Music Intentions

August is going by fast!

The latest edition to the music creativity is that I am back practicing my flute, 1 hour/day for 5 days a week. My embouchure is returning and I get to release stress with all that DEEP breathing! Yay!

For this week, I plan to do the following:

1. Ivan’s Rush Hour – oh, dear Ivan. Wherefore art did I ever think you would complete me? You had me at that first measure, but 12 pages later, I’m wondering if I bit off more than I could chew? How do painters paint something for 12 years? With that said: Ivan is fully in Sibelius and I’ve learned so much in that program. The transition was WORTH IT! I’m finally able to review the notes from Prof Jill and complete the dynamics. Shooting for this Friday to return to her for another review.
2. Shabbat for Solidarity – or, the Tree of Life piano solo – I was able to get the .XML version from Noteflight imported into Sibelius with NO ISSUES. Which means…drum roll…. I’m onto dynamics, phrasing and key signatures. Yay! Shooting for having this done in early September.
3. July Project 1 – Jazz swing notes – If I can find some time this week, I want to move it over into Sibelius as well.
4. MyBach – Two Part Invention – I’m beginning to wonder if this could be a fluid idea of 2 different instruments instead of piano? It’s a short piece. I’m wondering if this could be a toy in the sandbox for me to play around with when I am pulling my hair out on Ivan’s (too late!).

In June, I had no songs in motion. Now it’s close to September, and LOOK! I have four. “Finishing the hat. How you have to finish that hat.” – Sondheim

sb

This week turned out to be a continuation of last week. Continue moving Ivan’s Rush Hour over to Sibelius from Noteflight. It accomplishes two goals – learn Sibelius while moving Ivan into a stronger notation program. But sometimes it feels like I’m going nowhere! Churn, churn, churn – I’m gonna make that butter, eventually!

But seriously, I am having a blast. I never thought I would ever be able to play Ivan’s Rush Hour on the piano after 2000, let alone get it out of my head and into notation. I just have to have patience with the entire process of communicating how I want the piano player to perform my music. What are my dynamics? How do I convey smoothness? It’s a process.

One goal this week is to pull out the “Tree of Life” piano piece and move that into Sibelius to start working on it. It’s pretty much done. I just need to choose a key and add in more dynamics. I want to send it to the Synagogue before October 27th.

-sb

Yep. The music continues. Although I feel at times that I have only been spinning my wheels, I reviewed my accomplished list and can’t wait to post that on my Monthly Update page! July rocked!

For August 2 – 6, I intend to do the following:

Ivan’s Rush Hour – I have completed notating all notes into Noteflight and checked it over with Prof Jill on July 31st. Now to add in the dynamics and articulations (staccato, crescendos, hairpins, tempo markings). The biggest learning curve will be SLURS, which really pull the notes from my head and describe how I’m hearing it played. And I thought swing-eighth notes were challenging… quick! get me to studying another chemistry theory!

I’ve also chosen to enter Ivan into the Sibelius notation software. Noteflight is the Honda; Sibelius is the Porsche. I was unable to import an XML file from NF to Sib for whatever reason. Since, I’m trying to learn Sibelius ASAP, I trust adding Ivan into it will teach me, as well as get that song into a more powerful program. It took 10 minutes to get Page 1 into Sibelius, and I have 12 pages in total. The entire note transfer should be accomplished by this week.

July Project 1 – Ivan may take up most of my time this week. I may have to push off swing-eighth rhythm writing and continued notation for the week of August 10th.

August “My Bach” – This is a 2 page piano piece I wrote in 2003 without ever having played it. It was inspired by the two-part Bach inventions I had to learn on the piano as a child. I have already notated this into Sibelius, and am now working on dynamics and articulations. However, I need to listen to a couple of Bach’s pieces on YouTube to remind me of the music during that generation. Bach was playing on a harpsichord, but I will keep it for piano.

sb

This is it. The horses are rounding the final corner and into the home stretch!

I realized that I bit off more than I could chew in July. Attempting to write out 2 songs, one fluid and still forming, and one complete but 12 pages long (and the TOUR DE FRANCE and the OLYMPICS) … OMGosh – I needed to make some quick decisions about what I was going to accomplish in July.

I opted to complete Ivan’s Rush Hour – the 12 pager from 2000. 21 years is a long time to let something sit in a dusty bucket on half written music paper. I’m so proud of my efforts. It was truly a piano piece that developed both rhythmically and musically. The freedom of being in “rush hour” allowed me to have some abrupt changes (like you experience driving in Southern California). I’m even considering doing a 10 minute podcast or YouTube video to show how I got it out of my head. 21 years in 30 days! Wow!

For Project 1 – I had some amazing experiences in July as well. I did figure out how to notate in a swing notation. My a-ha moment came after studying atomic valency and then taking a short nap in my car. I had been re-writing Project 1‘s verse in 12/8 time (123, 223, 323, 423), which gives me 4 beats in a measure, but each beat has a triplet. This was to “visually” capture the quarter and eighth notes (3 eighths) for swing. Mathematically, I knew 12/8 would not match perfectly with swing eighths in 4/4 time. But the atomic valency nap assured me that I am “borrowing or lending an electron to get to 8 in the atomic sphere to be happy.” Literally! THIS is how I come at creativity. It clicked! and my flute teacher checked my work and confirmed I got it!

“I will never have to do this again.” That has been my mantra. Just like learning a language – once you know how to read or say “bathroom” you don’t have to hold it as long as before you didn’t know the word!

I will work on certain Ivan rhythms this Saturday with my flute teacher and then start recording a better version to share with a pianist on FiveR who will eventually play it, professionally. My chops just don’t have it anymore!

sb