For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.
Now with the end approaching, I’m trying to think of things that I haven’t covered. Let’s see…marches, check; tangos, check; funk, check; serialism, check; unclassifiable blob-like forms, check. One small something that I haven’t quite gotten to is neo-renaissance stuff. Well, I did make two attempts way back pre-#100 and in the 180s (to the best of my recollection), but both ended up as salvage missions since I couldn’t figure out the mechanics with my limited time. Today I had a pretty good idea as to how it would work. I took a simple little triple-time rhythmic mode, based all harmony around it and wrote the piece. There’s nothing complicated about it at all; it’s just an AABA song form with an add-on toward the end. Hey, I think it works out pretty well. Keep in mind that I’m not striving for authenticity here. I just want to embrace the basic concept, play around with it for a while and be done. I still haven’t taken a close enough look at renaissance harmony to know all of its particulars (as you know by now, I really hate analysis), but at least I have a basic grasp of those weird pan-modal functions. OK, so here’s one less thing on my to-do list.
One Day Wonder #288
Gosh, it’s slightly hard to believe that I came so close to quitting this project just a few days ago. Back at the beginning, I discovered that the best way to shake the feeling of having written a bad piece was to write a march. That worked very nicely through the first hundred tunes, culminating with the wacky #99. Heck, what might possibly be the best piece of the whole shebang, #74, is a march. I only wrote that to distract myself from an unsuccessful attempt at a march from the previous day. But over the last, say 188 efforts, the march has kind of fallen by the wayside. The last one I wrote was #254, and that’s kind of a march-polka hybrid. I’ve set my marching aspirations aside mainly due to the struggle I’ve been having with form. I could very well have written things in ABACA (with corresponding intros, transitions and outros) form and not bothered to tinker with what works. I mean, marches and polkas work very nicely in that framework, but it’s more fun to monkey with things to see if your modified march still sounds like a march. A lot of times it doesn’t, and that’s why I’ve gotten away from it. This time, I’m not overly worried about form. I’m writing my 288th piece and the end is near. Why not write a peppy little thing in 6/8? I tell you, it’s been ages since a wrote a 6/8 march. I’ve only written two - #54 and #73. Trust me, #54 is the horse to bet on among those two. This one may actually be the grand champion of 6/8 marches. It manages to do a lot of things in a little time. It’s got drive, harmonic weirdness, formal weirdness and variety. I could explain every last detail of it, but it would probably be best for you to listen to it. That way, I have less of a chance of sounding like a moron.
In other news – and I’m sure you’re very interested in this – Belltown smells like burning plastic today. At least most of 2nd Avenue does. Yeah, it’s pretty unpleasant. A few weeks ago, it smelled like vinegar – the whole neighborhood. No idea why, it just did. Last summer, it smelled like hot dogs, day in, day out for weeks. That one is a little easier to explain, as Shorty’s (a pinball and hot dog place) is just down the block. It was hot, my windows were open – you get the idea. I’ll try to keep track of Belltown’s various smells for future entries. It might make the music a bit more vivid or my life seem either more or less pathetic, depending on the smell. But for the record, the usual “scent of Belltown” is a mixture of cigarettes, stale beer and craziness. Yes, craziness has an aroma all of its own when it’s as concentrated as it is around here.
In other news – and I’m sure you’re very interested in this – Belltown smells like burning plastic today. At least most of 2nd Avenue does. Yeah, it’s pretty unpleasant. A few weeks ago, it smelled like vinegar – the whole neighborhood. No idea why, it just did. Last summer, it smelled like hot dogs, day in, day out for weeks. That one is a little easier to explain, as Shorty’s (a pinball and hot dog place) is just down the block. It was hot, my windows were open – you get the idea. I’ll try to keep track of Belltown’s various smells for future entries. It might make the music a bit more vivid or my life seem either more or less pathetic, depending on the smell. But for the record, the usual “scent of Belltown” is a mixture of cigarettes, stale beer and craziness. Yes, craziness has an aroma all of its own when it’s as concentrated as it is around here.
One Day Wonder #287
For 1 trumpet.
I’ve learned that whenever there is a crisis of confidence, the best thing to do is go small. I’ve done it in the past and it’s worked out very well for me. Since I’ve written all kinds of stuff for trumpets within an ensemble and as a section alone, I figured that I should give a solo piece a shot. Here it is. I wanted to bring out both the “rapid fire” and lyrical capabilities of the instrument. I’ve always liked the trumpet, but it’s a tough instrument to sound good on. I know, I’ve played in lots of big bands and the trumpet section is almost always the worst. Sure, in reality, the trombones probably suck more, but you usually can’t hear them over all that bleating from the trumpet section. But my point here is that the trumpet is an amazingly flexible instrument that can sound incredible in the right hands. Maybe someday this piece will fall into those right hands.
Well, for the moment, the crisis is over. I’ve got plans for tomorrow’s piece and seem to be back on track, though the prospect of living through another creative blackout fills me with dread. Now with the end of the project so clearly in sight, I’m not very concerned with it.
I’ve learned that whenever there is a crisis of confidence, the best thing to do is go small. I’ve done it in the past and it’s worked out very well for me. Since I’ve written all kinds of stuff for trumpets within an ensemble and as a section alone, I figured that I should give a solo piece a shot. Here it is. I wanted to bring out both the “rapid fire” and lyrical capabilities of the instrument. I’ve always liked the trumpet, but it’s a tough instrument to sound good on. I know, I’ve played in lots of big bands and the trumpet section is almost always the worst. Sure, in reality, the trombones probably suck more, but you usually can’t hear them over all that bleating from the trumpet section. But my point here is that the trumpet is an amazingly flexible instrument that can sound incredible in the right hands. Maybe someday this piece will fall into those right hands.
Well, for the moment, the crisis is over. I’ve got plans for tomorrow’s piece and seem to be back on track, though the prospect of living through another creative blackout fills me with dread. Now with the end of the project so clearly in sight, I’m not very concerned with it.
One Day Wonder #286
For 2 horns, 2 trombones and tuba.
You know, if everything is going really well (and it has been), I’m just girding myself for the next run of rottenness. Maybe it’s my dour Ukrainian heritage. Bad stuff has been happening over there for centuries. Maybe it’s just my own personal experience or insecurity. I don’t know. But as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I could feel this coming on. By and large, the last few weeks have been tremendous. I’m writing things nowadays that would have been impossible for me to conjure just a month or two ago. It’s a really great feeling after you’ve finished a piece that you get an idea for about three more pieces. Not only that, but you know how everything’s going to work. All that needs to be done is to chase down a few notes and you’re done. That wasn’t the case today. I was running around all day. Usually, I’m able to figure out what I’m going to write at a quieter, more lucid moment. Something will just pop into my head; I’ll mull it over, build on it and pursue it when I get home. This didn’t happen. For the whole day, I couldn’t figure out what to do. Based on a lunchtime conversation, I decided to try to write some antiphonal (also known as “call and response”) stuff for mid-low brass. Usually that’s enough to get some music in my head, but it didn’t work. I had no idea what to do and no music playing in my head. I started the piece anyway and tried to work my way through this conundrum. That was only a partial success. I only got down 20 bars before I gave up for the day. Yeah, I’ve written 285 pieces before this one, and this is the first one I abandoned due to lack of ideas. I was close to panic. Was I finally out of ideas? That’s a real scary question, especially if you’re aspiring to make writing music into a profession as I am. If the well runs dry, then what? Never mind that my output has been very good for the last few weeks. Sure, I could have handled #281 better, but straightened it all out with #282. Overall, things have been great. But I really fretted about being blocked, because I don’t get blocked. I sit down and I write a piece nearly every day. Heck, I even wrote pieces on Christmas and New Year’s Day. I slept poorly that night. Usually ideas come to me in my sleep when I’m that agitated, but no. I got nothing from that bad night of sleep. So I worked through those 20 bars, turned them into a palindrome, added something else and then ended it. There’s no indication of what a struggle it was to write, and it’s probably better that way. I’m glad it’s done, though I’m not particularly happy with the results. The main reason is that this piece could have come from anywhere in the project. It doesn’t exhibit anything unique. It is a B-side at best. And it took two days to write! I’m hoping that I won’t have more days like these last two again.
