I hope I get used to this at some point...

I upgraded to Sibelius 6, and I love it.  But there are no tutorials or classes on using it in my area, so I'm pretty much finding my own way.  My colleague, Joseph, has been very gracious in sharing some of his expertise.  I chose Sibelius because it is extremely user-friendly and does so many things automatically.  That is both a blessing and a curse, as I have found out by trying to get my scores to look right.  The automatic adjustments to score sizes and spacing can really make the pages look unpleasant, so you have to work on it.  Anyway, I got it all working, so my clarinet quartets and choirs look good.

I have five scores up on Score Exchange.  So now, I'll be working to finish the orchestral version of Jabberwocky and my clarinet/violin/piano Romance.  That's the title thus far.  I don't like it--it's too generic.

On the teaching front, my studio at TU doubled this year.  To accommodate all the students and the schedules of the other three professors with whom I share a studio, I have to be there Monday and Tuesday mornings and Fridays all day.  I do get a two hour break in the afternoon while the students are in band, but I can get work done or practice.  The Lorton Performing Arts Center is so lovely that it is a joy to be there.  Work places abound, so if I don't want to stay in my windowless studio, I can go elsewhere.  But the studio is nice.  It's just sometimes, you need a view of real trees and sky for inspiration.

Glitches

It is 4 a.m.  I got up at 2:30 a.m. because my brain finally clicked that there was a glitch in the Sibelius program.  I did a clarinet choir arrangement yesterday, and I didn't want to transpose the score except for the parts for clarinets in e-flat.  Problem is that if you click "transposed score" on the parts you want transposed, it treats those parts like you have already transposed the entire score, thus putting them a whole step higher than what you need.  So, I selected everything, put it in B-flat Major, and hit "transposing score".  Worked like a charm.

I need to make a basset clarinet part for this.  Many schools have them.  They are sweeter sounding than the alto clarinets--not near as brassy in the upper register, or nasal in the lower.

Clarinets and Salsa

Today was productive.  I spent all day on the laptop, finishing a composition and doing a clarinet choir arrangement of the same work.  It's called "Clarinets and Salsa", and it's originally for clarinet quartet.  Latin rhythms and a tango bass-line make it a really fun piece.  There are also lots of tempo changes and more than a few surprises.  And yes, this was in fact inspired by a dream I had after eating a favorite snack of mine--chips and salsa!

You can find both the quartet and clarinet choir versions of "Clarinets and Salsa" on Score Exchange's site.

Good to be back teaching

It is so good to be back teaching.  The summer was fun--had a great vacation time with the family--but it is nice to get back into a routine, and more importantly, to get into private teaching again. 

I love to teach clarinet lessons.  Working one-on-one with a student really gives me a chance to watch them grow and blossom as a musician and person.  Some of my students start with me in six or seventh grade, so I get to witness their teen years.  I'm sure that many of you think I'm nuts, but I am blessed to be in my fifteenth year of private teaching for the Owasso School District, and they have great young people there.  Those young people have good parents and band directors.  It is a joy to be there.

I also have the honor of teaching at my Alma Mater, The University of Tulsa.  This year, we moved into a beautiful new facility.  My clarinet instructor and unofficial "second dad", Bill, passed away a couple of years ago.  He too was a TU alumnus.  I wish he was alive to see the building.  He'd have been impressed.  I'm sure he's smiling down from heaven.

Composing-wise, I'm almost finished with a clarinet quartet I started in 2006, when I didn't have the confidence to publish.  Now that I do, I am close to finishing it.  It's name is "Clarinets and Salsa", and as it's name suggests, it is very much a latin-style dance work.  It's going to be really fun to play and a great listen.  I will also do a clarinet choir arrangement of the work.

Two clarinet quartets for download on Score Exchange

I know--I've already posted today.  But I found some old files that I've been looking for and have posted them on Score Exchange.  They are two clarinet quartet arrangements.  One is Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms.  It is being sold for $1.50.  The other is The Star-Spangled Banner, and it is free!  Both are for three b-flat clarinets and bass clarinet.  The Brahms would be good for a high school group (I might have one of my groups play it this year).  The SSB is a little easier, but it isn't cheesy or boring.  The reason that I have listed it for free is that every American ensemble needs an arrangement of this, and it needs to be a good one.  Playing a cruddy arrangement of our national anthem is like listening to a pop singer sing it and forget the words.  You just don't do it!  So, this arrangement is a good one, and I want the clarinet world to have it with my blessing. 

TU's new Lorton Performing Arts Center is absolutely stunning!  I am so spoiled to be teaching there.  And as an alumni who never thought she would see this building, I have to say that it is better than I ever expected.  I am so blessed!

Balance

I deleted instruments from my Jabberwocky orchestration--so much so that it is more of a chamber orchestra than a full orchestra.  The reason for this is that several instruments weren't playing very much.  I've listened to it a few more times and have taken a couple of days to reflect upon what I heard, and I feel that the texture of the ensemble is too thin in those places that I deleted.  Perhaps I should add more instead of taking away.

