The Composers Lair

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Just got back from NAMM - my first time! It was a rather overwhelming experience, both inspiring as well as financially intimidating. Inspiring because as I approached a booth I would grow excited, my brain would race with ideas and applications for a new program for software instrument. As I picked up a series of ukuleles, I was excited that I had strong opinions over the feel and sound of each of them. But ultimately this excitement is tempred by the financial realities of the situation - I simply can't buy everything I want! Still, I made a few key decisions that will influence my purchasing decisions over the coming weeks.

1.) Symphobia is an essential purchase for the single reason that it decreases the amount of time it takes to get full orchestrations by tenfold.

2.) I'm likely going to switch to Digital Performer as my primary sequencer; it contains several features catered to film composers, and treats audio and routing very similar to the manner audio is treated in Pro Tools. Pro Tools gets better all of the time, but it still has too many kinks to work out. Logic, however, is like speaking another language, and I can't wrap my head around it.

3.) I need a new ukulele!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:44:00 +0000

Tonight I was privileged to be a guest of Christina Johnson and the Kronos Quartet at the premiere of a new work by Thomas Newman. Entitled "It Got Dark," the piece was programmed on a concert series entitled "Left Coast / West Coast" curated by well
known minimalist composer John Adams.

"It Got Dark" was summed up succinctly to me by Kronos Quartet cellist Jeff Ziegler as a series of musical postcards. Like Newman's scores, these aural vignettes said only what was necessary. The work dripped with honest, simple writing. Pre-recorded electronics were used in most of the movements, featuring a few of the gorgeous and intricate pads we're used to hearing in Newman's scores. The Kronos quartet, amplified and situated in front of the orchestra, covered the more flashy and improvisatory lines and occasionally played off the orchestra in a concerto like interplay.

The piece also integrated some spoken word, but it was so sparsely used that it felt a little like an afterthought. Infact, the first entrance of spoken text surprised me so much that I thought it might have been triggered incorrectly (a possibility given that this was a premiere), as did some ambient recordings of dixieland bands that softly accompanied a movement. The appearance of these elements signified the use of a strong program to structure the work, which isn't surprising given Newman's background as a film composer. But as a listener without a strong sense of what that program was, I felt a little lost.

It's always interesting to me to hear a composer a bit out of his element. Newman's scores are iconic, singular entries into the world of film music that have pushed the craft forward into new directions. In a sense, its unfair to hold his concert work up to the same standard, particularly in that concert music has a whole has so little room left to grow. Ultimately, I appreciate the piece for what it is - small, intimate musical musings on the beauty around him that doesn't need to push boundaries. All it needs is to have emerged from the brain of Thomas Newman.

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:47:00 +0000

Three composers - myself, Michale Beach, and Igor Nemirovsky - met tonight to view some of our mutual work. It was a great! Great to see where are mutual strengths were, to see projects that may not see the light of day but illustrate something we've done musically that may be different or off the beaten path.

It was also re-assuring to see that we all had certain weaknesses, certain insecurities about our work, doubts about the future. Igor yearns for music of a differert era, where the orchestra reigned supreme rather then being shrugged off as "generic." Michael works under the shadow of an amazing composer, unable to write anything new. I struggle with fundamental questions such as what is my musical identiy; wondering if I truly have anything original to say, and whether scoring is the right career choice.

Composers essentially work alone, and are typically very competitive in fighting for the scraps of work that are out there. There is no union; the SCL is fantastic for the most part yet not out of reach of industry politics. All reasons for why meetings like this should happen more often.

Thoughts on Bear's Season 4 soundtrack (my Amazon / iTunes review posted here)

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

As a composer myself, I am consistently in awe with the work Bear is doing. He has had considerable influence on my own writing, and I believe on scoring for film/TV in general. On a (relatively) shoe string budget Bear is writing/producing scores that rival the best work of Zimmer in terms of production quality, and exceed much of it in terms of musical content. The Season 4 score is no exception; production quality is stellar, and the musical territory covered continues to break new and inspiring ground.

I don't want to repeat the praise already flung at Bear from other reviews but raise a few more points. First, I've noticed a few comparisons to John Williams' Star Wars score - some are saying they are on par with eachother, some are saying Bear has "exceeded" Williams' work. This is ultimately an unfair comparison between what is essentially apples and oranges; BSG and Star Wars represent two distinct visions and approaches to Sci-Fi, with very little in common with eachother. Williams and McCreary's approaches are equally distinct. Therefore, the scores by Williams and McCreary ought not to be butted up against one another to determine which is "better," but held in equal regard as examples of high achievement in different areas of the genre.

The other point I wanted to make is basically a "thank you" to the producers of Galactica for "allowing" this music to be written. There seems to be a sense that McCreary is the only composer who ever wanted to take musical risks with a series or film, and I feel this perception discredits composers who simply weren't given the opportunity to let their talent fully show. Most composers do infact get into the business looking to take creative risks and cover new ground, only to have those ideals slowly squeezed out of them with extremely low pay, little to no desire to spend extra money on live musicians, refusal from production companies to work with the musicians union, and a general lack of knowledge/appreciation for the considerable added value a score can add to a production. This is not to say that some folks tried; I happen to know personally that Bear had to fight very hard for many of the creative strides that were made, and credit must be given Bear for having so much integrity and background. But ultimately, composers' work lives or dies at the whims of the producers, and we ultimately owe THEM a huge thank you for giving Bear the freedom to take so many creative risks.

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:05:00 +0000

Today I bought a MUSIC BOX SET from the always wonderful Museum of Jurassic Technology which will allow me to punch and perform my own compositions! The reason, besides being super cool? Well, I am currently working on a little cartoon pilot for the boys over at 3to1 Films, in which their main villain laments his wife death while holding a music box.