I've been on a long and painful journey, but today, I went home. To take that journey up to London, was so wonderful, I'm floating on air. I have a kind of love affair with the city. I realised today, that I've been rumbling round London in one guise or another since I left school. I've never lived there, but I've worked and played there so much, I just love it.
So I took the train to London, and I took the tube across London and I went home - back to the Academy. it was a beautiful day too. I smiled at the tourists taking photographs of their friends standing infront of the Sherlock Holmes statue, and was interested to see the big queues for Madame Tussauds - the weather must be warming up! I have no idea what the appeal of that place is; wax people? WTF is that about? Nah, it eludes me completely. But then, it would. Current affairs don't inspire me, news is usually bad, and I can't do anything to improve it, so I'd rather stay out of it. So wax versions of goodness knows who - well, why would it appeal to me?
Of the music? The river has never stopped running; it was a trickle there for a while, but considering the amount of drugs that were running round my little self, and the amount of pain that they were just not able to hide, it's a bloody miracle that anything came out of me other than distressed sobs! I'm really glad that I managed to keep writing, it's kept the flame alive, and at times it's been the only thing that kept me focussed, was the only thing beyond the pain.
So today, I walked into the studio and was greeted with the warmest welcome. My dear friends, Hollie, Simon, Rob and Peiman were like sunbeams :) then Chris Redgate and his oboe joined us to run through our pieces for the microtone festival. That Chris is a legend; there is no corner unturned in his love affair with the oboe...it's not often you see someone so dedicated to their instrument. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be writing for him. He's so jolly too, yer, class!
I also met with Mee Na, the cellist for my Roehampton piece, and we ran through the score, tidying a couple of awkward little corners. I was comforted to find that there were only a couple of minor changes needed; it seems I'm learning!
So, lots and lots of music coming up - pieces being performed, new projects nibbing at my heels, so much singing to do, and ooh my yamaha and my rhodes have been burning up! I'm working on an arty live improv with electronics vibe ready for the Leeds composition with the poet...well, I'm not going to just write a 'song' am I? But I've set myself quite a major task for this one. Though nothing seems impossible after coming out the other side of these few months I've had (no, no, don't mention the boyfriend, the divorce, the custody battle, the...well, the past 5 years!!)
So now what? Low profile please. No dramas, no surprises please. Just me, my children, my family, my LVP family, and those crazy dots and lines that probably say a whole lot more about this journey than any words could express...
I'm a very happy lady. Thank you to everyone who has held my hand and kept me smiling - there's some pretty precious folk in my life, I am a lucky lucky fing, out to play again :) Hurrah!
So much music everywhere...
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Soundcloud
Finally, I have uploaded some of my recent compositions to soundcloud
Plenty more to come - I'm looking forward to the Leeds festival composition...have some ideas bubbling to the surface...!
More blogs post surgery now I guess, wish me luck!
http://soundcloud.com/nikkimusic
Plenty more to come - I'm looking forward to the Leeds festival composition...have some ideas bubbling to the surface...!
More blogs post surgery now I guess, wish me luck!
http://soundcloud.com/nikkimusic
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Time out of mind....
Well it has been a long time since I was here...
It has been a most strange time recently, with ever increasing pain in my back taking over my world really. There have been ups and downs like never before (no, surely not!!), but finding out that a major cause of all the emotional upset was due to the painkillers the doctor put me on way back in early February, explains alot. It was so easy to assume that the level of depression I found myself in was due to my physical pain, and the many major changes that I went through over the past few months; and yet, when I finally ended up in A&E, no longer able to walk; the doctor asked what painkillers I'd been taking...'tramadol mainly' says I innocently....his response 'I wouldn't give tramadol to a dog! Have you been feeling depressed?'
Hmm. Well, in a way it fits in with my whole blog really - it's another learning curve. One I could have done without, but hey, at least I'm on the other side of it now.
The back thing? Well, anyone who knows me, knows what pain I've been in out and through. At times, it's stopped me in my tracks. But what's that thing that drives me? the music. I have paused, and stumbled, but it keeps coming out.
When my op is done (and the surgeon reckons that he'll be able to completely cure me...walking a mile within a week of surgery, and full stamina recovered after 6 weeks), I'm gonna write for England. I've got songs and scores and plots and plans oozing away, that I simply have not had the physical or mental capacity to concentrate on long enough to get out onto paper. But they are not going away these musical fragments, they seem to be waiting for me, luckily, with some patience, until I'm ready to hold them and listen to what they have to say. Then I'll write them down and pass them on. It's like a story that just has to be told. The story exists, beginning, middle, end without the book. All my music has a story within it. and sometimes the stories change a little along the way; but rarely does the the theme differ. There may be a twist in the plot that I didn't know was coming until it presents itself so forcefully that I just have to include it! Others just wander through me and come into existence with few surprises. The more I develop the techniques of composing, the truer I can be to my original intention. When the gap between intention and articulation of sound becomes smaller, the clearer the music becomes.
No wonder the shortcuts of the 'cut and paste' composer stand out more and more. I am so thankful to Gary for telling me to put away my midi sounds and to write the music away from the piano. I have a long long way to go, but that gap - the intention / articulation gap is way smaller than I could ever have imagined. I guess the more I do it, the clearer it will become.
I am so thankful to my friends and family for (often literally) holding me up. There's not many of my closest people who I haven't phoned for a kind word, when Ive been hurting so much that I didn't know how I was going to make it through that intense moment of pain. All I've needed has been a distraction, just to get me through that little moment. time out of mind. And now I'm nearly there! People have said to me 'you won't know yourself when you are better'.... I've a funny feeling, I've gotten to know myself much more deeply and honestly because of this experience - so I guess I won't know my 'old' self when I'm better, because I've changed. I've pushed myself closer to the edge of reason than I ever dared to look before. It's a dangerous place - but if you go there, at least you know where the boundaries lie.
I have some new friends that weren't there before. I can't wait to go out to play with them without the pain, without the 'sympathy eyes'...it's gonna rock!
I wonder what the music will do now? Post pain. Apres exploding discs. To the next phase of music I bring pain and recovery, I bring love and support, I bring the edge of reason and the glimpse just beyond. I bring absurdities of gigs on crutches and sleepless nights, and laughter and joy and fear. I have a feeling there's something musically brewing...Donald Fagan says 'she has the right dynamic for the new frontier'. I believe he may have a point.
It has been a most strange time recently, with ever increasing pain in my back taking over my world really. There have been ups and downs like never before (no, surely not!!), but finding out that a major cause of all the emotional upset was due to the painkillers the doctor put me on way back in early February, explains alot. It was so easy to assume that the level of depression I found myself in was due to my physical pain, and the many major changes that I went through over the past few months; and yet, when I finally ended up in A&E, no longer able to walk; the doctor asked what painkillers I'd been taking...'tramadol mainly' says I innocently....his response 'I wouldn't give tramadol to a dog! Have you been feeling depressed?'
Hmm. Well, in a way it fits in with my whole blog really - it's another learning curve. One I could have done without, but hey, at least I'm on the other side of it now.
The back thing? Well, anyone who knows me, knows what pain I've been in out and through. At times, it's stopped me in my tracks. But what's that thing that drives me? the music. I have paused, and stumbled, but it keeps coming out.
When my op is done (and the surgeon reckons that he'll be able to completely cure me...walking a mile within a week of surgery, and full stamina recovered after 6 weeks), I'm gonna write for England. I've got songs and scores and plots and plans oozing away, that I simply have not had the physical or mental capacity to concentrate on long enough to get out onto paper. But they are not going away these musical fragments, they seem to be waiting for me, luckily, with some patience, until I'm ready to hold them and listen to what they have to say. Then I'll write them down and pass them on. It's like a story that just has to be told. The story exists, beginning, middle, end without the book. All my music has a story within it. and sometimes the stories change a little along the way; but rarely does the the theme differ. There may be a twist in the plot that I didn't know was coming until it presents itself so forcefully that I just have to include it! Others just wander through me and come into existence with few surprises. The more I develop the techniques of composing, the truer I can be to my original intention. When the gap between intention and articulation of sound becomes smaller, the clearer the music becomes.
No wonder the shortcuts of the 'cut and paste' composer stand out more and more. I am so thankful to Gary for telling me to put away my midi sounds and to write the music away from the piano. I have a long long way to go, but that gap - the intention / articulation gap is way smaller than I could ever have imagined. I guess the more I do it, the clearer it will become.
I am so thankful to my friends and family for (often literally) holding me up. There's not many of my closest people who I haven't phoned for a kind word, when Ive been hurting so much that I didn't know how I was going to make it through that intense moment of pain. All I've needed has been a distraction, just to get me through that little moment. time out of mind. And now I'm nearly there! People have said to me 'you won't know yourself when you are better'.... I've a funny feeling, I've gotten to know myself much more deeply and honestly because of this experience - so I guess I won't know my 'old' self when I'm better, because I've changed. I've pushed myself closer to the edge of reason than I ever dared to look before. It's a dangerous place - but if you go there, at least you know where the boundaries lie.
I have some new friends that weren't there before. I can't wait to go out to play with them without the pain, without the 'sympathy eyes'...it's gonna rock!
I wonder what the music will do now? Post pain. Apres exploding discs. To the next phase of music I bring pain and recovery, I bring love and support, I bring the edge of reason and the glimpse just beyond. I bring absurdities of gigs on crutches and sleepless nights, and laughter and joy and fear. I have a feeling there's something musically brewing...Donald Fagan says 'she has the right dynamic for the new frontier'. I believe he may have a point.
Thursday, 17 February 2011
I saw snowdrops...
It has without doubt been the longest winter of my adult life. Literally and proverbially. To have been through the mental grilling that has been my Masters course, the emotional rollercoaster that has thrown me way off course, and the physical pain that made me cry every day so far this year...
but this week, I saw snowdrops, and I saw daffodils (not open yet, but definitely daffodils). I hung my washing out on the line and phoned my mum, and she was doing the same thing - and we laughed at our delight in small things!
I have been walking without limping for at least 5 days now, and although I still have a tough road ahead with my back (will I ever again be able to shave my legs and have sensation...or will it always be like shaving gammon??!) - I'm definitely on the right path. hey, whats a bit of sciatica between friends? ;)
So, spring is glimmering, and I still believe in fairytales. Now then, what about that music?
