I really should blog about something. Perhaps tomorrow, when I’m back to my regular schedule.
Leave suggestions for topics in the comments.
Category: Creativity
Creating something every day for 365 days
Christmas Carol: Overture!
Here’s something you haven’t heard in nearly fifteen years: the Overture to Christmas Carol.
You may recall that last year, I labored for half a year to reconstitute the score for a small ensemble which never materialized. None of the original computer/MIDI files existed any more, and so I had to work from my original handwritten piano score. This was not a problem. But the overture was never written down—I composed it directly in the computer using the sequencing software EZ•Vision (which no longer exists.)
I was going to have to recompose the piece from the ground up, although I had a pretty firm idea that it consisted of the Christmas Waltz, 20 Questions, and People Like Us. Since the music I wrote last year never got used, I was gratified that I didn’t put the effort into the overture.
This year, though, I wanted my overture back. I cobbled together the opening by copy/pasting the Christmas Waltz, then pieced together the 20 Questions sequence—and then I just laid it to the side and ignored it for months. This week, though, since we open a week from tonight, I figured I’d better get in there and finish it.1
Today, I opened it up and began working, and by lunch I was mostly finished. Bits of “A Reason for Laughter” sneaked in, and I quite like that section—it’s definitely my recent style as opposed to my 20-something self. The final half is a neat orchestration of the “People Like Us” canon, and while it resembles what I remember from 20 years ago it, too, is more of my recent style.
The rest of today has been Successive Approximation all the way, as I tweaked and added and subtracted—then after premiering it at tonight’s rehearsal, I heard tons more that needed fixing. Tomorrow, I’ll probably futz with it again, but for the moment, Behold! An Overture!
Christmas Carol Overture | mp3
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1 The other impetus was that I discovered yesterday that I have to gear up and supervise the construction of almost all the gowns in the show. In a week.
Lichtenbergianism: some progress
I have been surprised at my assiduity in writing Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy.
Here you can see that I have all that I need:
- computer
- coffee
- reference works1
- Assistive Feline™
- new agey Pandora station (not shown)
Thus girded, I have written and written and written. If I have a goal of 25,000 words total, I am 370 words short of being halfway there.
I know this because Scrivener, the authoring software I’m using, allows me to track my progress. I’ve set a putative deadline of April 12, 2016, which is totally arbitrary of course, but the fun thing is that if I click the little “calculate session goal from deadline” thingie, then I only have to write like 130 words a day. Pfft. After allowing myself to revel in the idea that this is a really doable goal even for a Lichtenbergian, I turned it off and went back to a still-modest 500 words/day.
Still, today I knocked out more than 800 words, and that’s not bad at all. I may be up to 1,000 by the end of the day, should I decide to keep writing rather than making cookies for Fuzzy Labyrinth holiday sales. Or reading more on The Gift, an influential piece of work on my thoughts about creativity.
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1 I begin to realize the daunting task ahead of me in obtaining permission, even in a research setting, to use other people’s work in mine, particularly Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s aphorisms as translated by R. J. Hollingdale.
Lichtenbergianism: a realization
I was mulling it over and thinking that I want Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy to be a relatively short book. I mean, it’s not a weighty philosophy to begin with, so I’m thinking it ought to be about the same length as Art & Fear.
So this afternoon I took my copy of Art & Fear out to the labyrinth to do a quick estimation of the word count and came up with about 34,000 words.
Well.
I already have 9,800 words just from transcribing my notes from the Waste Book [Precept #4]. Without even getting started, really, I’m anywhere from a quarter to a third of the way to my goal.
Cool.
Lichtenbergianism: oy.
While on the Lichtenbergian Retreat last weekend, I may or may not have started writing Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy.
I’m using a piece of software that I’ve owned for quite a while but have never used for anything, Scrivener. Apparently while I wasn’t paying attention, it’s become a major player in the “let’s write a book” arena. So far, I have really enjoyed using it to transcribe all my notes from my Waste Book, and now as I begin to flesh the text out, I find that it’s performing exactly as advertised for keeping everything organized.
If I come up with anything worth sharing, I’ll let you know.
A short break
3 Old Men: Labyrinth progress
Take a deep breath.
I just finished the SOUTH — OUTER wall. That’s all the “short walls” done.
Which means…
But never mind that now. Here’s a photo of it in semi-action:
My poor labyrinth needs rain, reseeding, and cooler weather. In the meantime, notice the majestic way the wall marches along, especially in the furthest panels there where the stakes are the actual stakes, i..e, tall enough.
Side view:
Again, the panels on the left are being help up by the actual size tent stakes; further along the wall is being held up by shorter stakes.
I calculated yesterday that for every bolt of muslin that I split in two, I have sewn the length an entire football field in handkerchief/rolled hems. So far, that’s three football fields, with three more to go. That’s just to prep the panels so I can then pleat in the pockets for the stakes.
Likewise, I have used over 20 football fields of thread so far; that will probably end up being closer to 50 than not.
Onward!
Five Easier Pieces: No. 4, Tango
With the assistance of Abigail—all composers should have a Liquid Cat™ for their lap-warming purposes WHILE THEY’RE TRYING TO WRITE, ABIGAIL—the penultimate Easier Piece is done.
At least, I’m tired enough of it to publish it.
Five Easier Pieces: No. 4 (Tango) | score [pdf] | mp3
I keep thinking some sections need to be longer.
Horsefly Rag, Extended
Back to work
Last year I wrote “Horsefly Rag” for my friend Mike Funt, who is as far as I know a world-famous clown. At least that’s what his letters from his Asian tour indicate.
He finally got around to thinking about using the piece, now that he’s famous in Tokyo and all, and, as I thought all along, we need to add more to it to make it a viable clown piece. I had actually left an entire measure rest in there specifically for the purpose of inserting another segment before the big finale.
He felt that as well, but also wanted an introduction to bring us into the piece, or in his words, “As though the fly is just waking up and kind of stretching [and] moving into his day.” He suggested the opening of Rhapsody in Blue as something that would please him.
With that in mind, here’s our first pass at the opening:
Horsefly Rag, now with intro | mp3