BitterSweet

BitterSweet

A Musical Haiku. Does it sound BitterSweet?

Day of Thor

Well here it is Thursday (Day of Thor) already and I have not yet gotten around to ranting about something musical or otherwise.

Earlier this week I was presented with an interesting musical challenge, to create a short, one to three minute, piece of music on the theme “Bittersweet”. In addition to be limited in duration, the choice of instruments was also very limited. So testing my metal I starting composing a piece for Flute, Trumpet, Tuba, Vibraphone, Harp, and solo Violin. Last night I finished the composing, with the piece clocking in just a hair over three minutes at three minutes and eight seconds. One additional requirement was that piece be “realized” using only samples from GPO and JABB Sample Libraries. So now I have begun that which is the most laborious part for me, that of “mixing” my composition in Sonar using Garritain's two sample libraries. When I am done, which I hope will be within the week, I will post both the score and MP3 file on my SibeliusMusic hompage. Then I will leave it to you to decide if my piece captures any of the essence of “Bittersweet”.


Ursus Demens

Am I Crazy?

During my entire musical journey it seems I have always been swimming in a different direction than most of my contemporaries. Or is the fact that I am composer first and a performer second significant? Ergo by definition I am mad. And why does everyone who I tell I am a composer assume I play the piano.

By the way I do not play the piano, well not quite true, but my skills are quite minimal right now. I do not, and have never composed at the piano. The belief that you need to know how to play piano to understand music theory is one of the great lies of the music education. (But you do need to be able to read at least treble and bass clef. Knowing Alto, Tenor and Soprano Clefs also help.)

Am I the only person who prefers transposed (traditional) scores over “C” scores? Am I the only person who can read and transposed score faster than I can a “C” score. Am I a freak of nature because I can transposed almost instantaneously and really basically subconsciously? Why does it seem everyone else has such a hard time (or at least slow down) with transposing instruments? Is any one reading this?

I prefer John Coltrane's “A Love Supreme” album over his “Giant Steps” album.

Give me Don Ellis any day, any time, any place over Maynard Ferguson (The idol of the rest of the trumpet section in high school).

I prefer Eric Dolphy over Charlie Parker, don't get me wrong I dig Parker too. I prefer Dolphy's “Out There” album over his “Out To Lunch” album, but both are excellent.

Miles Davis' “Bitches Brew” album is probably my favorite Miles album.

I prefer BigBand Jazz over Smaller ensembles, but think Don Ellis was on to something with his idea of smaller units working inside of a larger band.

Am I the only person who's first exposure to Stravinsky was to his Oedipus Rex and not one of the three famous ballets?

Schoenberg does not sound “dissonant” too me, in fact he sounds quite “tonal” for the most part.

Am I the only person who takes 4' 33” seriously and does not consider it some sort of ironic comment or oxymoron to say “I have listen to 4' 33”?

Gregorian chat does NOT sound all the same to me, I can distinguish one chant from another.

I prefer CDs over MP3s and I prefer Records over CDs. I still listen to my larger record collection on a regular basis. CDs sound off to me, too “clean” and sterile.

Coffee is an evil and vile thing. Just the smell of coffee can cause me to convulse and regurgitate my last meal.

Good Tea proves to me that God is in his heaven and all is well. However is it virtually impossible to find a good cup of hot tea in the U.S of A.

So I ask again: Am I crazy?

Concerto for Trombone and Jazz Band.

First I would like to again thank everyone who took time to listen and especially those who gave me feed back on the first movement. Be assured that I still have all of your comments and will refer to them when I revised the first movement and as I work on the second and third movements.

Now, however, I am at work on the second movement. Since this is a Jazz piece I have been working on the “head” which is almost finished. So at this point I am working through organizational possibilities for the piece. Like the first movement it will contain a fair amount, but maybe not as much, improvisational space as the first movement. So the problem I am wrestling with is should I include either improvisational and or written solo sections for instruments other than the featured Solo Trombone?

So what say you? Since this is a concerto for Trombone and Jazz Band I think it is permissible to be quite a bit more relaxed about such things, id est having some one other than the featured soloist take the spot light for a short period in the overall design, than one would in a more traditional concerto setting. I am considering doing this for two reasons, one artistic and one piratical.

The piratical reason is that the solo trombone had to do a lot of blowing in the first movement and will need a chance to rest his chops. And this rest is needed as he will again be asked to carry a heavy load in the third and final movement.

The second artistic reason to provide contrast and departure from the trombone during the relaxed (slower) second movement. I should point that the solo trombone will still be heavily featured in the second movement with both written and improvised solo sections. If it is helpful the second movement is in a moderately slow ¾ with swung eights, sort of a slow Jazz Waltz in A minor (A Dorian) in a 64 bar AABA form.

Comments? Ideas? Thoughts? Questions?


Thank you.

Ursus Demens

So Far

Well for reasons I am not going to share, the year 2006 Anno Domini so far has been a pretty miserable year. It actually started to go down hill on the 31st of last year, but that is a long and boring story. On to music.