I have been writing intensely, incessantly it seems, for months. There is nothing like it for shaping one's musical boundaries, whilst at the same time, extending those boundaries beyond my expectations. I remember some time ago, saying that I should write a little every day, or a lot if the mood takes me - well, I listened to myself, and that is what I have done. There is rarely a day goes by when I am not scribbling some loon idea on my manuscript pad, on the train, on the tube, at Oscar & Ellen's swimming lessons (when I clearly should be watching their every move, and cooing over their achievements, I am jotting a quick sketch for oboe, or trio, or a little song that has popped into my head, Winnie the Pooh style!!)...do you think I'd get marks deducted for 'I've a Rumbly in my Tumbly'?
I received the recording of the Chroma Ensemble piece this week. Ah, Chroma...I never thought I would be able to immerse myself in that sound world, but when I stumbled across the idea of using the imagery from the Chinese painting, it all kind of slipped into place. That, combined with my determination to delve deep into understanding each instrument I write for, so that I can learn about the limitations and the potential sound world for each - it's exciting and challenging - 2 things I base my whole life on eh?!
So the recording sounds class, if not way out there at times. It's kooky, but you know what? It's not bullshit - and I wondered whether it might be.
Gary listened to it with me in my tutorial this week, and he was pretty impressed I think. He said that I managed to absorb myself into that soundworld really effectively, especially as it was new territory for me, and something I was trepidatious about. My response to that was that I like challenges (maybe a little too much??!), and if I am given a project, then I will take it seriously. There is no point blagging anything when doing a MMus at RAM is there? I'm not paying 9k a year to goof off or fake it at any point.
Anyway, Chroma - tick tock. Was pretty good. When I receive the final mixes, I'll pop the recordings on my website. Unless you are way familiar with contemporary styles, I suggest 6 glasses of wine in preparation, and 30 minutes intense audio interrogation from the likes of George Crumb, Phil Cashian, and a touch of white noise, to prepare yourself! if you still don't like it, or don't get it - don't say I didn't warn you!...I wonder what Cao Jingping in Beijing will make of it?
Today, I had a proud moment because I set up the studio for recording all on my own. And got a sound. And recorded. yeah baby - it was a good moment :)
There's lots more projects bubbling away, but musically, composerly, there's something that I've been mulling, and I'd like to share it with you.
thoughts on a postcard please...
So what interests me is this :
Someone says to you "please write me a piece of music". This is completely open
"it's for my trio - clarinet, violin, cello". This piece is less open - door 1 closes
"it should be around 8 minutes long" - door 2 closes
then the process of composing starts. But each tiny decision that is made closes another door, until the boundaries are set, and the music can be set free, within the space defined. What makes that space? How does a piece come to be happy or sad, light or dark, fast, slow, dramatic, soulful, anything at all???
This is my current quiz. I have a funny feeling it will eat me for a long time. There may be no answer.
I love writing music. It's amazing to start with that open space, and to define it until it is just full enough of the right gestures and sounds to balance, to sing or to cry.
It may have been a long, dark winter, but really...I'm having the time of my life!
bring on the daffodils my friends! xxx
but this week, I saw snowdrops, and I saw daffodils (not open yet, but definitely daffodils). I hung my washing out on the line and phoned my mum, and she was doing the same thing - and we laughed at our delight in small things!
I have been walking without limping for at least 5 days now, and although I still have a tough road ahead with my back (will I ever again be able to shave my legs and have sensation...or will it always be like shaving gammon??!) - I'm definitely on the right path. hey, whats a bit of sciatica between friends? ;)
So, spring is glimmering, and I still believe in fairytales. Now then, what about that music?
I have been writing intensely, incessantly it seems, for months. There is nothing like it for shaping one's musical boundaries, whilst at the same time, extending those boundaries beyond my expectations. I remember some time ago, saying that I should write a little every day, or a lot if the mood takes me - well, I listened to myself, and that is what I have done. There is rarely a day goes by when I am not scribbling some loon idea on my manuscript pad, on the train, on the tube, at Oscar & Ellen's swimming lessons (when I clearly should be watching their every move, and cooing over their achievements, I am jotting a quick sketch for oboe, or trio, or a little song that has popped into my head, Winnie the Pooh style!!)...do you think I'd get marks deducted for 'I've a Rumbly in my Tumbly'?
I received the recording of the Chroma Ensemble piece this week. Ah, Chroma...I never thought I would be able to immerse myself in that sound world, but when I stumbled across the idea of using the imagery from the Chinese painting, it all kind of slipped into place. That, combined with my determination to delve deep into understanding each instrument I write for, so that I can learn about the limitations and the potential sound world for each - it's exciting and challenging - 2 things I base my whole life on eh?!
So the recording sounds class, if not way out there at times. It's kooky, but you know what? It's not bullshit - and I wondered whether it might be.
Gary listened to it with me in my tutorial this week, and he was pretty impressed I think. He said that I managed to absorb myself into that soundworld really effectively, especially as it was new territory for me, and something I was trepidatious about. My response to that was that I like challenges (maybe a little too much??!), and if I am given a project, then I will take it seriously. There is no point blagging anything when doing a MMus at RAM is there? I'm not paying 9k a year to goof off or fake it at any point.
Anyway, Chroma - tick tock. Was pretty good. When I receive the final mixes, I'll pop the recordings on my website. Unless you are way familiar with contemporary styles, I suggest 6 glasses of wine in preparation, and 30 minutes intense audio interrogation from the likes of George Crumb, Phil Cashian, and a touch of white noise, to prepare yourself! if you still don't like it, or don't get it - don't say I didn't warn you!...I wonder what Cao Jingping in Beijing will make of it?
Today, I had a proud moment because I set up the studio for recording all on my own. And got a sound. And recorded. yeah baby - it was a good moment :)
There's lots more projects bubbling away, but musically, composerly, there's something that I've been mulling, and I'd like to share it with you.
thoughts on a postcard please...
So what interests me is this :
Someone says to you "please write me a piece of music". This is completely open
"it's for my trio - clarinet, violin, cello". This piece is less open - door 1 closes
"it should be around 8 minutes long" - door 2 closes
then the process of composing starts. But each tiny decision that is made closes another door, until the boundaries are set, and the music can be set free, within the space defined. What makes that space? How does a piece come to be happy or sad, light or dark, fast, slow, dramatic, soulful, anything at all???
This is my current quiz. I have a funny feeling it will eat me for a long time. There may be no answer.
I love writing music. It's amazing to start with that open space, and to define it until it is just full enough of the right gestures and sounds to balance, to sing or to cry.
It may have been a long, dark winter, but really...I'm having the time of my life!
bring on the daffodils my friends! xxx
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Mid Life crisis
Not mine, I hasten to add...
What is a mid life crisis anyway?
I think it's that point where you wonder whether the thing you are doing now is the thing that you will always be doing, and whether that 'thing' is what you wanted to anyway....
I'm lucky. I saw my mid life crisis coming a mile off. Went back to university, left my husband, found a new lover, a new house, a new life - I think before the 'crisis' hit. It wasn't easy, but I'm quite pleased that at nearly 38, I'm comfortable in my skin, comfortable with my choices, happy with where I'm heading...
what's the only advantage of having a manic depressive husband who is 18 years older than you?...he's gonna fuck it up first, and you can learn from his mistakes!! I guess that's why the personal blog today. Many of my friends are closer to 25 than 35; so more 1/4 life crisis candidates, which precludes sex with teenagers, or stupid haircuts (ha - look forward to your late 30's my friends!)
You know, I split with my ex nearly 5 months ago, but we still had a 'physical relationship' until this month, when I finally said ENOUGH! I guess I couldn't get my head around him wanting to spend his time with an 18 year old, and yet still come home to me. His excuse?..."I'm a man - who wouldn't want 2 women?"...you can see why I said enough huh? I seriously think he'd have happily carried on with two girlfriends if I hadn't put a stop to it. Poor bugger. Now there's a mid-life crisis personified!!
So, what it comes down to, is always music. So much music everywhere. My sanctuary. My inspiration.
I have turned many corners this week. Today, my piece "Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water" was workshopped by the Chroma Ensemble. It was so breathtaking to hear the 'dots on the page' be transformed into real music, I was quite overwhelmed. i can't wait until the performance on Friday; I put away my humble badge when I say I'm proud of the music I'm making, and I'm proud of the stand I am taking.
Life offers opportunities, and life takes them away.
Next time I will write more of the music. But today, I have a herniated disc in my back which makes me cry when I walk. Today, I am glad that I averted my mid life crisis before it became a joke, today, I look forward to tomorrow, and know that I am lucky, for not enough people look to tomorrow.
I have a rainbow shining over me. it needs rain and sun to shine.
That's me. Rain and sun. Thunder and showers. Faith and Hope. Tra la la...it's gonna be okay :)
nunight friends xxx
What is a mid life crisis anyway?
I think it's that point where you wonder whether the thing you are doing now is the thing that you will always be doing, and whether that 'thing' is what you wanted to anyway....
I'm lucky. I saw my mid life crisis coming a mile off. Went back to university, left my husband, found a new lover, a new house, a new life - I think before the 'crisis' hit. It wasn't easy, but I'm quite pleased that at nearly 38, I'm comfortable in my skin, comfortable with my choices, happy with where I'm heading...
what's the only advantage of having a manic depressive husband who is 18 years older than you?...he's gonna fuck it up first, and you can learn from his mistakes!! I guess that's why the personal blog today. Many of my friends are closer to 25 than 35; so more 1/4 life crisis candidates, which precludes sex with teenagers, or stupid haircuts (ha - look forward to your late 30's my friends!)
You know, I split with my ex nearly 5 months ago, but we still had a 'physical relationship' until this month, when I finally said ENOUGH! I guess I couldn't get my head around him wanting to spend his time with an 18 year old, and yet still come home to me. His excuse?..."I'm a man - who wouldn't want 2 women?"...you can see why I said enough huh? I seriously think he'd have happily carried on with two girlfriends if I hadn't put a stop to it. Poor bugger. Now there's a mid-life crisis personified!!
So, what it comes down to, is always music. So much music everywhere. My sanctuary. My inspiration.
I have turned many corners this week. Today, my piece "Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water" was workshopped by the Chroma Ensemble. It was so breathtaking to hear the 'dots on the page' be transformed into real music, I was quite overwhelmed. i can't wait until the performance on Friday; I put away my humble badge when I say I'm proud of the music I'm making, and I'm proud of the stand I am taking.
Life offers opportunities, and life takes them away.
