The sixth installment in the blog series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
"Family in a Row"
Families interact in unusual and, sometimes, funny ways.
My family is no different than yours - well, maybe mine is a little better, but that's the only difference! (OK, so I'm a little biased!)
As a composer I am fascinated by the interactions between notes, rhythms, pitch colors, etc. As a family member I am fascinated by verbal interactions between people and the group dynamic that occurs - and changes - depending on which family member is in the room at any given time.
My sister-in-law Lizz recently commented on my admitted lack of talent in stringing together more than two interesting words to create a title - by sending me a list of very funny and pithy suggestions for titles to work off of.
So I was excited this morning to sit down and compose music to her witty title of "Daffodils Don't Have Thermometers," or "If I Wanted This Much Snow I'd Move Back to Chicago!"
And I still might get to those titles! (They are very cool and much appreciated.)
As anyone who has been around a creative artist knows - we're all a bit ADD and obsessive-compulsive.
So, I swear I sat down to write the "Daffodils ..." piece - and ... then I started thinking. (Always a sketchy thing for me.)
"What if Each Person in my 'IS' ('Immediate Southern') family was assigned a note?"
Hmmmm ...
"And ... What if those notes were 'pre-determined' to act and re-act together - as if in a 'serial tone-row'?"
... cool.
" ... and ... if all this were so - would there be one person/note that would control all of the other pitches?"
Way cool.
Another dilemma: There are a lot of people in my 'IS' family and if everyone were represented by a single note there would be far too many notes to string thematically to have any musical impact.
Hmmm...
"Who Controls Families?" I asked my slightly diseased brain. "Women" It answered.
Of course! So I picked the 'IS' women - Susan (wife), Lizz (sister-in-law), Leddie (mother-in-law), Carmen (niece), Casey (niece), Lisi (step-daughter) and Katie (granddaughter).
I then set about structuring a row (series) of notes and assigning a pitch to each person. Susan = "G", Lizz ("C"), Leddie ("C"), Carmen ("F#"), Casey ("F"), Lisi ("B") & Katie ("Bb"). (I play them in row at the beginning of the piece for you to hear - then I start the piece 'proper'.)
Those with a smidgen of music theory will assert: "Aha! The relationships between a lot of those pitches are tri-tones! The 'Devil's Interval'!"
Yes, the 'tri-tone' is historically called the "Devil's Interval" - but to my ears it is one of the most expressive - it can be poignant, sad, brutal, assertive ... anything the composer really wants it to be.
The problem always comes in the listening.
We are trained, as listeners, on a very limited musical language - almost strictly tonal (harmonies based upon established chords that have been built upon a series of major and minor thirds) and have very little experience in listening to and being influenced emotionally by any sounds that defy those tonal boundaries.
In tonal music, a seemingly psycho-acoustic phenomenon occurs melodically and harmonically. In non-tonal music, these relationships are harder to feel and experience due to the fact that we, as listeners, haven't had too much experience with these type of sounds.
I enjoy the inter-personal interactions between family members - it is almost always enjoyable and always fascinating to watch.
So, ... this is "Family in a Row." The "Row" refers to the series of notes, in this case, Susan ("G"), Lizz ("C#"), etc - and how they are related musically to each other.
Historically a "Row" can move forwards or backwards - but always keeping the order of the pitches. You can also move in retrograde and retrograde inversion as well.
"Family is a Row" is my fun, humorous musical description of an 'IS' family conversation. I enjoy my family a lot - I hope that you enjoy them too!
A final note (sorry for the pun!) - those of you with a good sense of pitch and pitch memory will notice the rather insistent "Bb" in the piece. "Bb" is the pitch of my granddaughter Katie.
As in all families, the baby is the controlling factor and the focus of all attention.
That is delightfully the case in my 'IS' family.
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
You can grab the sheet music for this piece (and all others in the "28 in Twenty-Eight" series) at www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html.
Stats: Blog Views to Date (February 5, 2010): 4,179 | Sheet Music Downloads to Date (February 5, 2010): 5,229
My family is no different than yours - well, maybe mine is a little better, but that's the only difference! (OK, so I'm a little biased!)
As a composer I am fascinated by the interactions between notes, rhythms, pitch colors, etc. As a family member I am fascinated by verbal interactions between people and the group dynamic that occurs - and changes - depending on which family member is in the room at any given time.
