No big update today. I've spent the past few days learning some insurance stuff for my part-time job, so I haven't been able to do much composing. I have, however, reviewed the things that I've already written and started doing some redrafts.
Redrafts are tough because I believe, as a general rule, that I should have just gotten it right the first go around. I know that's unrealistic, but it's how I work. Things change, though, and musical-writing is a much more dynamic process than I wanted to believe as I wrote my first show. The lessons learned from "Tragedy!" are helping me immensely this time. The biggest advancement in my own thinking has been the acceptance of the idea of "theme" in music. What I mean by that is basically what I talked about in the last post- that there's a puzzle and it all has to make sense at the end. The best way for a musical to make sense is to give it some sense of cohesion, so that's my big challenge right now.
There have been some requests, by people who are not familiar with the poem, to post "Annabel Lee." So here it is. I'll let you use your imaginations to figure out what kind of melody I put to it. I went through about ten drafts, so whatever you think of is probably at least related so something I wrote.
The "Ballad of Annabel Lee" is divided into multiple parts- some sections repeat. Overall, though, what is written below is what we're using as lyrics.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
3-D Sudoku
I have decided, during my ample time spent hoping the cows outside will sing me a brilliant melody, that writing a musical score is somewhat like doing 3-D sudoku, if there is such a thing. There are numbers, certainly, that are in place- and I absolutely know where I have to go in order to succeed. It's the time spent trying to match the songs to the pieces both before and after- and then to the theme- and then to a piece five songs previous- and then to a song I have yet to write (but it MUST have foreshadowing)- that represents what keeps me going AND what makes me want to repeatedly hit the "delete" button.
I'm back at home, after a very productive week at Woodberry. In spite of my griping, I DID manage to break through a wall of sorts and write (at least a first draft) of the "Ballad of Annabel Lee," which is of supreme importance because there are about six songs that are some variation of it, and it helps to know the general direction of where those have to go. To clarify the writing process: by "break through a wall" I mean I hijacked an actual (obscure) folk ballad for the first four measures and then went from there. I forget who said it, but there was once a very famous musician who, when asked whether he borrowed anything from other composers, replied:
"I never borrow. I steal."
All in all, I got four good drafts done in one week (five working days). I'll be lucky to get two finished in the next week- when I'm at home there are many distractions.
On the script side of things, Mr. C completed the second draft of the show and we read it aloud on Wednesday afternoon. It still has a lot of work to be done on it before it's ready for the stage, but I'm enamoured with the world that we have created in what seems like a few short weeks (to be fair, we were thinking about it for the past four months).
I think in the near future I will post short midi snippets of songs on this website so that you don't have to be confused every time I reference a type of song or something like that (does anyone know how to do this on blogger?). Also, I always welcome criticism with open arms.
I'm back at home, after a very productive week at Woodberry. In spite of my griping, I DID manage to break through a wall of sorts and write (at least a first draft) of the "Ballad of Annabel Lee," which is of supreme importance because there are about six songs that are some variation of it, and it helps to know the general direction of where those have to go. To clarify the writing process: by "break through a wall" I mean I hijacked an actual (obscure) folk ballad for the first four measures and then went from there. I forget who said it, but there was once a very famous musician who, when asked whether he borrowed anything from other composers, replied:
"I never borrow. I steal."
All in all, I got four good drafts done in one week (five working days). I'll be lucky to get two finished in the next week- when I'm at home there are many distractions.
On the script side of things, Mr. C completed the second draft of the show and we read it aloud on Wednesday afternoon. It still has a lot of work to be done on it before it's ready for the stage, but I'm enamoured with the world that we have created in what seems like a few short weeks (to be fair, we were thinking about it for the past four months).
I think in the near future I will post short midi snippets of songs on this website so that you don't have to be confused every time I reference a type of song or something like that (does anyone know how to do this on blogger?). Also, I always welcome criticism with open arms.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
"There she is, outside the door!"
It was finished a week ago, but only yesterday did I finally get to see the end of Act II. So the good news is that Mr. C is, from now on, just rewriting what is already basically complete.
Music doesn't quite work that way. I did, since I arrived at Woodberry to do some work, put down two songs that I consider "keepers." During that process, I learned that, occasionally, I go absolutely insane while writing music. I've deduced this because sometimes either can't remember writing things, or, in the case of this last piece of music, I am certain that what I am writing sounds completely different than the actual output. I had a conversation with Mr. C that went like this:
"Now, when you listen to this song, you may notice that I've completely ripped off another song."
(He listens to the song. After a moment.) "I liked it. But what song were you referencing?"
"Oh come on, it's so blatant. Here. 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.'"
"Which song?"
"You know... that song. At the end of Act I. Umm. Let me listen to that." (I listen to the music. After a moment.) "That sounds nothing like that musical, does it? Uhh. Nevermind. Yeah, I like it though."