Other than the silence going on in my brain, I actually managed to have an otherwise fine time in those awful two days. In fact, I managed to distract myself from my troubles quite often. Among the highlights, were getting in on a press preview for the Seattle Art Museum’s Roman art exhibit (it’s really impressive), seeing the lunar eclipse from the roof of my building in Belltown and playing some very decent poker. No, I didn’t win, but I was hitting straights for once. That’s always an encouraging sign of turning luck. And perhaps there is a certain degree of luck to creativity.
You know, if everything is going really well (and it has been), I’m just girding myself for the next run of rottenness. Maybe it’s my dour Ukrainian heritage. Bad stuff has been happening over there for centuries. Maybe it’s just my own personal experience or insecurity. I don’t know. But as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I could feel this coming on. By and large, the last few weeks have been tremendous. I’m writing things nowadays that would have been impossible for me to conjure just a month or two ago. It’s a really great feeling after you’ve finished a piece that you get an idea for about three more pieces. Not only that, but you know how everything’s going to work. All that needs to be done is to chase down a few notes and you’re done. That wasn’t the case today. I was running around all day. Usually, I’m able to figure out what I’m going to write at a quieter, more lucid moment. Something will just pop into my head; I’ll mull it over, build on it and pursue it when I get home. This didn’t happen. For the whole day, I couldn’t figure out what to do. Based on a lunchtime conversation, I decided to try to write some antiphonal (also known as “call and response”) stuff for mid-low brass. Usually that’s enough to get some music in my head, but it didn’t work. I had no idea what to do and no music playing in my head. I started the piece anyway and tried to work my way through this conundrum. That was only a partial success. I only got down 20 bars before I gave up for the day. Yeah, I’ve written 285 pieces before this one, and this is the first one I abandoned due to lack of ideas. I was close to panic. Was I finally out of ideas? That’s a real scary question, especially if you’re aspiring to make writing music into a profession as I am. If the well runs dry, then what? Never mind that my output has been very good for the last few weeks. Sure, I could have handled #281 better, but straightened it all out with #282. Overall, things have been great. But I really fretted about being blocked, because I don’t get blocked. I sit down and I write a piece nearly every day. Heck, I even wrote pieces on Christmas and New Year’s Day. I slept poorly that night. Usually ideas come to me in my sleep when I’m that agitated, but no. I got nothing from that bad night of sleep. So I worked through those 20 bars, turned them into a palindrome, added something else and then ended it. There’s no indication of what a struggle it was to write, and it’s probably better that way. I’m glad it’s done, though I’m not particularly happy with the results. The main reason is that this piece could have come from anywhere in the project. It doesn’t exhibit anything unique. It is a B-side at best. And it took two days to write! I’m hoping that I won’t have more days like these last two again.
Other than the silence going on in my brain, I actually managed to have an otherwise fine time in those awful two days. In fact, I managed to distract myself from my troubles quite often. Among the highlights, were getting in on a press preview for the Seattle Art Museum’s Roman art exhibit (it’s really impressive), seeing the lunar eclipse from the roof of my building in Belltown and playing some very decent poker. No, I didn’t win, but I was hitting straights for once. That’s always an encouraging sign of turning luck. And perhaps there is a certain degree of luck to creativity.
One Day Wonder #285
For 4 horns, 4 trumpets and 4 trombones.
Once again, we revisit minimalism. This time we’re working with a large ensemble and a regular meter – wonderful 6/8. You know, I’m not going to comment on this. It just came out of nowhere. Parts of it are fantastic and other parts are merely OK. It’s strange that for somebody who really hates minimalism, I’m pretty good at it. It’s also strange that even at this late stage of the project, I’m still turning out good pieces. (I expected to be writing utter crap by now.) These last three have been particularly good. There is, however, a major problem with operating at a high level: a crash is bound to come. I’m feeling it already. I’m sensing disaster on the horizon.
Once again, we revisit minimalism. This time we’re working with a large ensemble and a regular meter – wonderful 6/8. You know, I’m not going to comment on this. It just came out of nowhere. Parts of it are fantastic and other parts are merely OK. It’s strange that for somebody who really hates minimalism, I’m pretty good at it. It’s also strange that even at this late stage of the project, I’m still turning out good pieces. (I expected to be writing utter crap by now.) These last three have been particularly good. There is, however, a major problem with operating at a high level: a crash is bound to come. I’m feeling it already. I’m sensing disaster on the horizon.
One Day Wonder #284
For 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones and tuba.
This is the project’s biggest piece in a long time. Strangely enough, the only piece with more parts in it is #1. Although I was seriously pressed for time today, I managed to finish it. Ever since the Icebreaker IV festival (I reviewed it here) in January, I’ve been thinking about the music of this guy named John Luther Adams. He’s a guy who lives up in Alaska and writes this very sonorous music. His piece at Icebreaker wasn’t that great, but I was intrigued by his approach. This is my impression of it. Yes, it’s big and slow, beginning with the tuba, then the trombones show up, then the horns and the trumpets, and over this carpet of sound the horns and trumpets make some pretty cool statements. For some reason, Finale starts spitting out weird dynamics toward the end in the trumpets (I’ve tried correcting it to no avail), but other than that, this is a big, slow, kickass piece. I just wanted to see how tough it was to write some ponderous stuff. You know what? It wasn’t that difficult. This piece might even be a greatest hit. It’s intense and brooding, and it actually works up to a climax. In case you’re interested, I wrote most of it while I was making burritos.
This is the project’s biggest piece in a long time. Strangely enough, the only piece with more parts in it is #1. Although I was seriously pressed for time today, I managed to finish it. Ever since the Icebreaker IV festival (I reviewed it here) in January, I’ve been thinking about the music of this guy named John Luther Adams. He’s a guy who lives up in Alaska and writes this very sonorous music. His piece at Icebreaker wasn’t that great, but I was intrigued by his approach. This is my impression of it. Yes, it’s big and slow, beginning with the tuba, then the trombones show up, then the horns and the trumpets, and over this carpet of sound the horns and trumpets make some pretty cool statements. For some reason, Finale starts spitting out weird dynamics toward the end in the trumpets (I’ve tried correcting it to no avail), but other than that, this is a big, slow, kickass piece. I just wanted to see how tough it was to write some ponderous stuff. You know what? It wasn’t that difficult. This piece might even be a greatest hit. It’s intense and brooding, and it actually works up to a climax. In case you’re interested, I wrote most of it while I was making burritos.
One Day Wonder #283
For 4 trumpets.
I’ve written for two trumpets, three trumpets, but never for four, so it is with great pleasure that I offer this piece. Well, not really, but I’m very pleased with what happens here. I wanted to write something very zippy that plays a lot of games in close harmony. In this case “close harmony” means that most of the intervals are major seconds, though the intro shows off grating some minor seconds. So yeah, the textures are very crunchy, but that doesn’t keep it from being fun. This first part of the piece establishes that it goes fast and sounds crunchy. The second part shows off a more kinetic side of this match-up, in which two trumpets face off against the other two. And that’s about all there is to say. It all turns out very nicely for everyone.
I’ve written for two trumpets, three trumpets, but never for four, so it is with great pleasure that I offer this piece. Well, not really, but I’m very pleased with what happens here. I wanted to write something very zippy that plays a lot of games in close harmony. In this case “close harmony” means that most of the intervals are major seconds, though the intro shows off grating some minor seconds. So yeah, the textures are very crunchy, but that doesn’t keep it from being fun. This first part of the piece establishes that it goes fast and sounds crunchy. The second part shows off a more kinetic side of this match-up, in which two trumpets face off against the other two. And that’s about all there is to say. It all turns out very nicely for everyone.
