New School Year, New Teacher

It's now about a month into the school year and I think I'm starting to get the hang of everything.  I no longer feel like I have a thousand new questions each day to ask someone about and my classes have finally gotten into a good groove and routine which makes class planning so much easier.  The best part of it all is that my principal, apparently, thinks I'm doing a great job and is being super helpful and supportive.

Not everything has been smooth sailing.  I've already had something stolen by a student.  Luckily he went around bragging about it and they found him.  He wasn't one of my students which was great to find out, but still not the best experience a new teacher could have.  On second thought, maybe it was - call it a reality check.

By the way, it is extremely true that teachers hear some of the most amazing things from their students every day.  Here's just a sample:

ME: Okay, everyone at measure 69.  Ready, go . . . (silence)
STUDENT: Wait, were we supposed to be singing?

Monday
ME: What are we going to have on Wednesday?
STUDENTS: A quiz.
Tuesday
ME: What are we having tomorrow?
STUDENTS: A quiz.
Wednesday
ME: Get out a sheet of paper and get ready.
STUDENT: Wait, we're having a quiz?

Day of Parent-Teacher Conferences
STUDENT: (to a friend) I can't talk.  I have to be good so Mr. Davis says good things about me to my parents tonight.
ME: Yes, because one day is going to make such a big difference on your record.

STUDENT: (said as fast as humanly possible) I really love music and being in orchestra and choir it's so much fun and I don't know if you knew or figured it out or if someone told you or anything but I have ADHD so that's why I have so much energy all the time and have a hard time staying still but luckily I have you first period and so I don't have as much energy then but just in case you didn't already know.
ME: Trust me, I knew.

That's just a tidbit.  Anyways, I find that I already have had to plan out the Christmas concerts and so not only have I been busy listening to all the music I can to figure out a programme but I've also had to write a couple of arrangements myself.  When you get to a point that you just desperately want to perform this particular piece but can't find a decent arrangement anywhere you decide it would be easier just to write it yourself.  It's fortuitous, really, because then if anybody else is trying to plan a Christmas concert or programme then this post is pretty timely.  Let me know what you think.  It's a pretty simple arrangement but I didn't want to do too much to it.  It's meant for a beginning choir so that's why the harmonies repeat quite a bit.  Hopefully everyone else's year is starting out just as eventful as mine!

One Sizzling Summer

This has been quite the summer so far.  First off, I have the best job in the world!  I get paid to dress like a pioneer every day and make music with some amazing people and sometimes even get paid to go to things like Fantasy Con and promote the park (hence the picture).  That was particularly interesting since I even got to add the make-up factor to my costuming.  And the people watching.  The people-watching at Fantasy Con was quite good and I was impressed with how open and comfortable everyone was.  Unfortunately some of the girls got particularly comfortable at the store located next to our booth that sold bustiers and corsets.  No comment.

Then, just to underscore how cool the people I work with are, we had a big murder mystery party, with costumes and all, and had a little too much fun figuring out why our co-worker was dead.  I love murder mystery parties!

Well, I suppose there is one thing, but it's just that sometimes I get so fatigued from being out in the sun all day that I have very little energy when I make it home.  That reflects itself in the fact that I haven't posted in a very long time, especially with music.  I try, but it just doesn't happen sometimes.  Because of that I sometimes feel like I've completely neglected this blog which is sad when the whole reason I started it was to force myself to step out of my comfort zone and compose things frequently.  Sigh.

But I've finally finished another piece!  Originally it was supposed to be a choral piece but I recorded it as a string piece and it's going to be for my musical I'm writing.  It's only about half of the song, but something is better than nothing right now and at least this time I fiddled and actually wrote my fiddlings down which means I'll be more likely to come back and finish it later.

Again, please let me know what you think and I hope everyone is having an absolutely awesome summer!  (Despite the heat.  Horrible, horrible heat lately in Utah.  Ugh.) :)

Almost Halloween!

Here it is, the day before Halloween, and I'm sitting at a computer in a lab on campus finishing yet another project.  I don't know about anyone else, but it always seems that about this point of the semester is the time when you feel like you do nothing but homework in the vain hope that one day you will be free.  Let me know if that day ever comes for any of you.

