tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-206028642009-06-29T12:24:12.028-04:00Jay C. BatznerJerry Bowlesnoreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-65500074017753199192009-06-29T12:22:00.003-04:002009-06-29T12:24:12.035-04:00Once again...Once again <a href="http://xkcd.com/602/">XKCD</a> gets it right, using math instead of music to describe how I feel at times.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-6550007401775319919?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-66361813477462238282009-06-25T13:36:00.002-04:002009-06-25T13:41:23.857-04:00At least they were listeningI recently got an email from a student who compiled a list of things that I said in last semester's Orchestration class. I'm not going to dispute any of these. I don't quite remember WHY I said some of them, though. My recollections are in parentheses.<br /><br /><br />- "Write this for bassoons and it'll sound like burrito night."<br /><br />- "The high range of this is on mushrooms." (not sure, maybe oboe?)<br /><br />- "I don't generally find myself asking, 'What would Johann do?'" (as in Strauss)<br /><br />- "If you want them to be really quiet, give them rests... unless they are middle school percussionists."<br /><br />- "I don't think Stravinsky thought, 'Debussy? What crap!'" (part II of Rite)<br /><br />- "You wake up every morning and there's a new low note on the bass clarinet."<br /><br />- "The Nuclear Whales Sax Ensemble has a version of 'Fanfare for the Common Man' that will... it will make you salute."<br /><br />- "This would be layer cake... and THIS would be brownies." (overlapping vs. interlocking scoring for woodwinds)<br /><br />- "Right... and I'm gonna build a house and assume you all have a vertical leap of 8 feet and not build stairs." (assuming that performers will play whatever you write)<br /><br />- "I want you to treat these scores... like gateway drugs."<br /><br />- "Don't go above that C. Ok, the D if you have to... if it's your birthday or something." (high range of trumpet, I think)<br /><br />- "Unless you are Holst. If you get to be Holst, send me a postcard."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-6636181347746223828?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-8889166230443539962009-06-16T15:47:00.001-04:002009-06-16T15:48:23.096-04:00Pre-reviewA showed my 10-minute (actually 8 and change) opera to a friend. His comment on the tone was:<br /><br />"Godot with waffles, minus the despair."<br /><br />Yes, yes it is.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-888916623044353996?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-65624088429225642152009-06-10T11:07:00.006-04:002009-06-10T11:25:32.429-04:00Autodidact, part oneI've been asked to be a part of Richard Zarou's podcast <a href="http://noextranotes.wordpress.com/">No Extra Notes</a> which has me thinking about how I ended up where I now am. I remember what I thought I would be doing and, as it turns out, I'm not doing those things. My view of myself has been out of sync with other people's views so I've been ruminating upon why people see me differently than I do (that makes sense, right?).<br /><br />For example, if I'm known at all it is most likely in the electroacoustic music world. That is the biggest surprise. I know people who write electronic music exclusively and, while it is a healthy part of my output, it is a rather recent development.<br /><br />Or is it?<br /><br />My first serious tape piece was in 2005. Prior to that, I have always claimed that I didn't have much experience with electronic music. Turns out that isn't entirely true. I'm seeing things in my past that set me up for being who I am right now. All the experience that I've had came from my own isolated experimentations and, even when I took classes in college, I was still pretty much left to my own devices. <br /><br />In junior high I bought my first keyboard, a hunk of junk from Target, but I loved it (Casio CT-360). It had a simple recorded attached to it that would record whatever I played but didn't allow for any manipulation. I played around with that keyboard a lot, figuring out guitar licks from pop songs ("The Devil Inside" by INXS, for example) and making up drum beats and solos by rapid toggling through the rhythm beat buttons. My first musique concrete!<br /><br />In high school I made collages using a dual cassette deck. I'd take fragments from pop songs, film scores, and stand up routines and splice them together using the dubber. My sister might have the tape somewhere, I'm pretty sure I don't. The one track I remember was using the Bangle's cover of "Eternal Flame" and interjecting humorous commentary from Sam Kinison and the Dead Milkmen.<br /><br />Turns out my current tastes and methods of making electroacoustic music are still steeped in what I was doing before I learned anything about the genre. My collegiate experience with electroacoustic music was also rather "hands off" from my teachers. I'll blog about that later, along with the disclaimer that I still need to formulate. The next post might make it sound like my teachers didn't teach me anything, and that is far from the case. They taught me the most important things ever by forcing me to be an autodidact.