One Day Wonder #282
For 3 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba.
Yeah, I don’t seem to be getting smarter about these things. I still rewrite pieces. Perhaps if I gave myself two days per piece, that wouldn’t happen. But if I did, I’d only be in the 140s with almost a year (counting days off and assorted holidays) to go till I hit 300. The one-a-day concept is the best way to go (besides, “Two Day Wonder” doesn’t have the same ring to it), but do-overs are the unfortunate byproduct of that. This is one of them. And yes, it’s much better than the previous version. I replaced the intro with something better and put something in the middle that didn’t suck. Honestly, the middle part of #281 really makes me cringe. But it’s all better now. In a way, it’s a good thing that #281 was unsatisfactory, because I really didn’t have any ideas for today’s piece. OK, that really, really makes me sound lazy, but if it was truly necessary, I would have come up with something. And maybe it would have been as good as this. You can never tell till you’re elbow-deep in it.
Yeah, I don’t seem to be getting smarter about these things. I still rewrite pieces. Perhaps if I gave myself two days per piece, that wouldn’t happen. But if I did, I’d only be in the 140s with almost a year (counting days off and assorted holidays) to go till I hit 300. The one-a-day concept is the best way to go (besides, “Two Day Wonder” doesn’t have the same ring to it), but do-overs are the unfortunate byproduct of that. This is one of them. And yes, it’s much better than the previous version. I replaced the intro with something better and put something in the middle that didn’t suck. Honestly, the middle part of #281 really makes me cringe. But it’s all better now. In a way, it’s a good thing that #281 was unsatisfactory, because I really didn’t have any ideas for today’s piece. OK, that really, really makes me sound lazy, but if it was truly necessary, I would have come up with something. And maybe it would have been as good as this. You can never tell till you’re elbow-deep in it.
One Day Wonder #281
For 3 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba.
I wanted to write something big and noisy as today’s piece. This is the first try at it. I used a Buxtehude prelude as my inspiration, but not as my model. That piece was just an agglomeration of shorter pieces that built up to this thunderous finale. This would be a little different from that. Basically, the approach was to write a slow processional tune in the trombones, have the tuba follow in a half-time canon for as long as was practical and have commentary from the horns and trumpets harmonized a diatonic step apart. So the entire sections only span a major or minor third, as the case may be. Towards the end, I do what has by now become a favorite practice, breaking up the sections and having them play their lines a beat apart. It works especially well here, as it gives the band a nice full sound but still manages to sound quite busy. Overall, this tune is pretty good, but there are just two things that call for a do-over: the intro and the middle. I’m really happy with everything else, but these two sections don’t belong at all. I kind of knew this when I finished it, but figured that a rebuild would require enough new material to constitute making it another piece. Or maybe I was just being lazy. It’s anybody’s guess. At this stage of the game, you can pretty much call it anything and I won’t argue with you. After what has seemed like an eternity, the weather has suddenly turned not crappy. This makes me rather restless. I know it’s only February, but I’ve got me a tiny case of spring fever, I guess. Even the forbidding streets of Belltown seem a bit more inviting. Be that as it may, this piece still needs an overhaul. That will follow tomorrow.
I wanted to write something big and noisy as today’s piece. This is the first try at it. I used a Buxtehude prelude as my inspiration, but not as my model. That piece was just an agglomeration of shorter pieces that built up to this thunderous finale. This would be a little different from that. Basically, the approach was to write a slow processional tune in the trombones, have the tuba follow in a half-time canon for as long as was practical and have commentary from the horns and trumpets harmonized a diatonic step apart. So the entire sections only span a major or minor third, as the case may be. Towards the end, I do what has by now become a favorite practice, breaking up the sections and having them play their lines a beat apart. It works especially well here, as it gives the band a nice full sound but still manages to sound quite busy. Overall, this tune is pretty good, but there are just two things that call for a do-over: the intro and the middle. I’m really happy with everything else, but these two sections don’t belong at all. I kind of knew this when I finished it, but figured that a rebuild would require enough new material to constitute making it another piece. Or maybe I was just being lazy. It’s anybody’s guess. At this stage of the game, you can pretty much call it anything and I won’t argue with you. After what has seemed like an eternity, the weather has suddenly turned not crappy. This makes me rather restless. I know it’s only February, but I’ve got me a tiny case of spring fever, I guess. Even the forbidding streets of Belltown seem a bit more inviting. Be that as it may, this piece still needs an overhaul. That will follow tomorrow.
One Day Wonder #280
For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.
I was really hoping to weave a little more polytonal magic for today’s piece, but it didn’t work out too well. Past efforts (all of them not very recent) have worked out very well, but only in a kind of melody-accompaniment kind of way. What I wanted to do here is to have four independent lines in as many closely related keys going at the same time. I wanted them to intertwine and clash and do all the cool stuff that happens in polytonal music. Well, it didn’t turn out that way for a few reasons. First, the ear is almost always drawn upward to the highest melody, which basically cancels out all the other tunes going on below. Of course, one solution to this problem is to bring everything into the same register. Not a great idea. What you get is a lot of mush. OK, so that was a technical problem. The other one was a pilot error on my part. From the start of this piece, I wasn’t thinking in a horizontal way, which was how I’d envisioned it. Instead, I was preoccupied with the vertical and making sure the harmonies didn’t clash too much with each other. In addition, the harmonic configuration doesn’t change. Well, it doesn’t until I decided to pack in this crazy scheme and write whatever the hell I want. It was a good salvage operation, but I’m disappointed that I have to scrap concepts at this late stage when I should already know what works and what doesn’t. I guess the reason I was so keen on making this thing work was that I’m planning on writing an opera that will employ a lot of independent polytonal lines. I’m just looking for a system or a practice or an approach that works. So far, I’ve got the basic elements down, but I’m still trying to get a higher level of understanding for both the theory and the finished product. So that’s what this piece was all about.
I was really hoping to weave a little more polytonal magic for today’s piece, but it didn’t work out too well. Past efforts (all of them not very recent) have worked out very well, but only in a kind of melody-accompaniment kind of way. What I wanted to do here is to have four independent lines in as many closely related keys going at the same time. I wanted them to intertwine and clash and do all the cool stuff that happens in polytonal music. Well, it didn’t turn out that way for a few reasons. First, the ear is almost always drawn upward to the highest melody, which basically cancels out all the other tunes going on below. Of course, one solution to this problem is to bring everything into the same register. Not a great idea. What you get is a lot of mush. OK, so that was a technical problem. The other one was a pilot error on my part. From the start of this piece, I wasn’t thinking in a horizontal way, which was how I’d envisioned it. Instead, I was preoccupied with the vertical and making sure the harmonies didn’t clash too much with each other. In addition, the harmonic configuration doesn’t change. Well, it doesn’t until I decided to pack in this crazy scheme and write whatever the hell I want. It was a good salvage operation, but I’m disappointed that I have to scrap concepts at this late stage when I should already know what works and what doesn’t. I guess the reason I was so keen on making this thing work was that I’m planning on writing an opera that will employ a lot of independent polytonal lines. I’m just looking for a system or a practice or an approach that works. So far, I’ve got the basic elements down, but I’m still trying to get a higher level of understanding for both the theory and the finished product. So that’s what this piece was all about.
One Day Wonder #279
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets and 2 trombones.
