What do you get if you cross a dodgy keys player, midi sounds, Logic Pro, an hour, excessive listening of Ravel and afrosounds?

A musical sketch which sounds like this: sketchy  (my bounces always end abruptly for this blog).

I know weird ennit. Gonna use it for Uchenna methinks, just so much tidying to do. Couldn’t resist the use of whole-tone scales. The oboe loop sounds wrong, will fixup. The beat underneath is gonna be a sampled kitchen appliance, or a heart beat; simply a guide for the moment. The hunt for live strings is on!

A new year, new year’s resolutions,  brand new second hand you, new diaries, new socks. Instead of resolutions I have made some determinations (kind of similar) but the process is habitual (twice daily in fact), and I am winning, I’ll share a few.

They are:

• Respect for all life (including my own)
• Respect for money
• Create lots of beautiful sounds
• Travel lots (UK and Int.)
• Be able to do a bananeira and macaco in capoeira (All about fear, because I have executed them at least once, just not on demand)

As burn out fast approaches, I’ll quickly tell you about new projects I am involved in.

1. Kismet – Through running an event as part of BASS Festival last year I bumped into two fabulous curators and creatives: Rose and Ian. Since then we decided to work on our liccle project Kismet, the team has increased now, to ‘music journalist in the training’ – Ross, Zara and Saad. We are not quite sure what Kismet is or will become; but we  know that we all share a passion for arts, culture, supporting emerging talent and being inclusive – these values will impact on Kismet. We have a fundraiser next week where I shall be DJing (amongst others) and serving fondue.
2. Working loads at Washwood Heath Technology College, piano teaching and composition workshops. The kids are truly amazing! I’m always jamming with staff, kids, sharing tunes and laughing loads. I feel very lucky.
3. Working on the marketing/social media side for a visual arts project called Kalaboration.
4. Composing for Uchenna – keep going on about it, but loving the process.
5. Devising my own composition ideas and working out how I can up-skill in this area. The dream is to do a Masters…. I picked the worst time to decide on doing this – d’oh!
6. Delivering creative workshops with primary schools in Brum – composition and ensemble.
7. Another exciting project involving film and sound which I can’t announce yet.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Reading a cool book by Twyla Tharp and this quote inspired me, she tells us Mr. Beethoven:

“was constantly switching from one skill set to another. For example, he wrote thirty-two piano sonatas at every stage of his career, early middle, and late. Years would pass when he didn’t write any piano sonatas; during those gaps, he turned to symphonies and string quartets and piano trios and concertos. He knew there was a difference between what you could accomplish on a solo piano and the music you could achieve with a full orchestra, and he reveled in the difference and used both. Switching genres was his way of maintaining his inexperience and, as a result, enlarging his art. Whenever he came back to the piano, he would bring to the keyboard everything he had learned from the trios, quartets, concertos and symphonies. That is why his thirty-second sonata, Op.111, composed 5 years before his death, breaks your heart: Everything Beethoven had learned about musical form, ensemble, and masses of sound can be heard in this last sonata.” (excerpt taken from “The Creative Habit“)

Wow! So, I’ll be writing piano sonatas from now on….

The dance commission theme is ‘Push and Pull’ – musically I am thinking about the following things:

- machines: conveyor belts, items that can be pushed/pulled; washing machines, fridges have been sampled, thanks to Leon Trimble for the iPhone mic!
- relationships: feeling of being coerced into doing or being in things/actions you hadn’t had time to really consider
- nature: elements that best depict the sensation of being forced

Here are the developments, I’ve made the score slimmer, taken out some of the embellishments. Can’t wait to see how the dancers react to this! Still have 12 more minutes to write. I think I need to go deeper and darker: being violently pulled into a situation before a dazed release. We shall see….

Have a listen: pushandpull5.1.12
I think dynamics would be a start, greater contrasts would really help this, I’d love to record some proper string players for this too. Maybe the last section of Push and Pull could experiment with form? I could end with a string quartet? Could work.

Today’s 30 min sketch, loops, playing with midi, ah, if only I could access live musicians more easily. This academic year’s challenge.

Listen with headphones or you miss the bass line – needs a tidy up. orchestralsketch

A dance piece I composed music for is being performed next month at Dance Xchange, 4th November. I’ll be sat at the back biting my nails, critiquing. Be there!