My sister-in-law Lizz recently commented on my admitted lack of talent in stringing together more than two interesting words to create a title - by sending me a list of very funny and pithy suggestions for titles to work off of.
So I was excited this morning to sit down and compose music to her witty title of "Daffodils Don't Have Thermometers," or "If I Wanted This Much Snow I'd Move Back to Chicago!"
And I still might get to those titles! (They are very cool and much appreciated.)
As anyone who has been around a creative artist knows - we're all a bit ADD and obsessive-compulsive.
So, I swear I sat down to write the "Daffodils ..." piece - and ... then I started thinking. (Always a sketchy thing for me.)
"What if Each Person in my 'IS' ('Immediate Southern') family was assigned a note?"
Hmmmm ...
"And ... What if those notes were 'pre-determined' to act and re-act together - as if in a 'serial tone-row'?"
... cool.
" ... and ... if all this were so - would there be one person/note that would control all of the other pitches?"
Way cool.
Another dilemma: There are a lot of people in my 'IS' family and if everyone were represented by a single note there would be far too many notes to string thematically to have any musical impact.
Hmmm...
"Who Controls Families?" I asked my slightly diseased brain. "Women" It answered.
Of course! So I picked the 'IS' women - Susan (wife), Lizz (sister-in-law), Leddie (mother-in-law), Carmen (niece), Casey (niece), Lisi (step-daughter) and Katie (granddaughter).
I then set about structuring a row (series) of notes and assigning a pitch to each person. Susan = "G", Lizz ("C"), Leddie ("C"), Carmen ("F#"), Casey ("F"), Lisi ("B") & Katie ("Bb"). (I play them in row at the beginning of the piece for you to hear - then I start the piece 'proper'.)
Those with a smidgen of music theory will assert: "Aha! The relationships between a lot of those pitches are tri-tones! The 'Devil's Interval'!"
Yes, the 'tri-tone' is historically called the "Devil's Interval" - but to my ears it is one of the most expressive - it can be poignant, sad, brutal, assertive ... anything the composer really wants it to be.
The problem always comes in the listening.
We are trained, as listeners, on a very limited musical language - almost strictly tonal (harmonies based upon established chords that have been built upon a series of major and minor thirds) and have very little experience in listening to and being influenced emotionally by any sounds that defy those tonal boundaries.
In tonal music, a seemingly psycho-acoustic phenomenon occurs melodically and harmonically. In non-tonal music, these relationships are harder to feel and experience due to the fact that we, as listeners, haven't had too much experience with these type of sounds.
I enjoy the inter-personal interactions between family members - it is almost always enjoyable and always fascinating to watch.
So, ... this is "Family in a Row." The "Row" refers to the series of notes, in this case, Susan ("G"), Lizz ("C#"), etc - and how they are related musically to each other.
Historically a "Row" can move forwards or backwards - but always keeping the order of the pitches. You can also move in retrograde and retrograde inversion as well.
"Family is a Row" is my fun, humorous musical description of an 'IS' family conversation. I enjoy my family a lot - I hope that you enjoy them too!
A final note (sorry for the pun!) - those of you with a good sense of pitch and pitch memory will notice the rather insistent "Bb" in the piece. "Bb" is the pitch of my granddaughter Katie.
As in all families, the baby is the controlling factor and the focus of all attention.
That is delightfully the case in my 'IS' family.
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
You can grab the sheet music for this piece (and all others in the "28 in Twenty-Eight" series) at www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html.
Stats: Blog Views to Date (February 5, 2010): 4,179 | Sheet Music Downloads to Date (February 5, 2010): 5,229
Friday, February 5, 2010
"The Thing Stuck in the Corner of My Window"
Yes, that's right - "The Things Stuck in the Corner of My Window!"
This is the fifth installoment in the blog series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin.
This is the fifth installoment in the blog series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin.
"The Thing in My Window"
Yes, ... you wanted titles? Have I got one for you!
"The Thing Stuck in the Corner of My Window" is about ... well, the 'thing' in my window. I saw it yesterday. Really.
In the last 9 months, we've been working on restoring an old 1854 theater for offices and recording studio and theater in the historic Olde Towne district in Portsmouth, Virginia.
