How To Begin Composing Scores for Band Part 1

Hello Fellow Musicians,

Here is a video lesson of how to compose music for band. It is featuring the percussion engraving and how to navigate around the various menus in the program. More tutorials are to follow. Enjoy!

New Book and Free Promotion Today Only.

Hello, Followers.

I know it has been a long time since I was regularly posting on this blog. I'd like to get back into it now with telling you all that I have a new book out called "How To Write A Song In 30 Minutes or Less." It is here. I am also very excited to tell you all that the book is free on Amazon, but for today only!

Here is what the book is about and what you will receive from the book.

This is the first edition of "How to Write a Song in 30 Minutes or Less." This is a crash course in fast and effective songwriting. It shows the beginning songwriter how to come up with songwriting ideas, write melody, and write lyrics with ease! It is a little bit on theoretical side of music, but doesn't go too far into it, as it may confuse you. Instead, I put a step in each chapter to let you learn how to write songs with ease. There are some additional chapters on how to quickly copyright and register your song with performing rights organizations like BMI. If you are a struggling songwriter looking to break into the market, then this book is for you!

I hope that this book will help tons of you who are just starting songwriting for the first time or are on a quick deadline as a songwriter and need some last minute creative tips!

Go ahead and check it out and see how it works for you.

Peace.

Dear Sweet Voice and Welcome Back

About "Dear Sweet Voice"

 It is a melodrama of a tenor singer lamenting that he'd spent his best days as a singer. By the middle of the piece, the tenor is dreaming and in deeper lament about the old days as he fades into black because he lost his voice. Toward the end of the piece, his voice comes back in a blissful uptempo spiritual and he ends his swan song in a graceful finale. 

Here is the original text as it sung in concert:

My stars, my glory!

Has leapt away from me;

The harsh reality

Has darkened the very dream

No more thanks; no more bows!

No more glorious audience!

The stage once glowing bright has darkened;

The rows once filled have left.

Dear sweet voice

How I have loved you! 

Dear sweet gift alone,

How once did I have you,

Under my command,

No more whirlwinds of color;

My eyes, how I cannot see!

My flooding doubts I cannot ignore

Yet the siren song

Invites me to return.

Music, sweet music of mine,

Can’t your fabric of joy

Lend me one more try?

I will be there; I will be there!

It was the magnificent privilege to have my choral director, Dr. Andrew Crane perform this work for a recital of mine. He did such an outstanding job that I must share at least the audio of this wonderful performance with you.

Vocal singers, if you'd like a copy of this sheet music, it is available via digital download here.

Take time to enjoy the video and leave me any comments or questions you have on this blog or the video. Until next time, let's keep music alive!

Music Composition Career--Pursuit Day I

Hey all. I know that many of you musicians are in the boat where you can't see a career path in your future.  I share your pain at times. This blog from now on will be filled with insights and information to inspire you to be a better musician. For example, here is what I used to think about my career prospects in music a few years ago. Take a look.

I have found these days that composition has turned into something of an evil demon that makes you feel like the most spat-on speck of dust. In my latest piece, "A Singer's lament (my least favorite piece) I mention that the harsh reality has darkened the very dream. Well, I have found that the execution of this work has darkened my very dream of a career as a professional composer. One of the things that I admit that I have not done is successfully blocked out my previous anxieties on the complexities of my craft which should not exist. Ten weeks, eleven weeks, and now twelve weeks into my studies, I still am struggling with definite edits as people that I have graciously summoned to perform my works that I've so desperately tried to put on the table. The common practice with Dr. Menton, my composition teacher and I  is that I do one set of corrections while he corrects them--too often. I know, to everyone, this is just life. This is just the way composers have to work. Composers must be really be willing to devote hours and hours of practice and editing to make their compositions the best and the brightest they could be. 

They must also build a real, working relationships with performers. This includes the performers being ready to rehearse and perform compositions in a very communitive format. The composers have to also have all scores ready for the performers to perform. But, minor edits should be allowed in rehearsal. All this sounds great, but my experience below is the reality of the odds of having a performer perform your piece.

From a rehearsal stand point, the energy for my works is never there. Maybe when I get to heaven, maybe a choir will cover all the glorious work that I have tucked away deep in my mind for so many years. Every time I approach some one for a rehearsal of a piece of mine, I always get some enthusiastic replies, but yet there's a majority that come up with reasons that they cannot commit to my work. I always feel like the recitals or sort of off-points for me. I tend to think I'm in the wrong place, when I know that I'm in a right place. I can't really understand my place in this music world. I feel like I'm expected to be a slave for performers. Well, if there are no performers available o give you some rehearsals of the music, how are composers supposed to survive? I wonder if my compositions are really that terrible?

You know, I can do other things to make money and to make important relations with people through my books and subsequent songs. I don't need to do these compositions for a grade. I'd much rather do my compositions for performers just begging for music. It should not be the composer begging for performers. I'm tired of begging.