Anyway, now that I know all the songs I'll be writing (and most of them are really great challenges) I will hopefully be increasing my output of actual tunes rather than the dreaded "sketches."
I'm very excited about the music for the second Act. There's a bit of a surprise ending, and the climax just about hits the threshold for epic...
We've also decided to remove the dulcimer from our instrument list and replace it with Franklin's Glass Armonica. Music of the spheres, indeed.
Music doesn't quite work that way. I did, since I arrived at Woodberry to do some work, put down two songs that I consider "keepers." During that process, I learned that, occasionally, I go absolutely insane while writing music. I've deduced this because sometimes either can't remember writing things, or, in the case of this last piece of music, I am certain that what I am writing sounds completely different than the actual output. I had a conversation with Mr. C that went like this:
"Now, when you listen to this song, you may notice that I've completely ripped off another song."
(He listens to the song. After a moment.) "I liked it. But what song were you referencing?"
"Oh come on, it's so blatant. Here. 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.'"
"Which song?"
"You know... that song. At the end of Act I. Umm. Let me listen to that." (I listen to the music. After a moment.) "That sounds nothing like that musical, does it? Uhh. Nevermind. Yeah, I like it though."
Anyway, now that I know all the songs I'll be writing (and most of them are really great challenges) I will hopefully be increasing my output of actual tunes rather than the dreaded "sketches."
I'm very excited about the music for the second Act. There's a bit of a surprise ending, and the climax just about hits the threshold for epic...
We've also decided to remove the dulcimer from our instrument list and replace it with Franklin's Glass Armonica. Music of the spheres, indeed.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
On Epic
In the first five days of officially working on "Usher," I wrote reasonable melodies for at least five songs. I came up with some guitar tunes for William... I wrote a drinking song.... good stuff. To be honest, I felt like my pace was a little slow.
How I long for those days again.
For the past week and a half, now, I have been working on one song: "Mysterium." "Mysterium" is Roderick Usher's attempt to "usher in" a paradise on Earth through music. It will be performed at the base of Mount Olympus by an ensemble of 100,000. Forty-five thousand strings, one thousand pianos, four thousand percussion (including two thousand actual cannons), and fifty thousand voices. There are only strings and pianos because other instruments drive Usher mad with pain, for some reason. Anyway- sounds easy, right?
I suppose it's reasonable, then, that I wrote ten drafts of the first thirty seconds of this piece... spending ten days doing so... only to toss them all and stare in fury at my empty computer screen. I need to go back to Woodberry- I think I work better there.
The good news is that I finally have at least one melody that has passed my strictest "epic" test.
Mike's Epic Test:
1. Would it sound reasonable if you heard it in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy?
2. How about "Star Wars"?
3. "Gladiator"?
4. "Batman?"
If you answer "no" to any of the above, the song is clearly not epic enough. Try again.
With any luck, I'll be satisfied with it as a draft soon enough. Then I can work on... you know... the twenty other pieces of music I need to write.
How I long for those days again.
For the past week and a half, now, I have been working on one song: "Mysterium." "Mysterium" is Roderick Usher's attempt to "usher in" a paradise on Earth through music. It will be performed at the base of Mount Olympus by an ensemble of 100,000. Forty-five thousand strings, one thousand pianos, four thousand percussion (including two thousand actual cannons), and fifty thousand voices. There are only strings and pianos because other instruments drive Usher mad with pain, for some reason. Anyway- sounds easy, right?
I suppose it's reasonable, then, that I wrote ten drafts of the first thirty seconds of this piece... spending ten days doing so... only to toss them all and stare in fury at my empty computer screen. I need to go back to Woodberry- I think I work better there.
The good news is that I finally have at least one melody that has passed my strictest "epic" test.
Mike's Epic Test:
1. Would it sound reasonable if you heard it in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy?
2. How about "Star Wars"?
3. "Gladiator"?
4. "Batman?"
If you answer "no" to any of the above, the song is clearly not epic enough. Try again.
With any luck, I'll be satisfied with it as a draft soon enough. Then I can work on... you know... the twenty other pieces of music I need to write.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Full of Sound and Fury
I was informed the other day that this project has been accepted by William and Mary as an honors thesis. Awesome.
In addition to having another reason to get my composing done in a timely manner, I also get the privilege of having the music in the show performed as my senior recital. According to what I understand about music theses at William and Mary, 45 minutes of music = no paper writing required. You can bet "Usher" is going to come in with around 46 minutes of music (including lots and lots of underscoring).
So essentially, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is about four musicians who all come together in one house in an anachronistic 1800's:
William Reed: A wanderer from Virginia who ends up in New York with only a guitar to keep him company. He plays a beautifully emotional, progressive form of folk music.