Next time I will write more of the music. But today, I have a herniated disc in my back which makes me cry when I walk. Today, I am glad that I averted my mid life crisis before it became a joke, today, I look forward to tomorrow, and know that I am lucky, for not enough people look to tomorrow.
I have a rainbow shining over me. it needs rain and sun to shine.
That's me. Rain and sun. Thunder and showers. Faith and Hope. Tra la la...it's gonna be okay :)
nunight friends xxx
Saturday, 8 January 2011
A New Year...
And may it be full of wonder...
2011? Mine is pretty mapped out in some ways, but so unknown. I learned some important lessons in 2010, and like all lessons, some came at quite a cost. However, I am heading into this year with positivity and hope. What do I need to get me through this year? There's always things we need to hang onto, and mine are music, friends and family - funny, because in my world, the three things often intertwine, and the edges are blurred - well, that's fine. I'd hate to be specific!
I remain, through all - a 'determined little fruit', and it is that tenacity that will keep me going when I get tired or lose my focus. It happens eh?
So, what of the music then?
I am delighted to say that in the past couple of weeks, I have completed 2 projects. The soundtrack for the animated movie is now done - just needs mastering. It was a tough one, because of it's 'horror' theme, which is not my bag at all, so I decided to avoid the cliche low strings, diminished chords, and instead explored ways that one can manipulate the recorded voice in order to create suspense. Every sound on the movie is made by either my voice or Oscar & Ellen; but you wouldn't know. I played around with such glorious effects as pitch shifters, and ring modulators and other logic gadgets that spin and warp and delay the sound to a whole new environment. For example; I ran a delay on a short intake of breath, which (unintentionally, I admit) made it sound like an echoing heartbeat. Nice.
So that's 2 projects ticked off...
Chroma. Ah yes. I have lived and breathed Chroma over the Christmas break. I now have 4 movements completed! In fact, the running time of the whole piece is supposed to be 8 minutes, and I have closer to 12, but that can be amended and edited after the workshop with the musicians - which is not until the week of the performance, but I'm sure Gary will give me some advice on that when I see him on Tuesday anyway. After some perseverance, I managed to get hold of the Chinese artist Cao Jingping, who's painting I used as the inspiration for the composition. I have taken elements of the picture, entitled 'Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water', as the different movements. So there's 'Shapes in the Water', which explores the overlapping range of the violin and alto flute. 'Covered Walkways', in which I drew the image of the bridge on manuscript paper and used the resulting pitches as my reference material for the piano. This is 'covered' by interlocking themes in the flute and clarinet. 'Sunlight and Shadows' uses all 4 instruments, with the violin 'shadowing' the other parts. I used a contemporary 'cut out' style score which took bloody hours to achieve in Sibelius, but it now looks just as I want it to, which is great. 'The Crane' is a movement for solo bass clarinet, using harmonics and maybe just a wee touch of jazz (oh, I couldn't help myself!) - the bass clarinet is so juicy!
Oh, I got distracted - yes, I tracked down Cao Jingping through an art gallery in Beijing, and emailed him of my project. He sent me a beautiful reply, saying that he is delighted that I have found music in his art, and is most happy for me to use the title of his painting as the title for my piece. He also sent me an article from a Beijing newspaper about the way that he works, and it was so spiritual. He employs Taoist principles in his visualisation of the world, saying that the way the camera and digital media view the world is not the way it really is to experience and view a place.
I am delighted to have his support for my project, and will send him a copy of the score and a recording of the concert once it is done.
Rafal. I sent the first drafts of the accordion piece to Rafal just before Christmas, and have some great feedback from him. Now that Chroma is nearly there, I want to turn my attention to Rafal's piece - I'm going to spend some time on that in a minute. It's called 'Wycieczka', which is Polish for 'journey'. Seemed appropriate given the massive journey I am on. Yer, looking forward to getting on with that one.
Last, but not least, is my collaboration with Tiff, the choreographer. She's a gem, and we had a great afternoon together this week putting some ideas in place. I'll talk more about that next time...some mathematical undertone already creeping into this piece. Ooh!
ouch; I just remembered the MAX MSP piece for Chris Redgate. I'm still freaked by that program. Best get to it then...
Well, I wish you a happy and interesting year, or even week eh? Let's take things a little at a time!
xxx
2011? Mine is pretty mapped out in some ways, but so unknown. I learned some important lessons in 2010, and like all lessons, some came at quite a cost. However, I am heading into this year with positivity and hope. What do I need to get me through this year? There's always things we need to hang onto, and mine are music, friends and family - funny, because in my world, the three things often intertwine, and the edges are blurred - well, that's fine. I'd hate to be specific!
I remain, through all - a 'determined little fruit', and it is that tenacity that will keep me going when I get tired or lose my focus. It happens eh?
So, what of the music then?
I am delighted to say that in the past couple of weeks, I have completed 2 projects. The soundtrack for the animated movie is now done - just needs mastering. It was a tough one, because of it's 'horror' theme, which is not my bag at all, so I decided to avoid the cliche low strings, diminished chords, and instead explored ways that one can manipulate the recorded voice in order to create suspense. Every sound on the movie is made by either my voice or Oscar & Ellen; but you wouldn't know. I played around with such glorious effects as pitch shifters, and ring modulators and other logic gadgets that spin and warp and delay the sound to a whole new environment. For example; I ran a delay on a short intake of breath, which (unintentionally, I admit) made it sound like an echoing heartbeat. Nice.
So that's 2 projects ticked off...
Chroma. Ah yes. I have lived and breathed Chroma over the Christmas break. I now have 4 movements completed! In fact, the running time of the whole piece is supposed to be 8 minutes, and I have closer to 12, but that can be amended and edited after the workshop with the musicians - which is not until the week of the performance, but I'm sure Gary will give me some advice on that when I see him on Tuesday anyway. After some perseverance, I managed to get hold of the Chinese artist Cao Jingping, who's painting I used as the inspiration for the composition. I have taken elements of the picture, entitled 'Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water', as the different movements. So there's 'Shapes in the Water', which explores the overlapping range of the violin and alto flute. 'Covered Walkways', in which I drew the image of the bridge on manuscript paper and used the resulting pitches as my reference material for the piano. This is 'covered' by interlocking themes in the flute and clarinet. 'Sunlight and Shadows' uses all 4 instruments, with the violin 'shadowing' the other parts. I used a contemporary 'cut out' style score which took bloody hours to achieve in Sibelius, but it now looks just as I want it to, which is great. 'The Crane' is a movement for solo bass clarinet, using harmonics and maybe just a wee touch of jazz (oh, I couldn't help myself!) - the bass clarinet is so juicy!
Oh, I got distracted - yes, I tracked down Cao Jingping through an art gallery in Beijing, and emailed him of my project. He sent me a beautiful reply, saying that he is delighted that I have found music in his art, and is most happy for me to use the title of his painting as the title for my piece. He also sent me an article from a Beijing newspaper about the way that he works, and it was so spiritual. He employs Taoist principles in his visualisation of the world, saying that the way the camera and digital media view the world is not the way it really is to experience and view a place. I am delighted to have his support for my project, and will send him a copy of the score and a recording of the concert once it is done.
Rafal. I sent the first drafts of the accordion piece to Rafal just before Christmas, and have some great feedback from him. Now that Chroma is nearly there, I want to turn my attention to Rafal's piece - I'm going to spend some time on that in a minute. It's called 'Wycieczka', which is Polish for 'journey'. Seemed appropriate given the massive journey I am on. Yer, looking forward to getting on with that one.
Last, but not least, is my collaboration with Tiff, the choreographer. She's a gem, and we had a great afternoon together this week putting some ideas in place. I'll talk more about that next time...some mathematical undertone already creeping into this piece. Ooh!
ouch; I just remembered the MAX MSP piece for Chris Redgate. I'm still freaked by that program. Best get to it then...
Well, I wish you a happy and interesting year, or even week eh? Let's take things a little at a time!
xxx
Friday, 17 December 2010
Jingle Bells all the way!
I friend of mine facebooked me this week and asked how nice it must be to be at the end of term. Well, I guess I'm not commuting, but the pressure is heavy as tescos birthday cakes!
It is nice to be home for a while. Especially in this bizarre siberian weather. My little car, which has been so loyal, broke down today :( The RAC reckoned about a 5 hour wait, and suggested I try to get the kids home. Poor OJ has been poorly this week anyway, so we set off into the cold. Randomly, we stumbled across some carol singers, and a kindly priest offered to take us home. Now that's nice. Oscar got so cold, he was coughing like a loon, and when we got out the car, poor little chap was sick, just from coughing. Hot chocolate, manuka honey, bath and cuddles soon straightened him out, but my stress levels were through the roof! However, the new 'healthier' me, opted for a fresh mint tea to calm the nerves, which worked a treat.
Anyway; of the music? It's hard not to get overwhelmed, but I figure the best thing to do is write music. It gets me out of my head, and gets me closer to achieving my goals, so it's a double whammy. I am really glad to have found a time management technique that works well for me - I set my iphone timer to 25 minutes, and will not do anything except write in that time. Then I have a 5-10 minute break, where I do things like write this blog, or send an email, or check my receding bank balance! It's great. if I can get 4 or more of those in a day, I see real progress.
So here's the lay of the land;
Chroma ensemble piece - 8 minutes, due Jan
Accordion piece for Rafal - sketches asap
Animation project - due 6 Jan
Choreographer Collaboration - due 13 Feb
Oboe piece using live electronics -due 3 Feb
New projects coming up in Jan...phew
Plus gigs; choir, christmas, NYE, new solo performance venue 6 Feb. Blahblah.
Teaching is done until 5 Jan. That's a good thing!
My Chroma piece is based on a piece of contemporary Chinese art 'Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water' by Cao Jingping - taking different elements of the textures as influences for the musical material, which is working well here. It occurred to me last night, that Cao Jingping might like to know what I'm up to, so I sent an email to an art gallery inBeijing, who are currently exhibiting his work, to see if they can put me in touch with him. I hope he gets in touch. Would just be interesting...
Oh - the music theatre piece went down a storm. The snow finally abated on the Saturday, and I was able to get up to London for the performance. Fancy the first time you ever hear the music the you wrote being played at the performance! It was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I have had ever! Luckily, it worked though. The singers were pleased as punch, and the trumpet player said he loved the muted trumpet part. Generally, great feedback. Crikey - what a trip!
