Four Scores and Seven Weeks Ago .....

I've been a bit obsessed with analyzing orchestral scores lately (one of the reasons a blog post didn't happen in February). I love to grab a pile of scores from the shelf, sharpen the pencils, and immerse my left brain in some mental calisthenics. My latest venture focused on one film composer, John Williams. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Cool Lou, I love John Williams", well ..... truth be told, I don't. Mr. Williams is an incredibly talented and effective composer who isn't really my cup of tea. It's not about his level of talent, it’s about having different sensibilities. "So you may be asking - you're not much of a fan, but you are spending hours analyzing his work?"

Exactly!!!!

During the early years of my music development, I mainlined heavy doses of 20th century icons like Bartok and Stravinsky. I worshiped them really, not just the compositions, but the orchestrations too. I could get lost in any movement of their masterpieces for days. At this age I was a bit black and white when it came to what I liked, and what I believed had value for my growth as a composer. One can then imagine my horror when my orchestration teacher told me that he and I would be studying Aaron Copland's Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo. "Frickin' cowboy music!!!" "All that Americana crap??" I was not enthused, but like most folks at that age, I would soon find out how wrong my opinions really were.

It is true that Copland's music goes hand-in-hand with the wide open spaces of the American west. That doesn't mean it's overly simplistic and without wonderful intricacies. Once I was forced to really look behind the curtain, I could really see his genius. I discovered techniques and some gorgeous instrument pairings that I use to this day. They may have been used in a context that evokes the imagery of Americana, however their use isn't limited to that context. Techniques can be incorporated without echoing the source so don't dismiss music that is 180 degrees from your own. The artists that differ greatly from your style can be a wonderful resource for expanding your musical identity. Thankfully this is a lesson I learned early on.

Here, in all its glory, is Copland's Rodeo and some of the selections of John Williams bountiful catalogue I've been studying.

The Creative Process

I must confess I am not a regular NPR listener. Not because I have no interest in the content, I just don't have a good environment to really enjoy it. My impression was everyone listened to NPR on the car radio, or on their iPhone while trying to avoid the middle seat on the commuter train. I don't own a car and the commute from the couch to my chair in the studio is about 24 feet, not nearly enough time for All Songs Considered. Oddly enough I like to get my informational content from visual sources such as The Charlie Rose show, The Colbert Report, or South Park. Thankfully some of the really great stuff finds its way into my consciousness via surfing the Internet. I'd like share one such gem with you.

The creative process is a complicated one. It's a daunting task to create something when you are starting with a blank piece of paper, a lens without a subject, or the sound of silence. Early in your career you will come up with countless ideas and just as many reasons why every one of those ideas are shit. It won't end there. These thoughts will have a return engagement deep into your career when you stretch creatively and try new things. Perhaps you have been writing kick-ass poetry for years but that novel you just started is at a "Paris Hilton" reading level. Your Cello sonata is masterful but there isn't a hit of ecstasy large enough to make that dance remix palatable. I hope what you are about to hear will put all that self doubt where it belongs, into perspective. It certainly did for me.

So without further ado, wisdom from the host of NPR's This American Life, Ira Glass.




The wonderful animation was done by filmmaker and designer David Shiyang Liu. 

WELCOME

Welcome and thank you for visiting my little corner of the internet. If you're hoping for a place to find out where I went on vacation or how much I dislike Taylor Swift, you're going to be very disappointed. This blog is a vehicle to explore all that is great about making and listening to music. You won't see any scathing reviews or bitter ramblings ... (well, you probably won't). What you will see are the tricks and techniques I've learned over my career, plus a myriad of music that I find inspiring. I extend an invite to professionals, the aspiring and the folks that just love music.