It is a fabulous place - great old bones as they say in the real estate biz.
It has become quite a studio - in fact, the first recording done here was the Melies' film "Le Voyage Dans la Lune." We've recorded many new works here already - from works by David H. Cohen, Chris Sainsbury, James Guymon, Professor Louis & The Crowmatix to the selections on this blog.
I love recording here.
Yesterday as I was walking through the office I noticed a rather old looking bumble-bee hiding in the corner of the window. How he survived this long into winter is beyond me. He was obviously on his last ... wings and would buzz frantically while only turning left. (Apparently his right turn signal was broken.) He was also somewhat molting and was being tortured with glee by the theater cat TC.
In writing this morning I remembered him and set him to music. The bumble-bee, not TC.
So ... "The Thing Stuck in the Corner of My Window."
A couple of things to talk about - you'll hear the obvious buzzing. Can't miss it really. (Not too subtle, Robert!) The loud, booming lower bass notes in the left hand are my attempts at musically describing my clapping at TC to try and shoo him away from playing with this poor old bumble-bee. The middle slow section is a sad lament for the bumble-bee - I thought he'd finally given up and had taken his final rest.
Surprise!
He was up and buzzing left in a few moments. Apparently he was playing possum.
The big bang at the end of the piece? I'll let you draw your own conclusions!
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments and emails. It is very humbling.
See you tomorrow!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Download the FREE sheet music at www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html
"The Thing Stuck in the Corner of My Window" is about ... well, the 'thing' in my window. I saw it yesterday. Really.
In the last 9 months, we've been working on restoring an old 1854 theater for offices and recording studio and theater in the historic Olde Towne district in Portsmouth, Virginia.
It is a fabulous place - great old bones as they say in the real estate biz.
It has become quite a studio - in fact, the first recording done here was the Melies' film "Le Voyage Dans la Lune." We've recorded many new works here already - from works by David H. Cohen, Chris Sainsbury, James Guymon, Professor Louis & The Crowmatix to the selections on this blog.
I love recording here.
Yesterday as I was walking through the office I noticed a rather old looking bumble-bee hiding in the corner of the window. How he survived this long into winter is beyond me. He was obviously on his last ... wings and would buzz frantically while only turning left. (Apparently his right turn signal was broken.) He was also somewhat molting and was being tortured with glee by the theater cat TC.
In writing this morning I remembered him and set him to music. The bumble-bee, not TC.
So ... "The Thing Stuck in the Corner of My Window."
A couple of things to talk about - you'll hear the obvious buzzing. Can't miss it really. (Not too subtle, Robert!) The loud, booming lower bass notes in the left hand are my attempts at musically describing my clapping at TC to try and shoo him away from playing with this poor old bumble-bee. The middle slow section is a sad lament for the bumble-bee - I thought he'd finally given up and had taken his final rest.
Surprise!
He was up and buzzing left in a few moments. Apparently he was playing possum.
The big bang at the end of the piece? I'll let you draw your own conclusions!
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments and emails. It is very humbling.
See you tomorrow!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Download the FREE sheet music at www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html
Thursday, February 4, 2010
"Noodle, Poodle, Doodle"
"Noodle, Poodle, Doodle" is the fourth installment in the "28 in Twenty-Eight" series by Robert Ian Winstin.
"Noodle, Poodle, Doodle"
So ... here it is 4:26am and the cat won't leave me alone!
Really - TC ('Theater Cat') has definately gotten over his fear of strange sounds and keeps parking himself either over the keys or inside the piano at exactly the most critical moments in the recording process.
Aside from the problems with the cat - this piece is a killer!
Now that I am on the other side of 50, my fingers just don't flex like they used to! What was I thinking when I wrote this? What are my neighbors thinking when I start banging on the piano at 3:30 in the morning? Is the center of the universe really a giant Tootsie-Roll?
So ... here is "Noodle,Poodle,Doodle." (Yes, I know the title stinks. Again.)
Somewhere in my damaged brain I decided that "Yankee Doodle" and the 11th century church chant "Dies Irae" went together. (Death to the Yankee? Some of my Southern in-laws might agree!)
