Category: Creativity

Creating something every day for 365 days

I’m working here…

Posted on by Dale

And lo! on the fourth day of enforced vacation, I finally turn to the cello sonata.

I’m forcing myself to be happy with the development as it stands. I have stitched it to the recapitulation and rounded that off to head into a coda. So now all I have to do is plaster over the joint leading into the recap, and to figure out how to stick the lead-in to the recap onto the end as a coda. Simple enough.

First, however, lunch. Then errands, during which I’ll listen obsessively to what I’ve got in the van. I’ll report back here later.

update: At the end of the day, I had finished off the joint and gotten the coda where I wanted it. I have a very solid idea of what to do to finish the whole thing up. I should have it done by Monday.

Better living through sound effects

Posted on by Dale

Bereft as I am of any assistance in the media center, I have had to be very resourceful in keeping myself sane. And no, I am not talking about tequila.

One of the problems I encountered last year, when the entire school was tightly scheduled into (and out of) the media center, was that kids would be browsing and searching and suddenly there would be the next class at the door. Pandemonium ensued, as the outgoing class had to be rounded up and checked out and the incoming class moved in. If there were instruction involved, it was even worse.

So, using GarageBand and its built-in resources, I constructed a sound file: timetocheckout.mp3. Then I sent it to youconvertit.com to change it into a .wav file, since that’s all that Outlook is willing to entertain.

You should have been there the first week, when this went off. The kids were like stunned rabbits. It was great. Now, of course, they’re like Pavlov’s dogs. As soon as that first blast hits the air, they’re on their feet and lining up.

However, it soon developed that the warning would catch some students unawares, and then there would be a lot of motion away from the circulation desk as they scrambled to find a book, any book, to check out. Mostly of course these kids were the slackers who hadn’t been looking for anything anyway, but it created a chaos where there should have been order.

So I went back to GarageBand and came up with the three-minute warning. Now no one has an excuse to do anything but move towards the circulation desk (or the exit) when the final warning comes on.

This year, while I am no longer on an imposed schedule, I do have two instructional classes every day, for third grade info skills. I often found myself looking up and seeing that we were out of time. (I may not be on a schedule, but everyone else certainly is.)

This time, I went to www.freesound.org and downloaded this set of sounds, one Herbert Boland’s “Piano Moods.” From this set of nearly 40 little piano bits, I was able to assemble (in GarageBand) a three-minute, new-agey kind of piece. I built it so that it starts quietly, then builds, then fades away. I cued the deeper base notes to begin when we had one minute left. Now, when the “time fairies” start, we know it’s time to wind up whatever we’re working on and put our paperwork back in the folders. The first few times, it took us longer than three minutes to get all packed up, but now, everyone’s all lined up by the time the final little chimes are pealing.

In my Outlook calendar on my circulation computer, I have the infoskills warning set to repeat on a daily basis, three minutes before that class period is over. The others I have to set every day, based on who’s signed up for what time slots. It’s a little bit of work, but it’s also a nice ritual with which to begin the day, and it keeps us all on track.

Excelsior!

Proposed Efforts 2011, Part 2

Posted on by Dale

Continuing my 2001 Proposed Efforts:

Create the new age album Stars on Snow

This has been on my back burner for probably 20 years. I actually played around with it back in the day when I was still on a Mac SE/30 and the music program I had actually printed to a dot matrix printer. The title track I have managed to bring with me through the years as I progressed from one system to another. It was originally written for handbells, but proved too difficult for the players I had available. I converted it into a new age piece, adding string pads and a descant. It’s never been scored, just resides as a direct MIDI compilation.

However, it’s very pretty, and I think this year I want to take the time to write some more miniature, purely attractive pieces to go with it. I have one from the old concept folder, called “Air Pudding,” which I think still works, although it relied for its effectiveness (as did most of the pieces) on sounds that I manipulated on my old Ensoniq VFX keyboard.

