Well, somehow two weeks have passed since I last posted... and it only felt like a couple of days... oops! The last couple of weeks have certainly been busy as the semester draws to a close. Since my last post I've had a couple of opportunities to show my piece to the class to get some feedback. I have continued to fill out the piece, developing further on ideas and rethinking some ones that I had early on. One suggestion that keeps coming up pertains to a grace note figure that occurs quite frequently in the beginning and end sections. The complaint is that it occurs too frequently without change or development. I have since introduced some counter melodies and accompaniment figures that were based on the motive as well as adding some colour to the initial iterations of the motive through some re-orchestration and added harmonies/dissonances.
Another matter that was discussed was what I should title my piece. Currently it is still undecided, but it was suggested in class that it sounded like a "dogfight" (of the aerial variety), which I think is very accurate! So I am now in the process of choosing a title that would encourage this image. It was also suggested that I begin the piece with a measure or two of build so that the opening is less abrupt. I am planning to use this space to depict the engines starting up, or something along those lines.
Finally, I am still not happy with the way in which the piece ends. The class suggested that I reintroduce more of the chaos from earlier in the piece and have it build to an abrupt halt. I very much like this suggestion and am working on finding ways to achieve a chaos that out does what occurs in the opening without resorting to writing something that exceeds the technical limitations of the ensemble (which I have already pushed throughout the piece).
Only two more weeks remain until my submission is due! Its hard to believe the semester has flown by already! I hope to have the score finished within the next couple of days so that I can begin to edit. Ideally I will be editing parts by the next time I post, so stay tuned!
Monday 23 March 2015
Monday 9 March 2015
The Refinery
Today was my first chance to present to the composition seminar class in a month! Its hard to believe, but between midterm break and Kiwanis, a whole month has flown by in which my piece in progress has only been heard by myself and Dr. Ross. Needless to say, I was quite excited to finally have some feedback from the class on my concert band piece after all this time.
I now have the piece roughly finished and it is 5 minutes and 4 seconds in duration, just barely fitting the regulations. I've approached working on this piece in a sort of headlong charge to the finish to prevent myself from second guessing too much, seeing as I'm working so far out of my comfort zone... but now it is time to begin refining and expanding on the material that has already been written. Most of the comments I received today were suggestions on some ways I could go about doing that, as well as some things to take in consideration as I proceed.
As far as percussion is concerned, I have at this point only written parts where I saw them absolutely necessary to the development of the piece, and these parts were all battery percussion and timpani. I was given lots of great ideas for other percussion parts that I could use to fill out the texture, such as doubling flute lines in the glockenspiel in sections where they are somewhat buried, and using vibraphone in the quieter development section to help establish the mood.
The other big suggestion to help with my expansion came from Dr. Ross. He felt that throughout the piece there were a lot of great gestures, but that they were always cut short and rarely developed to their full potential. I can certainly see what he means by this, and I think developing some of these lines further will do a great deal to maintain interest and enrich the texture of the work.
Over all the class seemed to be enjoy what I had to offer today, which served both as a relief and as inspiration to keep at it. Hopefully by next week I will have the score filled out so that I can begin working on parts... but I did say that last week too, so I guess we'll see!
I now have the piece roughly finished and it is 5 minutes and 4 seconds in duration, just barely fitting the regulations. I've approached working on this piece in a sort of headlong charge to the finish to prevent myself from second guessing too much, seeing as I'm working so far out of my comfort zone... but now it is time to begin refining and expanding on the material that has already been written. Most of the comments I received today were suggestions on some ways I could go about doing that, as well as some things to take in consideration as I proceed.
As far as percussion is concerned, I have at this point only written parts where I saw them absolutely necessary to the development of the piece, and these parts were all battery percussion and timpani. I was given lots of great ideas for other percussion parts that I could use to fill out the texture, such as doubling flute lines in the glockenspiel in sections where they are somewhat buried, and using vibraphone in the quieter development section to help establish the mood.
The other big suggestion to help with my expansion came from Dr. Ross. He felt that throughout the piece there were a lot of great gestures, but that they were always cut short and rarely developed to their full potential. I can certainly see what he means by this, and I think developing some of these lines further will do a great deal to maintain interest and enrich the texture of the work.
Over all the class seemed to be enjoy what I had to offer today, which served both as a relief and as inspiration to keep at it. Hopefully by next week I will have the score filled out so that I can begin working on parts... but I did say that last week too, so I guess we'll see!
Sunday 1 March 2015
March: the beginning of the end...
The month of March has arrived, meaning I have only a few weeks left to have my band piece ready for submission to the Terra Nova Band Competition.
I feel as though I'm in a good position right now, but there is still a lot to be done before the end of the month. My piece unfolded to loosely follow Sonata form and I have finished writing the exposition and development sections and am now working to finish the recap. I currently have 4 minutes of material that has been roughly orchestrated (some parts still need revisiting), and I think that upon the completion of the recap I will have at least 5 minutes, which is the desired minimum length to meet the competition's standards. I plan to have this done by the time my lesson on Thursday arrives so that Dr. Ross can give me suggestions on how the details of the orchestration and flow of the piece can be improved. I hope that by doing this I will have a completed work with more detail by the following week, leaving two weeks for part editing and refining.
I feel as though I'm in a good position right now, but there is still a lot to be done before the end of the month. My piece unfolded to loosely follow Sonata form and I have finished writing the exposition and development sections and am now working to finish the recap. I currently have 4 minutes of material that has been roughly orchestrated (some parts still need revisiting), and I think that upon the completion of the recap I will have at least 5 minutes, which is the desired minimum length to meet the competition's standards. I plan to have this done by the time my lesson on Thursday arrives so that Dr. Ross can give me suggestions on how the details of the orchestration and flow of the piece can be improved. I hope that by doing this I will have a completed work with more detail by the following week, leaving two weeks for part editing and refining.
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