Two new videos

I uploaded two new videos today:



This is "Snow Drifts," a track from Late Frost. I used CamStudio to make a video capture of an improvised painting session in ArtRage.




This is an algorithmic music experiment made in Max/MSP. I used a 4x4 magic square to determine various aspects of the music.

Top line = number of "voices" in each section. There are a total of 16 notes in each chord, but most are turned off in the subsequent sections.

Line 2 = Number of chords in each section. Each lasts an equal amount of time within each section. In other words, section 1 lasts 90 seconds, and there are 5 chords, so 90/5 = 18 seconds each.

Line 3 determined the length of each section - I multiplied them by 10 to make the piece longer.

The bottom determines the tempo. Again, this used division - section 1 is 90 seconds, and there are 4 "bars" lasting 22.5 seconds. The notes are all related to this length. The top left happens 16 times within that 22.5 seconds (or every 1.4 seconds), etc. The last section is very slow; if you think about it, it is 2 "beats" per minute!

Applications continued

Thanks to all for your comments. They helped reiterate some of my own opinions about my pieces. So, each school will get a slightly different portfolio (depending on if they focus on electronics, requested only 3 pieces, etc.). They will receive some combination of:

Gallery
Five Pieces for Laptop Quartet
Three Haiku
Obedience School
Five Movements on Mondrian

Looking over requirements once more, I see I had forgotten that UCSD and U of Chicago request two writing samples. Looks like I will be revising either the Schoenberg paper or Sonic Generator paper. You can read those on my site if you are having trouble falling asleep or something.

CD reviews / Portfolio

Hi readers,

Sorry for the long delay between posts. A lot of non-music work happening around here lately. Anyway, a few updates:

1. My friend Brian Skutle was kind enough to review my CDs. Nice to see what people think of my stuff - as you'll read, it is a fair and relatively unbiased review.

2. I have to take the GRE in 11 days! AAAAH! I shouldn't worry too much - I got a decent score last time (12-something). But I really want to do well, and I keep getting tripped up when I go through my math review book.

3. I'm getting my portfolio together. I have narrowed it down to the following choices. If any of you want to take the time, I would be interested to hear feedback on which pieces seem the strongest or most interesting (even "non-musician" perspectives!).


Gallery (fl, cl, bsn, hn, tpt, tbn, perc, vln, vla, cb)

This is inspired by abstract expressionist paintings. 8 miniatures - I think the writing is pretty strong, although it is a collection of miniatures and therefore doesn't display much developmental skill. Still, it shows some skill with orchestration.

Score Recording


Obedience School (tape)

This is one of my favorite of my electroacoustic pieces, and I think the most technically accomplished. It uses a lot of algorithmic editing, as well as other processes like "improper noise reduction."

Listen


Petrichor (clarinet and tape)

This piece has a decent tape part and decent clarinet part. I still like listening to it, and it has become my most-performed piece (... 7 times ....)

Score Recording


Five Pieces for Laptop Quartet

This was a big project, and it displays technical skill with Max/MSP as well as my interest in improvisation. You can listen to all of the pieces at the link above. I also did a video for "Baffin Bay."




Three Haiku (fl, gtr, vla, perc)

This is a 3-movement, 15-minute chamber piece. Some parts need a little improvement, but overall I think it's an interesting piece. I'm really proud of my timbral development, and I think the haiku form works well.

Score Recordings: Mvt I Mvt II Mvt III


Five Movements on Mondrian (video)

This is a little older, and isn't my most technically accomplished piece, but I still think it's very creative.




More Money Than You Know What To Do With (video)

I may include this one to show more improvisation, as well as experience with live electronics. It's fun, too.




Promenade de minuit (sax and harp)

This was commissioned by Turdus Merula (France). They haven't had a chance to perform it live yet, but they made a great demo recording for me. This was written intuitively, unlike a lot of my pieces, but it's still in a similar style to my other chamber works. One of my favorites to listen to...

Score Recording


Searching for Coincidences (flute duet)

This was written for rarescale. It is written for two flutes (they played on altos, my preference). It is an indeterminate piece - they are given 5 choices to play at all times, and create their own paths. It is written in proportional notation as well. Turned out pretty well, although its certainly not the most impressive thing I've done, compositionally. Interesting experiment, though.

Also, I need to fix up the score a bit...

Score Recording


Pachamama (perc. trio)

This was commissioned by the Cerberus Trio. It shows a different side of me, as it is very rhythmic and repetitive. It is all based on 8th-notes, but has different simultaneous meters. The form is based on a magic square - each number corresponded with a number of bars in which a certain rhythm, dynamic, or instrument would occur. Haven't heard it yet, but I think it will be cool.

Score


Thanks for your input!

Theatre collaboration

I have mentioned a theater collaboration I've been working on with a friend of mine. It is titled CoaX LoVe Indulge IllusIon, and is based on Shakespeare's 148th sonnet (CXLVIII).