I was still very happy about all that non-repetition that I accomplished in #278, so I wanted to try it again in a different context. For this piece, I feature two choirs of the same instruments squaring off with each other. Since we’re dealing with the same instruments, I decided to separate them by register, with one group high and the other low. That way, there’s more distinction between their lines and might produce a very striking effect. It starts off sounding pretty fragmented with fledgling lines in the upper choir and short dissonances among the lower guys. Things come together and fall apart fairly often. I guess the mechanical effect might remind some listeners of minimalism, but that wasn’t my intent at all. What I was primarily trying for was non-repetition, which kind of runs counter to the minimalist aesthetic. I’m really happy with how it turned out. Sure, there’s not a hummable tune in sight, but, except for one section, I manage to avoid both form and repetition. This piece is just a blob that starts at one point and ends at another. So where’s the repetition? Actually, it’s just a variant. I’ve become really fond of running harmonic lines at each other by staggering when they begin. Does that make any sense? OK, so I take the intro and just let every player from each choir go a beat late. The trumpet goes first, then the horn, then the trombone. Instead of being fragmented, both choirs become disjointed, but they meet up soon enough and the whole shebang ends. Another reason why I like this piece is because it seems almost infinitely expandable. This particular version is about three minutes long, but I can see it easily lasting 10 or 15 minutes and all of this would also feature very little repetition – only textural adventures and the like. I'm still wary of concert-length pieces, as my one and only effort in that direction was my undoing, but I have nothing against expanding these tunes to fill a 10 or 15-minute gap in somebody's programming.
I was still very happy about all that non-repetition that I accomplished in #278, so I wanted to try it again in a different context. For this piece, I feature two choirs of the same instruments squaring off with each other. Since we’re dealing with the same instruments, I decided to separate them by register, with one group high and the other low. That way, there’s more distinction between their lines and might produce a very striking effect. It starts off sounding pretty fragmented with fledgling lines in the upper choir and short dissonances among the lower guys. Things come together and fall apart fairly often. I guess the mechanical effect might remind some listeners of minimalism, but that wasn’t my intent at all. What I was primarily trying for was non-repetition, which kind of runs counter to the minimalist aesthetic. I’m really happy with how it turned out. Sure, there’s not a hummable tune in sight, but, except for one section, I manage to avoid both form and repetition. This piece is just a blob that starts at one point and ends at another. So where’s the repetition? Actually, it’s just a variant. I’ve become really fond of running harmonic lines at each other by staggering when they begin. Does that make any sense? OK, so I take the intro and just let every player from each choir go a beat late. The trumpet goes first, then the horn, then the trombone. Instead of being fragmented, both choirs become disjointed, but they meet up soon enough and the whole shebang ends. Another reason why I like this piece is because it seems almost infinitely expandable. This particular version is about three minutes long, but I can see it easily lasting 10 or 15 minutes and all of this would also feature very little repetition – only textural adventures and the like. I'm still wary of concert-length pieces, as my one and only effort in that direction was my undoing, but I have nothing against expanding these tunes to fill a 10 or 15-minute gap in somebody's programming.
One Day Wonder #278
For 3 horns, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.
The mission for today’s piece was this: I wanted the meter to change every measure, yet I wanted a conventional-sounding accompaniment, plus, I wanted as little repetition as possible. Well, that’s exactly what you get here. The horns and trombones share accompanying duties. (Finale makes the bones sound pretty thin, but they’ll sound better in real life.) The trumpet and first horn deal out the first section; they drop out to a soli from the rest of the band and rejoin the second time through. Yes, the second section repeats, but I’m following my golden rule of repetition by disguising it with the trumpet and horn playing some weird stuff. The last section is a shout chorus of sorts that is pretty much at odds with everything that’s gone before. And then it’s over. Yeah, it’s very possible to write with a minimum of repetition. But one thing I’ve found is that it’s much more difficult with quicker tempos. I guess it’s just more work. And I guess I’m just lazy for writing so many mid-to-slow pieces. But hey, how else am I going to get this silly project done?
The mission for today’s piece was this: I wanted the meter to change every measure, yet I wanted a conventional-sounding accompaniment, plus, I wanted as little repetition as possible. Well, that’s exactly what you get here. The horns and trombones share accompanying duties. (Finale makes the bones sound pretty thin, but they’ll sound better in real life.) The trumpet and first horn deal out the first section; they drop out to a soli from the rest of the band and rejoin the second time through. Yes, the second section repeats, but I’m following my golden rule of repetition by disguising it with the trumpet and horn playing some weird stuff. The last section is a shout chorus of sorts that is pretty much at odds with everything that’s gone before. And then it’s over. Yeah, it’s very possible to write with a minimum of repetition. But one thing I’ve found is that it’s much more difficult with quicker tempos. I guess it’s just more work. And I guess I’m just lazy for writing so many mid-to-slow pieces. But hey, how else am I going to get this silly project done?
One Day Wonder #277
For 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.
When I’m writing one of these pieces, I often ask myself how much mileage I can get from any given theme. Since there’s very little melodic development that goes on (these are two-minute pieces, folks, they don’t need that), the answer is usually “not much.” If you feature a tune too often, it gets annoying, but, on the other hand, if you barrage the audience with all manner of tunes in a short space of time, that’s no good, either. This piece contains only two melodies. They are both initially introduced by the trumpet. The first is that little solo thing and the second happens right after it. Meanwhile, the rest of the band is doing this diatonic suspension-thing that I really like. I might use it elsewhere in these closing days of the project. Anyhow, those two tunes crop up and again and again in various forms before the end. Lots of times, some composers like to make it pretty obvious that a certain melody is returning. I’m not one of them. And this piece is all about masking that return, yet keeping the material familiar-sounding. Did I achieve that? I dunno, you tell me. All I can tell you is that this is yet another of many solutions to my problems with form. If your material is limited, disguise its repetition. That’s my advice for the day.
When I’m writing one of these pieces, I often ask myself how much mileage I can get from any given theme. Since there’s very little melodic development that goes on (these are two-minute pieces, folks, they don’t need that), the answer is usually “not much.” If you feature a tune too often, it gets annoying, but, on the other hand, if you barrage the audience with all manner of tunes in a short space of time, that’s no good, either. This piece contains only two melodies. They are both initially introduced by the trumpet. The first is that little solo thing and the second happens right after it. Meanwhile, the rest of the band is doing this diatonic suspension-thing that I really like. I might use it elsewhere in these closing days of the project. Anyhow, those two tunes crop up and again and again in various forms before the end. Lots of times, some composers like to make it pretty obvious that a certain melody is returning. I’m not one of them. And this piece is all about masking that return, yet keeping the material familiar-sounding. Did I achieve that? I dunno, you tell me. All I can tell you is that this is yet another of many solutions to my problems with form. If your material is limited, disguise its repetition. That’s my advice for the day.
One Day Wonder #276
For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.
OK, this is the second “dream” piece. In case you’re joining us late, I dreamt about this tune on the same night as I came up with #274 (which is really fine and trippy). For this one, I had a lot less to go with – just two measures on a page in my head that I can still see now. It was all about converging lines for the trombones. That’s all I needed. A few hours later, it was done. This piece ends up being quite repetitive, but I only use that as a generic term (as in, there are sections that repeat quite often). But hopefully, it doesn’t become pejoratively repetitive (as in, minimalism is so repetitive; please make it stop!) because, if I’ve done my job right, the canonic qualities will obscure the repetitions. Gee, I hope they do. I also tried to jazz up the harmony by dropping a flat every time the theme runs in the trumpet and horn. Yeah, it starts sounding pretty weird toward the end, because the changes go all out of whack, it being suddenly modal and such. All I know is that those two measures put me off to a nice start and I’m very happy with this piece.
OK, this is the second “dream” piece. In case you’re joining us late, I dreamt about this tune on the same night as I came up with #274 (which is really fine and trippy). For this one, I had a lot less to go with – just two measures on a page in my head that I can still see now. It was all about converging lines for the trombones. That’s all I needed. A few hours later, it was done. This piece ends up being quite repetitive, but I only use that as a generic term (as in, there are sections that repeat quite often). But hopefully, it doesn’t become pejoratively repetitive (as in, minimalism is so repetitive; please make it stop!) because, if I’ve done my job right, the canonic qualities will obscure the repetitions. Gee, I hope they do. I also tried to jazz up the harmony by dropping a flat every time the theme runs in the trumpet and horn. Yeah, it starts sounding pretty weird toward the end, because the changes go all out of whack, it being suddenly modal and such. All I know is that those two measures put me off to a nice start and I’m very happy with this piece.
