The End of the Artist
What are the factors needed to make art? or, more importantly, good art?
Category: Composition
Techniques and ideas for music composition
Obfuscation through Pedanticism
Ever find yourself in a conversation with some people who suddenly switch to another language to talk to each other? While certainly a bit rude, there are a couple reasons why they might have done this: They may be more fluent in that language, perhaps needing to get…
The Loss of Creative Innocence
Ever have an idea, invention, or creative thought, only to find out somebody somewhere in the world had already done that same thing?
Symmetrical Scales – Geometry in Music
In the previous article, we examined seven-note scales, arguably the most “familiar” sounds in tonal music. Since 7 doesn’t divide evenly into 12, these scales can’t be symmetrical, meaning they don’t repeat an interval sequence. (except at the octave, of course) Today,…
How Many Scales Are There, Really?
One thing my students often ask about is “scales” and which ones to learn. In an effort to clarify this, here are some permutational ways to look at this question. Keep in mind, I’m not really talking about which ones are…
The 3 Forces in Art: Part I
I should say, “The three forces that, when in balance, make what I think of as art,” but it is a title, that’s a bit cumbersome. In this series, we will explore these forces, and how we can utilize them to create work that “works.” It does seem odd that many things come in threes:…
Origami: How “Folding” Makes Melody
Most elements of art exist somewhere in a continuum between order and chaos. Both of these extremes lead to a feeling of meaninglessness in the work. A completely predictable pattern seems mindless and automatic, and complete randomness seems incomprehensible and without information.
What Ever Happened to Arranging?
Recently I have been reading up on big band writing, with the intent of composing some new music. What struck me in my studies is the deliberation and reverence for the art found throughout these books. There is something about doing it right. Art can have details, and…
Music Production Story Time
In The Not-So-Distant Future (la la la) (In this play, Randy will be crustily portraying the role of Grandpa) Kids: “Grandpa, tell us again about the days before Auto-Tune!” Grandpa: “Well, I know it’s hard to imagine, but there were these people called singers who could stand in front of an audience or a microphone…
10 Reasons Your Composition Gets Stalled
Probably the biggest issue composers face, especially when getting started is the problem of finishing pieces. Somewhere in the process, we get “stalled” and in many cases, we never get started again, leaving unfinished works. In this article, we will look at some of the ways we…