Hello Everyone!
I bring to you Symphony #2 and I am very excited to do so! I apologize for not sticking with the original schedule, however I would rather compose something worth listening to than something that doesn't make sense.
In this piece I combine Melodies 11, 13, and 14. The melodies are not in this order throughout the piece and I'd like to keep it a secret for now. Also, you may notice a few melodies that were not part of this project. I have composed those to provide transitions from melody to melody as well as for time and key signatures.
Tomorrow I begin Symphony #3.
I hope you enjoy Symphony #2 and please feel free to comment and critique!
-Wes
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Symphony #2
Hello Everyone!
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I will be bringing you Symphony #2, the bad news is that it will not be tonight. I am at a point with this piece that I am not willing to rush through it. I would rather compose this piece to what it should be, than be unhappy with the sound and wondering what I should have done.
I plan to release Symphony #2 on Tuesday at the latest. Also, I have decided to not post a daily blog about the composition process from here on out. I have not been writing a daily for this symphony and I am finding that the creative process is better if I just dedicate it to the symphony rather than writing a daily.
-Wes
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I will be bringing you Symphony #2, the bad news is that it will not be tonight. I am at a point with this piece that I am not willing to rush through it. I would rather compose this piece to what it should be, than be unhappy with the sound and wondering what I should have done.
I plan to release Symphony #2 on Tuesday at the latest. Also, I have decided to not post a daily blog about the composition process from here on out. I have not been writing a daily for this symphony and I am finding that the creative process is better if I just dedicate it to the symphony rather than writing a daily.
-Wes
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Symphony #1 Release
Hello Everyone! I apologize for not holding up my end of composing a blog for every day of composition, however I thought it would add a little suspense for the release of Symphony #1.
This has been such a challenge. I have never composed a piece with dynamics for this many instruments, of this length, and in this short of time. I have learned a lot about composition and about myself with this project. One major thing that I have learned is that a piece cannot be given time constraints. Yes, it can be altered to meet certain requirements, but in the long run your piece will be as lengthy as you feel it should be. The song really does speak to the composer. With this being said, I am going to try my hardest to meet the 5-10 minute time that I set, but if I feel that everything is accomplished then the piece may end up being only 2 minutes long.
Another very important thing that I have learned about my style of composing is that it is a challenge for me to compose an outline and then fill in the instruments once the outline is created. I tried this style and had to scrap a lot of the outline once I started filling in the instruments. Eventually I would like to break this habit so that I can have another form of composing.
Anyways, enough of my babbling. I present to you "Symphony #1". I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do and please feel free to comment and critique this piece. I am open to constructive criticism because I would love to improve in any way that I can. Also, if anyone is interested in taking a closer look at this piece, feel free to email me at mccombsignature@gmail.com and I can provide a score.
Thank you,
-Wes
This has been such a challenge. I have never composed a piece with dynamics for this many instruments, of this length, and in this short of time. I have learned a lot about composition and about myself with this project. One major thing that I have learned is that a piece cannot be given time constraints. Yes, it can be altered to meet certain requirements, but in the long run your piece will be as lengthy as you feel it should be. The song really does speak to the composer. With this being said, I am going to try my hardest to meet the 5-10 minute time that I set, but if I feel that everything is accomplished then the piece may end up being only 2 minutes long.
Another very important thing that I have learned about my style of composing is that it is a challenge for me to compose an outline and then fill in the instruments once the outline is created. I tried this style and had to scrap a lot of the outline once I started filling in the instruments. Eventually I would like to break this habit so that I can have another form of composing.
Anyways, enough of my babbling. I present to you "Symphony #1". I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do and please feel free to comment and critique this piece. I am open to constructive criticism because I would love to improve in any way that I can. Also, if anyone is interested in taking a closer look at this piece, feel free to email me at mccombsignature@gmail.com and I can provide a score.
Thank you,
-Wes
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Symphony #1 - Composition Day 4
Hello Everyone!
I have almost completed the outline yet still getting very distracted with filling in certain parts but this is to be expected when creating an outline. Since I brought up distraction, I would like to talk a little about this when it comes to composition because tonight I have been battling this issue.
When I compose, I try to find a quiet place either in a coffee shop, cafe, or at home. Tonight I chose to go to a cafe and after 30 minutes of working on Symphony #1 I started to hear the overhead music that was playing. Once I noticed this, I began to become quite frustrated with the fact that I could not hear the next part of the symphony in my head. To most people this seems very minimal as far as disturbance goes, but when it comes to composition (and I would assume to a writer), music/lyrical music is the most distracting thing a composer can have in the background. Now occasionally it can be a rewarding distraction. Take for instance a writer who has writer's block. Sometimes listening to other artists' work is the best solution to solving your writer's block. I frequently use this technique, sometimes even revisiting past compositions of my own.
Tonight was a different story and after moving to another location it became really apparent on how much the scenery can change the outcome of whatever it is you are working on.
What conditions do you prefer to work in? Do you find that there are certain areas that are more and less supporting for your projects?
-Wes
I have almost completed the outline yet still getting very distracted with filling in certain parts but this is to be expected when creating an outline. Since I brought up distraction, I would like to talk a little about this when it comes to composition because tonight I have been battling this issue.
