Happiness

I was talking with Joan Wolf Prefontaine, a poet friend of mine, about how I want to write something for the Verde Valley Voices and she sent me a lovely poem that really inspired me. As a result, I sat down this week and composed "Happiness" for one of the premiere musical organizations in the Verde Valley and its wonderful conductor, Beverly Hall.

While the poem has three stanzas, I really saw it in two main sections, a slightly humorous part and a more serious reflection. My music begins with a folksy type accompaniment and the chorus sings joyously over little things that bring happiness. There is tone painting in the section reflecting the swirling of "dust devils." The piano picks up this material and uses it as a transition to the more reflective part which is in a slower tempo with lush chords reflecting the text. I tie the composition together at the end by bringing back the "I am happy" motif before the final chord.

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/Happiness_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Modern Jazz Suite Movement 1

I am currently working on a composition for alto saxophone and guitar for two Texas State University faculty members, Todd Oxford and Mark Cruz. They want a crossover piece that might use electric guitar and I decide to write a Modern Jazz Suite with the movements being Bebop, Cool, Third Stream, and Jazz Rock.

The first movement starts with an ABAB head then has a sax solo accompanied by percussive use of the guitar. Then the guitar has a solo with slap tonguing used in the sax to imitate a bass line. Then the two instruments trade two measure solos with the guitar being a "Drum" again. Lastly the head comes back with some slight variations leading to the end. I really didn't follow a chord progression. The movement is more linearly conceived with the lines dictating where they want to go and the harmony a result of voice leading in colorful chords.

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/modern_jazz_suite_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B

Composers and Academia

The stories posted on the Olist about composition study at music schools, especially Amy Scurria’s, inspired me to share my thoughts on the subject.

I have been retired from the academic world for thirteen years, yet I still attend College Music Society and Society of Composers conferences and occasionally have my music selected for performance. My style is very different from the majority of the compositions heard on these programs as I am a tonalist and adhere to the principles espoused in John Winsor’s excellent book, “Breaking the Sound Barrier: An Argument for Mainstream Literary Music.” In this book, Mainstream Literary Music is defined as music that builds upon the traditions of music established prior to 1950 and is music that has dramatic shape similar to its literary counterparts.

Most of the music heard on these programs emphasizes timbre and dissonance. It goes on for long periods of time with little or no dramatic shape. The audiences for these programs are other academic composers, usually only the ones that are also having their music performed. Also, the selection of the music to be performed on these programs is done by academic composers as well. I am often surprised that my music gets selected, as it does not fit into what is considered “the norm.” This type of academic backscratching seems very far removed from the non-academic concert environment where the audiences are more varied.

I heard a presentation about jazz trombonists at the Eastern Trombone Workshop almost 25 years ago that described jazz trombonists as falling into one of three categories; innovators, preservers, and refiners. Innovators are those that create something new. Preservers are those that recreate and an older style. Refiners are those that combine the old and the new into an artistic expression. These categories also translate well for describing composers.

Innovators are definitely needed in order for our art to move forward, but just because something is new doesn’t automatically mean it is good. It takes refiners to take the new ideas and to use them in an artistic manner that serves the art of music. I keep hoping that at these concerts I would hear a change from the academic style of composing that has been prevalent since the 1950s as the change has definitely permeated the non-academic concert world. But I have yet to see it take hold in academia. These styles that emphasize dissonance and timbre are no longer new and have served their experimental purpose. It is time for the academic world to get caught up with the rest of the concert scene.

It is difficult for a composition teacher to not impose his or her style on their students, but allowing a student to find their own voice is absolutely essential. One way to do this is to have students study the style of composers different from themselves. After taking a poetry class where we analyzed a poem and them wrote one using the things we gleaned from the analysis, I decided to try the approach with my composition student. I have blogged about the results on my composinginsights blog and here is a direct link http://www.composinginsights.blogspot.com/2013/02/learning-from-other-composers.html

You can see and hear Josh’s composition and his analysis of Stravinsky. We repeated this activity with Copland, Bartok and Ives and the growth in Josh’s musical vocabulary was amazing.

No student should go through what Amy and others have experienced. It is time for academic composers to break from the need to be motivated by peer pressure and to be more motivated by what is good for the art of music before the ivory tower of academia crumbles into ruins.

Elements Movement IV

I have finished the last movement of Elements and I am pleased with the results. This movement represents the Earth element whose main characteristic is stability. To represent stability musically, I used a lot of ostinatos during the movement. While this movement contains a lot of repetition, if one listens carefully, one becomes aware that the repetitions are constantly being varied.

The slow seven measure introduction presents some of the main motives used in this movement. It is ethereal, almost like the formation of the Earth itself. The most obvious ostinato is the one that appears in the baritone saxophone at measure 8. This two measure pattern repeats 7 times with some subtle variations before the tenor saxophone takes it over at measure 22. The soprano saxophone presents another ostinato at measure 10. Notice that its repeat does not line up with the 3/4 meter. It is answered by a third ostinato in the tenor sax and later in canon with alto sax 2.

At measure 13, a rising motive that is harmonized in 4ths and has its origins in the introduction, becomes the first melodic material that is not an ostinato. At measure 22, the movement becomes more lyrical with less use of the ostinato figures. Measures 34-44 provides relief from the ostinatos and is more lyrical with richer harmony and the use of imitation. The ostinato ideas then return and build to the Presto climax.

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/elements_blog.html.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Dr. B