Happy Thursday...
Started writing a new tune for my trio yesterday and actually finished it today. It's a happy, grooving, and slightly quirky tune with a lot of interesting rhythmic points. I am calling it "Rompus In The Pampas" for my dog Booner (who lives with my parents in Los Osos, CA), who loves to scratch his back by running around, over, and often through the pampas grass on his walks. The trio is resuming rehearsals tomorrow afternoon, so I'll have the opportunity to hear it right away.
Otherwise, I've been enjoying listening to some "Mingus Moves" this afternoon. I came across an amazing video of the Charles Mingus quintet in the studio with Eric Dolphy (flute and bass clarinet), Clifford Jordan (tenor sax), Jaki Byard (piano), and Dannie Richmond (drums) performing "Meditations On Integration". This piece is a superb example of Mingus' resourcefulness as a composer/orchestrator. With a pretty standard quintet line up (two horns and a rhythm section), Mingus acheives an enormous range of textures within this masterfully crafted piece. Not to mention Eric Dolphy is on fire...
The piece spans two videos:
Charles Mingus - Meditations On Integration (Part 1)
Charles Mingus - Meditations On Integration (Part 2)
Enjoy!
Michael Mull Octet
Showing posts with label composition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label composition. Show all posts
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Music vs. Title Survey
A Happy Father's Day to all you awesome pops out there!
I was talking about composition with my friend Steve Blum a month or two back, and the topic of titles came up. Turns out, Steve often starts with a title, whereas I rarely produce a title until near the end of the composition process. Everyone approaches composition a different way, and that includes the use of a title. I thought it would be interesting and enlightening to send off emails to some of my favorite composers in the jazz world asking them about this topic, and compile the answers here for y'all. I'd like to thank everyone listed for their time and great responses!
The question was:
"When you write a piece of music, what usually comes first, the music or the title?"
Here are the answers I received:
"Usually the music comes first in my case. The best titles for me do come when I'm at the beginning of the writing process however and am still feeling that initial inspiration. It's harder after the tune is complete to go back and find a title that fits the initial feeling for me."
--- Donny McCaslin, saxophone
"I almost always conceive the music first and titles comes later."
--- Edward Simon, piano
"Without hesitation the music comes first. Some titles come soon after finishing work on a tune, but many don't happen until I'm forced to come up with names of tunes for a record. I'll occasionally come up with a title I like separate from writing music. Then I'll add it to a list of potential tune titles that I'll reference if I'm not coming up with anything for a particular tune. Just like a lot of things, it either comes easily or it takes a while."
---Steve Cardenas, guitar
"For me a mood will come to me when composing and usually a title will follow. Other times a composition will surface at roughly the same time an event of notice occurs in my life."
--- John Fumo, trumpet
"The title either comes first or during the process....it usually helps me maintain a direction in the writing."
--- John Hollenbeck, drums
"Almost exclusively, the music happens first but sometimes on rare occasions a word or image will spark something to happen. I remember reading about Mathew Sheppard and that was one of those rare moments where I started working on lyrics and the music followed."
--- Alphonso Johnson, bass
"I don't think I've ever written a tune to fit with a title, although that might change with a few potential commissions coming up. What I do have is a list of potenital titles for tunes that I can match with new pieces, but only after I've written the music. So I guess technically sometime I do have the title before the music, but it's usually correlation rather than causation."
--- Gary Fukushima, piano
"The music almost always comes first. The only exceptions are when I come up with what I think is a clever title and I need to write a tune as an excuse to use it, but that usually doesn't work. I don't often write tunes based on specific places or events - they are mostly just explorations of musical ideas, so titles are sometimes hard to come by."
--- Ben Monder, guitar
"The music comes first."
--- Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, bass
"For me, it's usually the music first but occasionally a title will inspire the direction. 'Boxer Rebellion', inspired by our 2 dogs, is an example of a 'title first' composition of mine. More often, I will have a person in mind, which I find more inspiring. This was the case with 'Message From Art' (Art Blakey), 'Kind of Bill' (Bill Evans), 'Bella Luce' (Conte Candoli) and 'For Gillian' (my wife). 'Sixth Sense' was inspired by an exercise on the drum set and 'Native Land' is a homage to planet earth. In each of those tunes, the music came first."