One Day Wonder #275
For 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.
I was a little hesitant to pursue the second “dream” piece. I only had the first two measures of it in my head. I decided to write another piece instead. That way, if it was still in my head the next day, I’d figure that it was meant to be written. For this tune, I had no specific ideas. I’ve started off many days like that. Often I grasp onto a single word and work from that. It can be as simple as “dissonant” or “fast.” Today’s word was a bit trickier – “Multi-layered.” Yeah, that’s one word, not two. OK, basically, I was thinking about an A section that had a built in countermelody (of sorts) in the horn and some moving lines in the bass and mid. This is what I came up with. About halfway through, I realized that I was careening really close to a plain-old AABA form, so I spiced things up with a third section in the horn and a D section that is both wacky and canonic. Yes, it really is a canon, albeit a very short one, first between the trumpet and tuba, then harmonized in thirds and played by the trombones and horns. After that little diversion, we’re back to the B theme and we exit with the repeat of the A theme again. This piece works out really well. It has a nice 5/4 groove to it, manages to sound like a lot is going on, but allow for the melody to do its thang, and it has some good contrasting sections. It’s really nice that I can still manage to put pieces like this together after being at this project for so long.
I was a little hesitant to pursue the second “dream” piece. I only had the first two measures of it in my head. I decided to write another piece instead. That way, if it was still in my head the next day, I’d figure that it was meant to be written. For this tune, I had no specific ideas. I’ve started off many days like that. Often I grasp onto a single word and work from that. It can be as simple as “dissonant” or “fast.” Today’s word was a bit trickier – “Multi-layered.” Yeah, that’s one word, not two. OK, basically, I was thinking about an A section that had a built in countermelody (of sorts) in the horn and some moving lines in the bass and mid. This is what I came up with. About halfway through, I realized that I was careening really close to a plain-old AABA form, so I spiced things up with a third section in the horn and a D section that is both wacky and canonic. Yes, it really is a canon, albeit a very short one, first between the trumpet and tuba, then harmonized in thirds and played by the trombones and horns. After that little diversion, we’re back to the B theme and we exit with the repeat of the A theme again. This piece works out really well. It has a nice 5/4 groove to it, manages to sound like a lot is going on, but allow for the melody to do its thang, and it has some good contrasting sections. It’s really nice that I can still manage to put pieces like this together after being at this project for so long.
One Day Wonder #274
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba.
I tried to rework the bland #273 in my head, but nothing came of it. The residual frustration caused me to have music dreams during the night. I always like when that happens, even though it’s generally brought about by futility. In the past, I’ve dreamed up maybe 25 or 30 pieces total, but this was the first night I’ve had two pieces come to me. It’s always been just one. I woke up in the middle of the night with the basic concept of this piece and the first two measures of another piece, which later becomes #276 - stay tuned. The strange thing is that this piece came to me only as sound and the other piece was only visual – and that was only two full measures. Well, that was enough to get me started. OK, this tune is all about echoes, as you’ll hear. I start with just a three-member repetition, expand it to four and end with five. I tried to incorporate as many clashing lines as possible. They exploit the echo-effect to the fullest. There are a few interludes before the echoes expand. They generally work well, although I’m not too happy with the end of the first section. But overall, I think this piece is really good. I might even consider it a greatest hit. It’s really quite trippy. It would be even moreso if I expanded it. Well, that’s for another day. I just have to mention that this was extremely labor-intensive. The whole thing took something like seven hours to write (I was actually planning to write both dream pieces today, but it didn’t work out), because Finale 2005, God bless it, is so buggy when it comes to dynamics that it carries all previous dynamic markings forward when you’re copying. This calls for a lot of deleting. A whole lot of deleting. Out of that seven hours, I guess I was nixing these unwanted dynamic marking for three hours. Anyhow, I just want to drive home that I haven’t spent seven hours on a two-minute piece for a long time. Just so you know, I spent a mere two-and-a-half hours on yesterday’s pedestrian effort. (But, in my defense, if I’d spent twice as much time on it, the results probably wouldn’t have been appreciably better. It was just not a good way to go.) So this is what you get. I’m surprised that I haven’t done anything like this before. Sure, there’s the much-revered #12; but that only creates the illusion of an echo. The dynamics hold steady throughout. This has actual retreating dynamics. There are no crescendos; only very measured diminuendos. I like what’s happening here. Enjoy.
I tried to rework the bland #273 in my head, but nothing came of it. The residual frustration caused me to have music dreams during the night. I always like when that happens, even though it’s generally brought about by futility. In the past, I’ve dreamed up maybe 25 or 30 pieces total, but this was the first night I’ve had two pieces come to me. It’s always been just one. I woke up in the middle of the night with the basic concept of this piece and the first two measures of another piece, which later becomes #276 - stay tuned. The strange thing is that this piece came to me only as sound and the other piece was only visual – and that was only two full measures. Well, that was enough to get me started. OK, this tune is all about echoes, as you’ll hear. I start with just a three-member repetition, expand it to four and end with five. I tried to incorporate as many clashing lines as possible. They exploit the echo-effect to the fullest. There are a few interludes before the echoes expand. They generally work well, although I’m not too happy with the end of the first section. But overall, I think this piece is really good. I might even consider it a greatest hit. It’s really quite trippy. It would be even moreso if I expanded it. Well, that’s for another day. I just have to mention that this was extremely labor-intensive. The whole thing took something like seven hours to write (I was actually planning to write both dream pieces today, but it didn’t work out), because Finale 2005, God bless it, is so buggy when it comes to dynamics that it carries all previous dynamic markings forward when you’re copying. This calls for a lot of deleting. A whole lot of deleting. Out of that seven hours, I guess I was nixing these unwanted dynamic marking for three hours. Anyhow, I just want to drive home that I haven’t spent seven hours on a two-minute piece for a long time. Just so you know, I spent a mere two-and-a-half hours on yesterday’s pedestrian effort. (But, in my defense, if I’d spent twice as much time on it, the results probably wouldn’t have been appreciably better. It was just not a good way to go.) So this is what you get. I’m surprised that I haven’t done anything like this before. Sure, there’s the much-revered #12; but that only creates the illusion of an echo. The dynamics hold steady throughout. This has actual retreating dynamics. There are no crescendos; only very measured diminuendos. I like what’s happening here. Enjoy.
One Day Wonder #273
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones and tuba.
I wanted to write something funky, but didn’t want a full-on funky march. I have my reasons. For one thing, the last word in funky marches was way, way back at #19. And come to think of it, I’ve also done a lot of non-march funkiness, so this piece is kind of an exercise in pulling one’s punches. And it sounds like it, too. I didn’t want for it to be too march-like or too funky. The trouble is that I had no reliable substitutes – at least none that I could think of in my limited time – so I just dialed back all the things that make the tune what it is and this is the result. Yeah, it ain’t so dandy. Well, it is pleasant, but I wasn’t going for that. Most of the time, these pieces become one thing or another by sheer force of my determination to finish this entire project. As I’ve said probably a million times before, some are good, others are not and some are so surprising and engrossing that I can’t be sure whether I can take credit for them. It’s like somebody piped a bunch of notes into my head and all I did was enter them in the computer. This piece is not one of those efforts. I would much rather write a bad piece than a mediocre one. That way, I feel like I’ve safely constructed a warning to myself for the future. All the bad stuff blares out at me for now and forever. With a mediocre piece, I can’t ever seem to figure out specifically what went wrong. If I could, it wouldn’t be a mediocre piece, see? Well, this is mediocre. I tried and failed to make it a real cool thing, but it just didn’t turn that corner.
