Michael Cooke

After recovering from my trip and completing a new episode of Music From Humans, I resumed work on my “tape” and orchestra piece, focusing on the Confronting Our Shadows section. I aimed for this part to evoke tension, anxiety, and eventually a more menacing feel.

Crafting Tension

To achieve this, I used high strings playing harmonics in long chords. For the notes, I based them on the Pater Noster (Lord’s Prayer), continuing with my hidden mass elements:

I spent considerable time deciding on a decatonic scale for this section. I wanted constant eighth notes but in a random order. Initially, my attempts felt too pattern-like, so I turned to Python to generate code that would randomize the octaves and note choices within my scale and output a MusicXML file. This took the rest of the day, but I eventually got some results I liked. The following day, I ran my script multiple times, selecting different sections that appealed to me and orchestrating them for woodwinds and piano.

Building Complexity

I then wrote a short B section, referencing the “false” hits from the “tape” that start this section in the brass, again using the decatonic scale and some randomness. While I’m not 100% satisfied with the chords in this part, I plan to revisit it but wanted to press on. The A section reprises as it approaches the halfway point of Confronting Our Shadows.

A short transition leads into the more menacing second half. Here, the piano remains prominent, but now in the ultra-low register. I switched from the decatonic scale to an octatonic scale and increased the tempo by shifting from 4/4 to 12/8. This section also references the Dies Irae, similar to the beginning of the piece. I’ve reached a climactic part of the text in the “tape” and had the music follow that energy.

As I near the end of this section, there will be more prominent hits, similar to the introduction of Confronting Our Shadows, along with increased orchestral energy, but that is still to be written. Hopefully, I can complete this part by next week.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to refine and develop this composition.

Tags: democracy, in progress

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 9th, 2024 at 9:05 am and is filed under In Progress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.