A stretch because: I don't know anything about 1800's folk music OR writing for guitar. Luckily, my sister knows a thing or two, so I'm enlisting her to show me what's what.
Roderick Usher: A wealthy/sickly student in New York who has recently inherited his family's mansion. He is a Romantic composer who has far outstripped his professors, and his end goal is a musical event that will bring the world to bliss. His real-life inspiration, musically, is Alexander Scriabin (a composer in the early 1900's with a very similar idea).
A stretch because: A musical event that will bring the world to bliss? Outstripping professors? I am fairly confident in my ability to get into his Romantic composition style, but this may be TOO epic. We'll see.
Madeline Usher: Roderick's sister. A brilliant composer, mathematician, and scientist. She speaks openly about the theory of relativity a hundred years before Einstein. She has invented her own, "improved," form of music notation. She writes pieces that are extremely progressive and mathematically perfect in her eyes, though they may be abominations to our own ears. Her musical inspiration is the age of Serialism.
A stretch because: Serialism? Why can't she be a hardcore gangster rapper, or something else easy? Serialism in itself is not a difficult concept, but the actual production of something that sounds atonal without seeming like COMPLETE nonsense may be a slight difficulty.
Annabel Lee: Roderick's wife, or so he calls her. They are not "officially" married because Roderick doesn't believe in the church. She is a student training her voice for opera, but she also happens to play the flute.
A stretch because: This one isn't so bad. She's the only character who isn't labeled in some way as "progressive" for her time. That means I can stay in a nice, sweet Romantic mood while fiddling away at notes for her flute.
Overall, the music concept is one of stretched realism: the characters themselves will not burst out into song unless they are holding instruments and there is a good reason that they would actually be playing a song. In a house full of musicians, the excuses are many. From time to time, this sound will be filled in by chorus members playing string instruments on the side of the stage.
For an image of this approach, go out and rent the movie "Once." It also applies this realism-in-musical idea, and it does so quite well.
In addition to having another reason to get my composing done in a timely manner, I also get the privilege of having the music in the show performed as my senior recital. According to what I understand about music theses at William and Mary, 45 minutes of music = no paper writing required. You can bet "Usher" is going to come in with around 46 minutes of music (including lots and lots of underscoring).
So essentially, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is about four musicians who all come together in one house in an anachronistic 1800's:
William Reed: A wanderer from Virginia who ends up in New York with only a guitar to keep him company. He plays a beautifully emotional, progressive form of folk music.
A stretch because: I don't know anything about 1800's folk music OR writing for guitar. Luckily, my sister knows a thing or two, so I'm enlisting her to show me what's what.
Roderick Usher: A wealthy/sickly student in New York who has recently inherited his family's mansion. He is a Romantic composer who has far outstripped his professors, and his end goal is a musical event that will bring the world to bliss. His real-life inspiration, musically, is Alexander Scriabin (a composer in the early 1900's with a very similar idea).
A stretch because: A musical event that will bring the world to bliss? Outstripping professors? I am fairly confident in my ability to get into his Romantic composition style, but this may be TOO epic. We'll see.
Madeline Usher: Roderick's sister. A brilliant composer, mathematician, and scientist. She speaks openly about the theory of relativity a hundred years before Einstein. She has invented her own, "improved," form of music notation. She writes pieces that are extremely progressive and mathematically perfect in her eyes, though they may be abominations to our own ears. Her musical inspiration is the age of Serialism.
A stretch because: Serialism? Why can't she be a hardcore gangster rapper, or something else easy? Serialism in itself is not a difficult concept, but the actual production of something that sounds atonal without seeming like COMPLETE nonsense may be a slight difficulty.
Annabel Lee: Roderick's wife, or so he calls her. They are not "officially" married because Roderick doesn't believe in the church. She is a student training her voice for opera, but she also happens to play the flute.
A stretch because: This one isn't so bad. She's the only character who isn't labeled in some way as "progressive" for her time. That means I can stay in a nice, sweet Romantic mood while fiddling away at notes for her flute.
Overall, the music concept is one of stretched realism: the characters themselves will not burst out into song unless they are holding instruments and there is a good reason that they would actually be playing a song. In a house full of musicians, the excuses are many. From time to time, this sound will be filled in by chorus members playing string instruments on the side of the stage.
For an image of this approach, go out and rent the movie "Once." It also applies this realism-in-musical idea, and it does so quite well.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Building the House
It's hard to believe, but it's been over two and a half years since I started writing my first musical: "Tragedy! (A Musical Comedy)". I have forgotten nearly everything specific about the experience, which is a terrible shame.
Since the (for now) completion of that project last August, I have been contentedly lazing about... writing small pieces, going to China, etc.... It was going to China that inspired me to write my first blog, Digging for China. I had so much fun writing that blog and creating a permanent record of my travels that I decided to do the same for my newest musical project based on "The Fall of the House of Usher."