LVP completely rocked out at Lauderdale house last week. Class gig! We had Tim Whitehead guesting on sax (we sung one of his compositions), Kenny Wheeler was there (we sung a few of his compositions), the lovely Nikki Iles trio backing us up (Yi, we sung one of Nikki's too!)
It was just a beautiful vibe in the room.
Can't wait til Sunday's gig at the 606. All our classic tunes. Will be a riot! (Oh please don't let the silly snow stop me from getting there)
Next year's performance of the Jon Hendricks vocalese for choir over Miles Ahead (Gil Evans), has been confirmed - Jon has asked us to all get a copy of the album and listen to it every day before we go to bed, and first thing in the morning. So I am. I put it on when I go to bed - think I'll have the first 3 tracks sorted, but might never get to hear the rest; am usually so exhausted by the time I finally turn in! There is a version of Nature Boy on there. My fave song of all time - I sing it to OJ every night, bless my little man.
Okey dokey - I've oer-run my 10 minute break, so it's back to work for me, next 25 minutes going on the clock...
Merry Christmas one and all.
Ding Dong Merrily on high :)
x
It is nice to be home for a while. Especially in this bizarre siberian weather. My little car, which has been so loyal, broke down today :( The RAC reckoned about a 5 hour wait, and suggested I try to get the kids home. Poor OJ has been poorly this week anyway, so we set off into the cold. Randomly, we stumbled across some carol singers, and a kindly priest offered to take us home. Now that's nice. Oscar got so cold, he was coughing like a loon, and when we got out the car, poor little chap was sick, just from coughing. Hot chocolate, manuka honey, bath and cuddles soon straightened him out, but my stress levels were through the roof! However, the new 'healthier' me, opted for a fresh mint tea to calm the nerves, which worked a treat.
Anyway; of the music? It's hard not to get overwhelmed, but I figure the best thing to do is write music. It gets me out of my head, and gets me closer to achieving my goals, so it's a double whammy. I am really glad to have found a time management technique that works well for me - I set my iphone timer to 25 minutes, and will not do anything except write in that time. Then I have a 5-10 minute break, where I do things like write this blog, or send an email, or check my receding bank balance! It's great. if I can get 4 or more of those in a day, I see real progress.
So here's the lay of the land;
Chroma ensemble piece - 8 minutes, due Jan
Accordion piece for Rafal - sketches asap
Animation project - due 6 Jan
Choreographer Collaboration - due 13 Feb
Oboe piece using live electronics -due 3 Feb
New projects coming up in Jan...phew
Plus gigs; choir, christmas, NYE, new solo performance venue 6 Feb. Blahblah.
Teaching is done until 5 Jan. That's a good thing!
My Chroma piece is based on a piece of contemporary Chinese art 'Shadows of Trees on Sunny Water' by Cao Jingping - taking different elements of the textures as influences for the musical material, which is working well here. It occurred to me last night, that Cao Jingping might like to know what I'm up to, so I sent an email to an art gallery inBeijing, who are currently exhibiting his work, to see if they can put me in touch with him. I hope he gets in touch. Would just be interesting...
Oh - the music theatre piece went down a storm. The snow finally abated on the Saturday, and I was able to get up to London for the performance. Fancy the first time you ever hear the music the you wrote being played at the performance! It was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I have had ever! Luckily, it worked though. The singers were pleased as punch, and the trumpet player said he loved the muted trumpet part. Generally, great feedback. Crikey - what a trip!
LVP completely rocked out at Lauderdale house last week. Class gig! We had Tim Whitehead guesting on sax (we sung one of his compositions), Kenny Wheeler was there (we sung a few of his compositions), the lovely Nikki Iles trio backing us up (Yi, we sung one of Nikki's too!)
It was just a beautiful vibe in the room.
Can't wait til Sunday's gig at the 606. All our classic tunes. Will be a riot! (Oh please don't let the silly snow stop me from getting there)
Next year's performance of the Jon Hendricks vocalese for choir over Miles Ahead (Gil Evans), has been confirmed - Jon has asked us to all get a copy of the album and listen to it every day before we go to bed, and first thing in the morning. So I am. I put it on when I go to bed - think I'll have the first 3 tracks sorted, but might never get to hear the rest; am usually so exhausted by the time I finally turn in! There is a version of Nature Boy on there. My fave song of all time - I sing it to OJ every night, bless my little man.
Okey dokey - I've oer-run my 10 minute break, so it's back to work for me, next 25 minutes going on the clock...
Merry Christmas one and all.
Ding Dong Merrily on high :)
x
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
End of term?
Well, it is a little premature for me to be 'summing up' the term, with still 2 days to go. But it seems like the weather might have re-defined my life this week, and it seems pretty unlikely that I'll be making it into the academy any day soon.
It's in some way, a blessing, because the madness was getting a little out of hand. I was chasing my tail, feeling that I was one step behind all the way. Not having time to see the people I should see; I only had 20 minutes with the talented Jonathan, conductor; but I will be seeing him in January for sure. Spending too much time with people I shouldn't see; ah the wolves at my door! and just getting a little overwhelmed really.
I had 2 gigs on Saturday. It's funny, because the first one was (in my mind), a low profile xmas launch shopping centre gig. Solo piano / vox, 11.30-4.30. I should have spent more time going through my xmas tunes, but time was not on my side. So I turned up to the gig, looking pretty, but totally unprepared! I had borrowed a book of 'carol praise' from my student Adam, and figured I'd be tinkling in the background, do a bit of xmas sight reading, and noodle my way through some jazz...cool.
When I arrived, and there was a beautiful Steinway Grand set up in high profile on a stage (I kid you not!), I wished I'd done more preparation!
But I guess in the end, you can't replace experience, and I played well (thanks Steinway), and sung some great tunes. I guess you might say I rose to the occasion. Which I am quite proud of really.
when I came back from a break, Santa (who was set up opposite the piano), said 'look on your stool' - and there was a single white rose, with a note simply saying "like an angel". How cute is that? (especially as my angelic qualities are not my most prominent!!!)
I shared the gig with a ballon modelling elf and 2 ice people. 1 on stilts, 1 ground level doing contact juggling with crystal balls.
Now, I had some pre-conceptions about these acts, but they were blown away on the day. the professionalism and quality of the work they delivered was outstanding, and I was quite enamoured with their talents. I might be slightly miffed that the ballon modelling elf demanded a higher price than me, but I guess that's part of being a musician. Peace beyond passion and all that.
Then I went on to a wedding in the evening with Tim, Steve, Alex and the nice drummer (?), which was cool, but a mf of a get in. Oh loving your beautiful wedding venue with bridges over water to get in....but not with 2 keyboards and a PA at -2 degrees MF! Plus, it was that standard wedding blah. Running late, saying the right words, but not really giving a shit. Still, I had a nice gig, and got to hang out with my muso buddies, which was cool. Was a late night tho ;)
I have missed too much this week due to external influences. It's a bummer. Should have been at LVP extended rehearsal on Monday evening, but couldn't get into town because of tube strikes. Then I missed Tuesday because of snow. Drove in a circle trying to get home and ended back at Crystal Palace afterall. I guess I just couldn't get away!! 5 hours to get nowhere? Well, time to think is an environment that often eludes me, so I guess it was invaluable in some ways (would have been better if I hadn't needed a wee!) I didn't really want to stay out on Tuesday night, but the only place I could get to was Alex's, so there I went. At least it was warm. I watched a movie - now that's a proper treat! i couldn't concentrate on work, so in the end, I stopped pretending to work, and took the chill time for what it was.
Was glad to get home today and pick up my kids and have some normal time together. it's snowing hard, so I guess it sledges and hot chocolate tomorrow. So much for the composer. Tomorrow I am mum, and that will be nicer and less complicated than all the other things I have been this week!
I have started on my chroma composition tho, and am making headway into my accordion piece, so i"m still doing it, despite the world!
Nunight people. Tra la la xxx
It's in some way, a blessing, because the madness was getting a little out of hand. I was chasing my tail, feeling that I was one step behind all the way. Not having time to see the people I should see; I only had 20 minutes with the talented Jonathan, conductor; but I will be seeing him in January for sure. Spending too much time with people I shouldn't see; ah the wolves at my door! and just getting a little overwhelmed really.
I had 2 gigs on Saturday. It's funny, because the first one was (in my mind), a low profile xmas launch shopping centre gig. Solo piano / vox, 11.30-4.30. I should have spent more time going through my xmas tunes, but time was not on my side. So I turned up to the gig, looking pretty, but totally unprepared! I had borrowed a book of 'carol praise' from my student Adam, and figured I'd be tinkling in the background, do a bit of xmas sight reading, and noodle my way through some jazz...cool.
When I arrived, and there was a beautiful Steinway Grand set up in high profile on a stage (I kid you not!), I wished I'd done more preparation!
But I guess in the end, you can't replace experience, and I played well (thanks Steinway), and sung some great tunes. I guess you might say I rose to the occasion. Which I am quite proud of really.
when I came back from a break, Santa (who was set up opposite the piano), said 'look on your stool' - and there was a single white rose, with a note simply saying "like an angel". How cute is that? (especially as my angelic qualities are not my most prominent!!!)
I shared the gig with a ballon modelling elf and 2 ice people. 1 on stilts, 1 ground level doing contact juggling with crystal balls.
Now, I had some pre-conceptions about these acts, but they were blown away on the day. the professionalism and quality of the work they delivered was outstanding, and I was quite enamoured with their talents. I might be slightly miffed that the ballon modelling elf demanded a higher price than me, but I guess that's part of being a musician. Peace beyond passion and all that.
Then I went on to a wedding in the evening with Tim, Steve, Alex and the nice drummer (?), which was cool, but a mf of a get in. Oh loving your beautiful wedding venue with bridges over water to get in....but not with 2 keyboards and a PA at -2 degrees MF! Plus, it was that standard wedding blah. Running late, saying the right words, but not really giving a shit. Still, I had a nice gig, and got to hang out with my muso buddies, which was cool. Was a late night tho ;)
I have missed too much this week due to external influences. It's a bummer. Should have been at LVP extended rehearsal on Monday evening, but couldn't get into town because of tube strikes. Then I missed Tuesday because of snow. Drove in a circle trying to get home and ended back at Crystal Palace afterall. I guess I just couldn't get away!! 5 hours to get nowhere? Well, time to think is an environment that often eludes me, so I guess it was invaluable in some ways (would have been better if I hadn't needed a wee!) I didn't really want to stay out on Tuesday night, but the only place I could get to was Alex's, so there I went. At least it was warm. I watched a movie - now that's a proper treat! i couldn't concentrate on work, so in the end, I stopped pretending to work, and took the chill time for what it was.