Actually, to tell you the truth - it feels great to be challenged like this. The piece is chock full of lots of technical problems for the pianist to solve - tricky and odd-placed grace-notes, flying scales and (my favorite) alternating cascading chords in fourths. (Somehow my hands just do those chords. As a pianist I always found those easy to do. I stumbled over scales for years, but flying chords and octaves I could do all day long - although I do have a tendency to rip off the fingernails of my pinkies. Must learn to judge distances on the keys better!)
I even managed to get "Shave and a Hair Cut" in at the end.
As hard as it was to play - I really loved doing this piece!
Again, many thanks to all who dropped by this blog to listen. It is much appreciated. If you are interested, the print versions of these pieces are available at http://www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html.
I hope that you enjoy it!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Really - TC ('Theater Cat') has definately gotten over his fear of strange sounds and keeps parking himself either over the keys or inside the piano at exactly the most critical moments in the recording process.
Aside from the problems with the cat - this piece is a killer!
Now that I am on the other side of 50, my fingers just don't flex like they used to! What was I thinking when I wrote this? What are my neighbors thinking when I start banging on the piano at 3:30 in the morning? Is the center of the universe really a giant Tootsie-Roll?
So ... here is "Noodle,Poodle,Doodle." (Yes, I know the title stinks. Again.)
Somewhere in my damaged brain I decided that "Yankee Doodle" and the 11th century church chant "Dies Irae" went together. (Death to the Yankee? Some of my Southern in-laws might agree!)
Actually, to tell you the truth - it feels great to be challenged like this. The piece is chock full of lots of technical problems for the pianist to solve - tricky and odd-placed grace-notes, flying scales and (my favorite) alternating cascading chords in fourths. (Somehow my hands just do those chords. As a pianist I always found those easy to do. I stumbled over scales for years, but flying chords and octaves I could do all day long - although I do have a tendency to rip off the fingernails of my pinkies. Must learn to judge distances on the keys better!)
I even managed to get "Shave and a Hair Cut" in at the end.
As hard as it was to play - I really loved doing this piece!
Again, many thanks to all who dropped by this blog to listen. It is much appreciated. If you are interested, the print versions of these pieces are available at http://www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html.
I hope that you enjoy it!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"Sounds Like Fun"
Third installment in the series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin. This one for bassoon and piano.
Three for Three Today!
I am amazed and humbled at the number of emails and responses I am getting to "28 in Twenty-Eight." Thank you all so much.
So, here is number three in the series. Once again, I suck at titles. I'm calling it "Sounds Like Fun." Yeah. I know. But ... it does sound like fun. (My many thanks to Lesley Winslow who braved cold temperatures - both outside and inside the theater this morning to record this little ditty.)
Woke at 2:30 this morning and found I was excited to go to work. I've been a composer and conductor for a lot of years and I am just practically 'giggly' over getting in to work. I love the process of writing and I love getting it down on tape and getting it uploaded to you.
I know - there is definately something wrong with me!
When I started writing "Sounds Like Fun" I was going for a change in sound - adding a bassoon - but I was also going for a change in working relationships. I wanted to actually have a musical conversation with another human! I wanted to share the experience.
As a conductor I get to work with some great orchestras and engineers. There is always company. Most times that is great. In the last few days of this project it has been ... well, ... all me. (Yeah, I'm not that impressed either!) I write, record and post. And, I've been doing it really early in the morning so that I can get it out on this blog for a full day.
I just wanted some company this morning! (Thanks again Lesley - my apologies for the temp in the theater. It has been very cold here in Virginia - including recent snow storms. The theater is pretty cold in the morning!)
Aside from the above aspects of writing, I have found this entire process very liberating. The need to write quickly and produce it quickly has thrown me into a kind of creative over-drive. I love it!
I'm already thinking of tomorrow's piece - a real knuckle-buster of a piano piece based on "Yankee Doodle."
Yeah, who knows where that came from - but I'm getting back to work now, ... and calling the piano tuner!
I hope that you enjoy "Sounds Like Fun."
BTW - I've been getting a lot of requests for the print version / sheet music of the scores. I've posted them at the ERM Media web site at http://www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html. You can grab the print version there - learn it, play it, fold it or mutilate it!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
So, here is number three in the series. Once again, I suck at titles. I'm calling it "Sounds Like Fun." Yeah. I know. But ... it does sound like fun. (My many thanks to Lesley Winslow who braved cold temperatures - both outside and inside the theater this morning to record this little ditty.)
