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Alain Mayrand
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Any of you guys had placements from music supervisor? I've heard really great things about the way they conduct their business but not much in the way of actual placements
November 4
September 19
Ray! Very well put! Music is hard to understand, an almost magical creation for most people. As you say, defying definition. You are so very right. My original post came about from a pet-peeve of mine: hearing people say that music expresses the...
September 14
September 10
Hello Katherine, what you are talking about here is a common misconception; confusing "expression" with "expressive", confusing meaning with physiognomic perception. I am open to your interpretation for sure, you say that music is a "true lingua...
August 31
Sorry for the late reply, guys! Blame it on my birthday, which was the 17th! :) Frederick: glad to see you agree. I find composers who have thought about this (and perhaps read the same books and papers I have) come to the same conclusion: music ...
August 24
I think the meaning to be sought in music, as alluded to by Fredrick, concerns relationships rather than content. The confusion over this issue is analogous to a common perception that mathematics is all about quantities. It is not, but rather rel...
August 24
it may be the universal language but there are no precise meanings to any of the symbols as there are in other forms of communication. If I say the word "chair" you picture something. I don't know what kind of chair you pictured but the word "chai...
August 16

Profile Information

What have you composed for? Or what medium do you work around?
film, Choir, Orchestra, Small Ensemble, Big Ensemble, Songs, Contemporary Ensembles
What is your favorite genre or style of music?
20th Century Classical
Is music your main income source?
Yes!
Where do you live?
British Columbia
Website:
http://www.alainmayrand.com

Alain Mayrand's Blog

Alain Mayrand

Music expresses nothing?

“Music expresses my soul in a way that words never could.”

I’ve heard that before, but it is not true. I guess it is human nature to look for greater purpose and meaning into what we do, but it makes no sense when it comes to music. (Not lyrics, I am talking about music here.)

It makes even less sense when we are talking about a performer doing another composer’s works.

Add to that the whole veneer of stage persona, and there is no possible expression of soul there.

There have been un… Continue

Posted on August 16, 2009 at 10:57am — 8 Comments

Alain Mayrand

Composition Rehab

It is so easy to start judging what you write as you write it, and you really shouldn’t.

Of course you should consider technical aspects during composition, things like form and counterpoint and motivic development, that sort of thing. What you shouldn’t do is ask yourself “is this good”? It’s too early for that.

Judging slows down writing to a snail’s pace. Judging hinders creativity. Judging should come after, not during composition.

I know this, but still, this is what has been happening t… Continue

Posted on July 24, 2008 at 7:35pm — 4 Comments

Alain Mayrand

Joel McNeely's studio

Okay, I am a bit jealous...

http://www.joelmcneely.com/gallery/album/7/slideshow/

Posted on July 21, 2008 at 10:58pm — 3 Comments

Alain Mayrand

Three pieces from The Citizen

So I just uploaded three pieces from The Citizen, a film I scored in 2002. Wow, such a long time ago...

I still like that score, done with a 50 piece orchestra. Hope you like it too, let me know!

Alain

Posted on June 27, 2008 at 8:26pm —

Alain Mayrand

Synful demos

Hello, my first blog post in this great forum!

A few months ago I tried out the demo version of Synful and I was thoroughly impressed, especially with the playability of the strings. (If you don't know Synful yet, check it out at the link below.)

So I got in touch with the author, Eric Lindemann, to tell him how impressed I was and show him what I had done with it. This was really honest praise on my part and the result and I got commissioned to write 4 demos for his front page in a film style… Continue

Posted on June 23, 2008 at 4:36pm —

Comment Wall (34 comments)

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At 11:50am on September 10, 2009, Paul Young said…
gettingthescore.com and also your blog are very insightful, please keep it up.
At 2:11pm on July 15, 2009, Leslie Quarcoopome said…
Hey Alain, many thanks for the add. I've been following your blog for a while now and love reading about your antics and advice. I was working in a senior design position for a great creative consultancy in London when I first came across your blog. I think it's what spurred me on to change careers. I know work fulltime as a composer...

...so many thanks
At 8:25am on May 15, 2009, Switch Theory said…
Great music Alain. In reply to your question about good music libraries, here are a couple of my favorites:

www.musicsupervisor.com
www.youlicense.com
www.icewhole.com
www.humtoo.com
At 12:09pm on January 4, 2009, Robyn Traill said…
Delightful music Alain. Re: Rehab. Have you read Kenny Werner's books? He is a jazz cat, and mostly comments on the improvisation process but has wonderful things to say about cutting through projections, judgemental impulses that block creativity and the free movement of ideas and music.
At 7:35pm on December 13, 2008, John McIntyre said…
Very nice work!
At 12:33pm on November 29, 2008, Fernando Vazquez said…
I think your pieces are very well structured and very inspirational. I was reading on the judgement blog. I am not really sure there is a way to get around it. For judgement to my opinion, or as I see it, is a key ingredient to striving to perfection. That, and of course, inspiration. But as we all now, inspiration is only the seed. The rest is work and work.
At 8:24am on October 8, 2008, Christopher Sly said…
Lovely work as usual Alain my friend!
Chris
At 6:55pm on September 25, 2008, Patrik Ohlsson said…
Complements on the "rehab" piece! Great harmonics and nice Synful sounds.

Gosh, I envy you guys everyday, I mean those of you who are established and get to work with orchestras and earn your living doing what you love.

Feel welcome to listen to some of my pieces, and leave some response if you have the time.

Regards
Patrik
At 1:37am on August 16, 2008, MusicgalSD said…
If music is your main income source, then do you have any music published in the US? I am listening to "Composition Rehab 1," and I can't help but think that it would be a wonderful piece to perform in orchestra. Please look into that soon, and keep up the great work! :) By the way, it also took a moment for me to realize that "Comp. Rehab 1" and "Hugs and Cigarettes were two separate pieces--they flow nicely!
At 3:21pm on August 5, 2008, Composer Peng Meng said…
New Classical!
Enjoy...no words...
 
 

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