<br /><br />Done right, shouldn't all composers be autodidacts?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-6562408842922564215?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-64660266963821369472009-05-24T20:51:00.002-04:002009-05-24T20:54:55.576-04:00Unbalanced<a href="http://www.christopherbiggsmusic.com/Site/Welcome.html">Christopher Biggs</a> just posted this video. The piece, <span style="font-style:italic;">Unbalanced, </span>is for unbalanced trs cable, amplifier, and Max/MSP. The end result is haunting and amazing and mildly disturbing. Meredith Bradford is the subject, but she is really all of us.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SamPNpE49E">Check it out.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-6466026696382136947?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-22765020804506604422009-05-20T21:03:00.002-04:002009-05-20T21:17:17.316-04:00AttachmentsMy position at UCF came to a more abrupt ending than I would have liked. While I was planning on using my office and equipment (correction, UCF's office and equipment) through the summer, I was told by the upper administration that I had to have my office packed and equipment returned on May 7th. Since I was told this late in the afternoon on May 7th, there was no way to comply. Yesterday, though, I turned in my laptop, keys, and fully vacated my office space.<br /><br />I get attached to computers. I work with them a lot and develop relationships with them after the many hours spent together. When my Performa 6320 died in 2001, I wrote a eulogy for it. My UCF laptop, a first-gen MacBook Pro, served me quite well for three years. I generated hours of music (no exaggeration, here, since every podcast episode I made was done on the thing). My most performed work to date was created on it. It had a quirky side and would manage to express its personality at the most appropriate times (like crashing twice during a job interview). Earlier this year, during the three times it had to be sent to California for new logic boards, I was pretty much lost without it. <br /><br />Tuesday, I took the install discs, zeroed all the data on the hard drive, and did a clean install. I felt a little bit like Paul seeing Millie/November with a different personality imprint on Dollhouse. It was still my laptop, but it wasn't anymore. Yesterday, I left the laptop on what was my desk, closed the locked door on what was my office, and turned in what used to be my keys. I feel a bit ungrounded and unattached. And I'm trying to move my work to my home computer which just isn't the same (MDD G4 tower).<br /><br />Anyhow, we vacate the "sunshine" state in about 10 days. I'm under deadline for three pieces, none of which are going well. My brain is having a hard time letting go, all because of a silly thing like a laptop. Of course it isn't just because of a laptop, the laptop is serving as an icon of the whole situation. I get that. Doesn't make the composing easier, though.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-2276502080450660442?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-75808771724169681812009-05-06T09:48:00.002-04:002009-05-06T10:07:26.555-04:00What I learned from teaching orchestrationMy biggest challenge this semester was developing and teaching a single semester orchestration class as an upper division theory elective. There ended up being 34 students, only 3 of them composition majors (we only have 3 comp majors). I've blogged about prepping the class, and I wanted to run down what I got out of the experience. It was a lot of work, but it was also my favorite class. We got to talk about great orchestral music and how to write it. Who wouldn't love that? Guitarists? Sure, they didn't enjoy the class too much, I suppose.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. The Kennan/Grantham is a good book.</span> There were three major choices, the Adler, the Blatter, and the K/G. I love the Blatter and have used it as my guide for about 15 years. The Adler is okay but severely bloated for a one semester overview course. I've taught from it before and I like some of the things it does but not enough to foist it upon the class. The K/G is a lean, mean, terse reference book with good practical suggestions and a CD that targets important listening. I'd happily use it again for a one-semester course, even though it puts sax and euphonium in a back chapter labeled "infrequently used instruments." K/G knows not of this thing you call "band."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. Raising the bar really makes the students work harder.</span> The class didn't do so hot on the midterm. I had high expectations and they weren't ready for it. For the final, the expectations were the same and they rose to meet them. I was happy to see it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. The Dover edition of Mahler 6 should be avoided.