Woke at 2:30 this morning and found I was excited to go to work. I've been a composer and conductor for a lot of years and I am just practically 'giggly' over getting in to work. I love the process of writing and I love getting it down on tape and getting it uploaded to you.
I know - there is definately something wrong with me!
When I started writing "Sounds Like Fun" I was going for a change in sound - adding a bassoon - but I was also going for a change in working relationships. I wanted to actually have a musical conversation with another human! I wanted to share the experience.
As a conductor I get to work with some great orchestras and engineers. There is always company. Most times that is great. In the last few days of this project it has been ... well, ... all me. (Yeah, I'm not that impressed either!) I write, record and post. And, I've been doing it really early in the morning so that I can get it out on this blog for a full day.
I just wanted some company this morning! (Thanks again Lesley - my apologies for the temp in the theater. It has been very cold here in Virginia - including recent snow storms. The theater is pretty cold in the morning!)
Aside from the above aspects of writing, I have found this entire process very liberating. The need to write quickly and produce it quickly has thrown me into a kind of creative over-drive. I love it!
I'm already thinking of tomorrow's piece - a real knuckle-buster of a piano piece based on "Yankee Doodle."
Yeah, who knows where that came from - but I'm getting back to work now, ... and calling the piano tuner!
I hope that you enjoy "Sounds Like Fun."
BTW - I've been getting a lot of requests for the print version / sheet music of the scores. I've posted them at the ERM Media web site at http://www.numusicdirect.com/28intwentyeight.html. You can grab the print version there - learn it, play it, fold it or mutilate it!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
" ... balances"
" ... balances" is the second installment in the series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin.
February 2 - " ... balances"
The Second Day - and I'm already running out of titles!
I have tentatively labelled this piece " ... balances" due to the very delicate balance of melodic and harmonic forces between the hands at the piano in this piece. (You'll notice that the melody is switched from the right hand to the left hand quite a bit. That requires a literal shift in not only thinking on the part of the pianist, but also a mental shift as well.)
As in the previous piece, this seemingly tonal piece is chock-full of dissonance - most notably in the intervals of sevenths and seconds - my favorite intervals.
Die-hard tonalists - you may want to sit down for my next statement: Depending on the treatment, dissonance can be quite beautiful. OK - I tried to sugar-coat it. All dissonance is beautiful in music. Sorry, I'm just like that.
OK - tonalists go grab a cup of coffee and take my name in vain from the kitchen so I can't hear you. To the rest - we are taught from an early age that dissonance is bad. After all - it is about 'dis-cord.' "Dis-Chord?" How can we think it good with that kind of start.
But it is.
Sound is beautiful. Really. All sound is fantastically beautiful. It just depends on how we treat it, use it, insert it, etc.
When I was a music student in my conservatory days back in the early 17th century (OK, it only feels like I'm that old!) dissonance was considered bad. Historically the tri-tone (the "Devil's Interval") was outlawed in every music theory class, early 15th & 16th century composers would be banished (or worse!) for writing 'un-treated' tri-tones, and, even jazz was not allowed to be played in 'serious' settings. (I remember trying to get away with playing the Gershwin "Three Preludes" on a piano jury when I was a freshman. No go. Now they are rightly considered legitimate 20th century gems.)
I've always written with dissonance. Perhaps it is my personality. Perhaps it is gas. Who knows ...?
I hope that you will enjoy my 'balanced' dissonance. Tomorrow I'm thinking a piece for bassoon and piano. Something fun to change the palatte. Just have to find a bassoonist that likes to get up around five am!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
I have tentatively labelled this piece " ... balances" due to the very delicate balance of melodic and harmonic forces between the hands at the piano in this piece. (You'll notice that the melody is switched from the right hand to the left hand quite a bit. That requires a literal shift in not only thinking on the part of the pianist, but also a mental shift as well.)
As in the previous piece, this seemingly tonal piece is chock-full of dissonance - most notably in the intervals of sevenths and seconds - my favorite intervals.
Die-hard tonalists - you may want to sit down for my next statement: Depending on the treatment, dissonance can be quite beautiful. OK - I tried to sugar-coat it. All dissonance is beautiful in music. Sorry, I'm just like that.