I can’t compete with Anna Hardy’s photo a day challenge, but have been writing short bits and bobs.

Here’s today’s grey cloud, cherry blossom meanderings:

29.3.11

Quite church-y at the start, maybe I’ll take it along to my rehearsal, see if we can turn it into something nice.

Been busy writing music for Uchenna Dance Company. The updated version is complete. The performance is this Friday at The Place, near Euston. I’ve enjoyed the process, it was a tiny bit stressful due to the fact we had NO time.

Dancers work in 8s, my piece was in 4, shouldn’t be hard then, multiply by 2. Think again, I scratched my head umpteen times trying to get music and dance sections to flow. My counting has improved. A musician who can’t count, yup, shocking. I think I was mesmerised by dance movement. I’d conjure sounds and ideas for the moves, oh and then, whoops, I’d lost my place! Well, I can now confirm to you dear readers, that I can count 39 rounds of 8 counts of music (78 bars of 4) without getting lost. (Should I be proud?)

I’ve had an amazing time and hopefully they’ll be more dance collaborations to come.

This is what it sounds like: lifeafterforblog
(Afro, house-y in places, electro. I’ve tried to get rid of the vocals, some randomly left in)…

What’s it about? Exploring the emotive responses of loosing someone you love.

“”You’ll think it’s silly but” is one of the most common phrases I hear from clients when they describe their working habits. Lucky gonks, magic pens, warmup rituals and bizarre superstitions are remarkably, and among creative people – and for good reason. The neuroscientists are now confirming what we creatives knew all along – that these things act as ‘triggers’ for the emotional state in which we do our best creative work.”

Thank you Mark!

Had a few months off due to dislocating my finger, but back on the wagon even if my finger is misshappen.
Really enjoying this jazz course by Monsieur Richards, had a couple of lessons with him too! An ace teacher, learnt loads

Finger is still dodgy and finally got referred to an orthopaedic clinic! My swollen joint will be inspected tomorrow! Yay!

I’m working on a school project to facilitate the transformation of a school waiting room into a retro computer gamed inspired space. Today’s challenge was to play with 8 Bit sounds (think Mario Kart/Pacman) and produce a simple loop in 30 minutes. Really enjoyed the process.

The young people chose the theme as they want it to become a fun space but inclusive of adults. They chose games ‘old people’ grew up with, yet play themselves. Students associated the room with being in trouble or where parents went to discuss important matters with school. Here’s my playtime results:
marioplaytime

“Matthew Herbert performs One DayThe restless musical innovator and the London Sinfonietta perform One Day, inspired by the 25 September 2010 edition of the Guardian, at the Southbank Centre in London”.

dy/av : 002 : the next-gen lecturer from Dan Meyer on Vimeo.

love it, want more examples of it, can relate to it.

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE – VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

via nappylikeyopappy’s

what with this week’s bad news, i couldn’t resist via pelicansandparrots

beautiful via nappylikeypappy’s

Week 7:
Monday: Practiced for a few hours, still getting my head round playing chords automatically.
Tuesday: Chris D came round and we jammed around compositional ideas.
Wednesday: Had a lesson with my new teacher and learnt loads!!
Thursday: Been practicing, properly
Friday – Sunday: Doubt I’ll get a chance back in Brum.

Someone asked me what is the 100 Hour Challenge? I quote Rachel Carter:
“Pick something about which you are passionate, which you have a deep desire to learn or to achieve yourself. It can be related to work or totally personal. Ideally it’s something you will share with the wider world. Practice, read up on, share your knowledge on your chosen challenge for at least one hour a day, every day, for 100 days.”

This week will take me to the 49th hour.

Preach it!

Kelechi Amadi Obi vs Keziah Jones from Joel Benson on Vimeo.

Found via @ Black Nerds Network

Heart Chamber Orchestra – Pixelache from pure on Vimeo.

12 classical musicians’ heartbeats (via ECG (electrocardiogram) sensors ) control in real time a computer composition and visualization environment. Fascinating!!

Summer workshops all day last week. In Brum. I suck. Yes, I do. I’d come home and want to sleep, but had planning and preparation to do. When I’m near my keyboard nothing will stop me. Sing it!