Play My Music: Hanging Out with the Musicians

So I was shocked to see I only blogged twice in October. I'll try to be a little more regular. You people who are trying to keep up with me deserve far more updates. (Btw, hearing about people reading this totally makes my day.)

Anyway, tonight started slow but got increasingly more fun, to my surprise. After dinner with the usual posse, I had some down time, but after a little inspiration, I decided I could try to compose around other people. Our floor is notoriously loud, but all seemed relatively calm, so I ventured out to find some other music kids. We talked and goofed around for a little while (and I found people who were willing to play my pieces), then we commandeered the lounge and haven't left yet. As I type, four people are going at it in Black Ops II, several more are watching, and I'm on my laptop. I did end up composing, and I actually ended up starting not one but two projects tonight.

I'm starting an adventure in choral/voice music - I've never written for voice before, though I have some experience singing other people's pieces. I figured I might as well jump straight into the fire, so it's four-part a cappella from the get-go. Counterpoint rules are suddenly REALLY important (contrapuntal guidelines were invented with the human voice in mind and as such are totally relevant), and I'm finding I have to go back and fix things even as I'm drafting. It's a slow process, and I have no idea how it'll turn out, but I'm having fun, and it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

The other project I started tonight wasn't something I was going out of my way to look for - I'm writing a piece for two specific musicians. (And they're going to play it for me at a composition concert! Hopefully.) It's a really fun journey; I love writing for trombone and writing for two of them is a blast, especially since the guys are really talented. I've already got about thirty seconds of music, and I'm satisfied with it (better yet, THEY like it). Ideally I'll finish it (or get most of the way there) by the time the semester's over. Inspiration for the piece was easy - they've been playing first-person shooters all night, so the song will be called One-Hit Kill. (Yes, I promise it's going to be awesome.)

Essentially, what wasn't supposed to be a major composition night turned into something spectacular - and I'm still in the company of some pretty awesome people. Yaaaay balance!
Love you all,
Megan