--- Joe LaBarbera, drums
"The very first thing that comes to mind is who is the music for, then sometimes the title comes first and the music is written but often what i write is concieved for a group or individuals and then the title is added, so I would say...maybe its 30 percent title first, and 70 percent music, then title. That said, I do keep a bag or lists of titles for every occasion."
--- Vinny Golia, multi-woodwinds
"It's very rare that I have a title before I write. Most often, I have to think of a title at the last minute when a recording is about to be released! Usually I start composing with a mood in mind, but since music is expressive in a way for me that's beyond words, often it's hard for me to think of a specific title that accurately captures that mood."
--- Chris Potter, saxophone
"To me, the title is important - it conveys a feeling and intention about the music before a listener even hears the first note. I often write the title BEFORE I discover the musical ideas. It is one of the many parameters that I use to get started writing, and can bring a sense of unity and focus to a composition.
"The relationship between a title and the composition can be very abstract and hard to define, or it can be more literal and even programmatic. But there are many compositions that first attract a performer's or listener's attention because of an effective title. If I complete a composition without a title, it can be difficult to find a title that is 'as good as' the music, and sometimes feels like a compromise (which is disappointing...). The goal is to complete a composition that tells one focused story, and the title can be very helpful in communicating that story."
--- David Roitstein, piano
"It is not a matter of a title or the music coming first, as both processes happen, as well as co-created titles and pieces that come together simultaneously.
"Some examples would be pieces of mine such as 'Frozen Ropes', 'Drifter', and 'Ceilings' where an entire piece had been completed and needed to be titled. Therefore, whatever popped into my mind--that evidently reflected current circumstances or situations I was immersed in--became the titles.
"Another avenue of construction is exemplified by pieces such as 'Dresden Moods', 'A Tree Frog Tonality', and 'Hydrofoil', where the titles came first and informed the content of the musical composition amply--in these particular cases, an historical event and its aftermath, the inspiration of nature's fine non-human musicians, and a dedication to the spirit of the late Fred Hopkins.
"Lastly the co-created dynamic where a title arises as the music is written. An example of this amongst my works would be 'Nature, Time, Patience'. I realized around half-way through composing the commissioned work, that the aforementioned three elements were going to be essential to the success of the piece, so I simply titled it that."
--- John Lindberg, bass
"When I write music the music always comes first. It starts as a small impulse and melody is almost always the generator. Melody contains so many elements in microcosm (it implies harmony, form, phrases, meter, etc.) and it also has a forward momentum through its storytelling. I just need to get my self out of the way and find what is contained or implied by that first impulse (more and more I'm convinced it contains all the information including the ultimate length of a piece). The title comes much later for me. I think the process would be less abstract and more stilted if I had word associations from the beginning."
--- Larry Koonse, guitar
I was talking about composition with my friend Steve Blum a month or two back, and the topic of titles came up. Turns out, Steve often starts with a title, whereas I rarely produce a title until near the end of the composition process. Everyone approaches composition a different way, and that includes the use of a title. I thought it would be interesting and enlightening to send off emails to some of my favorite composers in the jazz world asking them about this topic, and compile the answers here for y'all. I'd like to thank everyone listed for their time and great responses!
The question was:
"When you write a piece of music, what usually comes first, the music or the title?"
Here are the answers I received:
"Usually the music comes first in my case. The best titles for me do come when I'm at the beginning of the writing process however and am still feeling that initial inspiration. It's harder after the tune is complete to go back and find a title that fits the initial feeling for me."
--- Donny McCaslin, saxophone
"I almost always conceive the music first and titles comes later."
--- Edward Simon, piano
"Without hesitation the music comes first. Some titles come soon after finishing work on a tune, but many don't happen until I'm forced to come up with names of tunes for a record. I'll occasionally come up with a title I like separate from writing music. Then I'll add it to a list of potential tune titles that I'll reference if I'm not coming up with anything for a particular tune. Just like a lot of things, it either comes easily or it takes a while."
---Steve Cardenas, guitar
"For me a mood will come to me when composing and usually a title will follow. Other times a composition will surface at roughly the same time an event of notice occurs in my life."
--- John Fumo, trumpet
"The title either comes first or during the process....it usually helps me maintain a direction in the writing."