Over the many years of playing, I've played a few symphonies where I thought the instrumentation was excessive.  But most composers find the perfect balance and blend.  That is what I am striving to do.

As a composer, I want my works to sound modern, but not so strange that only a few select people want to listen to them.  I want to be true to myself as a composer, but I also want to create things that other people will want to play for years to come.  Again, this is balance.  I want to create new sounds, but not so different that it only has a small niche of listeners. 

Does this make me a "sell-out"?  Does this make me "commercial"?  Not at all.  I think it's very possible to sound modern and yet write things people like.  It's been happening for hundreds of years.  Beethoven was the "rockstar" of his day.  He pushed the envelope for his time.  Elvis and the Beatles did the same thing during theirs.

This is my goal.
. 

Creating a buzz

I've written a work and posted it on Score Exchange.  How do I create a "buzz" about it? 

I've emailed a ton of friends.

I've posted it on facebook.

Trying to wrack my brain for anything else I can do.

Suggestions?  Yes, I'm asking you.

Only four measures left, but...

I'm orchestrating Jabberwocky, and I am four measures away from having it transcribed from the original ensemble.  Problem is, my brain has conjured up a little more to put in the final part of the work.  Being new to composing, I am completely enamored with how different instruments sound together.  I love having such a large palette to play with!  More instruments means more fun!

Not to say that it isn't fun to write small stuff.  It is.  It's just a new experience for me.

And, through all this, I have realized that I need to seriously upgrade my laptop and also purchase an external sound card.  Neither is cheap, but both are necessary if I am to keep composing using my computer.  I like to be able to hear what I am writing.  Technology--it's a blessing and a curse, right?  Wow--and to think, Mozart and Beethoven had nothing like Sibelius.  They had to trust completely in themselves and their abilities to write because that is all they had.

We are so spoiled.

Music is much more complicated rhythmically, tonally, and even instrumentally.  Composers are constantly pushing the envelope, and being to hear what you are creating is a true blessing.

What's next?

The weather is actually nice today.  I think I'll go on a walk this evening.  But for now, I need to choose some music for offertory at church tomorrow.  I've also got some serious practicing to do.  I have two concerts in Ft. Smith next month, and the music is definitely challenging.  I'm looking forward to it.

Composition-wise, I need to finish the last part of the "Jabberwocky" orchestration, and then I have a couple of projects.  One is a cute little clarinet trio, which is called "Variations on a Cowboy Song".  It's Red River Valley, which is a very pretty melody.  I'm going to offer this one for free on Score Exchange when it is finished.  The other piece is another original work, a Romance for clarinet, violin, and piano.  That one will probably be another $5 piece.

I need to fix my coffee and meet with my friend Cindy to work on our church piece.  Have a wonderful day!

Jabberwocky is on Score Exchange!

Jabberwocky is now available on a site called  Score Exchange.  I am asking $5 for it.  That is the score and parts.  I've listed it as a piano trio.

You can also listen to it.  Please read narration as you go through the piece as it will make what you hear and where you hear it make sense.

I hope you enjoy it.

The fully orchestrated version should be up soon! 

First composition is complete!

My first composition, Jabberwocky, for clarinet, horn, and piano, is complete!  I plan to make it available on Sibelius.com.  Because this is the first time I've posted any composition via that site, it might take a couple of days for it to become available.

Jabberwocky, a famous poem found in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, is the subject matter and is narrated by the instrumentalist throughout the piece.  The nonsense words that make up the poem, still evoke imagery--perhaps even more so than if the language was clear.  Because most of the words are imaginary, the mind can wander.  This allowed me to incorporate a number of musical styles to provide the backdrop "aural scenery".  So many things inspired this work.  When I wanted something to sound creepy or "a little off", I recalled images from Tim Burton movies.  The pictures in my mind helped me create the clashing sounds that begin Jabberwocky.  British marches that I have played in band created the heroic march that is heard after the piece's climax.  And my fondness for theme songs from retro television shows (two in particular--I will leave you to guess which ones), helped to create the ending.

Since the first stanza of the poem is also used as the last stanza, I was faced with a dilemma.  Do I treat the beginning and ending the same, or differently.  When I first started, the plan was to treat them the same.  The more I got into the work, I decided to treat the beginning and ending completely differently.  Since the nonsense words lack definition, they can have any number of meanings.  And after the slaying of the Jabberwock, I felt the music should reflect the "relief" that the father and son must feel.  

The orchestral version transitions between the heroic march and the ending with a bit of an unusual overlap.  More instruments create a larger sound canvas to manipulate.  As I said earlier--the orchestral version is coming soon.

And on a non-music related note (though it does have to do with sound), it is finally raining in Oklahoma!  Our 100+ degree temps have finally subsided!  It has been a brutally hot summer.  I feel for our farmers and ranchers who have lost so much.  I hope that the rain will allow them to replant some crops for fall and replenish their herds.

Take care!