I wanted to write something funky, but didn’t want a full-on funky march. I have my reasons. For one thing, the last word in funky marches was way, way back at #19. And come to think of it, I’ve also done a lot of non-march funkiness, so this piece is kind of an exercise in pulling one’s punches. And it sounds like it, too. I didn’t want for it to be too march-like or too funky. The trouble is that I had no reliable substitutes – at least none that I could think of in my limited time – so I just dialed back all the things that make the tune what it is and this is the result. Yeah, it ain’t so dandy. Well, it is pleasant, but I wasn’t going for that. Most of the time, these pieces become one thing or another by sheer force of my determination to finish this entire project. As I’ve said probably a million times before, some are good, others are not and some are so surprising and engrossing that I can’t be sure whether I can take credit for them. It’s like somebody piped a bunch of notes into my head and all I did was enter them in the computer. This piece is not one of those efforts. I would much rather write a bad piece than a mediocre one. That way, I feel like I’ve safely constructed a warning to myself for the future. All the bad stuff blares out at me for now and forever. With a mediocre piece, I can’t ever seem to figure out specifically what went wrong. If I could, it wouldn’t be a mediocre piece, see? Well, this is mediocre. I tried and failed to make it a real cool thing, but it just didn’t turn that corner.
One Day Wonder #272
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets and 2 trombones.
I rearranged a lot of the lines and cleared out the lion’s share of fifths. Other than that, I didn’t do a heck of a lot. But I’m tons happier with how this turns out. Once again, I’m not in a good frame of mind for concentrating. My brain is all over the place. But I’m expecting this to get better in the next few days. I hope it days and not weeks! This was the ideal thing to take on today. It didn’t tax my poor brain and I was able to generate a second version of this piece that’s a little denser and noisier than the first. Well, good for me!
I rearranged a lot of the lines and cleared out the lion’s share of fifths. Other than that, I didn’t do a heck of a lot. But I’m tons happier with how this turns out. Once again, I’m not in a good frame of mind for concentrating. My brain is all over the place. But I’m expecting this to get better in the next few days. I hope it days and not weeks! This was the ideal thing to take on today. It didn’t tax my poor brain and I was able to generate a second version of this piece that’s a little denser and noisier than the first. Well, good for me!
One Day Wonder #271
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets and 2 trombones.
This is the first version of two pieces. This one is almost there, but not quite. That’s why I wrote a second version. I had this idea for snaky, interweaving lines and this is what turned out. I had myself stick to a very simple idea, because I knew that my mind wouldn’t be up to conjuring up complex things, because this is the day I chose to quit smoking. Yes, I’ve done it many times before, but there was always something to bring me back to the fold. This time, I think it will work. I won’t bore you with all of my reasons for kicking the sticks, but I’ve got quite a few. It’s just that concentrating and formulating is difficult for the time being. When I finished writing this piece, I wasn’t very happy with it, but I had no idea what displeased me. After playing it again and again, I figured that it was the intervals of the aforementioned snaky, interweaving lines. They’re at regular fifths apart. After a fashion, the ear wants to hear a little variety. At least my ear does. Other than that, this tune worked out OK. It’s not minimalism, as it’s got way too much going on, but at the same time, it doesn’t have a lot of melodic lyricism – or lyrical melodicism – going on. It’s just line running up against other lines and so it goes until it’s over. Tomorrow’s effort is much better.
This is the first version of two pieces. This one is almost there, but not quite. That’s why I wrote a second version. I had this idea for snaky, interweaving lines and this is what turned out. I had myself stick to a very simple idea, because I knew that my mind wouldn’t be up to conjuring up complex things, because this is the day I chose to quit smoking. Yes, I’ve done it many times before, but there was always something to bring me back to the fold. This time, I think it will work. I won’t bore you with all of my reasons for kicking the sticks, but I’ve got quite a few. It’s just that concentrating and formulating is difficult for the time being. When I finished writing this piece, I wasn’t very happy with it, but I had no idea what displeased me. After playing it again and again, I figured that it was the intervals of the aforementioned snaky, interweaving lines. They’re at regular fifths apart. After a fashion, the ear wants to hear a little variety. At least my ear does. Other than that, this tune worked out OK. It’s not minimalism, as it’s got way too much going on, but at the same time, it doesn’t have a lot of melodic lyricism – or lyrical melodicism – going on. It’s just line running up against other lines and so it goes until it’s over. Tomorrow’s effort is much better.
One Day Wonder #270
For 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.
OK, the Super Bowl is today. Since it comes on so late, I have time to write a piece. The only problem is that I got a little distracted by the pre-game coverage. Yeah, I had these thoughts of a cool little shuffle-along jazz number, but this is what came out instead. There’s nothing too wrong with it; it’s just not what I had in mind. You’ll notice that it’s a basic AABA form with a tuba lead. Instead of doing something different the second time through, I just hand the melody to the trombone and thicken up the accompaniment. That’s all there is to it. I thought I had a lot of time to get this done, but kickoff really snuck up on me and I had to make nachos before things got started. My friend, Trumpet Dave, gave me a recipe for creamy chipotle salsa, and I have to say that it kicks ass. Anyhow, I managed to finish this piece to a certain extent and then returned to it after New England lost – poor Patriots, I was rootin’ for yas, but alas. Good thing I didn’t bet anything on the game! I bet against the Seahawks when they took on Green Bay in the playoffs and I made a whole two dollars. This was a much different affair. I had a weird feeling about this game before it started. Much of it was boring. The New England offense was nowhere to be seen, but the Giants defense was there in full force. After a while, I just wanted to see somebody score. It turned out to be the Giants. Well, good for them. I’m sure their parents are very proud. Afterwards, I reworked the piece to how it is now. It’s not bad, as I said, but it really isn’t much.
OK, the Super Bowl is today. Since it comes on so late, I have time to write a piece. The only problem is that I got a little distracted by the pre-game coverage. Yeah, I had these thoughts of a cool little shuffle-along jazz number, but this is what came out instead. There’s nothing too wrong with it; it’s just not what I had in mind. You’ll notice that it’s a basic AABA form with a tuba lead. Instead of doing something different the second time through, I just hand the melody to the trombone and thicken up the accompaniment. That’s all there is to it. I thought I had a lot of time to get this done, but kickoff really snuck up on me and I had to make nachos before things got started. My friend, Trumpet Dave, gave me a recipe for creamy chipotle salsa, and I have to say that it kicks ass. Anyhow, I managed to finish this piece to a certain extent and then returned to it after New England lost – poor Patriots, I was rootin’ for yas, but alas. Good thing I didn’t bet anything on the game! I bet against the Seahawks when they took on Green Bay in the playoffs and I made a whole two dollars. This was a much different affair. I had a weird feeling about this game before it started. Much of it was boring. The New England offense was nowhere to be seen, but the Giants defense was there in full force. After a while, I just wanted to see somebody score. It turned out to be the Giants. Well, good for them. I’m sure their parents are very proud. Afterwards, I reworked the piece to how it is now. It’s not bad, as I said, but it really isn’t much.
One Day Wonder #269
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone and tuba.
Like #268, this piece also has a singular function: to go fast. And to achieve that, I have the first trumpet doing a lot of thrashing around. After that’s done, the horns take over, and – yes, you’re hearing it right – is a little mini-palindrome operation in the middle of that action. The A theme returns with more instruments joining in, then I resurrect the B theme, this time with the trombone and tuba playing a different melody. The A theme once again rounds things out and we’re done. Wasn’t that a lot of fun? I have to say that the last two weeks have been pretty awful. This project seems to never want to end. I’ve been pushing the same boulder up the hill since last April. But now, all of a sudden, the end is in sight. To make things even better, I’m managing to turn out some good pieces. This is one of them. Hopefully, I’ve put those days of absolutely zero ideas behind me. That was a very miserable time, but surprisingly, it also yielded some fine pieces. It’s not a question of believing in oneself. That’s the stuff of silly Hollywood movies and afterschool specials. Operating on this level, either you write music or you don’t. Belief in self has very little to do with it. But you have to feel good about what you’re writing. Otherwise, what’s the point? So finally, the end is in sight. By my calculations, I should be done sometime around March 5th. Soon after that, I’m going to rent a car and take a road trip. I’m totally sick of Seattle, in particular, Belltown. This place can be such a pit sometimes, replete with crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks. I’ve never been to the South. I think I’ll go there. I know that they have crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks down there, too, but they might be different from what we’ve got here. Anyhow, when I come back, I’ll take on a new project. It might be very big or it might be a scaled-down piece-a-day venture. Writing all this music has done great things for my chops, but 300 pieces is a little excessive. I also might have to get myself a job, but I’m trying not to think about that eventuality too much.