O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head,

Which have no correspondence with true sight!

Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled,

That censures falsely what they see aright?

If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote,

What means the world to say it is not so?

If it be not, then love doth well denote

Love's eye is not so true as all men's 'No.'

How can it? O, how can Love's eye be true,

That is so vex'd with watching and with tears?

No marvel then, though I mistake my view;

The sun itself sees not till heaven clears.

O cunning Love! with tears thou keep'st me blind,

Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.

This is the text of the piece, and there is a lot of wordless acting and dancing. The music alternates between a waltz and a tango. I've gone through several versions of the tango specifically before I finally got it right. Sounds ok on MIDI so far, and this week I will make a better sounding version with my keyboards. We're hoping to mount a performance sometime this fall, although time is getting short at this point! I will post a sample for you to hear on the next episode.

I have also been revisiting my laptop quartets. Not only have I been occasionally rehearsing with a laptop trio here in NY, the Electric Monster Laptop Ensemble at Montana State has been working on the pieces. Very exciting! As I mentioned before, I am making a short-and-sweet version of my thesis for publication. I am also making some streamlined versions of Freq Out and Presets. The hardest thing to believe is that I turned in this project a year ago this week!

quick update

I try to update this each week, generally on Sunday. I didn't this week, because this week has been busy. So here I am on Thursday.

Not much new to report. I have worked a little on my dance/play collabo, and have studied a bit for the dreaded GRE. I may be going to Atlanta for the holidays, and am trying to put together some performances. I'll have 2 performances up here in New Jersey this fall, too (playing Late Frost). I am working on a paper for eContact! I'm still working with Art+Culture, and wrote a post about one of my favorite bands, Morphine.

More news on Sunday, hopefully!

redirect

This week, I have been thinking. My first grad school applications are due on December 15th. Last year I was still working on my personal statements during Christmas. I don't want to do that again. I want to have everything sent off by the 15th - which, to be safe, means I need to send everything around the 1st or 2nd of December.

If I could pull off the piano piece I outlined in the last post, that would be awesome. But let's be practical here - I have 3 months to do everything. It would take me 3 months of hard work just to do that piece. So I am going to put that aside for the time being.

I still want to work with Processing and video, so I think I'm going to do something simpler, and use an existing piece as the input. For example, my piano piece "Snow Drifts" from Late Frost (you can listen on my ReverbNation widget at the top right of this page). I have been wanting to do a promo video for at least one of the Late Frost pieces, to put on YouTube for some extra exposure. I'm thinking something very abstract, using the amplitude (volume) or pitches to control a Processing program. Not something I will be able to do in an afternoon, but I'm sure I can get a little something going by November.

piano/electronics/video piece outline

I've got a good plan sketched out for the piano/electronics/video piece. It's a little complicated, so I'll try to explain it as best I can.

It will be four movements, performed attaca. Total length will be 18 minutes. The four movements are proportioned using Fibonacci numbers (2, 3, 5, 8), but shuffled around. I am loosely basing the piece on the classical sonata. Here are my approximate timings and notes:

Movement I: "Allegro" - 8 minutes

Intro: 30"
low piano notes, fade into synth notes, with static and "transmission" sounds

Exposition: 2'45"
theme A: 1'15" | transition: 15" | theme b: 1' | coda: 15"

theme A: assertive chords, martial (like Chopin's Polonaise in A), accompanied by noisy "transmission" sounds

theme B: homo- and polyphonic textures, more 'lyrical,' computer plays tone-based sounds

Development: 2'

Recapitulation: 2'45"
theme A: 1'15" | transition: 15" | theme b: 1' | coda: 15"


Movement II: "Adagio" - 3 minutes

Chaconne: 10 variations @ 18" each
1. "organ" ground bass
2. add disjunct & sparse piano melody
3. melody continues, computer adds "electric piano" chords
4. piano chords, mimicking computer part in #3
5. piano chords + melody
6. new chords + counter melody + computer 'synth' melody
7. ground bass + computer melody (piano tacet)
8. piano + electronics - dense chords (12+ tones)
9. smaller (3-4 note) and faster-moving chords
10. conjunct, faster piano melody


III. "Scherzo" - 2 minutes

A = 40", B (trio) = 40", A = 40"

Aa = piano - main role, computer adds sine-tone "R2D2" filigre
Ab = call & response piano and computer

Ba = percussive computer part, piano melodic
Bb = synth doubles piano melody

Aa & Ab repeat


IV. "Rondo" - 5 minutes

A = 45" B = 45" A = 45" C = 30" A = 45" B = 45" A = 45"

A - driving, insistent rhythm
B - fast, skittering around
C - chords and synth glissandi

(obviously I need to think more on this one!)


Video Component

I am brainstorming on this - it's all going to be fairly simple, so I'll actually be able to accomplish it! Mainly flashing dots, squares, and lines. The whole experience will be a little sci-fi. More details on my next post!