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Musical Ideas
The composer John Cage once said that the problem with improvising is that musicians only play what they know and therefore “don’t arrive at any revelation that they’re unaware of.” But improvising always reveals what the musician was unaware of; in fact, that’s its power. We want to hear the surprises that fleetingly illuminate, like… Continue reading
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Finishing Music
You sort of know when a track is done, even though it’s never really finished. The music holds together, its sounds are cohesive, and most importantly, it has an aura that you enjoy coming back to. The track may or may not be your best, yet it does something in a unique way. There are,… Continue reading
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Arrows of Attention: Twelve Musical Notes
What you’re doing is important:maybe to you, maybe to others, maybe today, or one day. Music’s claim on our attention comes from its sense of urgency. The economic worth of a piece of music is a wildly inaccurate measure of its aesthetic value. Art is a gift, so what do you want to make knowing… Continue reading
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Shaker
Tensioned—inside repetition’s slipstreamsubdividing, accenting, flowingmaking rhythm palpable hand holding shakera gesture of 16th notessemiquavers stretching into years timeline is panoramahear the other soundstheir parts come and gopoints of departure and arrival they hold long tonesbut percussion dances staccatoaround the clickin headphones hear discrepancies always slightly ahead or behindthe metronome is perfectme I’m uneven still distilling… Continue reading