I mentioned in an earlier post how I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween, though I will admit that I agreed to go to a friend's party tomorrow and I am a little excited to go.  I wish I wasn't expected to dress up (I have this mentality on costumes: if you can't do it well, why bother?) but it should still be way fun.  Maybe I'll post a picture or two of it later, should I actually think to take any, that is.

This song has nothing to do with Halloween, however, so hopefully that's not too much of a downer for those listening to it.  It's my first attempt at orchestrating for near full orchestra (no percussion yet) and it took me ages to complete this project for my class.  It's a rendition of Debussy's Sunken Cathedral which I feel sounds amazing on piano already which made this project tricky.  Hopefully it sounds good.

There were some who were wondering about getting copies of some of my pieces, particularly the last one, so if you want any either email me or, if I already know you, message me on Facebook and I'm more than willing to give you the pdf of anything.  Thanks!

Sunken Cathedral - Claude Debussy (Segment - Arr.)

Stress Relief for the Holidays

Yet again it seems as though the holiday season is upon us.  Although I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween at least I can appreciate the time of year it rings in.  Yay, Christmas! :)

Not that everything is always so joyous and wonderful.  Just this week I failed to pass on my recital preview at university which is a major disappointment.  That doesn't mean I won't graduate because I do get to try again though I don't know when at this point, but it also doesn't change the fact that it hurt a bit.  Mostly I've been trying not to think about it.

However, I will mention one thing that I've blogged about before: how great my friends are!  As soon as I got the news my friends became the biggest support to me and it meant so much that they were there when I needed them!

With all that going on I haven't been much in the mood to practice voice quite yet so I've filled my time fulfilling an obligation I committed to a couple of months ago.  I have a friend who was recently assigned as her church choir director and she asked if I could do an arrangement of Joy to the World and O Come All Ye Faithful together and, until now, I haven't had much time to do it.  Guess what I did this week instead of practice? ;) It's been a good stress relief and I hope that I did what she was hoping for.  If not I suppose it will be back to the drawing board.  The parts are mainly derived from the LDS Hymn book and it's not anything amazing, just simple and intended for a congregational choir.  As with most pieces I post here, I'm sure this will sound much better in real life.

Joy to the World / O Come All Ye Faithful - Arr.

Mid-term Madness

You know, it's hard to find time to blog or do anything not stressful when you're in the middle of your last year of college.  Weird, right?

I am always left amused when I sit back and realise that each of my professors has the idea that, to "help" us feel less busy, they are lighter on the homework at the beginning and end of the semester and pile everything at mid-term.  As "good-hearted" as this may be, the problem is that when everyone is doing the same thing it doesn't really work as they intend.  Instead the students are left with two or three weeks in the semester in which their lives feel like they're about to unravel because EVERYTHING IS DUE AT ONCE!  The result?  One of my classes didn't happen for me on Tuesday and one assignment became ignored completely.  I am okay with this.

Even with all of this going on, Halloween is upon us.  I don't actually care for Halloween very much.  I appreciate the candy and sugar portion of the holiday, but I could live without everything else.  Especially the costumes.  There's a reason I've been a "model" and a "nudist on strike" the last couple of years.  I just don't care anymore.  Some people do and I'm so glad that they do.  They can care on my behalf.

Having said that, this song is my latest project from my Orchestration class I was talking about last month.  This time we were supposed to do a string and woodwind version of a piece from Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos.  I thought it sounded kind of creepy in a cool way so I tried to stay true to that while orchestrating.  This is the closest I get to Halloween.  Enjoy!

Mikrokosmos No. 150 - Bela Bartok (Stgs & WW Arr. Segment)

Back to School

So here we are, back to school and just a few weeks into the semester.  At least for most people.  This is my final year of school and I can openly admit that I already find myself saying each Monday morning "Three weeks down - twelve to go".  Is this a bad sign?  I'll assume not until further notice.

One thing great about school, though, is getting to see all my friends again.  I love the weirdos I get to associate with!  It doesn't make me feel normal, per se, but I do feel less conspicuous around them.  Just last night we got together just to share cheesecake and ended up laughing hysterically on the floor for hours.  It was epic!