Like #268, this piece also has a singular function: to go fast. And to achieve that, I have the first trumpet doing a lot of thrashing around. After that’s done, the horns take over, and – yes, you’re hearing it right – is a little mini-palindrome operation in the middle of that action. The A theme returns with more instruments joining in, then I resurrect the B theme, this time with the trombone and tuba playing a different melody. The A theme once again rounds things out and we’re done. Wasn’t that a lot of fun? I have to say that the last two weeks have been pretty awful. This project seems to never want to end. I’ve been pushing the same boulder up the hill since last April. But now, all of a sudden, the end is in sight. To make things even better, I’m managing to turn out some good pieces. This is one of them. Hopefully, I’ve put those days of absolutely zero ideas behind me. That was a very miserable time, but surprisingly, it also yielded some fine pieces. It’s not a question of believing in oneself. That’s the stuff of silly Hollywood movies and afterschool specials. Operating on this level, either you write music or you don’t. Belief in self has very little to do with it. But you have to feel good about what you’re writing. Otherwise, what’s the point? So finally, the end is in sight. By my calculations, I should be done sometime around March 5th. Soon after that, I’m going to rent a car and take a road trip. I’m totally sick of Seattle, in particular, Belltown. This place can be such a pit sometimes, replete with crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks. I’ve never been to the South. I think I’ll go there. I know that they have crazy people, crack smokers and scary drunks down there, too, but they might be different from what we’ve got here. Anyhow, when I come back, I’ll take on a new project. It might be very big or it might be a scaled-down piece-a-day venture. Writing all this music has done great things for my chops, but 300 pieces is a little excessive. I also might have to get myself a job, but I’m trying not to think about that eventuality too much.
One Day Wonder #268
For 2 horns, 2 trumpets and tuba.
This piece has only one function: that is to contrast two versus three. In case you’re interested, the two is in the horns and tuba and the three in trumpets. It works out OK. It doesn’t require a lot of fixing like that three-headed thing I did back in the 230s. This tune works. And there are no retrogrades, palindromes or turn-arounds – those are all the same thing. Although I’m not a huge fan of the quarter-note triplets that end many of the trumpets’ phrases (and Finale doesn’t play them back very well, either), but the whole point is to run three against two, or two against three, depending on your point of view. So here we are, breaking out of the incremental palindrome mold (don’t worry, the palindromes/retrogrades will return), but this has its own merits. Please enjoy. That’s why it’s here. I write for an audience; I just have no idea whether I have one.
This piece has only one function: that is to contrast two versus three. In case you’re interested, the two is in the horns and tuba and the three in trumpets. It works out OK. It doesn’t require a lot of fixing like that three-headed thing I did back in the 230s. This tune works. And there are no retrogrades, palindromes or turn-arounds – those are all the same thing. Although I’m not a huge fan of the quarter-note triplets that end many of the trumpets’ phrases (and Finale doesn’t play them back very well, either), but the whole point is to run three against two, or two against three, depending on your point of view. So here we are, breaking out of the incremental palindrome mold (don’t worry, the palindromes/retrogrades will return), but this has its own merits. Please enjoy. That’s why it’s here. I write for an audience; I just have no idea whether I have one.
One Day Wonder #267
For 2 horns and 3 trombones.
After so much trumpet dominance, I wanted to get away from the mid-treble melody. The trumpet has always been the centerpiece of my more melodic pieces (except for a few) and it will rise again to the task. For the moment, however, we’ll do without it. This was an effort to exploit the wonderful 9/8 time signature and try to write an entire piece without any motifs as my guide. OK, I’ve used motifs as my guide before, but this tune is kind of special. It didn’t turn out exactly like I wanted it to, but its contrary directions were fine with me. It’s a fine statement among mid-range brass. I’m very fine with how it is. There’s consonance and dissonance (that’s what I was trying hardest for), and a lot of stuff in between. The big question is whether I could have written this a few weeks ago. The answer is a very strong no. A few weeks ago, I was in complete disarray. I was just getting over being sick and was totally out of ideas. These days, things are much better. Instead of making bold individual statements like I was 200 pieces ago (even though there’s nothing wrong with that), I’m moving incrementally and using all the tools at my disposal – and those are always increasing as I make my way through this project. I knew that something good would come of this.
After so much trumpet dominance, I wanted to get away from the mid-treble melody. The trumpet has always been the centerpiece of my more melodic pieces (except for a few) and it will rise again to the task. For the moment, however, we’ll do without it. This was an effort to exploit the wonderful 9/8 time signature and try to write an entire piece without any motifs as my guide. OK, I’ve used motifs as my guide before, but this tune is kind of special. It didn’t turn out exactly like I wanted it to, but its contrary directions were fine with me. It’s a fine statement among mid-range brass. I’m very fine with how it is. There’s consonance and dissonance (that’s what I was trying hardest for), and a lot of stuff in between. The big question is whether I could have written this a few weeks ago. The answer is a very strong no. A few weeks ago, I was in complete disarray. I was just getting over being sick and was totally out of ideas. These days, things are much better. Instead of making bold individual statements like I was 200 pieces ago (even though there’s nothing wrong with that), I’m moving incrementally and using all the tools at my disposal – and those are always increasing as I make my way through this project. I knew that something good would come of this.
One Day Wonder #266
For 2 horns, 2 trombones and tuba.
Here we are again, turning things around to see what happens. After #264, I was thinking that the end was nearing for the palindrome. I was wrong. This piece goes down in four-part chunks that all get reversed. The tuba helps to keep things fresh by popping in and running things from the bottom. And although there are lots of similar things in the horns and trombones, the tuba is always mixing things up harmonically (as best as it’s able to within the context) and rhythmically. Towards the end, I break up the parts and run them a beat apart. This works pretty well and I’m happy with it. In fact, I’m really satisfied with how this turns out. It’s got block chords and lots of other stuff. And it isn’t like anything I’ve written so far. Even though I’m really anxious for this project to be done, I can write another 100 pieces if they’re like this one. This was very fun to write.
Here we are again, turning things around to see what happens. After #264, I was thinking that the end was nearing for the palindrome. I was wrong. This piece goes down in four-part chunks that all get reversed. The tuba helps to keep things fresh by popping in and running things from the bottom. And although there are lots of similar things in the horns and trombones, the tuba is always mixing things up harmonically (as best as it’s able to within the context) and rhythmically. Towards the end, I break up the parts and run them a beat apart. This works pretty well and I’m happy with it. In fact, I’m really satisfied with how this turns out. It’s got block chords and lots of other stuff. And it isn’t like anything I’ve written so far. Even though I’m really anxious for this project to be done, I can write another 100 pieces if they’re like this one. This was very fun to write.
One Day Wonder #265
For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.
For today’s piece, I wanted to write something in 11/8. Well, that’s not exactly true. I actually didn’t have the slightest idea of what to write today, so I figured that working on something in 11/8 was as good as anything. OK, I’ve done a lot of palindromes, retrogrades and turn-arounds (they’re all the same thing) of late, but this piece wouldn’t have any of that. This will be a sort of vacation from that. Yeah, a vacation…where I’m in the same place, doing the same basic thing, dealing with the same difficulties…a vacation. Anyhow, this tune does start off a little oompah-riffic, with the trumpet playing a persistent little tune that’s a little too terse to be memorable. The tuba takes over with a little call-and-response with the rest of the ensemble. The A theme plays briefly and the trickiest part follows that. Everybody imitates the tuba’s line. The entrances will be tough, but the effect is pretty cool. The last A isn’t really the A theme at all. It may sound familiar, but it’s completely out of order. What I did was take the last two bars, and put them first, then I took the next-to-last two bars and put them second and so on. It’s not a retrograde at all, see? Anyhow, it all works out very nicely and this is a pretty pleasant piece.