Was glad to get home today and pick up my kids and have some normal time together. it's snowing hard, so I guess it sledges and hot chocolate tomorrow. So much for the composer. Tomorrow I am mum, and that will be nicer and less complicated than all the other things I have been this week!
I have started on my chroma composition tho, and am making headway into my accordion piece, so i"m still doing it, despite the world!
Nunight people. Tra la la xxx
Monday, 22 November 2010
You just never know huh?
No.1...I've completed my orchestration. Thank goodness for that. I was starting to think that it was going to remain elusive for the rest of my living days!
No.2...I went to London yesterday to a 'champagne reception' and talk / music with the astounding Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. His horn quintet (I am sure it has a better name, but for now that'll do!), was conducted by Jonathan Mann - academy conductor. Class job J man! I took him to one side at the end, and asked for his help with conducting. As part of my course, we are taking a class in orchestration and conducting. Now - nothing yet has been 'comfortable', but conducting??? the last thing I conducted was the school orchestra when I was 14 - and they made me stand on a chair because I was too small to be seen by the backline...Aah, nothing changes, except that I now have a collection of fine 6" heels, which may do the job as well as any grey school chair! However - leading a shit hot ensemble in contemporary music? So glad I've met Jonathan. We're having coffee Thursday lunchtime; he says he'll show me the basics. (I wonder if he knows just how basic that is!!!)
2.2; met Colin - Max's partner. he was lovely. Showed me lots of pics of where they live in Orkney. Then invited me up to visit! Ah yes, a weekend with Max n Colin, and maybe little red wine? Sounds good to me!
No.3..serendipity. I was on my way home, for the 'early night'...10.32 from Victoria...all good. Until I bumped into a fellow musician and virtual stranger on the station. Daniel was on his way to Ronnie Scotts to see Jon Hendricks (whom I was supposed to be in a masterclass with this week, but couldn't make, because of a tragic timetable clash). He said 'come'...I said 'no...I must work'...
so then we're at Ronnies. I got in by luck, some American visitors had a spare ticket, and more than kindly invited me to join them or the evening. So I Did! Funny how life pans out huh?
They would not even consider letting me pay for my ticket, and shared their Tattinger champagne with me, while we watched the king of vocalise do his thing.
No.4...Pete was there too (king of jazz, light shiner on my world)..and introduced me to James (boss of Ronnies). He said how much he loves LVP, and that he wants us to sing there!
Ronnie Scotts. LVP. Max, Colin, Orkney. My friend Jules, My children.
My friend Oz, for percussion advice at any time of night.
My friend Hollie, who is going to crack the smoking thing!
My choir
My family
My sanity
welcome to my world...
It's kinda fun!
Nunight friends x
No.2...I went to London yesterday to a 'champagne reception' and talk / music with the astounding Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. His horn quintet (I am sure it has a better name, but for now that'll do!), was conducted by Jonathan Mann - academy conductor. Class job J man! I took him to one side at the end, and asked for his help with conducting. As part of my course, we are taking a class in orchestration and conducting. Now - nothing yet has been 'comfortable', but conducting??? the last thing I conducted was the school orchestra when I was 14 - and they made me stand on a chair because I was too small to be seen by the backline...Aah, nothing changes, except that I now have a collection of fine 6" heels, which may do the job as well as any grey school chair! However - leading a shit hot ensemble in contemporary music? So glad I've met Jonathan. We're having coffee Thursday lunchtime; he says he'll show me the basics. (I wonder if he knows just how basic that is!!!)
2.2; met Colin - Max's partner. he was lovely. Showed me lots of pics of where they live in Orkney. Then invited me up to visit! Ah yes, a weekend with Max n Colin, and maybe little red wine? Sounds good to me!
No.3..serendipity. I was on my way home, for the 'early night'...10.32 from Victoria...all good. Until I bumped into a fellow musician and virtual stranger on the station. Daniel was on his way to Ronnie Scotts to see Jon Hendricks (whom I was supposed to be in a masterclass with this week, but couldn't make, because of a tragic timetable clash). He said 'come'...I said 'no...I must work'...
so then we're at Ronnies. I got in by luck, some American visitors had a spare ticket, and more than kindly invited me to join them or the evening. So I Did! Funny how life pans out huh?
They would not even consider letting me pay for my ticket, and shared their Tattinger champagne with me, while we watched the king of vocalise do his thing.
No.4...Pete was there too (king of jazz, light shiner on my world)..and introduced me to James (boss of Ronnies). He said how much he loves LVP, and that he wants us to sing there!
Ronnie Scotts. LVP. Max, Colin, Orkney. My friend Jules, My children.
My friend Oz, for percussion advice at any time of night.
My friend Hollie, who is going to crack the smoking thing!
My choir
My family
My sanity
welcome to my world...
It's kinda fun!
Nunight friends x
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
The leap of faith...
And so, my tumble into the abyss was not so bad afterall...
Did I mention that my tutor asked me to orchestrate my music theatre piece (When I hit the street) without any 'musical' aids? No piano, no sibelius, just me and my pencil (and rubber, bien sur!), and a big pile of manuscript paper.
Hmm.
Thing is; I did a whole undergrad degree in which my music was abstract. Dots on the page, but never on the music stand (except my jazz pieces, which I performed, and my big band piece). One of things that freaks me out, is the musicians who are going to take my dots and turn them into sound. They are all class, and most of them 'top class'. It's a pressure, you know...the 'big, wide world' thing.
So..picture this, if you will.. 20 pages of A3 manuscript; 1 vocal part, 1 gaping score. 16 musicians and a load of musical theatrics men ready to sing, with heart and soul, the words of these 'tortured' prisoners.
No pressure then?!
I've had a ball, writing this stuff. Orchestrating by ear, by heart and by theory...
So I took it to Gary today; and you know what? He likes it!
Some nips and tucks, but it's all there.
So tonight, I had an evening off. Spoke to my kids, who make me proud and happy every day. Saw my brother, who is my special fave. Spoke to Jules, who is my princess, and did my very best to be strong without my people here...Alex, Oj, Nel....it's so quiet. But not lonely...so I'll be okay I guess.
the world spins, and a daily question?... my own place within this madness...well, don't we all?
Nunight friends xxx
Did I mention that my tutor asked me to orchestrate my music theatre piece (When I hit the street) without any 'musical' aids? No piano, no sibelius, just me and my pencil (and rubber, bien sur!), and a big pile of manuscript paper.
Hmm.
Thing is; I did a whole undergrad degree in which my music was abstract. Dots on the page, but never on the music stand (except my jazz pieces, which I performed, and my big band piece). One of things that freaks me out, is the musicians who are going to take my dots and turn them into sound. They are all class, and most of them 'top class'. It's a pressure, you know...the 'big, wide world' thing.
So..picture this, if you will.. 20 pages of A3 manuscript; 1 vocal part, 1 gaping score. 16 musicians and a load of musical theatrics men ready to sing, with heart and soul, the words of these 'tortured' prisoners.
No pressure then?!
I've had a ball, writing this stuff. Orchestrating by ear, by heart and by theory...
So I took it to Gary today; and you know what? He likes it!
Some nips and tucks, but it's all there.
So tonight, I had an evening off. Spoke to my kids, who make me proud and happy every day. Saw my brother, who is my special fave. Spoke to Jules, who is my princess, and did my very best to be strong without my people here...Alex, Oj, Nel....it's so quiet. But not lonely...so I'll be okay I guess.
the world spins, and a daily question?... my own place within this madness...well, don't we all?
Nunight friends xxx
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
and breathe......
Oh my. I swear it's getting crazier in here!
I'm having the most amazing time at the academy, but it is certainly taking a little bit of me with it.
The problem really is time. I simply don't have enough of it. Now, I am a pretty disciplined person, but despite my best efforts, there are times when it simply seems more important to vacuum the stairs than to orchestrate my music theatre piece. Or that I simply have to have fresh peppermint for my tea if I am to work effectively. Or that tragic right hand, that reaches out for the mouse and of its own volition, finds its way to the facebook time vacuum!
I have not turned the tv on since summer. So at least that's something. And, you know what, I probably spend as much time as anyone else on the work / distraction quota. But I'm pretty hard on myself, and when the kids are here, there simply are things that have to be done (especially cuddles!) Ah, the balance eludes me.
Have had some great musical moments this week tho. My music theatre short score is done and submitted, and I've done a scratch recording of it, which is great. I have discovered that I prefer to orchestrate with pencil and paper, and in fact, since I saw Gary on Tuesday, he has encouraged me to do only that; to develop my 'inner ear'. So I've got a big fat A3 canvas to fill in. It's a pretty big ensemble...wish me luck! Have 1 week to get it done. I keep hearing that countdown musical theme; it's my current, and frustrating ear-worm. Running round and round my 'inner ear'...I reckon that once my piece is completed, if you listen carefully, there just might be a moment when you hear the countdown theme sneaking into the clarinets...!
Orchestration class is starting to make a little sense; I don't feel like a complete retard anymore, which is good. We are gong to the 'wand shop' tomorrow; off to buy our batons! Hurrah. Mine shall be made with the feather of a phoenix, and the orchestra will obey my every whim!
I had a lovely outing with my friend Jules. We had a moment of culture at the tate modern. It was a great experience, and it was just lovely to hang out with my buddy...I don't get much time for things like that. Mwah the Jules.
I find myself drawn to the composition of new material for instruments with less repertoire. Basically the accordion and the bassoon. The thing is, that I am in a place where the best players in the world are happy to sit with you and show you their instrument, and talk about the details of playing style and application. My first collaboration will be with Rafal Luc, who is the most amazing accordion player, and is showing me around this fascinating and complex instrument. On Tuesday, I had an accordion lesson, and to play it was such a great idea. Now I have a feel for the workings of it, and can't wait to get writing. (the only thing was that his accordion is really big...and I am really small. It was comedy!)
So next week, it's LVP, Roehampton dance, Chroma ensemble, Music theatre orchestration, MAX MSP, too much coffee, and less distractions.
Maybe coffee with my bro, and dinner with Jules?...well, we all need a break sometime...x
I'm having the most amazing time at the academy, but it is certainly taking a little bit of me with it.