OK - tonalists go grab a cup of coffee and take my name in vain from the kitchen so I can't hear you. To the rest - we are taught from an early age that dissonance is bad. After all - it is about 'dis-cord.' "Dis-Chord?" How can we think it good with that kind of start.
But it is.
Sound is beautiful. Really. All sound is fantastically beautiful. It just depends on how we treat it, use it, insert it, etc.
When I was a music student in my conservatory days back in the early 17th century (OK, it only feels like I'm that old!) dissonance was considered bad. Historically the tri-tone (the "Devil's Interval") was outlawed in every music theory class, early 15th & 16th century composers would be banished (or worse!) for writing 'un-treated' tri-tones, and, even jazz was not allowed to be played in 'serious' settings. (I remember trying to get away with playing the Gershwin "Three Preludes" on a piano jury when I was a freshman. No go. Now they are rightly considered legitimate 20th century gems.)
I've always written with dissonance. Perhaps it is my personality. Perhaps it is gas. Who knows ...?
I hope that you will enjoy my 'balanced' dissonance. Tomorrow I'm thinking a piece for bassoon and piano. Something fun to change the palatte. Just have to find a bassoonist that likes to get up around five am!
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
Monday, February 1, 2010
February 1st Piece - "SnowSwirls"
OK - here we go!
I woke up early this morning - very early - and set pencil to paper to get my first piece out in the "28 in Twenty-Eight" blog series.
I was very excited about starting out - I love challenges, and writing 28 pieces in twenty-eight days is ... well, ... a challenge!
I'm somewhat "Old-School" in the mechanics of writing; pencil, paper - and BIG eraser. I also write at a table most of the time - not at the piano or an instrument. (One of my former mentors instilled that habit in me. He always said - "If you write at an instument you merely tend to re-create what you can physically do." Of course, he was always right!)
So, I write at a table and make, usually, many drafts before heading to the computer to start typesetting the score.
This morning I decided to skip a lot of the paper stuff and work out most of the score in my head before starting to set it down. (Basically, I just sat and thought it through for a few hours, then I started writing it out.)
Of course, this morning when I got to the theater I had to actually learn it to play it on the piano! (As I was woodshedding through the left-hand part - which is a bit challenging - all I kept thinking was; "Who wrote this #$%^ ?"
We had a snow storm here is Southern Virginia over the weekend. It was an unusual event for this area and I guess the experience stuck with me as the first piece is called "SnowSwirls."
I'm not sure that it entirely captures the feel and sound of swirling snow, but does feel like it to me. I'm a big fan of mixed tonalities and poly-rhythms - which you find in abundance here. I've also been experimenting with having tempi, dynamics and articulation help to shape the overall musical architecture.
We'll see ... we'll see.
I'm very excited about this process and really looking forward to tomorrow's experience!
I hope you enjoy the piece.
I woke up early this morning - very early - and set pencil to paper to get my first piece out in the "28 in Twenty-Eight" blog series.
I was very excited about starting out - I love challenges, and writing 28 pieces in twenty-eight days is ... well, ... a challenge!
I'm somewhat "Old-School" in the mechanics of writing; pencil, paper - and BIG eraser. I also write at a table most of the time - not at the piano or an instrument. (One of my former mentors instilled that habit in me. He always said - "If you write at an instument you merely tend to re-create what you can physically do." Of course, he was always right!)
So, I write at a table and make, usually, many drafts before heading to the computer to start typesetting the score.
This morning I decided to skip a lot of the paper stuff and work out most of the score in my head before starting to set it down. (Basically, I just sat and thought it through for a few hours, then I started writing it out.)
Of course, this morning when I got to the theater I had to actually learn it to play it on the piano! (As I was woodshedding through the left-hand part - which is a bit challenging - all I kept thinking was; "Who wrote this #$%^ ?"
We had a snow storm here is Southern Virginia over the weekend. It was an unusual event for this area and I guess the experience stuck with me as the first piece is called "SnowSwirls."
I'm not sure that it entirely captures the feel and sound of swirling snow, but does feel like it to me. I'm a big fan of mixed tonalities and poly-rhythms - which you find in abundance here. I've also been experimenting with having tempi, dynamics and articulation help to shape the overall musical architecture.