In fact, I will probably find myself using those sounds (which I have as VST sounds around here somewhere) within GarageBand rather than Finale, i.e., playing around with sounds, melodies, and harmonies directly rather than “composing” on virtual paper, and creating interesting new instruments with which to orchestrate. I remember the key instrument on “Air Pudding” was something I called SqelchFlute and involved a basic sound called Duct Tape. Imagine a flute sound that started with tearing a piece of duct tape. (Marc, I may require your assistance in getting up to speed with these technologies; I haven’t done any of it since everything went virtual.)

I have a few other pieces I could use already: “Ginny’s Valentine“, and “Bring a Torch“, also originally for handbells and soprano. Both would be re-orchestrated. (Sharp observers will recognize “Ginny’s Valentine” as the cheesy paean to love at the end of the penguin opera, extended and lyricized.)

In the back of my head, I imagine myself producing the next Deep Breakfast. If I keep in mind that the goal is to please and delight, then I might just do it.

Create the westpoint sculpture

For about two years now, I have had in mind a focal point for the western point of the labyrinth. I’m going to make myself construct this thing this year. I am. I will.

2011 Proposed Efforts, part 1

Posted on by Dale

Let’s talk about my Proposed Efforts for 2011. Some of them are rollovers from 2010. A couple are new.

First, the list:

  • finish the cello sonata
  • write a good short story
  • play with the 24-Hour Challenge again
  • continue painting
  • create my new age album, Stars on Snow
  • create the westpoint sculpture

Since I have today and tomorrow before 2011 actually begins, I’ll break this up into a couple of posts. More blogging for me, more reading for you.

Finish the cello sonata

This is a new goal, but actually it’s cheating. Of course I’m going to finish the cello sonata. However, what I’ve written so far does not satisfy me. In the first movement, the two themes are good, but my approach to the development is more strophic than I think is appropriate. I want to double back and really break those two themes up into their basic elements and use those to play with the listener’s perceptions. As for the third movement, I really like the first part, but that “stopping for a pretty interlude” thing is threatening to become a crutch. Why do I keep doing that?

All of this, especially idea of reworking of the development in the first movement, is making my stomach hurt.

Write a good short story

A carryover. Nothing to be said until I actually start working on it. Sharp observers may have noted that I did not rollover my goal from last year of starting A Perfect Life. I’m going to leave that one to the universe. If it happens, it happens. First I have to clean off my desk.

Play with the 24-Hour Challenge again

Another rollover, but a worthy one. After I finish the cello sonata I have no more projects (other than the new age album), so it will be fun to do this again. Last time, I actually came up with a great deal of usable material; it will be like storing up nuts for the winter.

Continue painting

Of course. It’s more like “pick up my brushes again,” but still.

To be continued…

Lichtenbergian goals, 2010

Posted on by Dale

Last Saturday night, the Lichtenbergian Society held its Annual Meeting around the fire. As longtime readers of this blog know, part of our ritual involves setting creative goals for the coming year, and before that confessing how well we did on the goals of the year just past.

So, before I get to my Lichtenbergian Proposed Efforts for 2011, let’s look at how I did in 2010. As longtime readers of this blog may recall, I had achieved all my goals last year , a matter of some shame to me , so my goals for this year were deliberately calibrated to be worth failing at.

Here are those Proposed Efforts for 2010:

  • continue my painting, both the abstract Field series and my studies for the Epic Lichtenbergian Portrait
  • restart the 24-Hour Challenge, which to my surprise I had proposed last year to do only for six months, which is just about what I managed
  • compose one complete work, any description
  • write one good short story
  • begin work on A Perfect Life, my proposed description of what it’s like to live a life like mine
  • and in conjunction with all of the above, produce a lot of crap, i.e., produce boatloads of work

How’d I do?

I did continue my painting, although I didn’t really work on the Field series (sorry, Seth.) I worked on the ELP for the first half of the year, and yet the very week I went to visit Diane Mize for instruction on mixing color, I stopped painting to concentrate on music.

I did not restart the 24-Hour Challenge. I still have #12, #13, and #14 on sticky notes on my monitor, waiting for me to pick up the whole thing.

I did not write any short story, good or otherwise. The idea for the good one is still in my head, though.

I did not begin A Perfect Life, despite having the entire summer to do so.

I did produce a boatload of crap: drawings, paint sketches, music detritus.