Contrary to what has been my norm for the last few years, I actually do not have very many music classes this semester.  I don't know what to make of that.  One of my few music courses is Orchestration, something I find fascinating.  I've really been getting excited for our assignments in this class so I can play around a bit with writing for specific instruments besides piano and voice.  We're not allowed tons of creativity (i.e. this is not an arrangement class, purely orchestration) but that's okay with me since I'm still learning a lot.

This is my "final" draft of our first assignment.  It's the opening segment of Edvard Grieg's Elfin Dance for string ensemble.  I didn't do anything over the top, but I didn't really want to.  I kind of like the lightness this has.  Anyways, let me know what you think.

Elfin Dance - Edvard Grieg (String Arr.)

Also, in regards to my last post, I still would really love some stories or other such ideas from other people to help me write the libretto for my increasingly pipe dream-esque musical.  Don't want to seem pushy, just want to make a pleasant reminder.  That is all. :)

July Already?

I know I have so many avid readers that were sitting around wondering in their spare time "I wonder why Jordan hasn't really posted anything lately" and becoming very concerned.

Now that I've put my lame attempt at ego to rest, I will still apologise that I haven't tried hard enough to keep writing.  One of the reasons I started blogging was to push myself to write and produce things more frequently and actually get working on all the projects I've been making for myself, and yet that hasn't happened.  Oh, well.  At least I'm trying to get on it now.

You always tell yourself that summer will be the time that you will work on all the things you don't have time for during the school year, and yet I personally get so busy during the summer that I don't want to spend my free time doing anything except lying on a couch and vegging out after work.  I can't complain though since I love my summer job and wouldn't rather be doing anything else!

So here's something very rough I put together tonight.  I found I had some free time and finished plucking out a crude melody and accompaniment on the piano and just wanted to see what some of you thought of it.  It's going in the show "Pride" I think I mentioned in an earlier blog post and will be sung by the female lead to the male lead who is offstage.  After some tweaks I think it will be pretty good.  Thoughts?  Musings?  Concerns?  Awkward moments to comment about? :)

Someone to Watch Over You

I Finally Finished!

Somehow, at long last, after a very long week I've finished another song!  It only took me a month to finish a new piece.  Why would this take me that long?  I wrote the first two-thirds in two days.  Whatever.

How long a week, you ask?  It's no big deal.  Not like it's the second to last week of the semester and suddenly every project is due in every class.  Can't tell you how much I enjoy that.  Probably about as much as I enjoy placing a spider on my face.  Nah, that's a little harsh, maybe just gnawing off a limb.

Now all of that is done and I can focus my attentions on other things.  This isn't necessarily one of the most important things I could accomplish right now, but I'm still happy!

Again, if there is anyone reading willing to help me out so I could have a proper live recording of something I would owe you so much - like cookies or something...  If you want to read the lyrics so you know what's going on, feel free.

If I should die

Happy Easter!

If you're anything like me, you've been bombarded this week on Facebook and elsewhere in the media about gay marriage.  Don't worry, I'm not using this as an opportunity to shove even more politics down your throat, but I do have some things I want to say about this seemingly endless debate.

First off, yes I am in support of gay marriage, but life will go on regardless what the courts decide.  That's one thing I didn't mind seeing on Facebook: people simply stating their opinions and beliefs so others know.  That is perfectly fine and no one is ever offended.  Even just the red "equality" signs all around were very simple and peaceful ways to express views.

What I didn't enjoy seeing was the fighting and arguing between sides.  No one party was more guilty than another, but they worked together to bring a horrible spirit and general anguish to everyone's Facebook page this week.  I'm certain not one person wanted to post a simple declaration of belief in the morning and come back later to see two of their "friends" battling over which opinion was "right".  In what world is this okay?

To those in support of gay marriage - Please stop viewing everything as an argument waiting to happen.  Just because others do not feel the same way doesn't mean they're trying to hurt you or are filled with hate.  Accept these differences and move on.  You are helping no one's case by lashing out every chance you get.