I continue with my struggles to learn/understand Sonar and the whole sequencer paradigm. But I am making progress and at some point I expect to release a torrent of MP3 files. So for the time being I am offering up my newest MP3 using the Garritan Jazz & Big Band (JABB) sample library:
"A short cruise through the semi-abandoned side streets and alleys of L.A during the wee hours of a hot mid-summer's night":
Note this is a new MP3 file mixed and uploaded on 01/05/2006. Love to hear your thoughts on this piece and/or the MP3. Hell, just would love to hear that people are listening.


Ursus Demens

Have a Merry Merry Christmas.

Well yesterday was the winter solstice and the start of winter. Hardly felt like winter here in Southern California, I slept most of the night without any blankets last night, much to my wife's chagrin. As I said I do not think I will try the winter weekly musical BLOG again this year, but part or me wants to, but I have so many other things that I need to be doing this year. Lately I have been in a musical funk as I try to grok the whole sequencer software paradigm. But I am slowly coming out of it, as I seem to learn a little more each day, and I have started working again on the second movement of my Concerto for Trombone and Jazz band. The one thing I have learned so far is that for me writing music is easy, it is the mixing that is the bitch and take all of the time. Anyway those are my random thoughts for this week, no real insights in music right now. So, have a merry merry Christmas.


Ursus Demens

Belinda Moody's Tonic Immobility

Two weeks ago Dr. Morse turned me on to a piece by Ms Moody called "Tonic Immobility". It is here on SibeliusMusic as just a lead sheet. Well the tune intrigued me enough to create a simple arrangement and realization of the piece. I shared that arraignment with Ms Moody and she gave her approval, “it was interesting to hear how you imagined some of the ambience of the piece just as i imagined it to be”, and permission to share it with the world. “...i am really happy for you to share it with anyone in the whole world that would like to hear!”

A little Tonic Immobility MP3

The original lead sheet can be viewed here:
Tonic Immobility Lead Sheet


Ursus Demens

Nothing

Nothing to say this week.

Well, what to do? What to do?

If you are one of the few in this universe that have been following this Blog you will know that last winter I did a Blog Musical piece of the week. This year I was seriously considering doing it again. It is no mean task to produce a new presentable pice of music each week. I was surprise at the end of last winter how much (self imposed) pressure disappeared once spring arrived and I stop writing at least one complete piece each week. Despite the pressure I would impose on myself I was thinking I would try it again this year. But, I have decided (at least as of today) no to do a winter weekly Blog piece. Why? Well, last week I got both the Sonar sampler software and the Garrtian JABB samples, there along with the GPO samples have added a lot of new software for me to learn. So I am going to be spending the winter producing new renderings/records of my existing compositions using my new software tools. While there will be no new piece each week this winter, I will be posting new “recordings”. So, please stay tuned and let me know if and how you enjoyed the music.

Ursus Demens

My first attempt and using BOTH JABB and Sonar.

"A short cruise through the semi-abandoned side streets and alleys of L.A during the wee hours of a hot mid-summer's night"

Well after waiting most of the autumn JABB as finally shipped and I have begun "rendering" some of my Jazz compostions. The first (crude) MP3 is now available.

Short Cruise ...

This is my first attempt and using BOTH JABB and Sonar. (Got both packages on the same day.)

There are some balance problems that I am still working on and updated MP3s should appear over the next days and weeks. And I have not even started on tweaking all various parameters to make it “live”. Any practical (and specific) advice on using Sonar is welcomed.


Ursus Demens

//
// Ars longa, vita brevis
// http://edosbear.blogspot.com/
//

Number One Like a Bullet:

Well my new recording of Sol Demens has shot to number one on the classical chart on Acid Planet.


Sol Demens [A Mad Sun]
A meditation for two piccolos and string orchestra.
14 minutes of surreal madness
Be sure to put on your SPF 35 Sun Screen!

Disclaimer: Listening to this piece can be harmful to your psyche and the composer will not be held responsible for any damage or bruising of the listener's psyche, nor will he accept any responsibility for any negative karma that might accrued to the listener.

The recording on Acid Planet is of an older version of the score. The newest version of the score is available at SibeliusMusic, Sol Demens along with a new recording done with GPO samples.

So in the next few weeks expect some more new recordings of my stuff as I come up to speed on my new software and sample libraries. Some of my shorter pieces I will be submitting to the Composer's Channel for internet broadcast. So stay tune as things are string to pickup.


Ursus Demens

Internet Radio Stations

I might have plugged these internet radio stations in the past, so here they are again. If you are interested in music that will challenge and please you, make you think and allow you to not think I highly recommend that you give these stations a listen. You will not find your generic, mass culture, corporate controlled, mind numbing, soul sucking, narcissistic, self glorying, rehashed, re-processed, artificial, top forty noise pollution that you find on commercial radio and T.V.

Free you ears, your mind, and your soul, take a listen to:

Cygnus Radio

The Composer's Channel

[Note: the above might be a bit of hyperbole gone out of control.]


Ursus Demens