Where I did succeed was in composing a complete work. In fact, I finished three and a half: Pieces for Bassoon & String Quartet; Six Preludes (No Fugues); Variations on ‘Resignation’; and made great strides on the cello sonata.

All three complete pieces are what I would consider worth hearing, especially the Preludes. I listened to all this year’s output this week, and I am very pleased at how well they hold up.

All in all, a respectable finish. I achieved some of the goals, and was completely unable even to start a couple of them. All praise to Georg Christoph Lichtenberg!

Task avoidance

Posted on by Dale

I went back and listened to my output for 2010 last night, and one piece stood out for its stubborn opacity. That would be, of course, the SATB a capella piece Phoenix, set to a stubbornly opaque text by Marc Honea. Of course.

Here it is in its piano version: Phoenix

There’s something to it, after all. I listened to it twice to make sure. I’m thinking I should arrange that for orchestra, just cut out the human voice altogether. It would certainly keep me from finishing the cello sonata. It would give me some practice in orchestration as well.

Variations on ‘Resignation’

Posted on by Dale

After weeks of listening to it obsessively, and running it past at least one strings teacher of my acquaintance, I have tonight submitted Variations on ‘Resignation’ to my contact at the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra in Scotland.

My stomach hurts. I have no idea whether they’ll actually like it, or , more likely , they will find parts of it too challenging to play. If that’s the case, I just go back to the drawing board and take it down a notch. Somehow.

I’m supposed (I think) to write a second piece for them, and that will be Rondo Mobile, the sketch of which you can hear here. I’m thinking I want to make it a rowdy, PDQ-Bach-esque piece, musicologically-speaking-wise. In the sketch, you can already hear the theme falling apart and restarting. I want to make more of that idea, with the sections getting crankier as things go wrong, lots of finger-pointing, ending up with a full-scale riot which the conductor has to silence with a coach’s whistle.

I have been remiss in my blogging for the last month. I promise to make it up to you. I have several posts in the works even as we speak, and after tomorrow , school’s out! , I will have time to churn these out to the delectation of readers everywhere.

I have a post on my Lichtenbergian goals, both a look back at this past year and a look forward; a rant on school funding and running schools “like a business”; a rant on why I oppose the legalization of alcohol; a serious rant about U.S. drug policy; and a strange little meditation on better living through sound effects.

See you then!

Hm.

Posted on by Dale

It has occurred to me that I need to be deciding on what my Lichtenbergian goals for 2011 are going to be, since the Annual Meeting is a week away. Some of them will be easy: they’re the ones I didn’t accomplish this year. Others will be easy as well: think cello sonata.

The new goals, though… Hm.

Done!

Posted on by Dale

If only it were for a ducat…

It is finished, my first piece for the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra. Again, it’s called—for the moment—Resignation, and it’s based on the hymn tune commonly known as “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need” in most hymnals.

It’s short; I could probably swing one more variation, probably a triplet thing, if I had to.

What you hear in the mp3 is pretty much the way it’s supposed to sound, although the first phrase is played by a solo violin instead of the whole section. Otherwise, there’s not a lot to say about it. I think it’s very pretty.

Resignation: score [pdf, letter] [pdf, A4] | mp3 [3:39]

Back to the cello sonata. ::sigh::

Surprise! Progress!

Posted on by Dale

Off in the mountains, and I decided to ignore the cello sonata for the week. Instead, I thought I’d take a peek at the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra piece, which in fact is due in three months, two days, and 21 hours. More or less.

Of the five sketches I sent them, they picked the arrangement of the hymn tune Resignation, an early American tune best known as “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.” I haven’t really looked at it since then, mid-June. The Preludes (No Fugues) and the cello sonata have taken my time since then.

Anyway, I pulled it up this morning and have doubled its length today. Very nice, although it’s a piece of cake to write. I joked that if they were paying me, I’d be stealing.

Here it is so far. I think probably I’m going to break up the melody and do a little development thing, then do a final triumphal statement. It’s supposed to be short.

Wouldn’t it be nice to finish this by the Lichtenbergian Annual Meeting?

Resignation: mp3