Behind the '9' ball.
It's late. I'm tired. I was up until 2am last night reading all the articles I'd neglected this past week in favor working on my musical masterpiece. Ok... Masterpiece is perhaps not the most appropriate description. This assignment was a blessing and a curse (as many of the best things are).
I found the software quite easy to learn (just keep clicking on things until you figure it out, when in doubt read the help file and if you don't find what you want there check the knowledge base and/or post a question to BB). The only real frustration for me was the fact that the free version is missing quite a bit of functionality included in the not-free version.
I loved the idea of composing a piece of music. In retrospect, I think that may have actually been a hindrance rather than an asset. I got a bit two carried away w/ the idea of what I wanted to do. I lost sight of my original plan to keep it simple (KISS). The assignment for me became about something far different from learning a new piece of software and using it to compose a few bars of music. Instead - the assignment became something of a journey into the past.
I haven't played any instrument other than Dumbek/Darabukka (drum) and Zagat (Zills) in several years now (occasionally picking a few chords out on the guitar so I can sing an old Dylan song doesn't really count). But - there was a time (when I was still basically a child)when I seriously thought I might become a professional musician (concert pianist or something like that). I began taking piano lessons when I was about 6 years old and continued to go once a week (and practice daily) until a few months before my High School graduation. I still remember my teacher's disappointment when I told her that I'd decided that I was done taking lessons. She said to me (I don't remember the exact words... but close) that I was making a mistake because I was "finally at the point where things would be come most interesting and rewarding." I remember thinking at the time that if it took 12 years to merely reach "interesting" then I had made the right decision. Funny - at the time I didn't think about it much beyond that - now I recognize it for a fundamental aspect of my personality and what I want (and don't want) out of life.
That was perhaps the first time in my life that I was presented w/ the opportunity to choose a path where I could (potentially) do one thing very well but would have to sacrifice many other interests and endeavors in favor of that one thing. Since then - I have been offered a similar choice a number of times (in various contexts) and each time I choose to pursue the broad rather than the narrow path. I don't know that it is good or bad... it just is who I am and the older I get the more I understand that about myself. I have so many different, varied, and eclectic interests and I don't want to sacrifice any of them in favor of others - I want all of them to be an integral part of my life and I want to have the freedom to continue to develop new ones. (Hmmmmm... wonder if that's why I've never been all that concerned w/ getting married... interesting...odd that I've never made that connection before... at least not consciously.)
Ok - I'm in danger of becoming lost in this digression and loosing sight of the original focus of this blog entry - the completion of my Finale NotePad music composition assignment. Because I have a history with both the piano and the guitar (studied classical guitar for a little while in college) - I figured that I could probably compose a simple piano and/or guitar melody/harmony fairly easily... but I also thought that would be a bit boring and I wanted a challenge. I've been cultivating a taste for Jazz for several years now (having a friend who works for the local Jazz radio station can have that effect). I really like syncopation - but I wasn't sure I was quite up to trying to compose for that. I also like compound meters (9/8 and 5/4 are among my favorites). I thought I might be able to handle composing a piece in a compound meter. I love "Take Five" which is in 5/4, so I thought I might start w/ that. I was disappointed to find that 5/4 was not among my available choices w/ the free version of the software but 9/8 was. So - I embarked on a journey to compose a piece in 9/8. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I had no idea.
I spent some time each day listening to music and then attempted to compose in 9/8. I didn't like anything that I came up with. I finally realized that part of my difficulty was that although I've listened to plenty of 9/8 music, I've never played any and so I have not yet internalized the rhythm. In addition to composing in 9/8, I also intended to compose a piece where the percussion was the focus - w/o a deep understanding of the rhythm, this was a problem. I was just about ready to give up on 9/8 when my AH HA moment arrived. I suddenly realized that there is one kind of 9/8 that I have internalized - the Turkish rhythm of Karsilama (I've danced to it and I've even played it on the drum... slowly). So - I decided to start there and then try to build something simple on that. I started in the same way I do when learning how to dance to a new rhythm, I began by clapping the rhythm and then figuring out which beats (within the 9) had the emphasis. In this case the emphasis is on 1, 5, and 789. The three is also emphasized to a lesser extent... so the rhythm becomes Doom = Tek = Doom = Tek-Tek-Tek (where the = signifies an unemphasized beat)... Once I figured this out - I was able to compose the core of my piece (the percussion and base line) and then add the accompanying instruments on top. It is far from a masterpiece but I did accomplish what I set out to do.
