Logic Project #1 - Birdsongs

Most of the last week has been spent working on two composition projects: (1) my thesis and (2) my first assigned project in a class titled Music Technology II (which you can read about in this post).  While I'm not quite done with my thesis (understatement of the post), I have completed the electronic music assignment, which is good news because it is due tomorrow.

The project, as stated in this assignment sheet was "to create 2 distinctly contrasting pieces, each of approximately 1:00 - 1:30 total duration, that spring from a process of discovery in getting to know Logic."  (Logic is the software we are learning how to use in the class.  As I've described it before, it's the fancier version of GarageBand.)

Using only sounds of birds that live locally (in the Park River Watershed), I created two short works: I'm calling the first "Haunted House" and the second "A Day in the Life."  The program notes and recordings for both are below.

Exit Strategy

At the end of last week, all the second-year graduate composers in my master's degree program received an email detailing what lies between us and graduation.  Because there is more to do than simply finishing all of our required coursework, I thought it would be worthwhile to share.

The additional requirements that I have, that is, aside from finishing classes, can be divided into two categories: (1) comprehensive exams and (2) my thesis and its defense.  Each category is detailed below.

Comp du Jour

It's been a couple "jours" since "Comp du Jour" drew to a close, which means enough time has passed for a little reflection, but not too much time for the post to be old news.  For those of you who avidly follow my twitter feed (I say this sarcastically), you are already aware that my task starting Friday evening was to write a piece for guitar, violin, and cello.  Added on to the task of having only 20 hours to get an entire composition done was the challenge of writing for guitar.  While the guitar is not a particularly difficult instrument to understand (even though most orchestration books are lacking when it comes to discussing the instrument), I had never written for guitar before.  After finishing my piece and having it performed, I can say that it's a shame I hadn't written for guitar earlier.  In a chamber music setting, it adds a nice color and blends well with other solo string instruments.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  I think the best way to go about recounting the Comp du Jour experience is to start from the beginning of the "jour."  And so begins the tale...

What's on Tap for the Semester

Apple's Logic Pro Software

Having gotten several good hours of work done on my thesis this morning and afternoon, and with a couple hours to go before "Comp du Jour" begins, I figured I would take this opportunity to write about the classes I taking this semester.  Not unlike February 2010, the last semester of my program has arrived rather unexpectedly. Interestingly enough, like my final semester in college, I am currently signed up for four different music classes.  (Except here at Hartt, unlike at MIT, that's considered normal.)

In alphabetical order (by course code), here are my current classes:

• COM 540 - Advanced Orchestration
• COM 562 - Music Technology II
• COM 571 - Composers' Seminar
• COM 613 - Advanced Composition
• HLM 561 - History of Opera II
• IPO 511 - Capitol Winds

What follows is a quick overview of each class.  I have only had nine days of classes so far (and some classes only twice) so I won't go into too much detail.  Provided that I am able to maintain this blog as I have been doing so far this semester, I will be able to supplement the information here with more details as each class progresses.

Symphony No. 1

An excerpt (screenshot) from the first movement of my Symphony No. 1.  (There are some 26 additional staves below what you can see here, so don't be disappointed.)

It has been a hectic few days, but there is a ray of blog-writing opportunity shining through the clouds of commitment, so here we go...

As promised at the end of my previous post, I'll be writing about the biggest item on my plate right now, my graduate thesis.  I have chosen to write my first symphony, and I'm calling it Symphony No. 1.  Not a particularly clever or original title, but it's accurate and good marketing.  If some of my friends want to add a subtitle after the piece is finished (like Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony or Beethoven's "Eroica"), all the better.

Contrary to what some people might think, the "symphony" label cannot be applied casually.  It's not just that the piece is going to be fairly long or the fact that it will be scored for a full orchestra.  There are plenty of long pieces and works for full orchestra that are not symphonies, just as there are symphonies that are shorter in duration and have different instrumentations.  (It should also be noted that there are works that could have been classified as symphonies but were denied such a title by the composer.)