This week a friend asked me to write an arrangement of “O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown” for vocal duet with piano accompaniment. Dealing with Bach can be a little daunting, so I decided to look at the where the music came from for the LDS version of that hymn.
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News: Boise State Residency
March 9–10: Visited Boise State University as a guest composer, where I taught composition lessons and gave presentations on James Tenney, orchestration in Star Wars, and my recent music. (Photo: Composers’ trip up the canyon. From left to right — Sam Richards, myself, Jared Knight.)
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Orchestration Devices in the Star Wars scores: Solo Instruments and Sections
A list of solo instruments from (mostly) A New Hope, useful for orchestrators, composers, and orchestra fans.
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News: Motion Lines Premiere
My saxophone quartet Motion Lines was premiered by the renowned PRISM Quartet during their Brandeis residency.
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Why Doesn’t Music Get Boring With Only 12 Notes?
I know what you’re thinking: “Why doesn’t it get boring?” Some have taken an a mathematical approach to this question. Although these answers demonstrate a raw numerical reason, they offer little musical insight. The problem is that their premise — “only 12 notes” — is a lie.
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Why are Alto and Tenor Parts so Boring?
Why do altos and tenors often get saddled with parts like this? Don’t composers know that singing the same two notes over and over again is boring? To understand what composers are possibly thinking, let’s dive into some music theory . . .
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Why Four-bar Phrases?
“The four-bar phrase has had a bad press in our time,” writes Charles Rosen.[1. In The Romantic Generation 258. Rosen gives a fascinating exploration of them in his book, but I want to articulate a different approach.] But for all the denigration, four-bar phrases are ubiquitous.
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Economies of Scale and the True Cost of Music
Music is expensive. Far more expensive than the average consumer is aware. I had this conversation twice last week, so I figured I’d blog about it. Let’s use Rob Gardner’s Lamb of God oratorio as a case study:
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Composing Report: March 2016
I knew that March was going to be crunch time. The past few days I’ve been composing between 5 and 8 hours a day.
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This January I had set a goal to compose 8 bars per work day. In February I missed that mark — but I got closer.
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