It is done - but posting it on my web page for the class will have to wait until tomorrow night (err.. tonight).. as it is already very late (or early) and I have to try to get a few hours of sleep.
I found the software quite easy to learn (just keep clicking on things until you figure it out, when in doubt read the help file and if you don't find what you want there check the knowledge base and/or post a question to BB). The only real frustration for me was the fact that the free version is missing quite a bit of functionality included in the not-free version.
I loved the idea of composing a piece of music. In retrospect, I think that may have actually been a hindrance rather than an asset. I got a bit two carried away w/ the idea of what I wanted to do. I lost sight of my original plan to keep it simple (KISS). The assignment for me became about something far different from learning a new piece of software and using it to compose a few bars of music. Instead - the assignment became something of a journey into the past.
I haven't played any instrument other than Dumbek/Darabukka (drum) and Zagat (Zills) in several years now (occasionally picking a few chords out on the guitar so I can sing an old Dylan song doesn't really count). But - there was a time (when I was still basically a child)when I seriously thought I might become a professional musician (concert pianist or something like that). I began taking piano lessons when I was about 6 years old and continued to go once a week (and practice daily) until a few months before my High School graduation. I still remember my teacher's disappointment when I told her that I'd decided that I was done taking lessons. She said to me (I don't remember the exact words... but close) that I was making a mistake because I was "finally at the point where things would be come most interesting and rewarding." I remember thinking at the time that if it took 12 years to merely reach "interesting" then I had made the right decision. Funny - at the time I didn't think about it much beyond that - now I recognize it for a fundamental aspect of my personality and what I want (and don't want) out of life.
That was perhaps the first time in my life that I was presented w/ the opportunity to choose a path where I could (potentially) do one thing very well but would have to sacrifice many other interests and endeavors in favor of that one thing. Since then - I have been offered a similar choice a number of times (in various contexts) and each time I choose to pursue the broad rather than the narrow path. I don't know that it is good or bad... it just is who I am and the older I get the more I understand that about myself. I have so many different, varied, and eclectic interests and I don't want to sacrifice any of them in favor of others - I want all of them to be an integral part of my life and I want to have the freedom to continue to develop new ones. (Hmmmmm... wonder if that's why I've never been all that concerned w/ getting married... interesting...odd that I've never made that connection before... at least not consciously.)
Ok - I'm in danger of becoming lost in this digression and loosing sight of the original focus of this blog entry - the completion of my Finale NotePad music composition assignment. Because I have a history with both the piano and the guitar (studied classical guitar for a little while in college) - I figured that I could probably compose a simple piano and/or guitar melody/harmony fairly easily... but I also thought that would be a bit boring and I wanted a challenge. I've been cultivating a taste for Jazz for several years now (having a friend who works for the local Jazz radio station can have that effect). I really like syncopation - but I wasn't sure I was quite up to trying to compose for that. I also like compound meters (9/8 and 5/4 are among my favorites). I thought I might be able to handle composing a piece in a compound meter. I love "Take Five" which is in 5/4, so I thought I might start w/ that. I was disappointed to find that 5/4 was not among my available choices w/ the free version of the software but 9/8 was. So - I embarked on a journey to compose a piece in 9/8. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I had no idea.
I spent some time each day listening to music and then attempted to compose in 9/8. I didn't like anything that I came up with. I finally realized that part of my difficulty was that although I've listened to plenty of 9/8 music, I've never played any and so I have not yet internalized the rhythm. In addition to composing in 9/8, I also intended to compose a piece where the percussion was the focus - w/o a deep understanding of the rhythm, this was a problem. I was just about ready to give up on 9/8 when my AH HA moment arrived. I suddenly realized that there is one kind of 9/8 that I have internalized - the Turkish rhythm of Karsilama (I've danced to it and I've even played it on the drum... slowly). So - I decided to start there and then try to build something simple on that. I started in the same way I do when learning how to dance to a new rhythm, I began by clapping the rhythm and then figuring out which beats (within the 9) had the emphasis. In this case the emphasis is on 1, 5, and 789. The three is also emphasized to a lesser extent... so the rhythm becomes Doom = Tek = Doom = Tek-Tek-Tek (where the = signifies an unemphasized beat)... Once I figured this out - I was able to compose the core of my piece (the percussion and base line) and then add the accompanying instruments on top. It is far from a masterpiece but I did accomplish what I set out to do.
It is done - but posting it on my web page for the class will have to wait until tomorrow night (err.. tonight).. as it is already very late (or early) and I have to try to get a few hours of sleep.
posted by susan | 1:53 AM
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