The problem really is time. I simply don't have enough of it. Now, I am a pretty disciplined person, but despite my best efforts, there are times when it simply seems more important to vacuum the stairs than to orchestrate my music theatre piece. Or that I simply have to have fresh peppermint for my tea if I am to work effectively. Or that tragic right hand, that reaches out for the mouse and of its own volition, finds its way to the facebook time vacuum!
I have not turned the tv on since summer. So at least that's something. And, you know what, I probably spend as much time as anyone else on the work / distraction quota. But I'm pretty hard on myself, and when the kids are here, there simply are things that have to be done (especially cuddles!) Ah, the balance eludes me.
Have had some great musical moments this week tho. My music theatre short score is done and submitted, and I've done a scratch recording of it, which is great. I have discovered that I prefer to orchestrate with pencil and paper, and in fact, since I saw Gary on Tuesday, he has encouraged me to do only that; to develop my 'inner ear'. So I've got a big fat A3 canvas to fill in. It's a pretty big ensemble...wish me luck! Have 1 week to get it done. I keep hearing that countdown musical theme; it's my current, and frustrating ear-worm. Running round and round my 'inner ear'...I reckon that once my piece is completed, if you listen carefully, there just might be a moment when you hear the countdown theme sneaking into the clarinets...!
Orchestration class is starting to make a little sense; I don't feel like a complete retard anymore, which is good. We are gong to the 'wand shop' tomorrow; off to buy our batons! Hurrah. Mine shall be made with the feather of a phoenix, and the orchestra will obey my every whim!
I had a lovely outing with my friend Jules. We had a moment of culture at the tate modern. It was a great experience, and it was just lovely to hang out with my buddy...I don't get much time for things like that. Mwah the Jules.
I find myself drawn to the composition of new material for instruments with less repertoire. Basically the accordion and the bassoon. The thing is, that I am in a place where the best players in the world are happy to sit with you and show you their instrument, and talk about the details of playing style and application. My first collaboration will be with Rafal Luc, who is the most amazing accordion player, and is showing me around this fascinating and complex instrument. On Tuesday, I had an accordion lesson, and to play it was such a great idea. Now I have a feel for the workings of it, and can't wait to get writing. (the only thing was that his accordion is really big...and I am really small. It was comedy!)
So next week, it's LVP, Roehampton dance, Chroma ensemble, Music theatre orchestration, MAX MSP, too much coffee, and less distractions.
Maybe coffee with my bro, and dinner with Jules?...well, we all need a break sometime...x
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Gunpowder, treason and plot...
So, the plot thickens...will she possibly make the deadlines that are looming so large? Can she ever immerse herself into a world of contemporary classical craziness to such an extent that writing in that style is not faked or forced?
John Williams writes 9-5 every day. He aims to complete between 30 seconds to 2 minutes of music in that time. I was shitting myself with the '3 weeks to compose 8 minutes' deadline for Chroma that arrived in my inbox on Friday.
In isolation, it might be possible. Coupled with orchestrating my music theatre piece, recording and composing a soundtrack for the 'Horripilation' animated short, planning the piece for the Roehampton dance project...oh my, I can't complete the list; it's exhausting!
Anyway, have a lot on my plate. An awful lot ;)
Went to see my friend Gary this afternoon. Laid my fears in his lap. He is the lamb, and has mended my temporary tilt into beyond stress. He phoned Phil (head of composition), and has delayed my Chroma piece until the second deadline, which gives me a couple of extra weeks. There is light!
Then he showed me the delights of scoring in logic. Simply blows the socks off sibelius in certain areas. So that's my ticket for now...score the music theatre piece in logic, research suitable styles and instrumentation techniques for Chroma. Await the imminent arrival of the storyboard for animation project. Learn Jon Hendricks arrangements for LVP ready for the masterclass on 19 Nov. Get my soft head around MAX MSP.
A little aside is a new collaboration with Rafal. Yr 4 accordion player. He is amazing! Polish dude, prize winning player and up for new music. Accordion is another step beyond my comfort zone (maybe I just don't have a comfort zone at this level?!!). Spent a happy hour or more in the library with Rafal today looking at scores and analysing the good and bad elements of scores. There is a market for this music. I am certainly going to explore this area...and if I can do it with one of the best players in the world?...well, who wouldn't?
Funny thing is. I'm happy. I'm doing it. My kids came to school with me on Friday (their half term, of course, not mine). They were golden. Took them for dinner at Hayes Galleria....we have some super adventures Oj, Nel and me, and if I ever worry that they do not get the best of me, I try to think of our adventures; and there are so many! I know I'm not the text book mother figure, but I am 3 dimensional, and I love to have fun, so it's not so bad I think, being my child. How many children have been backstage in many London venues, have sung with Cleo Laine? (OJ?!), have hung out at the Royal Academy of Music? Have met Mr. Bobby Mc Ferrin, Mr. Peter Churchill, Mr. Simon Bainbridge? Bless my people. They keep me real, and they are always up for a hug. {{{MWAH}}}
Nunight then. Sweet dreams x
John Williams writes 9-5 every day. He aims to complete between 30 seconds to 2 minutes of music in that time. I was shitting myself with the '3 weeks to compose 8 minutes' deadline for Chroma that arrived in my inbox on Friday.
In isolation, it might be possible. Coupled with orchestrating my music theatre piece, recording and composing a soundtrack for the 'Horripilation' animated short, planning the piece for the Roehampton dance project...oh my, I can't complete the list; it's exhausting!
Anyway, have a lot on my plate. An awful lot ;)
Went to see my friend Gary this afternoon. Laid my fears in his lap. He is the lamb, and has mended my temporary tilt into beyond stress. He phoned Phil (head of composition), and has delayed my Chroma piece until the second deadline, which gives me a couple of extra weeks. There is light!
Then he showed me the delights of scoring in logic. Simply blows the socks off sibelius in certain areas. So that's my ticket for now...score the music theatre piece in logic, research suitable styles and instrumentation techniques for Chroma. Await the imminent arrival of the storyboard for animation project. Learn Jon Hendricks arrangements for LVP ready for the masterclass on 19 Nov. Get my soft head around MAX MSP.
A little aside is a new collaboration with Rafal. Yr 4 accordion player. He is amazing! Polish dude, prize winning player and up for new music. Accordion is another step beyond my comfort zone (maybe I just don't have a comfort zone at this level?!!). Spent a happy hour or more in the library with Rafal today looking at scores and analysing the good and bad elements of scores. There is a market for this music. I am certainly going to explore this area...and if I can do it with one of the best players in the world?...well, who wouldn't?
Funny thing is. I'm happy. I'm doing it. My kids came to school with me on Friday (their half term, of course, not mine). They were golden. Took them for dinner at Hayes Galleria....we have some super adventures Oj, Nel and me, and if I ever worry that they do not get the best of me, I try to think of our adventures; and there are so many! I know I'm not the text book mother figure, but I am 3 dimensional, and I love to have fun, so it's not so bad I think, being my child. How many children have been backstage in many London venues, have sung with Cleo Laine? (OJ?!), have hung out at the Royal Academy of Music? Have met Mr. Bobby Mc Ferrin, Mr. Peter Churchill, Mr. Simon Bainbridge? Bless my people. They keep me real, and they are always up for a hug. {{{MWAH}}}
Nunight then. Sweet dreams x
Sunday, 24 October 2010
All singing, all dancing
I did say earlier that I thought my posts might become less frequent, and so it has come to pass! I am working flat out, trying to get the music out of my head and onto the page (or into logic).
It has been a real turning point this week, with some exciting projects starting up, and existing projects taking shape.
It's funny, because the week just gone was supposed to be 'reading week', i.e., no usual classes. Turned out that I was in every day except for Friday, meeting new people and going on adventures! On Wednesday, we met the choreographers from Roehampton. Each composer will be teamed up with a choreographer, and we will collaborate to make a live music and dance performance, which will be performed in May next year. Our instrumentation for that is a choice of either flute, percussion and cello, or flute, oboe and cello. I have a feeling that I will use percussion, but we shall see...
The way this project works is that the choreographers and composers will select who they want to work with based on hearing / seeing each other's work. We started the day by 'speed dating', so that we each met all of the others individually. Then us composers played some of our music, so that they could get an idea of our style. In a couple of weeks, we will be visiting Roehampton, and they will give a performance of their dance, so that we get an idea of their style.
It's a great way to work, and I'm really looking forward to that getting underway.
Then, on Thursday, 7 of us took the train to Bristol, to meet with our other collaborators; 'the animators', from UWE. It came as quite a surprise after the 1-1 session the day before, to walk into a room full of animators, awaiting our arrival! We viewed a couple of films that were created on last year's project, which were very abstract, but brilliantly done. Each composer was assigned 3 animators to work with, and given an uncommon word which serves as a starting point for the inspiration for the film. My animators are Fedias, Sylvia and David; all of whom come from very different backgrounds, so that's going to be interesting. Our word is Horripilation; which means basically 'goosebumps' raising of the skin due to fear or cold.
Mmm...juicy!
We spent a couple of hours taking through ideas and getting to know each other. I've set up a blog for the 4 of us, so that we can communicate despite distance, and so that we have an online resource for the progress of the project when we come to write it up at the end.
I thought that for the musical aspect, I would explore using only sounds made by the voice and body, and manipulating them to create a creepy environment to support the visuals. I have spent a very happy couple of hours recording all manner of noises as my sound library. It is going to take much longer to cut up and label each sound file, but that's what laptops and train journeys were invented for!
My music theatre piece is nearly completed in short score for piano and male voices. I probably mentioned that I have used poetry written by inmates from New Jersey prison. It's quite compelling reading, and really gives an insight into the despair and inhumanity of the prison environment. I went on to the New Jersey prison website, and there you can actually search for inmates, and view their profiles. It was quite eerie to see the faces and the crimes of these men whose heartfelt words I had been reading. It made me feel really uncomfortable.
Well, it has been a long weekend. I've been doing so much music and just spending some time alone with my thoughts. I was really happy to take Oj & Nelly to my brother's for tea this evening. It's my 5 days without them, and they always seem to pass so slowly. So ye, it was nice to break it up, and see them today. They'll come home on Wednesday and stay until the following Monday, so that's nice. It's much harder without them now that I don't have Alex around to distract me either and to fill that void.
Back to school tomorrow, then some LVP singing time. Hurrah for that! Can't wait to see my vocal buddies...
x
It has been a real turning point this week, with some exciting projects starting up, and existing projects taking shape.
