Music Composers Unite!

March 2009 Blog Posts (13)

Mountain, LVB's 6th

My latest thrill is listening to Mountain's Nantucket Sleighride- mostly fantastic album, with a heaviness that swings, unlike later metal bands. Beethoven's 6th is sounding better and better as I get older. It's full of the usual cleverness, but without the bombastic quality, although he still plays the hero. I think it shows his best sense of 'balance' in terms of lengths of sections, lengths of moods and emotions. The way he slowly morphs one section into another is beautiful and works in an… Continue

Added by Doug Lauber on March 31, 2009 at 12:22pm — 1 Comment

29 March 2009

3 weeks off uni and I've taken on-board too many projects again!!
3-section Piece for Small Orchestra
Piece for 9 "Unusual" Instruments
3 Adagios for 2 Violins
1 Wind Quintet

Doesn't look like I'm going to have much time to enjoy the Easter Holidays!!

Added by Angus Denholm-Hay on March 29, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

New Pieces

Hi, everyone. I'm feeling much better and more confident as a composer now. My professor and mentor has really stuck up for me and really helped me think outside of the box. I also have new pieces up on my song list. You're welcome to take a listen. Some of these are just rough sketches. "Never Leaving My Lord" is my personal favorite although there is no lyrics on this recording. I'm still trying to coordinate those. Anyway, I have my first composition recital some time in the spring quarter,… Continue

Added by Cody Weinmann on March 28, 2009 at 4:56pm — No Comments

Nice to be here!

Great to find a page that does so much for composers! It's really a jungle out there and I feel I can use all the help there is. Thanks!

André,
Gothenburg, Sweden

Added by Andreas van Haren on March 27, 2009 at 6:39am — No Comments

22 Mar 2009

Currently working on 3 duets for violin, adding the finishing touches to a recently completed Wind Quintet and working on a series of 1-minute String Quartets.

Deadline for all of the above is this week! It's going to be a busy week!

Added by Angus Denholm-Hay on March 22, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

electric Bass Guitar

...signed by Noel Redding.
Man, I'm rusty. Rather sloppy playing. Today I recorded various bass ideas for Osaka Suite, Part 1. It is a pleasure to play to music with a fantastic drum track. ...but, he's raised the bar for me.
I'll continue working on the bass track tomorrow morning.

Added by Doug Lauber on March 16, 2009 at 1:06am — No Comments

Drums...

This morning I received the much anticipated drum tracks for Osaka, parts 1 and 3. Back to work...

Added by Doug Lauber on March 12, 2009 at 1:19pm — No Comments

He Gets Stronger Every Time WIP

"Every time we fight

I get stronger

I use to be weak

But do not underestimate

my resolve

My conflict with you has just begun..."

The first 2 parts is when the enemy is less complete; less whole.

The last part is what I am still working on; when he has reached the pinnacle of his growth.

The transition needs work as well.

Still, I like how it is sounding.

Yes it is supposed to sound low-fi in the beginning; to… Continue

Added by Rahim Stratton on March 10, 2009 at 5:26am — No Comments

Stravinsky and Bartok anyone?

Lately I've been listening to S's Symphony of Psalms and B's Piano Concertos. My brain is slowly adjusting to various degrees of dissonance.

Today, I'll continue work on Osaka Suite, focusing on the saxophone.(for part 1)
Part 1 - Fusion style
Part 2 - Orchestral, adagio
Part 3 - Heavy Metal

Added by Doug Lauber on March 9, 2009 at 1:12pm — 1 Comment

Mathis der Maler anyone? (Blomstedt)

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

I am now addicted to this composition/recording. The first two movements are perfect. The third is too scattered for my tastes.

Yesterday, I spent about 6 hours transforming the instrumentation for Osaka Suite- the new name for the 3-part composition, 'Equinox'. I have quite a few synth patches that I have never used in a recording, so I took the time to record a number of them, to be possibly used in lieu of the electric piano patch,… Continue

Added by Doug Lauber on March 7, 2009 at 11:33am — No Comments

Tonight's Tune: Peter Gabriel's 'Red Rain'

Before retiring for the evening, I gave a listen to one of my fusion favorites. This recording contains a variety of interesting instrumentation, with a surprising number of synth patches, from spacey elec piano to ethereal ambient sounds. The power comes from an unusual sounding elec bass which possesses a lot of very low end without being muddy. The percussion performances are awesome, a real assault on the senses, with a 'world' busy style that is never too much, always tasteful. The… Continue

Added by Doug Lauber on March 5, 2009 at 11:33pm — No Comments

Good news for low fidelity!

Would love your feedback on my thoughts on Digital Music News' story this morning on this Stanford fidelity study...

Before even hitting the end of this article from Digital Music News today, I could think of nothing but the velvety album noises and squealing and hissing cassettes of my youth (who am I kidding--I liked them last week, too).

This is the point the music industry has been… Continue

Added by Dana Detrick-Clark on March 5, 2009 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

Quit glaring at me, Google Ad composers!

As I sit down to blog and connect a bit more with you, I look over at ye olde Google sidebar, and see at least two other composers' sites getting prime real estate on my page. Doh! That's why I steer clear of putting Google ads on my pages these days. Here's my studio--and oh, yeah--here's a link to another studio that's tag line reads, "we'll do it cheaper than any other studio whose page you're currently visiting!".

Still beats advertising the in the Yellow Pages.

My… Continue

Added by Dana Detrick-Clark on March 2, 2009 at 9:24pm — 2 Comments