When I compose, I try to find a quiet place either in a coffee shop, cafe, or at home. Tonight I chose to go to a cafe and after 30 minutes of working on Symphony #1 I started to hear the overhead music that was playing. Once I noticed this, I began to become quite frustrated with the fact that I could not hear the next part of the symphony in my head. To most people this seems very minimal as far as disturbance goes, but when it comes to composition (and I would assume to a writer), music/lyrical music is the most distracting thing a composer can have in the background. Now occasionally it can be a rewarding distraction. Take for instance a writer who has writer's block. Sometimes listening to other artists' work is the best solution to solving your writer's block. I frequently use this technique, sometimes even revisiting past compositions of my own.
Tonight was a different story and after moving to another location it became really apparent on how much the scenery can change the outcome of whatever it is you are working on.
What conditions do you prefer to work in? Do you find that there are certain areas that are more and less supporting for your projects?
-Wes
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Symphony #1 - Day 3 Composition
Hello Everyone!
Tonight has been a very productive night for Symphony #1. Thanks to one of my friend's advice, I have discovered a very creative link for a few of the melodies. His description was to create a piece almost like a tree. You take the main branch, which would be the main melody, and then create little branches around this melody using the other melodies that best compliment the main and finally provide enhancements throughout the piece by using certain instruments which would be considered the leaves on the tree. I want to thank my friend for this awesome piece of advice because so far it has opened a new door to this project that I hadn't seen until now.
I find it very amazing how much music compliments life. Like the video I just released, life has a rhythm and if you look close enough music can be compared to just about everything in life. One thing my friend used to tell me was that people ride on wave lengths, some on the same wave as others. The more I dive into this project and the more that I live my life, I really find this to be a key belief that I carry. A little something I do when I am stressed out during my time on the road is to put on music that relaxes me whether it is symphony or any other genre that I am feeling at the time. If the music hits me just right and I am in big groups of traffic, I start to see a rhythm to the flow of the traffic. To some of you, this sounds absolutely crazy, but I challenge everyone that is reading this blog to give this a try. You might be surprised with the results you get.
Just 4 more days until I release Symphony #1 and I am very excited for this release and I hope you are as well!
Thank you to those who have been keeping up with this project. I really appreciate your support!
-Wes
Tonight has been a very productive night for Symphony #1. Thanks to one of my friend's advice, I have discovered a very creative link for a few of the melodies. His description was to create a piece almost like a tree. You take the main branch, which would be the main melody, and then create little branches around this melody using the other melodies that best compliment the main and finally provide enhancements throughout the piece by using certain instruments which would be considered the leaves on the tree. I want to thank my friend for this awesome piece of advice because so far it has opened a new door to this project that I hadn't seen until now.
I find it very amazing how much music compliments life. Like the video I just released, life has a rhythm and if you look close enough music can be compared to just about everything in life. One thing my friend used to tell me was that people ride on wave lengths, some on the same wave as others. The more I dive into this project and the more that I live my life, I really find this to be a key belief that I carry. A little something I do when I am stressed out during my time on the road is to put on music that relaxes me whether it is symphony or any other genre that I am feeling at the time. If the music hits me just right and I am in big groups of traffic, I start to see a rhythm to the flow of the traffic. To some of you, this sounds absolutely crazy, but I challenge everyone that is reading this blog to give this a try. You might be surprised with the results you get.
Just 4 more days until I release Symphony #1 and I am very excited for this release and I hope you are as well!
Thank you to those who have been keeping up with this project. I really appreciate your support!
-Wes
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Symphony #1 - Day 2 Composition
Hello Everyone!
Today's progress has been a little challenging and I have begun to realize that I have instruments that I do not feel contribute correctly to sections of the piece. One major challenge that I am facing is creating a bolder sound for certain melodies, without changing the melody itself. The use of dynamics by building up certain instrumental sections can help as well as altering the use of specific instruments.
It's funny to sit and think about the composition and its progress and to look back at nit picky things that bother me. I have found that I am not fond of composing for brass and that strings/choral are my high points for composing. As a challenge to myself, I will compose a brass sectional solo within the next symphony.
Just 5 more days until I release Symphony #1!
-Wes
Today's progress has been a little challenging and I have begun to realize that I have instruments that I do not feel contribute correctly to sections of the piece. One major challenge that I am facing is creating a bolder sound for certain melodies, without changing the melody itself. The use of dynamics by building up certain instrumental sections can help as well as altering the use of specific instruments.
It's funny to sit and think about the composition and its progress and to look back at nit picky things that bother me. I have found that I am not fond of composing for brass and that strings/choral are my high points for composing. As a challenge to myself, I will compose a brass sectional solo within the next symphony.
Just 5 more days until I release Symphony #1!
-Wes
Monday, April 30, 2012
Symphony #1 - Day 1 of Composition
Hello Everyone! I began the composition of Symphony #1 tonight. So far this has presented to be a challenge and also amazingly well fitted as far as transitioning the melodies together to create the symphony. My challenge lies with properly fitting the instruments that I hear in my head to the score. Even though it is easy to transfer the melody to a single line score and would seem easy to begin scoring the symphony with the outlines that I have created, it is also difficult because sometimes the instruments that I imagine in my mind do not always sound the best once written on paper.
However on a brighter note, the flow of the melodies seem to fit quite well with each other. In my mind, these melodies were almost meant to be written together.
I have composed roughly a minute and forty-five seconds of the symphony tonight and I am sure/hope that this challenge will not be the first.
-Wes
However on a brighter note, the flow of the melodies seem to fit quite well with each other. In my mind, these melodies were almost meant to be written together.
I have composed roughly a minute and forty-five seconds of the symphony tonight and I am sure/hope that this challenge will not be the first.
-Wes
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