--- John Hollenbeck, drums
"Almost exclusively, the music happens first but sometimes on rare occasions a word or image will spark something to happen. I remember reading about Mathew Sheppard and that was one of those rare moments where I started working on lyrics and the music followed."
--- Alphonso Johnson, bass
"I don't think I've ever written a tune to fit with a title, although that might change with a few potential commissions coming up. What I do have is a list of potenital titles for tunes that I can match with new pieces, but only after I've written the music. So I guess technically sometime I do have the title before the music, but it's usually correlation rather than causation."
--- Gary Fukushima, piano
"The music almost always comes first. The only exceptions are when I come up with what I think is a clever title and I need to write a tune as an excuse to use it, but that usually doesn't work. I don't often write tunes based on specific places or events - they are mostly just explorations of musical ideas, so titles are sometimes hard to come by."
--- Ben Monder, guitar
"The music comes first."
--- Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, bass
"For me, it's usually the music first but occasionally a title will inspire the direction. 'Boxer Rebellion', inspired by our 2 dogs, is an example of a 'title first' composition of mine. More often, I will have a person in mind, which I find more inspiring. This was the case with 'Message From Art' (Art Blakey), 'Kind of Bill' (Bill Evans), 'Bella Luce' (Conte Candoli) and 'For Gillian' (my wife). 'Sixth Sense' was inspired by an exercise on the drum set and 'Native Land' is a homage to planet earth. In each of those tunes, the music came first."
--- Joe LaBarbera, drums
"The very first thing that comes to mind is who is the music for, then sometimes the title comes first and the music is written but often what i write is concieved for a group or individuals and then the title is added, so I would say...maybe its 30 percent title first, and 70 percent music, then title. That said, I do keep a bag or lists of titles for every occasion."
--- Vinny Golia, multi-woodwinds
"It's very rare that I have a title before I write. Most often, I have to think of a title at the last minute when a recording is about to be released! Usually I start composing with a mood in mind, but since music is expressive in a way for me that's beyond words, often it's hard for me to think of a specific title that accurately captures that mood."
--- Chris Potter, saxophone
"To me, the title is important - it conveys a feeling and intention about the music before a listener even hears the first note. I often write the title BEFORE I discover the musical ideas. It is one of the many parameters that I use to get started writing, and can bring a sense of unity and focus to a composition.
"The relationship between a title and the composition can be very abstract and hard to define, or it can be more literal and even programmatic. But there are many compositions that first attract a performer's or listener's attention because of an effective title. If I complete a composition without a title, it can be difficult to find a title that is 'as good as' the music, and sometimes feels like a compromise (which is disappointing...). The goal is to complete a composition that tells one focused story, and the title can be very helpful in communicating that story."
--- David Roitstein, piano
"It is not a matter of a title or the music coming first, as both processes happen, as well as co-created titles and pieces that come together simultaneously.
"Some examples would be pieces of mine such as 'Frozen Ropes', 'Drifter', and 'Ceilings' where an entire piece had been completed and needed to be titled. Therefore, whatever popped into my mind--that evidently reflected current circumstances or situations I was immersed in--became the titles.
"Another avenue of construction is exemplified by pieces such as 'Dresden Moods', 'A Tree Frog Tonality', and 'Hydrofoil', where the titles came first and informed the content of the musical composition amply--in these particular cases, an historical event and its aftermath, the inspiration of nature's fine non-human musicians, and a dedication to the spirit of the late Fred Hopkins.
"Lastly the co-created dynamic where a title arises as the music is written. An example of this amongst my works would be 'Nature, Time, Patience'. I realized around half-way through composing the commissioned work, that the aforementioned three elements were going to be essential to the success of the piece, so I simply titled it that."
--- John Lindberg, bass
"When I write music the music always comes first. It starts as a small impulse and melody is almost always the generator. Melody contains so many elements in microcosm (it implies harmony, form, phrases, meter, etc.) and it also has a forward momentum through its storytelling. I just need to get my self out of the way and find what is contained or implied by that first impulse (more and more I'm convinced it contains all the information including the ultimate length of a piece). The title comes much later for me. I think the process would be less abstract and more stilted if I had word associations from the beginning."
