August 18, 2008
This is the second movement from Le Piano Bleu. The idea behind this movement is to let the harmonic overtones ring out from the held chords in the left hand. I will write more about the piece in general.
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July 1, 2008
Salvador y Lluvia was given its premiere on June 30 at Calistoga Pottery
@2008 Hannah Manfredi and Jesus Contreras ASCAP
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June 19, 2008
From Wikipedia:
A loom is a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. Looms can range from very small hand-held frames, to large free-standing hand looms, to huge automatic mechanical devices. A loom can also refer to an electrical cable assembly or harness i.e. wiring loom.
The working title for the piece was “Shake-n-Bake”, but Loom seems more appropriate because the way the notes are being generated. The music is mostly randomly generated notes, well almost randomly generated notes. I figured out a long time ago, in a galaxy far away (Michigan), that certain pitch-sets will retain their color and character regardless of how they are presented. These pitch-sets can be played as a chord or as a melodic figure. They function entirely independently outside of any key, even though they can be used to establish tonality temporarily.
For those of you that may be curious about the set, it is C-Db-Eb-G(0137) or in other words a minor triad with an minor second added to the root, if you want to look at the chord that way. Curiously enough that same set also generates all six possible intervals: m2, M2, m3, M3, P5(P4), TT. The P5 is considered the inversion of the P4. The interval vector is “111111″ using Allen Forte’s method in figuring the intervallic content of a pitch-set.
The music isn’t quite finished, and I may edit it some more, especially the second half of it. The entire piece was generated by using Ableton Live.
©℗2008 Mockbrawn Records. ASCAP
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June 16, 2008
Artwork by Hannah Manfredi ©2008 Hannah Manfredi
The story is about a young girl that wakes up to find herself at the top of a tree in Mexico, while still in her bed. She doesn’t know whether she is dreaming or awake, or awoke from a dream within a dream. The story is by Hannah Manfredi, who is also the voice in the piece.
Electronic Accompaniment to “Salvador y Lluvia” ©℗2008 Mockbrawn Records
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Words to “Salvador y Lluvia” by Hannah Manfredi
©2008 Hannah Manfredi All Rights Reserved.
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May 21, 2008
My first school year at Sonoma State University. It has been definitely a nice transition into academia. It has been many years since I last stepped into academia. It is a challenge to be able to teach students while trying create an environment that will allow them to be productive, on all a shoe-string budget. But what is life without challenges? I would like to thank all of my students for being great, and yet still rowdy and full of life. For those graduating, just keep clawing and scratching for every inch of success. Music is a difficult path to pursue. It isn’t like any other “job”. There are no guarantees. It will feel like, “Why am I doing this?”, or, “Everyone is right, I should just give up.” Yet, despite everything else, it is ultimately very rewarding for those that never give up. There isn’t a day that goes by that I wish I would have taken another path.
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April 18, 2008
Hikari Kage grew out of my fascination with the idea of negative space. The concept of negative space, known in Japan as ma, has been around for centuries, especially in the design of Japanese gardens. It is given equal importance in the design and is expressed by the use of gravel. I found this concept at work in the music of the great composer, Toru Takemitsu, and his attention to space. I was intrigued how silence is equally important to a given work, but seldom is given the same attention as sound. The silences in my piece are not merely there as pauses between sound events, but rather as negative sound. The spaces, or negative sound, are not predetermined but rather guided by the ear alone. Some of the spaces are not completely silent, because there is sound present. It is an attempt to create a shade of silence, if that is possible since it is technically no longer “silence”. Traditionally almost all Western music revolves around the idea of a musical theme, which is then developed or transformed, followed by some sort of return to the original theme. This concept, then, gives rise to form, with the sense of a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is not the case in many styles of non-Western music, including traditional Japanese music. It is not to say there is any change or contrast, but rather the lack of a climax within the music. Hikari Kage was electronically realized at Walford Studio using Ableton Live, a digital audio and sequencing program.
©℗2008 Mockbrawn Records ASCAP
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November 30, 2007
©℗2008 Mockbrawn Records. ASCAP
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