We'll see ... we'll see.
I'm very excited about this process and really looking forward to tomorrow's experience!
I hope you enjoy the piece.
28in28ONE-SnowSwirls
The first in the blog uploads in the series "28 in Twenty-Eight" by Robert Ian Winstin. This one is for piano and is called "Snow Swirls."
Friday, January 15, 2010
RIW Welcome
Welcome Voice Message from composer Robert Ian Winstin about his new "28 in twenty-eight" project.
What's "28 in twenty-eight?"
I'm a composer of what my loving family calls "Why Would Anyone Buy That $^&#?" type of music.
Art music. You know ... the stuff most people don't know exists and the stuff most don't want to know about. Of course, I use the word 'stuff' purposely.
I've been very fortunate in my career - I get to conduct some of the greatest orchestras in the world - I make a lot of orchestral recordings of the great music of my colleagues, I've written what I consider some pretty cool stuff; "Taliban Dances," "Oedipus Requiem," "When the Music's Over" etc - and I'm still a very happy person. (I could stand to lose a few hundred pounds and if anyone has some extra dirty blond/light brown hair I could definately stand to have some super-glued to my dome!)
So, with all of this great stuff going on in my life ... I need a challenge.
February is coming up. To most but the really strange, that means twenty-eight days. So, I thought - how about a piece of music a day for twenty-eight days?
"28 in twenty-eight."
It can be about sharing the creative process or it can be about simply lurking out there and confirming my family's suspicions that if I were really any good I'd be one of the Beatle's.
To me it is not about any of this.
To me it is the artistic challenge of writing and recording one single piece of art music each day in February. I don't know what it is going to be - piano music? Single solo instrument? Small orchestral score snuck on the end of a recording session of bigger works? It is also about sharing this process; showing the work, describing the details of what it took to get it there, etc.
Who knows?
The logistics are a bit daunting - I not only have to write a semi-decent piece of music each day but I also have to record it, post-produce it and then upload it to this blog! And ... I'm going to sandwich this into an already hectic schedule that includes a heavy recording and concert schedule as well as an old 1854 theater rehab!
OK - maybe my family is right - I'm nuts! But it seems impossible to resist!
So, starting February 1, 2010 I'll be starting this project of one piece of music uploaded per day.
"28 in twenty-eight."
I don't even know if I can really do this - but I'll give it my best shot!
See you on the 1st ...
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
Art music. You know ... the stuff most people don't know exists and the stuff most don't want to know about. Of course, I use the word 'stuff' purposely.
I've been very fortunate in my career - I get to conduct some of the greatest orchestras in the world - I make a lot of orchestral recordings of the great music of my colleagues, I've written what I consider some pretty cool stuff; "Taliban Dances," "Oedipus Requiem," "When the Music's Over" etc - and I'm still a very happy person. (I could stand to lose a few hundred pounds and if anyone has some extra dirty blond/light brown hair I could definately stand to have some super-glued to my dome!)
So, with all of this great stuff going on in my life ... I need a challenge.
February is coming up. To most but the really strange, that means twenty-eight days. So, I thought - how about a piece of music a day for twenty-eight days?
"28 in twenty-eight."
It can be about sharing the creative process or it can be about simply lurking out there and confirming my family's suspicions that if I were really any good I'd be one of the Beatle's.
To me it is not about any of this.
To me it is the artistic challenge of writing and recording one single piece of art music each day in February. I don't know what it is going to be - piano music? Single solo instrument? Small orchestral score snuck on the end of a recording session of bigger works? It is also about sharing this process; showing the work, describing the details of what it took to get it there, etc.
Who knows?
The logistics are a bit daunting - I not only have to write a semi-decent piece of music each day but I also have to record it, post-produce it and then upload it to this blog! And ... I'm going to sandwich this into an already hectic schedule that includes a heavy recording and concert schedule as well as an old 1854 theater rehab!
OK - maybe my family is right - I'm nuts! But it seems impossible to resist!
So, starting February 1, 2010 I'll be starting this project of one piece of music uploaded per day.
"28 in twenty-eight."
I don't even know if I can really do this - but I'll give it my best shot!
See you on the 1st ...
Robert Ian Winstin
www.robertianwinstin.com
www.numusicdirect.com
robert@robertianwinstin.com
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