Music Tech Talk

Recently I was contacted by a person/group affiliated with storytelling.  They wanted me to participate in something called a “reinvention summit,”  but I could never quite figure out why they were contacting me… Except to gain more participation in their event,  which is, incidentally, not free.  This isn’t the first “offer” I have received because of my blog, nor is it the first I have ignored.  It will likely not be the last either.  I’m not trying to be rude, but you must understand that before I endorse or participate in anything associated with my music, it will be after careful consideration.  …And it’s hard not to be influenced by correspondence with someone, especially a “storyteller”, I’ll wager.  Who knows, maybe next week I will be singing their praises, but only time will tell.

Anyway, this whole concept of storytelling has started me thinking…  I may not ‘get’ the summit thing yet, but I have been storytelling with music for a long time.  Now to be specific, there are (IMHO) several different degrees of storytelling in regard to music.  …In this case, choral music.

1.       ARRANGING – Retelling a story.  Existing text, existing music… Everyone likes it because they already know the tune.  And on that note, most people want an arranger around, not a composer… But that’s another post.

2.       COMPOSING (with existing text) – Retelling a story, but capturing its essence in an original musical format.  This method can often tap into and deeply emphasize the emotional context behind a story.  I’m sure many could argue that it distorts the original intended presentation of the text too, such as in the case of poetry.  I mean, Shakespeare may not appreciate his work being set to music.  …And while the music is original, I think a good text can almost write the music for you. 

3.       STORY-COMPOSING – Yeah, I made that up, but for the sake of terminology…  This is the composition of music, story and text at the same time.  It’s a hybrid combination of poetry,  prose and music. 

Anyway, story-music is something I have tried to develop as a concept, but have never really tried to formally construct.  I think it originated out of frustration trying to find good texts that weren’t copyrighted.  Then, I got a little sick of using public domain texts and especially of the “A” word…  Arranging.  There’s so much out there that is just being recycled, and I wanted (for better or worse) to add something completely new to the world.  I’ll be the first to admit that this is not necessarily “better,” but I can at least say that it is something new.  For example, would you rather have a rudimentary Crayon drawing on your refrigerator from your four-year-old or a collage of magazine cut-outs?  For me, I prefer the Crayon.  It may not be perfect, but I know that it was a completely original creation from the mind of my child.  I think that’s significant.

And now that I have likened my compositions to Crayon drawings…  I hope that you realize where I am coming from here.  I am hoping that a greater appreciation for truly original creation will emerge, and that in the process, my storytelling and composition will converge at a point that will also equate to high quality choral music.  I really don’t know how successful a concept this will be in the long run, but without even realizing it, I have already composed at least five pieces using this concept… Some of which, have been my most successful endeavors. 

I think this is because instead of having to fit music with text, or text with music, each evolves and transforms simultaneously, creating a perfect symbiotic relationship (at least in theory).

…And this is not just limited to notes or words.  The emotion of this music and each individual note is shaped and formed as the story is being told.  I have found that this method has often resulted in a very conversational feel for the narrative, not just a third-person perspective, but more of a first-person view of events from multiple characters.  In some ways, this seems to be most closely related to opera or operetta , only to the extent that each exemplifies multiple-character story development.  I can only hope that the final result is something that you and I like way more than opera…