This is how it started.
After I graduated Woodberry Forest in 2005, I periodically hounded my old Drama Teacher/Adviser/Director, Brent Cirves, about a potential collaboration. I would say very subtle things such as "hey, when are we going to write something together?" or "you know, I'm not doing anything this summer. I sure wish I were writing a musical."
In China, I received an e-mail from Mr. C regarding some pieces that I had written for a production of "Hamlet" that he did at Woodberry. At the end of his debrief, almost an aside- was the following:
"As to the process--yes, let's talk about that some more....
I would like to write a complete show with you some day, if you're game."
Since the (for now) completion of that project last August, I have been contentedly lazing about... writing small pieces, going to China, etc.... It was going to China that inspired me to write my first blog, Digging for China. I had so much fun writing that blog and creating a permanent record of my travels that I decided to do the same for my newest musical project based on "The Fall of the House of Usher."
This is how it started.
After I graduated Woodberry Forest in 2005, I periodically hounded my old Drama Teacher/Adviser/Director, Brent Cirves, about a potential collaboration. I would say very subtle things such as "hey, when are we going to write something together?" or "you know, I'm not doing anything this summer. I sure wish I were writing a musical."
In China, I received an e-mail from Mr. C regarding some pieces that I had written for a production of "Hamlet" that he did at Woodberry. At the end of his debrief, almost an aside- was the following:
"As to the process--yes, let's talk about that some more....
I would like to write a complete show with you some day, if you're game."
I attacked like a feral mongoose, sending e-mail after e-mail encouraging this flame. When the time was right, I said "let's do it" and set a goal: a musical, to be completed in time for submission to the 2009 New York Fringe Festival. And that, my friends, is exactly what we are doing.
We agreed on "Usher" mainly because it was a story about a musician who can't stand the sound of music (due to a strange illness). It was also the story of friendship: people building each other up through grand music and philosophy... and the limits that friendship can reach. Mostly, though, we agreed because a house falls down at the end. A whole house. The Phantom (of the Opera) gets what? A lousy chandelier? Usher gets a house. As those of you who know me are aware, I enjoy epic.
Since the story of Usher is too short for a full length musical, we decided early on to make up a first act, before the events of the story begin. In this, the relationships of all the characters will be established, and we will, as Mr. C puts it, "shoot many arrows into the sky." While we were shooting arrows already, we decided to add another one of Poe's creations: Annabel Lee. With the addition of this fourth character, we are able to have love triangles, AND quadrangles. Plus, we get to include her namesake poem in a climactic death scene. High drama, indeed.
The division of labor is as follows: Mr. Cirves (who at one point asked me to call him Brent, which I won't, because it's weird) will write the book and a good chunk of the lyrics. I will write all of the music, including incidental. Edgar Allan Poe will provide some plot and a smattering of lyrics.
Last week, I was up at Woodberry and Mr. C and I officially commenced draft one. For now, at least, we're calling it "The Fall of the House of Usher." I think that it needs a new name... one that indicates something other than the short story merely placed on stage....
The music, which will be the primary focus of this blog from this point on, is going to be very challenging. But, as Roderick Usher says (at least in our version)... nothing beautiful is simple.
We agreed on "Usher" mainly because it was a story about a musician who can't stand the sound of music (due to a strange illness). It was also the story of friendship: people building each other up through grand music and philosophy... and the limits that friendship can reach. Mostly, though, we agreed because a house falls down at the end. A whole house. The Phantom (of the Opera) gets what? A lousy chandelier? Usher gets a house. As those of you who know me are aware, I enjoy epic.
Since the story of Usher is too short for a full length musical, we decided early on to make up a first act, before the events of the story begin. In this, the relationships of all the characters will be established, and we will, as Mr. C puts it, "shoot many arrows into the sky." While we were shooting arrows already, we decided to add another one of Poe's creations: Annabel Lee. With the addition of this fourth character, we are able to have love triangles, AND quadrangles. Plus, we get to include her namesake poem in a climactic death scene. High drama, indeed.
The division of labor is as follows: Mr. Cirves (who at one point asked me to call him Brent, which I won't, because it's weird) will write the book and a good chunk of the lyrics. I will write all of the music, including incidental. Edgar Allan Poe will provide some plot and a smattering of lyrics.
Last week, I was up at Woodberry and Mr. C and I officially commenced draft one. For now, at least, we're calling it "The Fall of the House of Usher." I think that it needs a new name... one that indicates something other than the short story merely placed on stage....
The music, which will be the primary focus of this blog from this point on, is going to be very challenging. But, as Roderick Usher says (at least in our version)... nothing beautiful is simple.
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