Blog & Press
12
May, 2013
Composition blog #6: Charles Ives’ Symphonies (esp. #4)
Composition Blog Six: Charles Ives’ symphonies I went to see the Detroit Symphony play all four of Charles Ives symphonies om May 10 at Carnegie Hall. I was deeply inspired, and not just from what I enjoyed, also from what I didn’t particularly enjoy. Ives first two symphonies are essentially student pieces, [...]
05
May, 2013
Composition Blog #5: Using Indian modes to write jazz pieces, and suggest new harmonic pathways.
You Bring the Rain Composition Blog #5 Using Indian modes to write jazz pieces, and suggest new harmonic pathways. Many years ago I began what could be described as a somewhat random study of Indian music. I never was a serious student as a player, as I never intended to perform classical recitals, but [...]
25
Apr, 2013
Composition Blog Post #4
20 lessons concerning the orchestra from the perspective of a jazz composer 1. Strauss said “what sounds good at a slow tempo will sound good at a fast tempo.” 2. A true pianissimo is hard to achieve. 3. Don’t over use percussion to drive rhythm. This over use of percussion derives from [...]
13
Apr, 2013
Summing up the Spirit House tour
Summing up the Spirit House tour For anyone doing what I do the odds of a really successful tour are low. So much can go wrong, and you can come home feeling like a whipped dog. This six day run, with a recording at Fantasy, felt like a great success for a variety of [...]
12
Apr, 2013
Subvert expectation
Post 3: The element of Surprise! Subvert expectation The element of surprise in music is paramount. You never want the listener to feel that they always know what’s coming next. Pop music is most often based on fulfilling expectations not to mention fantasy. This is why so little of it contains the [...]