34.) Old Aristocracy January 2, 2014

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Welcome to 2014.  I didn't compose last week because of the holidays.  One of these weeks I'll manage to get two pieces done.  52 is the goal, and I'm committed to getting there.

Old Aristocracy was composed rather quickly.  The idea kind of came bursting forth.  Later I realized that the idea was from Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor, which I had listened to earlier in the week.  Do a comparison listening, and you can't miss the similarity.  Ironically, I've never been a huge Rachmaninoff fan.  To me his music has a "more is more" kind of flavor, and I'm usually drawn to the "less is more" stuff.  I don't deny his importance, but the overstated nature of his music is usually not my taste.  I'm sure he's got understated stuff is well....  I must admit though that his Prelude is sticking with me, especially since I – subconsciously at first – spun his idea into a piece.

Also ironically, I would have to say that Messiaen is also somewhat of a "more is more" composer.  Again there are exceptions to that statement, but a lot of his stuff is big and pretty flashy.  However I'm not bothered by it in his music because it almost always sounds like radiant light or something, and his modes have such a unique and fascinating flavor.  His music arouses my curiosity.

Anyway, Old Aristocracy uses two transpositions of the octatonic scale.  The upper staff chords are constructed of one, and the lower staff bass notes of another.  After composing with these modes for thirty-four weeks now, they are starting to come out more naturally, which is nice.  It was enjoyable to play kind of big and flashy on this recording.

33.) Kamu December 20, 2013

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Kamu features a couple of modes.  The upper staff is composed of the fifth mode of limited transposition.  This is the one I find most difficult to use.  But I enjoy this line.  Every 4 measure, I raised the line a diatonic step (diatonic for that mode).  Because this scale is made of half steps, and major thirds, raising the line results in drastically different intervals.  The lower staff chords are created out of a transposition of the 3rd mode, and each 4 bar section is a non-retrogradable rhythm.
Kamu is Japanese for "To Chew."

This will likely be the final post of 2013.  Thanks for checking out the project.  Happy Holidays.

31.) Immaculate 7-11 December 13, 2013

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Well, this is something different.  This piece uses two transpositions of Messiaen's fourth mode.  The chords really do not make full use of the mode at all.  Rather, I found a more conventional couple of chords, and got stuck on them.  I decided to go with them.  The sound is not at all what I imagined to be happening in this project, but I feel somewhat refreshed by it.  While recording it I realized how much it sounds like some of the extended vamps from the Keith Jarrett Trio Blue Note box set, which I listened to extensively years ago.  Life is circular I guess.

It takes some courage to post this because it's a different side of me, one that I don't show so often, and haven't shown at all in this project.  But it is a part of me.  Just because I've spent years now avoiding presenting this sort of thing, doesn't mean it's not there somewhere inside wanting to be let out from time to time.

The title really has nothing to do with the music this time.  Rather, it's just a phrase that my friend and colleague Kirk Knuffke coined the other day when referring to the new 7-11 that opened in the neighborhood.  There was a time in my life when the opening of a 7-11 would have excited the hell out of me.  When I played in the Disney College Band, I used to get a 44 ounce cherry slurpee every day.  My poor liver.  I can't believe I'm still alive.  Now I find the new 7-11 to be a bit of a drag.  Something much cooler could have opened there.  I would be happier with a local business of some kind.  But, hey, you can't win them all....

30.) Reach December 6, 2013

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This is the second edition of this piece.  At first the line was played slowly, and there was an additional line which utilized several Messiaen techniques superimposed underneath it.  It was a lot of work, but in the end I wasn't feeling it.  So I began to mess around with the top line alone, and realized that it was a lot of fun to play as a medium/up tempo blues.  The line is composed of three transpositions of Messiaen's sixth mode.  The tritone interval is blatantly over used, which is fun.  For my solo, I attempted to use the scales, but didn't hold myself to them rigidly.

The title refers to our perception as performing musicians.  We want to play for people, and it can be discouraging when you have light attendance at a concert.  But perhaps the energy we are putting out goes beyond the people in the room with us.  Perhaps it is only our limited viewpoint that says one must be in the room to experience art.

29.) Temperance November 27, 2013

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Upon looking for inspiration, I listened to a little of Messiaen's organ music.  In fact, I heard about 30 seconds of his Prélude pour orgue and that was enough to send me off.  The stuff is so great.  I took some of the opening chords, analyzed them, and concluded that they were derived from two transpositions of mode two.  So, I decided to do the same in my piece.

It started out with definite shifts between the two modes, the chords are of one or the other.  But as I worked on the melody, I found that the notes of one of the modes sounded irresistible over the chords of the other, and I indulged.  So the piece is a progression from shifting modes to simultaneous modes.  I have to admit I love that sound.

Today I had the day off from teaching, so I was able to work on this piece this afternoon - a different time than usual.  It's a dark rainy day today as I was yesterday, and I found myself crabby and barely able to stay awake while making the score.  After I finished, I had to title the piece so I could save it, which is most often when the title is added.  I was trying to think of a word to describe light protruding from the gloom, because I find these Messiaen chords so illuminating.  But nothing was coming.  Then in a flash I realized that I was crabby and tired because I over ate, and was reminded of Ben Franklin's Virtues that I have recently read about in his Autobiography.  I highly recommend that book.  Anyway, Temperance is the first of the virtues, which are followed in order.  Franklin says one must master Temperance before moving onto Silence, etc.  His description for Temperance reads, "Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation."  So here I was feeling the effects of ignoring the first virtue.  And how fitting that this is the day before Thanksgiving, when most Americans will ignore it as well.  I will make a valiant attempt to not forget Ben Franklin's first virtue tomorrow.  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful that you've checked out this project.

28.) Full Spectrum November 22, 2013

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Full Spectrum is an experiment utilizing three or four of Messiaen's techniques.  I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the outcome, but I'm glad that I am comfortable enough to experiment in front of you like this.

The explanation of what I did is going to get very heady - sorry for that.  There is one of Messiaen's modes that I have had trouble using.  It is his fifth mode, of which the first transposition is [C Db F F# G B C].  I find this mode very limited and restricting, probably because there are only six pitches in it.  But I wanted to make use of it, and I did so by creating a row out of these pitches.  But rather than construct melodies and chords out of the row, I used it as a guide to determine the root of the chord I used.  I used several transpositions of the row and it's inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion.

Then I created a row of chord qualities, choosing chords that are triads with added notes.  These qualities include a major triad with a raised fourth added, major triad with a lowered third, major triad with a lowered second, minor with a fourth, and minor with a natural seventh.  The row was a sequence of eleven of these qualities, a prime number.

Rhythmically, the piece has four symmetrical, non-retrogradable, sequences, the center of each phrase marked with a 3/8 measure with a dotted quarter note.  The sequences are further defined with a different pedal point under each.

I am happy with the concept, but I might like to hear it orchestrated for an ensemble of some kind.   Or I would like to have more time to practice it, getting the soprano voice to speak clearly.  My dissatisfaction with the result here is mainly due to the melody being lost.  It's difficult to bring out the melody when many of the chords have close intervals in the top of the structure.   I'll keep trying.

     

27.) A Life November 14, 2013

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This piece is composed of the second transposition of Messiaen's second mode, the octatonic scale.  I really enjoy the possibilities that the mode offers.  This time I kept the mode during my improvisation, save for a couple mistakes.  Improvising with these modes has gotten easier as they've gotten more familiar.