Also, I think that pop music is much faster for me to write than this classical music. Classical music is just too serious for me. Singing in choir and performing in jazz are almost the only highlights for me. I just wish that my work would be as rewarding as these two performing acts.  I really wish I could write a swan song for choir that is not as difficult as the last. Yet, I do not understand how we can do a piece like Whitacre's "A Boy and a Girl" which is full of dissonant stuff and we don't do my choir piece. I think there is something wrong with this picture. I almost think I should have edited the choir piece and perfected that instead of doing this new choir work.

I believe that as a department, and as a collective of music majors, we are feeding into laziness and passing people on who are not as hard-working. But yet, how can I say that I am hard working when I'm a composer who doesn't act on offers that present themselves to him, let alone goes after his chance to perform. What the hell am I doing writing this material? Better yet, what am I doing sitting here living, when living is going out and performing? I don't get out much. That's a big problem.

Now, I look back on these insights and beliefs that I harbored about being a composer and feel that these are quite wrong. I have learned that even now, as long as you keep your passion about music at all-time highs all the time, then you will succeed in whatever branch of composing that your heart longs for. You may long to be a film composer, but you think you can't do so. Find local film makers who are willing to work with you. Give them your business card. Tell them what you do. Be passionate when you tell them about your interests. The more passionate you are, the better the chance you will have of succeeding in landing in a position where you are likely to blossom. In the next blog, Day II, I will uncover some strategies of songwriting and how to make your songs pop and in later blog posts, sell!

Hope this helped inspire you musicians to keep on plugging! For more music tips, visit http://www.wildpianoman.xanga.com. 

On Quality, Peace, Music, and Writing

 It really is a wonder to me how the breadths of quality aren't what they used to be. It is a bother to me how most art, rather visual or performing, is ignored rather than used for practical purposes. In stead, we use government to keep people "in their seats" while only the topmost people get a chance to flex their creative muscle. For one, if we had more of a holistic approach to music, it could quite possibly keep many criminals off the streets, depending on what music we choose to pomote. I would believe that showcasing more concert music and folk, such as that of Simon and Garfunkel, we would be able to rid ourselves of war and disporportionate corruptness. We would not need a string of over-paid top police professionals to straighten people out.
 Also, science and math are important but I believe that too many of our schools rely on strict standards of science and math and not enough on English literacy through the analysis of poetry and other literary works to broaden our vocabulary, and produce more scholars and prodigies in the world who have a gift for writing. Writing would help the world better equip themselves for the future of reality. It would inspire peace and longevity, which is what we really need in this society of radical change. More people need to be promoted! To help, I have some music to help you relax: Finite Meditation, live on Amazon.

From New Book: "Popular Passions" The Rich and the Poor

I've been thinking lately about how our system of wealth is divided. It goes without saying that our capitalist society is an ever-widening gap between those in the higher tax bracket and those in the "untouchable" tax brackets. We that are in the lower tax brackets, seem to be forever dominated by the few that do make a killing in their respective industries, skills, or trade. There are so many of us that are in this world who work like the devil to make only a shilling of what big trade officials and other cooperate top dogs make. It makes us blue-collar folks wonder what we should do to up the ante on our skill so that we could better our individual economic status. There are more poor people who struggle than there are rich people in the world. Shouldn't the blue-collar folks be the ones that are successful at a skill enough to overpower the rich at their own game? Shouldn't we be the better wealth that powers society?




I believe the answer to our economic struggles lies not just in the political field. Let's look at ourselves for a second. We can criticize illegal immigrants from taking jobs from us. I, for one, don't agree with illegal immigrants taking it all over. But, we have a tendency to gripe about things and pretend things are not out of our control. One of the reasons that there is no social security or other benefits for us is due to corruption--largely corruption. That corruption mostly lies in the political system. These high ranking officials have not the slightest interest in the people of this nation. Or, they help the wrong people. I don't believe it matters whether you are democrat or a republican, so that can stop now! We are all in this together, but alone, too. This is because the governmental bodies have no interest in us, absolutely none. If they did, they would help us. I am actually tired of believing that someone is going to help me with my needs, so why should I trust that the president would do the same? And it doesn't matter what creed, race, or color he or she is. It doesn't matter. The presidency is a corrupt attempt at copying the European monarchy. If you compare the differences between our systems, ours is much the same as theirs because we originated from that. That's all we know. I'm through believing that the government will help me out aside from helping me fund my education. We have all been blessed with beautiful and gracious minds. We need to focus on creating something all our own and delivering it to others for income instead of continuing to feel like OPEC or any of the other big companies are taking over our lives. We all have God on our side. He has blessed us all with unique qualities and talents. I think it's time we find our niches and create and deliver with them. That could, at least, solve some of our problems.

Finite Meditaton

Here is my first work to ever be copyrighted. I thought this piece could inspire us to relax. It is also available for download via Amazon. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N0Gv-n6rr0.