For today’s piece, I wanted to write something in 11/8. Well, that’s not exactly true. I actually didn’t have the slightest idea of what to write today, so I figured that working on something in 11/8 was as good as anything. OK, I’ve done a lot of palindromes, retrogrades and turn-arounds (they’re all the same thing) of late, but this piece wouldn’t have any of that. This will be a sort of vacation from that. Yeah, a vacation…where I’m in the same place, doing the same basic thing, dealing with the same difficulties…a vacation. Anyhow, this tune does start off a little oompah-riffic, with the trumpet playing a persistent little tune that’s a little too terse to be memorable. The tuba takes over with a little call-and-response with the rest of the ensemble. The A theme plays briefly and the trickiest part follows that. Everybody imitates the tuba’s line. The entrances will be tough, but the effect is pretty cool. The last A isn’t really the A theme at all. It may sound familiar, but it’s completely out of order. What I did was take the last two bars, and put them first, then I took the next-to-last two bars and put them second and so on. It’s not a retrograde at all, see? Anyhow, it all works out very nicely and this is a pretty pleasant piece.
One Day Wonder #264
For 1 horn, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones and tuba.
Once again, we’re turning things around. This is one of the more complex efforts. Just suffice to say that everything gets turned around – only at different times. It all starts off in 5/4, which gives the each measure a nice center point. The first bar is reversed and repeated for the four-bar intro. Trumpet and trombone enter playing this floating melody for four bars and that gets turned around. That’s kind of how the rest of the piece goes. Towards the end, the forward and reverse melodies clash a bit, but it really adds to the tension. I like this piece a lot. It has motion without being busy, it explores the retrograde principle without sounding stilted and it manages to make a statement on its own.
Once again, we’re turning things around. This is one of the more complex efforts. Just suffice to say that everything gets turned around – only at different times. It all starts off in 5/4, which gives the each measure a nice center point. The first bar is reversed and repeated for the four-bar intro. Trumpet and trombone enter playing this floating melody for four bars and that gets turned around. That’s kind of how the rest of the piece goes. Towards the end, the forward and reverse melodies clash a bit, but it really adds to the tension. I like this piece a lot. It has motion without being busy, it explores the retrograde principle without sounding stilted and it manages to make a statement on its own.
One Day Wonder #263
For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.
We’re back in the land of palindromes again. Well, this one isn’t like the others. Instead of reversing the tune wholesale, I only turn around selected parts. On top of that, I’ve got a weird chord scheme going on: root (in this case, C), up a major third to E, up another major third to G#, then up a last enharmonic major third to C again, then down a minor third to A and the whole thing starts all over again. Eventually, it will cycle back to C. Oh, and did I mention that all the chords are major. Yeah, that’s why it has that “power chord” feel to it. Towards the end, I have everybody play that main rhythmic motif a beat apart. It comes out as a cool echo-like thing. And then it ends. I really like this piece, especially in the light of yesterday’s sub-par effort. It’s backed up by pretty solid stuff and sounds nice, to boot. Once again, there’s not a hummable tune in this, but it really doesn’t matter.
We’re back in the land of palindromes again. Well, this one isn’t like the others. Instead of reversing the tune wholesale, I only turn around selected parts. On top of that, I’ve got a weird chord scheme going on: root (in this case, C), up a major third to E, up another major third to G#, then up a last enharmonic major third to C again, then down a minor third to A and the whole thing starts all over again. Eventually, it will cycle back to C. Oh, and did I mention that all the chords are major. Yeah, that’s why it has that “power chord” feel to it. Towards the end, I have everybody play that main rhythmic motif a beat apart. It comes out as a cool echo-like thing. And then it ends. I really like this piece, especially in the light of yesterday’s sub-par effort. It’s backed up by pretty solid stuff and sounds nice, to boot. Once again, there’s not a hummable tune in this, but it really doesn’t matter.
One Day Wonder #262
For 1 horn and 3 trombones.
I wanted to give the palindromes a break for the day, so I decided to write a somber little jazz number. Actually, it was barely a decision. Lately, I’ve been drawing a complete blank as to what I should write. I mean, I can think of nothing. What piece gets written is pretty much a game-time decision. In other words, when I’m at the Finale start screen, that’s when I figure out what to write. I thought the horn and trombones would blend well in this rather simple piece. They do, but that’s not what bothers me about it. Once again, form raises its ugly head. I’m not happy with this form, a basic AABA with a few optional extras. It makes this tune seem like it’s going on forever. The B section is a little too jarring and the end is a mess. But other than that… OK, I’ll just say it now: this is the worst piece I’ve written in a long time. Sorry about that!
I wanted to give the palindromes a break for the day, so I decided to write a somber little jazz number. Actually, it was barely a decision. Lately, I’ve been drawing a complete blank as to what I should write. I mean, I can think of nothing. What piece gets written is pretty much a game-time decision. In other words, when I’m at the Finale start screen, that’s when I figure out what to write. I thought the horn and trombones would blend well in this rather simple piece. They do, but that’s not what bothers me about it. Once again, form raises its ugly head. I’m not happy with this form, a basic AABA with a few optional extras. It makes this tune seem like it’s going on forever. The B section is a little too jarring and the end is a mess. But other than that… OK, I’ll just say it now: this is the worst piece I’ve written in a long time. Sorry about that!
One Day Wonder #261
For 2 horns, 1 trumpet and tuba.
I took yesterday off to go help my folks put away their Christmas decorations. Yeah, they still had their Christmas tree up. Oh, what fun! Anyhow, the long drive up there got me to thinking about how to use palindromes in different. That's what this piece is. Yes, indeedy, palindrome-mania continues. Gosh, it’s a lot of fun. I only hope I’m not writing crappy music. OK, here’s the layout: I started with a 25-bar tune in alternating 4/4 and 7/8, and each bar, I add a sharp until it cycles around to the root again. With that done, I turned it around and I also turned it around and inverted it. Finale has a rather sketchy inversion tool, but I still glad that it was doing the math, not me. So what you hear is the retrograde/inversion first (yes, it sounds strange), the simple retrograde is next (not so strange) and finally, the original tune comes last. The concept of turning things around has really got me grappling with form in new and interesting ways. But I’m trying to be careful and not let all this technical stuff detract from the final product. True, you can’t hum this tune – why would you want to? – but it manages to hold together and sound good in two of the three iterations.
Yeah, having a day off was nice, but it looks like from here on out, I'll be back on the piece-a-day wagon until I'm done, which will be soon.
I took yesterday off to go help my folks put away their Christmas decorations. Yeah, they still had their Christmas tree up. Oh, what fun! Anyhow, the long drive up there got me to thinking about how to use palindromes in different. That's what this piece is. Yes, indeedy, palindrome-mania continues. Gosh, it’s a lot of fun. I only hope I’m not writing crappy music. OK, here’s the layout: I started with a 25-bar tune in alternating 4/4 and 7/8, and each bar, I add a sharp until it cycles around to the root again. With that done, I turned it around and I also turned it around and inverted it. Finale has a rather sketchy inversion tool, but I still glad that it was doing the math, not me. So what you hear is the retrograde/inversion first (yes, it sounds strange), the simple retrograde is next (not so strange) and finally, the original tune comes last. The concept of turning things around has really got me grappling with form in new and interesting ways. But I’m trying to be careful and not let all this technical stuff detract from the final product. True, you can’t hum this tune – why would you want to? – but it manages to hold together and sound good in two of the three iterations.
Yeah, having a day off was nice, but it looks like from here on out, I'll be back on the piece-a-day wagon until I'm done, which will be soon.
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