based on the Shadorma poetic form. Shadormas have 6 line stanzas where the lines have a syllable count of 3,5,3,3,7,5 respectively. I translated the syllable count into meter therefore creating 3/8, 5/8, two measures of 3/8, 7/8, and 5/8 resulting in 6 measure phrases.

This movement is also programmatic representing another poem I wrote, but this is done in reflecting the general spirit of the poem rather than each line, like I did in the first movement. Here is the poem:

Disparity Shadorma by Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Millionaires
Are on the increase
People starve
In the Streets
While fat cats count their dollars
In oblivion.

We protest
In the parks and streets
Occupy
Wall Street grows
Sending a message to all
About Disparity.

Various key ideas of the poem are represented by musical elements. The double bass opens the movement with a melodic idea that represents the rich. The viola takes over the melody at m. 7 accompanied by sparse double bass staccato representing the poor. M. 13 has both parts in imitation as if the trailing voice is trying to catch up to the leading voice, but never can. M. 19 begins the protest leading to the anger being expressed from M. 25-36. M. 37-72 repeats the opening ideas with slight variation. At M. 73, the ideas begin to fragment as the protests are being shut down and the movement ends quietly leaving the listener wondering if we have made any inroads towards erasing disparity.

I am now using flip pdf technology for the musical examples that go along with my posts. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Poetics Movement 1

It has been about two months since I have posted. During December, I was very busy with playing jobs and then my wife and I went on a four-week camping vacation ending up in the Phoenix area for rehearsals and a performance of my Arizona Centennial Overture by the Arizona Wind Symphony.

During my vacation, I got started on composing "Poetics" for the Dark Strings Duo consisting of Heidi von Bernewitz, viola and Rob Nairn, double bass. I took a class on short form poems during the fall through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Yavapai College and had fun learning the forms and writing some poetry. This inspired me to try to translate some of these forms into music.

I started with a poem form known as a pleiades which has seven lines with six syllables per line. Each line starts with the same letter. I translated this into a music form by having seven phrases, each with six notes and all starting on the note "A". In addition, I used one of my poems as a interpretive inspiration so that the phrases represent the ideas of the poem. Here is the poem:

Acceptance Pleiades by Sy Brandon ©2011 Sy Brandon

Aching hearts long for peace
Among troubled chaos
Answers seem elusive
Always a step ahead
Avoiding outreached hands
Away I turn from them
And then they come with ease.

Like most composers, I took liberties with the musical form. The viola's first six notes reflect the first line and the pizzicato notes in the double bass in measure 2 add punctuation. The second line begins immediately afterwards in the viola and is imitated in the double bass resulting in four versions of the idea (end of m. 2 to the end of m. 4) with only the first two starting on "A". In m. 5-6, the viola reflects the 3rd line of the poem. It does not start on "A", but the accompaniment in the double bass does. The line "Always a step ahead" is represented through pizzicato displacements between the two instruments starting at m. 7, each six notes long. This occurs three times, each one starting on "A" but the lead is alternated between the two instruments and the rhythm varied. M. 13-17 contains lines 5 and 6 of the poem, both in the viola and both starting on "A". The double bass plays free material that compliments the viola line. The last line of the poem is reflected from m. 18 to the end. It starts and ends on "A". I tried to let the form and the poem guide me but not restrict me.

Starting with this blog post, I am using flip pdf technology. It uses Flash Player that most browsers come with. You will be hearing an mp3 of sampled sounds playing the music and you will see the score at the same time. You will need to turn the pages by clicking on the arrows at the appropriate time. To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/poetics_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B