To those in support of traditional marriage - I appreciate your views and opinions and understand where they're coming from.  You have every right to feel the way you do.  You do not, however, have the right to post comments and scriptures on your wall intended to cut down or demean those who feel differently than you.  Do not declare to all of these individuals, many your own "friends", that they are led away by Satan because they're opinion is not the same.  Do you realise just how many people you hurt and drive away?  Did you not read the LDS Church's official response to this week?  They made their stance clear but tread on no one to make it so:

"As a church, our doctrinal position is clear: any sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, and we define marriage as between a man and a woman. However, that should never, ever be used as justification for unkindness. Jesus Christ, whom we follow, was clear in His condemnation of sexual immorality, but never cruel.  His interest was always to lift the individual, never to tear down." - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints official statement

This weekend is Easter, a time we celebrate our Saviour and the amazing gifts he bestowed on us.  Even for those who are not Christians, Easter and spring still bring feelings of brotherly love and tranquility.  Have we not all done enough already to destroy that this week?  In one way or another, we are all brothers and sisters.  We share relationships with others to build each other up and feel loved and welcome, like a safe haven from a storm.  We have this world to share, but if all we want to do is bicker among ourselves how can we ever hope to get along day to day?  Christ did indeed teach love, respect, and tolerance.  Why is it we often neglect our own actions and not follow that simple, perfect example?

As an Easter gift, here is an arrangement I wrote of my favourite hymn, "In Humility, Our Saviour".  Let's remember what this time of year is supposed to be about and continue to practice love, tolerance, and kindness to all those around us.  Lift an individual, never tear them down.  Yay, Easter!

In Humility, Our Saviour

Work in Progress

This is the point where I'd usually share some interesting point of my life to tie it into what I'm planning on sharing with the world, but to be honest not much has really transpired.  My life is ever so interesting.

Anyway, I have another song that's fairly new.  Just as I was heading to bed a couple weeks ago a melody came in my head that I've tried really hard to remember.  I think I still have the majority of it there, but if you've ever been in that situation you know how annoying it can be when inspiration strikes as you're falling asleep.  I'm of the opinion that God does that just to make you frustrated that you were almost really awesome automatically and then takes it all away whilst you slumber.  Oh, well.

So, back to my story, I hurried and put together something on the piano and recorded it so I could remember it and get something solid I can have faster than what it would take to notate.  Long story short, here's a new piece for my musical that is still a work in progress, but this gives the general idea.  When inspiration strikes at my bedside again, maybe I'll finish lyrics for it.  Ha ha!  In the meantime, enjoy and let me know what you think! (But no comments about the playing - I was improvising and kept second-guessing what the next chord was supposed to be. :))

Call Me (Preview)

Surprise! . . .or Not so Much

I had a completely different idea in mind for this post until last night.  Now it's story time!

Last night we had the opportunity to sing an Anglican Evensong here in Logan which was really cool.  Afterwards I had a recital to go to then plans for dinner with a few friends.  When I arrived at my friends house they actually were throwing me a surprise party - though not so much a surprise.  I had kind of figured it out a week before that they were going to throw me a party either last night or tonight so I wasn't completely surprised by it all.  I felt a little bad because I know my friend had put a lot of thought and effort into the party, but she didn't hide things as well as she should have.  Besides, I'm kind of nosy and a little too observant sometimes.  It made my night, regardless!

I also finished this song last night.  The first half I wrote probably around 2 years ago and never finished it so I decided to try and finish it last night.  It's nowhere near perfect, but you can let me know what you think.  It may or may not be the last one for a while since there has been a computer error on my old computer and all my old songs may be lost (yeah, I'm a little freaked out about that).

So you all know, I really appreciate everyone who has been listening and giving feedback. Though I don't like to share it, music has little point if no one hears it.  I love the world! :)

Prelude in F Major

My First Pipe Dream

For the longest time I've had this dream to one day write a musical.  I've attempted a few times but nothing has ever really made it off the ground and that's why not only is my name not up on the marquee but I'm also a poor starving college student.  Something tells me such wouldn't be the case if I had made it big.  Maybe . . .

This song was really my first attempt at songwriting at all.  Well, I did some before my mission, but that hardly counts when it was bad.  I mean it: those tries were terrible!  But this one actually kind of worked.  I just sat down at the piano one day and this is what came out.  It was meant to be the overture to a musical idea I had that has since died out.  Whenever I think that I can't write anything I pull this out and remember that surely I must be able to write something of note if I pulled this off with only a basic knowledge of harmony.

