A shocking experiment and some fun

My dearest tortured composer,

I write to you with the hopes that your music continues to soar above the clouds.

That a continual well of inspiration springs forth and you find a new satisfaction in your work.

But should you not, rest assured, that inspiration may only be one sweet melody away.

And today, I have some exciting resources to share that could help you write much better music.

Let us begin:

Quote I’m Pondering That Could Help With Your Dry Spell

“By breaking down what seemed insurmountable into single lines, he was able to reopen the creative channel and eventually began composing entire songs again. This happened much more quickly than expected.” 

-Rick Rubin, “The Creative Act: A Way of Being”

This is a quote from Rick Rubin’s book, and I’ve seen it work time and time again when I feel stuck.

Literally just lower the standard of what you’re working on to an almost ridiculous level.

If I’m feeling stuck or not wanting to write music, I break my daily goal down to writing just a single measure.

Give it a shot if you’re feeling stuck. The other option is to write music for just 2 minutes.

It may sound ridiculous, but do it for 7 straight day and come talk to me.

Piece of Music I’m Listening To

Schoenberg’s Cello Concerto (after G.M. Monn)

This is a fascinating piece by Schoenberg I’ve been listening to.

In this case, Schoenberg took a Cello Concerto by Georg Matthias Monn (1717-1750), an Austrian composer of the Baroque era.

Monn's original work was in the typical Baroque style, featuring a solo cello with a small orchestra and following Baroque harmonic and structural conventions.

Schoenberg reworked this piece to make it more interesting and modern.

And you certainly hear it.

It will be going along and it feels recognizable as a Baroque piece, then a little something “jumps out” that feels much more modern.

Schoenberg's reimagining of this piece involved adding modern instruments not available in the Baroque era, such as xylophone and celesta.

He used the full range of the cello, including harmonics and other techniques that weren’t used back then.

You can also hear bits and pieces Schoenberg's more modern, atonal approach to harmony while maintaining some elements of the original Baroque structure.

It also begins in a relatively conventional manner but progressively incorporates more avant-garde elements.

Worth a listen. It’s a bit odd, but an interesting lesson.

Silly and Potentially Ridiculous Idea I’m Trying

I found an incredible website that lets you do print-on-demand vinyl.

That basically means that instead of ordering 100 vinyl at a time and having to make a huge up front investment, you can only print vinyl as you sell them.

And I’ve been wanting to release an album of piano music, so I’m DEFINITELY going to do this.

And if you’re anything like me, the idea of being able to put your own music on vinyl for relatively cheap has you shaking with excitement!

I’ve had one album out on vinyl—and the first time I heard it and felt it in my hands—I basically died.

But that’s not the silly and potentially ridiculous idea…

You see this website also let’s you print out vinyl sleeves without any music on the vinyl.

So I’m going to design a album cover, create the art, create the titles of all the music…

Then I’m going to order the vinyl sleeve and blank vinyl.

And I’m going to do it all without writing any of the music.

I’m going to create the physical vinyl and sleeve and put it in a place I can see it.

Then I’m going to “color in” the music. I’m going to write the music after I can see the vinyl sleeve.

I feel like with the modern digital world, it’s easy to get lost in an infinite number of options.

With Dorico, Sibellius, Finale, or whatever you’re using, you can basically create an infinite amount of music. And even when it’s done, it doesn’t necessarily feel “real.”

So to counter that, I wanted to create the physical product I’d be making.

A vinyl only holds ~40 minutes of music. It forces you to make CHOICES. You can’t just write forever and ever.

It forces you to pick your best ideas.

As soon as I started thinking about a vinyl record, it created a “filtering effect.”

There were some pieces I’d been working on that I knew I would NEVER print to vinyl.

But could release some of these on Spotify/Bandcamp or some other digitial store? That was certainly possible.

The higher barrier to entry of printing a vinyl actually forces you to be selective with your choices.

So I’m going to try this and see what happens. If you want to try it too, I may be creating a group for this.

Where everyone creates an album cover, orders the physical copy, then writes the music after.

Some part of me thinks that having a vinyl sleeve with no music on it would really create a lot of motivation to get going. You’d just have to finish it right?

I’ll update with you on this in the coming few days…if you’re interested in this, reply and let me know.

That’s it for today. Get back to the piano!

The world waits for your music…

Luke

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