Blog #3

Today's class was very beneficial to me. I was having much more trouble ironing out this second piece but have already made good progress with it since this afternoon.

Firstly, hearing real instruments as opposed to midi playback had me feeling better about ideas I've been doubting for a couple of days.

My concept for this piece was to have a slow, disjunct A section - have the instruments jump around in register, filling in each other's spaces rhythmically, and just being unpredictable in general. I then wanted to have this intensify, only for the piano and vibes to suddenly come together for a brief, trance-like climax, and then to fall apart again and end the piece in the same vein that it started. I had decent ideas for the different sections, but transitional material is always the biggest challenge for me... having a couple of ideas and knowing that they can somehow work together, but not knowing how to get to and from each.

I was given the suggestion to have the instruments gradually come together as the B section approached, rather than to have the "falling apart" nature intensify - this would make for a smoother and easier transition. The idea of having something abstract and arhythmical in one instrument (perhaps solo), and then the second instrument entering with a counter-rhythm that clarifies the pulse and the feel was Dr. Ross' more specific suggestion, and has already helped me come up with some possible solutions.