Week 5 of my new year's resolution! More about it here: 52 Ideas
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Idea 4 of 52 Ideas This week was interesting, because it was the first time so far in this project that I didn't walk into the studio with a strong musical idea in mind. (Or actually I did have an idea, but I quickly realized that's not where I was headed.) I did have an idea of a feeling I wanted to communicate. After some exploration and "playing around," the musical result was much different than I expected! Here is Idea 3 for 52 Ideas. This weekend I was listening to a bit of composer Ernest Bloch and also Yo Yo Ma playing Massenet's "Meditation" from Thais. We have also been watching "Battlestar Galactica" which has a really beautiful, epic soundtrack. I think some of that found it's way into my music this week. I was imagining a cello as I was writing it. But I don't play cello, so I used my voice instead...! (It also brought back some memories of my days singing High Holy Days at Jewish temples in Houston and Portland.) In other news, I also posted some recordings of me singing Bach from performances last year. You can hear them on Soundcloud. Everybody's talking about Les Miz these days. I feel like this musical has gone through so many waves of popularity....I'm guessing it's not just a fad, but a musical that is here to stay for good. (As for Wicked, I'm not so sure...) My students are all asking to sing the songs, so I figured why not get everyone together and do it all at once? So I'm hosting a Les Miserables Sing-Along gathering on January 18! More info here. Ok, here's #2 of my composition project, 52 Ideas. I was doing a little research this weekend about Dubstep. ("What is this blasted thing everyone keeps talking about? I'm a musician, I should be able to figure this out....!) So here's my dubstep inspired(?) music, with a bit of my own operatic flair. :) Here's the first thing I've written for my project "52 Ideas." It was fun to just try to "put something out there" today. I can hear my natural preference for things that are emotional and epic. Enjoy! I'd like to announce a project I've just begun as part of a 2013 New Year's Resolution. Background Hi! Happy New Year! For those of you who know me, you probably know me as a performer - I'm mostly a singer and occasionally an actor and pianist. I'm also a very busy music educator and run my own private voice studio. But probably not many of you know me as a composer. It's something that's been a part of me since I was very little writing songs on the piano in my living room. I took a big plunge in high school, writing for my school choir, church stuff, and some other chamber groups. Then I wrote a good deal in college, mostly as part of music theory classes. In grad school, I got very focused on performing, and composing virtually disappeared from my life. In 2006, I decided to get more serious about writing music, and I took an extensive retreat for several days by myself to write. I returned home with several original songs, which became the seed of my debut CD, "Devotion." It was produced by my friend Michael McBride and released in 2008. Meanwhile, I was approached in 2007 by a friend to co-write a Christmas musical called "Every Man Heart Lay Down." I wrote several songs and oversaw the music for the whole production, which has now been produced 3 times in Houston, Texas. Additionally, I've done some arrangements off and on for church choirs, handbells, voice students, etc. However, the past few years writing has taken a back seat to performing, teaching, getting married, and moving across the country. So I've decided it's time to reacquaint myself with "composer Dan." Thanks for coming along for the ride. :-) Parameters Here's the plan:
Also, I sort of wanted to come up with a name for this project other than "I'm composing this year." Abby and I talked for a bit about this, and we realized I'm just trying to create musical sketches and ideas. She suggested "52 Ideas." So that's the current working title... Inspiration A few people that have inspired me to do this:
Tools A few basic tools that I'll be using: My studio at Resound NW, including my grand piano and guitar USB Microphone made by Blue on long-term loan to me by good friends. It'll be going into GarageBand on my Mac. KORG keyboard for MIDI input, using an M-Audio MIDI interface also going into GarageBand. I also have a microphone for performance (as pictured above) but at this time I don't have a way to use it for recording. I plan to use these accounts to publish my sketches:
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