Lisa bought an Ocarina, and in the hopes that she’ll someday transport me to Hyrule with it, I’ve written a solo Ocarina piece for movement nine. It’s a peppy little birthday cake of a solo written in C (though I think my ear was in F… hmm…). You know, this piece reminds me of something you might hear in Final Fantasy VII… perhaps at the Golden Saucer… I seriously think my mind just mixes and regurgitates the little ditties I hear here and there. I guess that doesn’t count as stealing, right? I give you:

Mvt. 9

I couldn’t get very far into this project (or compose for very long at all, for that matter) without churning out some marching band material. Movement Eight is an opener for a decent-sized marching corps that has a strong high and low brass section and a woodwind section that is no stranger to precision and stamina. I didn’t write drumline parts to this opener, mostly because I hate how the drums sound on MIDI - it would do nothing but mud things up. Just at one minute, this is a concise and powerful opening statement that would serve to introduce the theme of the rest of the 9-10 minute show. It accomplishes this beginning with a flurry of triplets in the high woodwinds coupled with staccato eighth notes in the low woodwinds for a hemiola basso continuo to establish momentum and forward motion. We then hear the main theme in the horns, supported by thick chords of the tonic (g minor) in the low brass, and answered by the tuba. The theme is repeated by the horns, then the trumpets join the fun in an echo effect, and again the low brass provides an answer. The echo continues between the high brass, adding to the momentum, until the entire brass section is caught up in a uniform rhythm that builds to a thick tonic chord from the entire band (with syncopated accents in the brass so as not to lose the momentum), then moves through a series of power chords back to the tonic (with some extreme ranges for pinache). This could definitely turn into something from here. Here is:

Mvt. 8

Here’s a plaintive little tune written for solo violin. It’s in d minor and follows a pattern of three measures in 6/8 time followed by one measure in 9/8. There are many appogiaturas (embellishing notes, usually one step above or below the notes they precede, indicated by a smaller note) which give the piece a mournful, folksy sound. The triple meter makes the piece have an almost hypnotic lilt, and I would even venture so far as to say this might work as an Irish lullaby. Or at least something to sing into the wind and waves as you stand on the edge of a cliff and look out over the cold, relentless Atlantic. Here is:

Mvt. 7

This is to make up for the last one. Don’t be afraid to tell me if something sucks, now - especially if I say it first! Movement 6 is written for piano and is 90 bpm in triple meter. It took about an hour and a half to write (mostly because I was also trying to eat spaghetti and talk on AIM). It’s very contemporary in that it does not follow a particular form, has much dissonance, many accidentals, a strange blend of rhythms, yet strangely sounds cohesive. Did that just sound like a bunch of bullshit? Well, most explanations of contemporary music are bullshit, so schmyah. It’s very ambiatic (a contemporary word) and meant to evoke a dream-like mood. If I had to classify it further, I’d call it a Mini Contemporary Nocturne. I feel much better about this piece than many of the previous 5. I give you:

Mvt. 6

Ok… at the request of Ms. Brown, the next installment in the Lisa Exercises tackles the awful awful task of telling some kind of story in ONE MINUTE, and is written for accordian. I love telling stories through music, but for some reason the one instrument/one minute combo and I didn’t click. I don’t like this one. In fact, the only reason I didn’t scrap it is because it has maybe one or two things I can salvage. Maybe. It has a very loose sonata form, and only that because the A theme returns in the recapitulation (with plenty of garnishment to make it A’) at the end. And about the end… phew. I have no clue where that came from. Can anyone say Classical Period? Actually this whole thing is a mess. I got nothin’. Here is:

Mvt. 5

I won’t lie - I started with a violin solo and threw out idea after idea until I finally decided to go for a string quartet, and BOOM; this one took off like a corporate exec. on a Friday. It has a decidedly Baroque taste to it, and with its call and response opening sets the ear up for a classic little fugue. However, not wanting to cram a whole fugue into one minute, I opted for just playing around with the main theme (which is actually first heard when the cello enters, as a variation of the very first measure of the first violin. First. First first first). I have mixed feelings, but am mostly pleased with it. I think there’s a crazy amount of material to draw from for later projects, and that helps put a perfectionist’s mind as ease. For now. I give you:

Mvt. 4

Following a stricter sonata-like form of A-B-A’, the third movement in the “Exercises” suite is a bubbly little spree through diatonic chords, focusing as equally on melody as it does rhythm. It is written for a mallet choir (orchestra bells, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone) and taken at a knuckle-bleeding 180 bpm. I like it, personally, because it’s one of those pieces that just took off from the get-go and basically wrote itself, with me trying desperately to make sure the chords were properly aligned in its wake. Here is:

Mvt. 3

With the first movement, I opted for a classic fanfare idea with a brass choir (3 trumpets, 4 horns, 2 trombones, euphonium, tuba). Simple I-V-I progression, attention-getting through rhythm rather than melody. For movement two, I wrote an atonal ambiance piece that focuses on dissonance and texture created through wandering tones. If it were to be performed, I would prefer it to be with 5 different sets of crystal glasses for an airy, ethereal feel, since it turned out kinda spooky anyway. I give you:

Mvt. 2

Lisa Brown had this neat idea to have me write a bunch of 1 minute compositions which she would then take and set animation to, as practice for both of us in our respective disciplines. Er sumthin’. And so I give you:

The Lisa Exercises

Mvt. 1