It's funny, because the week just gone was supposed to be 'reading week', i.e., no usual classes. Turned out that I was in every day except for Friday, meeting new people and going on adventures! On Wednesday, we met the choreographers from Roehampton. Each composer will be teamed up with a choreographer, and we will collaborate to make a live music and dance performance, which will be performed in May next year. Our instrumentation for that is a choice of either flute, percussion and cello, or flute, oboe and cello. I have a feeling that I will use percussion, but we shall see...
The way this project works is that the choreographers and composers will select who they want to work with based on hearing / seeing each other's work. We started the day by 'speed dating', so that we each met all of the others individually. Then us composers played some of our music, so that they could get an idea of our style. In a couple of weeks, we will be visiting Roehampton, and they will give a performance of their dance, so that we get an idea of their style.
It's a great way to work, and I'm really looking forward to that getting underway.
Then, on Thursday, 7 of us took the train to Bristol, to meet with our other collaborators; 'the animators', from UWE. It came as quite a surprise after the 1-1 session the day before, to walk into a room full of animators, awaiting our arrival! We viewed a couple of films that were created on last year's project, which were very abstract, but brilliantly done. Each composer was assigned 3 animators to work with, and given an uncommon word which serves as a starting point for the inspiration for the film. My animators are Fedias, Sylvia and David; all of whom come from very different backgrounds, so that's going to be interesting. Our word is Horripilation; which means basically 'goosebumps' raising of the skin due to fear or cold.
Mmm...juicy!
We spent a couple of hours taking through ideas and getting to know each other. I've set up a blog for the 4 of us, so that we can communicate despite distance, and so that we have an online resource for the progress of the project when we come to write it up at the end.
I thought that for the musical aspect, I would explore using only sounds made by the voice and body, and manipulating them to create a creepy environment to support the visuals. I have spent a very happy couple of hours recording all manner of noises as my sound library. It is going to take much longer to cut up and label each sound file, but that's what laptops and train journeys were invented for!
My music theatre piece is nearly completed in short score for piano and male voices. I probably mentioned that I have used poetry written by inmates from New Jersey prison. It's quite compelling reading, and really gives an insight into the despair and inhumanity of the prison environment. I went on to the New Jersey prison website, and there you can actually search for inmates, and view their profiles. It was quite eerie to see the faces and the crimes of these men whose heartfelt words I had been reading. It made me feel really uncomfortable.
Well, it has been a long weekend. I've been doing so much music and just spending some time alone with my thoughts. I was really happy to take Oj & Nelly to my brother's for tea this evening. It's my 5 days without them, and they always seem to pass so slowly. So ye, it was nice to break it up, and see them today. They'll come home on Wednesday and stay until the following Monday, so that's nice. It's much harder without them now that I don't have Alex around to distract me either and to fill that void.
Back to school tomorrow, then some LVP singing time. Hurrah for that! Can't wait to see my vocal buddies...
x
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Mr. Stephen Sondheim and Ms. Betsy Jolas
It has been a privilege to have been in the company of some of the world's finest composers this week. I cannot express my awe and gratitude for the gems that have come to me from America and France.
I will share my experiences with you as soon as I come down to earth...
there are many!
For now, thanks for listening!
Jake caught the mouse that was eating my carrier bags, and my dear Aunty Maggie gave me a contribution to my studies for which I am eternally grateful.
The music is running at a new speed. I hope I can keep up!
I promise more next time...tomorrow I have a meeting regarding my teaming up with an animator at Bristol Animation Studios. Hurrah. Check my website (www.nikkifranklin.co.uk) to see my last animation project. It's fun :)
For now, I am the one thing that is not compromised by the self-opinionated government that we have in place, and that will no doubt make bigger history books than I hope to occupy...maybe I'll write the accidental musical that accompanies their exploits!!!
Peace (if appropriate), Love (if not abused and misguided) and harmony (of which I have little!)
Nunight x
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
So much music everywhere...
That's actually a title to a Brad Mehldau & Pat Metheny piece. It's certainly worth a listen. Beautiful...
Anyway, beyond stealing other artist's titles, I've been writing like a loon this week. Am at that point where I have five new things bubbling about, but nothing completed, or even fully sketched. Some interesting musical thoughts taking shape though.
My newest jazz influenced piece is nearly ready to start orchestrating, and fleshing out the parts. I'm looking forward to that.
I've also been working with loops, using garage band, for a change of scene, which has been really inspirational. I'm layering vocals, along the lines of the circle songs LVP were immersed into through Roger Treece this year. It's all a bit diatonic at the mo, but if I stick with it, I reckon I'll be able to explore more challenging areas, and get gritty with the harmonies.
Then it occurred to me that the use of loops would be a really interesting way to layer contemporary techniques in solo instruments, whilst retaining some musicality, rhythmic probably more than melodic, but textural interest. I think it's too easy to write a piece that explores such areas as 'the extended range of the oboe', which certainly does explore that area, but does not always remain musical. (Ha; like what is musical anyway?)
So, I'll be doing some of that (thank you Steve Reich for New York Counterpoint...."London Loops" doesn't sound quite so compelling though, does it?!)), recording solo oboe. This week, I worked with an accordion player, and we created a little layered loop piece, which was really effective. yes, food for thought...
Then there's the music theatre piece that I'm writing for a performance on 3rd December. I've had a few ideas for that, but it's got be be fully formed with vocal and piano score completed by next Tuesday, so it's top of the pile. The male vocal line is inspired by poetry from prison inmates (which I've narrowed down to one particular poem). The music seems to be coming quite easily from the text...Hmm, we shall see. I'm going to get my brother over this weekend to be my singer. He has lots of West End experience, and knows his stuff, so that will be fun, and hopefully very productive.
The last thing for today was a session with Paul Patterson on Sibelius. Oh my; I am in shortcut heaven! Why did no-one tell me that the 'R' key copies highlighted passages with just 1 click, or that you can format rhythm and easily replace the pitches. Ah, loads of great tips, was definitely worth the 3 hour travel time for the 1 hour lesson.
I've been on a synchronicity vibe also...yesterday, on Victoria tube station, I bumped into a guitarist I met in the summer. Daniel; played gypsy jazz at my cousin's wedding. How random was that? and he introduced me to the music of a British big band composer I need to check out. Matthew Herbert. Very interesting.
Then today, I met on the train a drummer I worked with in one of my first bands. Crikey! We talked all the way from Three Bridges to London Bridge, certainly no awkward silences. Nice to catch up with Paul. I must find him on facebook...
Things are a little brighter today. I still haven't found my shine after a few rough weeks, but it might be just out the corner of my eye...
Nunight xxx
Anyway, beyond stealing other artist's titles, I've been writing like a loon this week. Am at that point where I have five new things bubbling about, but nothing completed, or even fully sketched. Some interesting musical thoughts taking shape though.
My newest jazz influenced piece is nearly ready to start orchestrating, and fleshing out the parts. I'm looking forward to that.
I've also been working with loops, using garage band, for a change of scene, which has been really inspirational. I'm layering vocals, along the lines of the circle songs LVP were immersed into through Roger Treece this year. It's all a bit diatonic at the mo, but if I stick with it, I reckon I'll be able to explore more challenging areas, and get gritty with the harmonies.
Then it occurred to me that the use of loops would be a really interesting way to layer contemporary techniques in solo instruments, whilst retaining some musicality, rhythmic probably more than melodic, but textural interest. I think it's too easy to write a piece that explores such areas as 'the extended range of the oboe', which certainly does explore that area, but does not always remain musical. (Ha; like what is musical anyway?)
So, I'll be doing some of that (thank you Steve Reich for New York Counterpoint...."London Loops" doesn't sound quite so compelling though, does it?!)), recording solo oboe. This week, I worked with an accordion player, and we created a little layered loop piece, which was really effective. yes, food for thought...
Then there's the music theatre piece that I'm writing for a performance on 3rd December. I've had a few ideas for that, but it's got be be fully formed with vocal and piano score completed by next Tuesday, so it's top of the pile. The male vocal line is inspired by poetry from prison inmates (which I've narrowed down to one particular poem). The music seems to be coming quite easily from the text...Hmm, we shall see. I'm going to get my brother over this weekend to be my singer. He has lots of West End experience, and knows his stuff, so that will be fun, and hopefully very productive.
The last thing for today was a session with Paul Patterson on Sibelius. Oh my; I am in shortcut heaven! Why did no-one tell me that the 'R' key copies highlighted passages with just 1 click, or that you can format rhythm and easily replace the pitches. Ah, loads of great tips, was definitely worth the 3 hour travel time for the 1 hour lesson.
I've been on a synchronicity vibe also...yesterday, on Victoria tube station, I bumped into a guitarist I met in the summer. Daniel; played gypsy jazz at my cousin's wedding. How random was that? and he introduced me to the music of a British big band composer I need to check out. Matthew Herbert. Very interesting.
Then today, I met on the train a drummer I worked with in one of my first bands. Crikey! We talked all the way from Three Bridges to London Bridge, certainly no awkward silences. Nice to catch up with Paul. I must find him on facebook...
Things are a little brighter today. I still haven't found my shine after a few rough weeks, but it might be just out the corner of my eye...
Nunight xxx
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Coughs and Cage and Waterproof trousers...
How quickly time is passing! Of course, I expect the time that I am studying to fly by. It’s a natural by-product of working under pressure. But the thing that has really hit me this week, was Oj celebrating his 9th birthday. Fancy having a son who is 9 years old?! It’s quite bizarre. To me, he is my little bean, and a joy to behold. But I mustn’t ever forget that he is really growing up now, and finding his own place in the world. It’s been a crazy adventure, this ‘mother’ business. I can’t compare it to anything else. and of course, as with any relationship encounter, it is unique and totally normal at once. Every mother knows certain truths, joys and pains, yet each mother knows her own personal story that fits within those ‘norms’. I couldn’t begin to talk about it here; but what an adventure.
Ah yes, the coughs. Poor kids. Oj started it on Sunday - had a headache before his party (laser hub rocks by the way!). Poor little man has been off school all week; temperatures, coughs and croaks. And now Nelly is coughing well too. Mwah.
What of Cage? This evening, I went to a performance at the Louise Blouin Foundation. It was quite an experience. To be honest, I thought it was going to be pretentious. It was an evening of American experimentalism intertwined with new and not so new works by British composers (2 current students from the Academy). I think the thing that made it un-pretentious was the quality of the performers. each note played with depth and an appropriate regard for style. My favourite musical sound was where the percussionist played with brushes on the strings of the piano. the texture was spine tingling. (HA! Look who’s pretentious now?!) Anyway, it was class.
