Composinating

”Those hands have been busy.”
—John Connor


Ever since I finished grad school, I started keeping all my ideas for composition projects in a single Word file. I list every single idea I have—whether nearly finished or merely in the conceptual phase—in decreasing order of priority. Everything from music for silent films to my own take on a mock Terminator score.

I haven’t blogged about composing for a long time—not because I haven’t been working on anything, but because I haven’t felt like anything was worth giving the spotlight for a blog post. So I thought I’d just mention a bunch of them at once.

The thing is, I can’t work on anything unless it means working at the computer (and so few projects are ever like that) because my keyboard is boxed up until I get a space to set up my studio. This could take a while, which chafes me.

Here are a few projects that happen to be at the top of the list right now:


Six Devotionals From the Psalms

I selected the text way back in October ’05, just before I hit the thesis really hard. I came back to it this winter, outlining a significant amount before I moved here.

I read every single book of Psalms, selecting the following six based on their potential for word-painting, structure, and overall balance of moods for a fulfilling experience (it’s a cycle, not just six separate pieces):

Psalm 23
Psalm 61
Psalm 86
Psalm 94
Psalm 134
Psalm 150

A former colleague has a standing offer to conduct this piece (as well as several others), so I was working on it pretty intently until I moved.

For simplicity’s/accessibility’s sake, I have restricted the voicing to eight-part a capella choir (divisi). I chose the King James version for that tried-and-true “thou art” choral vernacular. As for style, my intention is to use a wide range of harmonic language and practice. Sometimes it’s Palestrina, sometimes it’s Dello Joio. Sometimes it’s quintal or quartal, sometimes it’s cluster city. But word-painting is first and foremost, which means that much of the cycle is through-composed.

From a marketing standpoint, there are pros and cons of using a sacred text. On one hand, sacred music is tried-and-true, and people are always looking for new music like this. On the other hand, the vast majority of choir music is sacred music, and sometimes vocalists are weary of singing it all the time. They want something more fun and daring. Well, whatever. It depends on the choir sometimes.


Offertory Music

Why? Because I can get it performed any time. I reworked the piano suite I wrote for my brother’s wedding and titled it Nocturne No. 2. It was used as offertory music, but I haven’t heard the recording yet.

There are several pieces I have in mind for more church music, actually. Just because music is “pretty” doesn’t automatically mean it’s “cheap” or “cheesy.” It’s okay to be consonant once in a while, you know. You should try it. You might discover that it’s easy to bash tonal music when you never write it yourself, because writing a decent melody is not something everyone can do. It’s functional music, too. Get over yourself.

Wait, who’s my audience again?


Moonlight Soliloquy

This is a simple twelve-tone solo for violin. I found a tone row I really liked, one that offers virtually limitless motivic value. The layman’s ear can latch onto the primary motive easily enough to appreciate the piece, I think. I work my way around the matrix (all the way around it, not just using P0, RI4, and P7 or something) in such a manner to serve as an excellent analysis assignment for a college sophomore.

The piece begins mysteriously, slowly builds steam, and becomes frenetic, before ending with a more “informed” version of the opening material. I like what I have so far, except it’s becoming much too long. It needs to be cut substantially, and I’m having difficulty figuring out how exactly to trim it down without losing something special.


Book of Five Rings

I’ve always wanted to compose a five-movement percussion ensemble piece based on Musashi’s legendary book of strategy and principles. Originally, it was going to be a very elaborate ensemble at Truman State University. It was going to be a full stage of pretty much every percussion instrument available. Realistically, neither the composition prof nor the percussion prof would have gone for it.

For feasibility’s sake, at BGSU, I thought I’d change it to an EA piece instead. Then I got my Master’s and left Ohio. I never did figure out exactly how I wanted to do this piece.

The only thing keeping me from doing this piece for so long is that I wanted to do it justice. I wanted to make it exemplary of percussion and electronic mastery.

Now, I just want to do it.

I. Book of Earth - This book is essentially an introduction to the martal arts and addresses training, leadership, and building the foundation of learning.
II. Book of Water - This book deals with the role of spirituality in strategy and the balance of determination and calmness.
III. Book of Fire - This book focuses on the heat of battle, the aspects of timing, and the broad scope of methods of attack based on situations. The music will involve a crazy repartee of polyrhythms.
IV. Book of Wind - This book analyzes the failings of different schools and explains the importance of understanding your enemy as well as possible (do not rely too much on one weapon, do not narrow your training scope, etc.). The different weapon styles would be represented by the incorporation of different musical styles.
V. Book of No-Thing - This book is a short epilogue to the body of Musashi’s work, explaining (or not explaining, enigmatically enough) the Zen consciousness and mindset. Know that which cannot be seen; interpretation is open to debate. The music is starkly simple and meditative.


untitled koto project

I’ve been researching music theory behind traditional Japanese music with the intention of writing a duet for koto and shamisen. I haven’t decided between the in sen or hirajoshi scales. Maybe I’ll just compose two pieces.

I have several CDs of traditional Japanese music, and I’ve seen all the instruments live, so I have a handle on it. I've even been to a seminar on taiko ensemble, but I really like the koto and shamisen and I want to write for them.


Kings of Lusturia: The Fog of War

When I was at Truman, I scored a play about MMORPG addiction titled Four Things I’d Like To Forget. Most of the music occurred within the “game,” called Kings of Lusturia, so I basically wrote a video game score for the play.

I had such a negative experience working with the theater department and the douchebag playwright that I cringe every time I hear one of the pieces from this score. Well, to be fair, I also cringe because my music is cringe-worthy. But hey.

I had a self-deprecating, creative-flight-of-fancy phone conversation with the Captain a couple weeks ago regarding old projects of ours, and started getting ideas for an “expansion pack” for the “game.” Mostly, it would be a project of redemption for me, trying to salvage what decent ideas I may have had that were spent on a miserable collaborative experience. But it would be a good exercise in developing material, tying old themes in with new ones. I mean, how often has any one of us written music for a sequel to our own project?

It sounds like fun to me. Then again, I could put that effort into Fantascapes, another wayward project, one with much more psychological appeal than Kings of Lusturia. Then again, once again, maybe I could get to the point where listening to it doesn’t make me want to stab a college student.

Man, that experience sucked. I have to do this to redeem it.


untitled tuba piece

To say nothing about the wayward Concerto for Tuba, I have been thinking about writing something new for AJP to play. No actual idea here, just a vague sense of motivation.



Those are just a few things I’m “working on,” except that I’m not.