Crafting Motifs Out of Rhythms
I’ve been fortunate this past week to have several uninterrupted days to work on my “tape” and orchestra piece. Returning to the “Confronting Our Shadows” section where I previously mapped out rhythms matching the “ssh-ssh” sound, I began filling in the details. Establishing a bass pulse on B, I used the rhythms as interruption points, creating patterns in the bassline. As the phase shifts the rhythm naturally, space opened up to introduce an upward motif, with longer woodwind notes appearing off these motifs. This section may remind some of Rzewski‘s “Coming Together.”
Refining the Idea
Initially, I started with a single piano bassline. After one or two iterations, I began incorporating other instruments, knowing I wanted the trombone and bassoon to play this line. Realizing my target ensemble was one on a part instead of a full orchestra, I needed to create more space for the instruments to breathe. I experimented with trading off the line, giving a few measures to the bassoon and a few to the trombone. After that, I wrote the cello and upper piano parts.
A Fresh Approach
Subconsciously, I wasn’t satisfied with the arrangement. I woke up early the next morning with a better solution for creating breathing space. I wanted to emphasize the upward motif, knowing the bass trombone would be much louder than the bassoon, I ensured that all upward motifs were played by the trombone. The music was rearranged between the bassoon and the bass trombone in this way. This resulted in a much better arrangement and orchestration. I also added the upward line to the alto sax for emphasis. Additional touches included extra percussion, other brass instruments, and more upward lines to match other background rhythms. This section is likely the climax of the composition, and I’m now pleased with the first draft.
Transition to the Dawn of Hope
The next section transitions back to 4/4 for a 16-bars. Unsure of the direction, I plan to skip ahead to the third section: “The Dawn of Hope.” It’s common to skip transition sections and revisit them once the next part is more established, allowing for a better transition to be developed.
Crafting Optimism
“The Dawn of Hope” is intended to be more optimistic and hopeful, reflecting the possibility of change and improvement. I researched uplifting works and listened to them for inspiration, also analyzing their chord progressions. Eventually, I sat at my keyboard and created a progression that felt hopeful to me. I then crafted these chord changes to fit the Obama speech that starts this section and edited part of the “tape” to better synchronize with the chord progression.
Seeking Feedback
At this point, I almost feel too close to the work to judge its success, so I reached out to friends for their opinions. Their feedback was valuable, though challenging for them, as they heard just piano chord changes over the section without the full orchestration. At this stage, I’m just trying to figure out the structure of this section. I’m thinking I might put an ostinato under this, but we will see. Most feedback indicated that the chords felt hopeful and optimistic, but the underlying phase part of the tape created tension and anxiety, which is my intent. I think I’m at a good stopping point for a bit while I attend the Aspen Composer Conference and return with fresh ears to work on this section.
Check back for news on how the conference went and more about the creation of “The Dawn of Hope.”
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Tags: democracy, in progress