I'm not going to lie, this is all rather nostalgic for me.  Do you ever have those moments when you reflect back on where you were x-number of years ago and ponder on where life has taken you since then?  I wrote this three and a half years ago.  If anyone told me then where I'd end up three and a half years later I don't think I would have believed them.  I know, everyone says that.  It's not a terribly unique thought, but it still makes you wonder.

Try it yourself.  Do you think you're happier now than you were three and a half years ago?  Would you change anything?  Any major regrets?  Anything left unsaid you wish hadn't been?  Have you grown?  Have you learned?  I can say for myself that, though I never would imagine in a million years life would take me where it has now, I'm happy.  I don't think I would change one thing in my life now, not one person, not one experience, not one heartache, because it has all made me better in some way and I appreciate that.

Okay, I'm done with my soul-searching ways for today.  Everything just got me rambling!  On with the song!

Overture in C minor

A Little 20th Century

Last semester I took my final semester of music theory which dealt primarily with twentieth century music (atonality, modes, twelve-tone, serialism, etc.) a lot like the music in this picture.  Weird, huh?  I like it!  Anyway, towards the beginning of the semester we had a composition project.  We had a lot of constraints on the project but the main thing is that it had to have a tonal centre (and mine does . . . ish . . . D dorian).  I didn't care too much about the project so I wrote the whole thing in about thirty minutes or so.  It probably would have been a lot better had I taken more time on it, but I still kind of like it.  I'm hoping eventually to write a little more music in this type of genre because, in my time at school, I've come to love it!

As a note, this is probably not for everyone since it's really weird and out there, but I'll post it anyway.

Theory Project

Choir Music!

I'm starting to feel as if all I'm preparing to post up here is really old pieces I wrote when I was just barely beginning, but I know I've come a long way and that my stuff is actually good now.  To prove it to myself I wrote this choral piece this afternoon as a challenge to myself to write something without hearing what it sounded like first relying solely on my voice leading abilities.  I'm actually a little proud of me, if I do say so myself! :)

I don't think I'll ever write words for it, so I guess I'll just call it an "invention" and leave it to be sung on "ah" or "ooh" or something like that.

(Okay, people really don't realise how much out of my comfort zone I am when I post things here.  It's terrifying!)

Choral Invention in C-sharp minor

Spirit's Rest - Piano Solo

Sometimes I feel like I'm suddenly really eager to get all this music out there, but at the same time I don't want to wait a while and prolong posting just to put up something like this piece.  It's not my favourite or best, but I still enjoy it.

Okay, here's the story:

I wrote this piano solo over three years ago before I had any sort of music training beyond the basics of song harmony.  It was Christmastime, the end of the semester was coming up, and I had no ideas for gifts for my girlfriend at the time.  Being a poor college student who feels like I have no real talents to offer, I figured I would just write her a song.  I had had bits of this melody in my head before then but this seemed like the perfect time to actually write it all down.  Great idea, right?

All in all it took me about three days to get it all finished.  We went out on a date one night, I took her to the music building to find a piano, and I played this for her and gave her the score to keep.  We ended up breaking up about two months later.  Romantic, eh?

Well, I still have this.  It's very simple and I've discovered non-chord tones since then which I love!  At any rate, I hope somebody enjoys this.

Spirit's Rest

Dan's Theme - Piano Solo

This blog is meant to force me to share some of the compositions I create.  I do it quite a bit but don't typically like to share them with people, but hopefully if I do this I will feel I have to finish projects and put them out there for people to listen and critique.  That thought really terrifies me so I'm putting myself out on a limb here!  I'll probably also likely end up using this as a sounding board, since I know many people likely will never find this and I can feel free to unleash things to the Internet!

Most of the stuff I do is more musical theatre and classical since I'm a trained singer.  These are all pieces I have in my head that I write down on occasion, but I by no means feel they are perfect.  To start I thought I'd just share one of my more recent compositions.  It's a piano piece entitled "Dan's Theme".  Maybe some time in the future I'll elaborate on the title, but for now you can just listen and enjoy (hopefully!).  This is converted from a MIDI file so there are some tempo/ritardando issues that don't appear.  Just use your imagination.  (Oh, for any that care or even know what it means, I would term this to be a sonata-rondo.  That is all. :))

Dan's Theme