I met an interesting chap, who certainly looked like he should be attending a champagne reception at a kooky art gallery muso performance in London. Well, he was a visual artist, who went because John Cage was a fan of his, so he came along to support the Cage performance. How funky is that? ...It’s so easy to forget that these great pillars of contemporary society also have things that they like to listen to, look at, places they like to go. It’s so easy to imagine your favourite artist, of any sort, simply creating their art, and not having a 3 dimensional life. Like Stevie Wonder guesting with Take 6, because they are his favourite group!
Of my music? Well, it’s trucking along. Projects kick off next week, and I’m doing my best to write a little every day, and spend some time on logic, until it’s not scary anymore. Like everything I seem to get up to; it’s scary at first, but if you keep doing it, it can just become something you do.
In a very short space of time, some very big things have changed in my life. A few times in these last weeks, I thought I might fall over, or be sick in my mouth. But I didn’t yet, so maybe I won’t.
x
Did I forget to mention the waterproof trousers?...maybe it’s just aswell.
Friday, 1 October 2010
You don't get this from a book...
That's the favourite saying of the Academy.
It's true tho.
Despite the gems of knowledge and experience that are handed to us every day, there's the environment.
Practice rooms are like gold-dust, so there is rarely a stairwell free without a guitarist or cellist at the bottom of the stairs, practising their hearts out. You can just imagine the acoustics in a stairwell; it's like a fountain of music filling all the available space, and it's beautiful. Or today, when I was waiting the the downstairs corridor, there is a whole line of practice rooms...my head was full to bursting with a cacophony of sound...opera singers, concert pianists, various strings, brass etc. all making noise. Class!
There have been some real gems this week. I would like to share a few with you. I have met on my travels some awesome people this week; a lifetime's worth really!
We had a talk from Howard Shore who wrote the music to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and accompanying him was Doug Adams (not Douglas Adams!), who spent 9 years analysing Howard's music from the Lord of the Rings, and wrote a big fat book on it!
His gems;
research the idea; be truthful to the idea
forget about the style; write what is right for yourself
grasp the arc of the piece before you start
write every day
Then there was the guitarist Stefan Ostersjo, who is a performance artist and has worked with many contemporary composers, analysing the lines of communication between the composer, and the artist, through scores and other communication.
'When the performance practice was internalised, personal authenticity became more prominent'
His thesis included the following gem;
'tradition can never be copied, nor can the performance of an individual work. the transmission of a tradition and of a work must always involve an element of transformation'.
There is so much more. I went to jazz composition and arranging with Pete Churchill, had a 1-1 lesson with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, had a great lesson with Gary (who likes my new piece), started to learn the basics of sound recording, and twiddling knobs in a meaningful way in a studio environment, and had a tutorial with postgrad composers, Hollie, Joe and Phil, run by Phil Cashian.
I have so much I want to write here today, and promise I will return to this week and these people...
but for now, I'm tired, It's been a long, and emotional week. It's strange to come home every day and not to be met by Alex, and to cook all my own dinners (well, my Mum cooked for us today; yummy!).
But I'm doing okay. And I'm writing the music. And there's a little bit of me that is starting to believe that it's going to be okay, and that I can make it happen if I just stick like glue to my kids and my manuscript paper :)
Going to see 5 guys names Mo tomorrow, with my kids and some LVP'ers.
that's nice.
More gems soon!
It's true tho.
Despite the gems of knowledge and experience that are handed to us every day, there's the environment.
Practice rooms are like gold-dust, so there is rarely a stairwell free without a guitarist or cellist at the bottom of the stairs, practising their hearts out. You can just imagine the acoustics in a stairwell; it's like a fountain of music filling all the available space, and it's beautiful. Or today, when I was waiting the the downstairs corridor, there is a whole line of practice rooms...my head was full to bursting with a cacophony of sound...opera singers, concert pianists, various strings, brass etc. all making noise. Class!
There have been some real gems this week. I would like to share a few with you. I have met on my travels some awesome people this week; a lifetime's worth really!
We had a talk from Howard Shore who wrote the music to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and accompanying him was Doug Adams (not Douglas Adams!), who spent 9 years analysing Howard's music from the Lord of the Rings, and wrote a big fat book on it!
His gems;
research the idea; be truthful to the idea
forget about the style; write what is right for yourself
grasp the arc of the piece before you start
write every day
Then there was the guitarist Stefan Ostersjo, who is a performance artist and has worked with many contemporary composers, analysing the lines of communication between the composer, and the artist, through scores and other communication.
'When the performance practice was internalised, personal authenticity became more prominent'
His thesis included the following gem;
'tradition can never be copied, nor can the performance of an individual work. the transmission of a tradition and of a work must always involve an element of transformation'.
There is so much more. I went to jazz composition and arranging with Pete Churchill, had a 1-1 lesson with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, had a great lesson with Gary (who likes my new piece), started to learn the basics of sound recording, and twiddling knobs in a meaningful way in a studio environment, and had a tutorial with postgrad composers, Hollie, Joe and Phil, run by Phil Cashian.
I have so much I want to write here today, and promise I will return to this week and these people...
but for now, I'm tired, It's been a long, and emotional week. It's strange to come home every day and not to be met by Alex, and to cook all my own dinners (well, my Mum cooked for us today; yummy!).
But I'm doing okay. And I'm writing the music. And there's a little bit of me that is starting to believe that it's going to be okay, and that I can make it happen if I just stick like glue to my kids and my manuscript paper :)
Going to see 5 guys names Mo tomorrow, with my kids and some LVP'ers.
that's nice.
More gems soon!
Monday, 27 September 2010
Strange days...
I find myself in yet another strange place. With Alex gone, maybe for now, or maybe for longer, my situation is very different. For now, it's me, Oj & Nel, and Jake the cat. What a funny little family. (I'd like to include my lovely White Yamaha, and maybe the red Fender Rhodes in my list of nearest and dearest, but fear that is clutching at straws!)
It has not been a good week for the composing, with quite a plethora of emotional backlash taking up much of my time; plus I had a dep keys gig with a new band on Saturday, and had loads of songs to learn for that. Fortunately, they were a great band, and apart from a couple of comedy errors on my part (which I hope were noticed more by me than anyone else), I did a good job. See, there it is again, the music; keeping me sane!
I shall make my apologies to Gary Carpenter tomorrow for my measly offering, but I'm hoping life will even out shortly, and allow rather more attention to the musical matters at hand.
To that end, I have decided to approach the composing very much as a skill that needs to be practiced daily, like learning an instrument. I aim to do a minimum of 30 minutes composing even on the busiest days, and where time and energy permits, 2 or 3 90 minute sessions in a day will be really productive. Finances are more than tight, so I have to fit in the teaching and gigs to keep my head above water, but I hope that I will soon find the level from where I can be most productive. Crikey, if I can do an undergrad degree whilst getting divorced and going through a custody battle for my children, I guess I can do this. It's not like anyone ever said "masters at the academy?...piece of piss", so I'm hardly unprepared for the level of work ;)
Went to LVP this evening. They are really smashing people, and, as ever, I come away feeling good. Thank goodness for friends and songs and a cup of tea! Some great new repertoire coming up. It's great that we'll be doing the 606 regularly, it gives us a platform for the new work, which is never complete until it's been gigged a bit.
Going to see the Pete for jazz composition and arranging on Wednesday. Can't wait. So much to learn, so much to say.
tra la la! xx
ps. does anyone else think the newest version of iTunes grey and annoying? I'm not being a luddite, but I did prefer the old version.
It has not been a good week for the composing, with quite a plethora of emotional backlash taking up much of my time; plus I had a dep keys gig with a new band on Saturday, and had loads of songs to learn for that. Fortunately, they were a great band, and apart from a couple of comedy errors on my part (which I hope were noticed more by me than anyone else), I did a good job. See, there it is again, the music; keeping me sane!
I shall make my apologies to Gary Carpenter tomorrow for my measly offering, but I'm hoping life will even out shortly, and allow rather more attention to the musical matters at hand.
To that end, I have decided to approach the composing very much as a skill that needs to be practiced daily, like learning an instrument. I aim to do a minimum of 30 minutes composing even on the busiest days, and where time and energy permits, 2 or 3 90 minute sessions in a day will be really productive. Finances are more than tight, so I have to fit in the teaching and gigs to keep my head above water, but I hope that I will soon find the level from where I can be most productive. Crikey, if I can do an undergrad degree whilst getting divorced and going through a custody battle for my children, I guess I can do this. It's not like anyone ever said "masters at the academy?...piece of piss", so I'm hardly unprepared for the level of work ;)
Went to LVP this evening. They are really smashing people, and, as ever, I come away feeling good. Thank goodness for friends and songs and a cup of tea! Some great new repertoire coming up. It's great that we'll be doing the 606 regularly, it gives us a platform for the new work, which is never complete until it's been gigged a bit.
Going to see the Pete for jazz composition and arranging on Wednesday. Can't wait. So much to learn, so much to say.
tra la la! xx
ps. does anyone else think the newest version of iTunes grey and annoying? I'm not being a luddite, but I did prefer the old version.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Oh yes. The jazz speaks
I'm happy to compose any kind of music. Some I'm good at, some I'm shit at, but I'll try anything. Today I had 20 minutes to compose a performance piece that could be played on any instrument, with a performance time of 10 seconds (£35 per ticket please ladies and gents!)
Myself and Laura the flautist, (who hates her name, because she thinks it's bland), came up with a piece in which specific notes or rests were assigned to letters of the alphabet. it was up to the performer to play the notes of their name, using a dynamic variation which they felt defined their character.
Pretentious perhaps, but actually quite interesting. Involve the performer in the outcome of their performance, rather than defining every factor, and you get a much more 'real' end product. i guess classical performers don't have enough room for self expression within the traditional canon of through composed pieces. Hmm, food for thought.
Saw that Gary today, and he looked right through me and out the other side. What I love to do and desire is to compose for big band, and incorporate jazz style into orchestral work. Cheeky bugger saw that in only our second meeting, and has actively encouraged me to run with it. Hurrah.
Life is better when you are saying what you want to say, rather than what you think somebody else might want to hear. I get caught between those 2 places with monotonous regularity. I really didn't think that the academy wanted to hear my jazz chops on viola, so I was trying to suppress that voice. Now I can really go out to play!
Get me some Maria Schneider and Colin Towns. Yi!!
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