Orchestration process

I spent part of the day yesterday orchestration the first forty-five to fifty measures of Night Sky.  So far the orchestration has been a fun process.  It is rewarding to see the full realization of my music.  While I have not yet finished all of the layer of this section, the big picture is coming into focus.  From time to time I do need to remind myself to be consistent in the orchestration.  Fortunately, Adam had sent me suggestions as to typical doublings/groupings in middle school band music.

Contrary to my normal (preferred) routine I am orchestrating Night Sky directly into Finale.  I usually like to have a sketch of the full score prior to entering the piece into Finale.  However, I feel as if that step would require a lot of extra time that I do not wish to spend.  One advantage of orchestrating into Finale is that I can "listen" to the piece through the MIDI playback feature.  While I do not like the quality of playback it is a useful tool for pacing and sonic issues.  I think that this type of playback only gives the listener a vague idea of what the piece will sound like.  I have already noticed one or two pacing issues that I was able to fix by listening to this playback method, so it is not without its benefits.

I am going to continue to plug away at the orchestration and I may possibly be able to send Adam the first couple of pages by the weekend.

Sketch score complete

Yesterday I was able to complete the sketch score for Night Sky.  After a long process that has taken the form and scope through three different phases, the piece is sketched.  Night Sky ended up being a single movement work.  I am quite relieved that the sketch process is finished.

My next step is to orchestrate the piece.  During this process I will add additional layers of counterpoint or sustained chords as I feel necessary.  It has been a long time since I composed a piece for this large of an ensemble.  I look forward to orchestrating Night Sky.  I have always enjoyed the orchestration process.  To me it is a different type of compositional process that is almost like painting.  It is in this process that color is added giving the piece its sound world.  My hope is to have the orchestration done by mid-June.

Another formal change

Last weekend I finished what was to be the third movement of Night Sky.  As I began to work on the second movement I started thinking about how I was going to develop the sixteen measures I was composing.  As I stopped for the night to get ready for bed, my mind kept working.  I began to think about going back to my original concept and make this a single-movement piece.  I made a note to myself about it and decided to sleep on it.

As I thought more about it, my ideas made sense.  I began to get excited.  I could see how all of these pieces could fit together to make a cohesive piece.  Currently my challenge is to create a connecting bridge between what was the first and third movements.  I have ideas, I just need to flesh them out.

Happy Anniversary

I wanted to wish my wife, Melissa, a Happy 2nd Anniversary.  It was two years ago today that I was able to marry the love of my life.  I look forward to many, many more anniversaries.  I love you Melissa with all of my heart.

Composing Session: May 23, 2010

Today I completed the sketch for the final movement of Night Sky.  This movement ended up being simplistic in form: A B A with a brief seven-measure (actually six measure plus one beat) coda.  I have intentionally tried to keep the texture of this movement fairly thin.  This, for me, is a by product of the faster tempo in which I have set this movement.

Since what I have finished is a sketch I may decide to add more layers as I orchestrate the piece.  As I composed this movement I had intended to feature the percussion.  This is why the percussion is more prominent.  I also felt as if the piece and the kids playing it would benefit from something that has more of a drive to it.

Now that this movement has been sketched out I am turing my attention to the second movement: Unidentified.  I have already sketched an idea for the opening melody.  I will work with it, try to develop it and see where this theme takes me.  My hope is to sketch this movement while on vacation so that I can focus my energy on orchestrating the piece.

Setting goals and timelines

Recently I have found that setting goals and timelines for myself and my compositions can lead to my undoing.  For the past three weeks I have had to focus my free time on organizing the 8th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music.  As a result this blog and Night Sky has taken a back seat.

I was reviewing my notes for Night Sky and I found the initial timeline I had created.  According to that timeline I would be done with this piece by now and beginning to work on the parts.  This is far from reality.  Life and other obligations have gotten in the way of me accomplishing this.  However, I am not too concerned by this as I have a good idea of the shape of the piece.  As long as I can finish the score by mid-June the project as a whole will still be on track.

This just shows me that setting long-range goals is not necessarily a good idea.  I am more successful when I create daily or weekly goals for myself.  I think that these tend to be more realistic and I can remain focused on those goals.  I should probably stick with short-range goals for now.