--- Larry Koonse, guitar
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SlumGum with Strings
Hi everyone,
Countdown to my graduation with a Master's degree from California Institute of the Arts! A week from tomorrow, and I'm quite excited and quite nervous. Trying to finish up a few projects, and start some new ones, as this semester draws to a close. But there's always time for some great live music:
I just got word of a show that will be taking place next Wednesday, May 19th that I would highly recommend. One of the most creative and interesting bands in Los Angeles, Slumgum, will be playing in collaboration with a string quartet comprised of Andrew Macintosh, Melinda Rice, Yvette Holzwarth, and Chris Votek. Every musician involved is a contributing composer as well, so expect variety of the most sublime variety.
SLUMGUM + STRING QUARTET
Wednesday May 19th, 7:00-9:00pm
FREE
Pasadena Public Library
285 East Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA
View the event on facebook.com
Slumgum on myspace.com
Countdown to my graduation with a Master's degree from California Institute of the Arts! A week from tomorrow, and I'm quite excited and quite nervous. Trying to finish up a few projects, and start some new ones, as this semester draws to a close. But there's always time for some great live music:
I just got word of a show that will be taking place next Wednesday, May 19th that I would highly recommend. One of the most creative and interesting bands in Los Angeles, Slumgum, will be playing in collaboration with a string quartet comprised of Andrew Macintosh, Melinda Rice, Yvette Holzwarth, and Chris Votek. Every musician involved is a contributing composer as well, so expect variety of the most sublime variety.
SLUMGUM + STRING QUARTET
Wednesday May 19th, 7:00-9:00pm
FREE
Pasadena Public Library
285 East Walnut St.
Pasadena, CA
View the event on facebook.com
Slumgum on myspace.com
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano
I have been a fan of all of Gyorgi Ligeti's music that I have heard thus far (which, admittedly has not been a lot), particularly his orchestral work Atmospheres that involves "micro-polyphony"; a hyper-intensified form of counterpoint that involves so many independent lines that an overall sound texture is acheived and the melody of the lines is practically lost. It was a life-changing experience to hear a recording of this piece for the first time; Ligeti created sounds I would have never imagined could come from an orchestra.
Fast-forward a few years to this afternoon. I don't remember how I came to think of it, but I felt the urge to look up some Ligeti on youtube, next remembering that my composition professor at Cal State Northridge, Liviu Marinescu, had mentioned Ligeti's horn trio as being "essential". I found an amazing recording of the four-movement piece on youtube. The most amazing horn playing I've ever heard, and an intriguing composition all around. I was particularly taken by the fragile and dynamic fourth movement, and the rhythmic "groove" of the second movement, though I would urge you to hear it in full. Links posted below.
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: I. Andantino con tenerezz
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: II. Vivacissimo molto ritmico
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: III. Alla Marcia
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: IV. Lamento-Adagio
Hearing music like this is lighting a fire beneath me to do a lot more listening in this area, along with some intense score study. I will be finishing my Master's Degree in a matter of weeks, but by no means will that mean my studies have come to an end; I mean to compose much more heavily in the area of chamber music in the coming years, and I am looking forward to learning much from Ligeti and others as I learn and refine my own craft of composition and orchestration.
Fast-forward a few years to this afternoon. I don't remember how I came to think of it, but I felt the urge to look up some Ligeti on youtube, next remembering that my composition professor at Cal State Northridge, Liviu Marinescu, had mentioned Ligeti's horn trio as being "essential". I found an amazing recording of the four-movement piece on youtube. The most amazing horn playing I've ever heard, and an intriguing composition all around. I was particularly taken by the fragile and dynamic fourth movement, and the rhythmic "groove" of the second movement, though I would urge you to hear it in full. Links posted below.
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: I. Andantino con tenerezz
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: II. Vivacissimo molto ritmico
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: III. Alla Marcia
Ligeti Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano: IV. Lamento-Adagio
Hearing music like this is lighting a fire beneath me to do a lot more listening in this area, along with some intense score study. I will be finishing my Master's Degree in a matter of weeks, but by no means will that mean my studies have come to an end; I mean to compose much more heavily in the area of chamber music in the coming years, and I am looking forward to learning much from Ligeti and others as I learn and refine my own craft of composition and orchestration.
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