</span> I made the class buy 4 scores in addition to the textbook: <span style="font-style:italic;">Symphonie fantastique,</span> Mahler 6, <span style="font-style:italic;">Rite of Spring,</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">The Planets.</span> As we talked about different sections of the orchestra, we looked at how those sections were used in these very different pieces. Mahler 6, my favorite of his symphonies, turns out to have Bruckner-like issues when it comes to score revisions. The Dover is a cheap version of Mahler's original orchestration. He changed it substantially before the final version. Turns out it ONLY happens with Mahler 6. I should have done more research on this one. The score is a historical novelty to the students, not practically useful the way I had intended.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. Some students just won't do the work and I can't help them.</span> It really isn't my fault if you see a score excerpt from Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto and label it as Debussy's <span style="font-style:italic;">Prelude on the Afternoon of a Faun.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. I love talking about music.</span> The last month was spent going over the basic concepts of orchestration (not instrumentation) and playing examples. I wish I had a document camera in my classroom (or a projector of some kind) because you can't get 34 people (or the 17 that usually showed up) to crowd around miniature scores. I stressed the idea of orchestrating dynamics and accents. Some of them really got into it.<br /><br />I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to teach such a course again. My new job at Central Michigan University is focused on music technology and electroacoustic composition. There is still a lot of orchestration to talk about in electroacoustic music, but CMU has plenty of composers to talk about the acoustic side of the story. At any rate, I learned more from this class than my students did, I'm sure. Some things I won't change if I teach it again, some things I will. We will just have to wait and see.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-7580877172416968181?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-50575717357931060272009-04-30T08:24:00.002-04:002009-04-30T08:27:22.981-04:00CuresTen years ago I went to the Czech-American Summer Music Institute and studied with Ladislav Kubik for three weeks. I was reminded last night of a Czech saying that he told me in a lesson: "Silence cures." It couldn't have been more appropriate than it was last night. My piece was really on the verge of being good but lacked something. Silence was the cure.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-5057571735793106027?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-23253869105718794962009-04-28T13:07:00.002-04:002009-04-28T13:17:11.256-04:00JustThis month I turned 35. That makes me ineligible for many calls for scores and many would see this moment as if my palm was flashing red. There is this idea that if you aren't already famous by the time you are 35, you ain't gonna be. Whatever. Having been born in a fly-over state, spent most of my maturation period in fly-over states, and received most of my education in fly-over states, it seems that the fame deck is stacked against me anyway. Why should it matter how old I am?<br /><br />But that is not my point. It occurred to me that most prefixes that were commonly ascribed to my compositional status are now null and void. I haven't been a "student" composer for a few years. Now I get to cast aside the moniker "young." I suppose "emerging" still works, but I must say that I take great pride in just being a composer. All I have to do is be who I am, write what I write, and the rest will take care of itself.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-2325386910571879496?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-27064159329047132592009-04-21T07:55:00.002-04:002009-04-21T08:02:44.950-04:00SEAMUS vs. NASCARThe rest of SEAMUS went well, some great pieces and great performances happened on Saturday morning. I had university obligations that prevented me from hearing the Saturday afternoon and evening concerts, but all in all the whole weekend went extremely well.<br /><br />It strikes me that there is a similar urge between electronic musicians and NASCAR fans. We secretly want to see crashes. We enjoy it when the technology does what it is supposed to do, but we also have a sick fascination with seeing/hearing wreckage strewn about the arena. Sometimes it might be schadenfreude. You don't like the piece and therefore you rejoice when it goes poorly. Or you think the composer is a hack and then their electronics implode and you secretly enjoy it.<br /><br />I think the more generous idea is watching the battle of art vs. technology. These two forces are not always on the same page yet we try to harness one for the other. Sometimes tech is the perfect pairing for our art. Sometimes tech fights back and that struggle is worth watching. Who will win? The art or the tech? As musicians, we are entranced with the struggle that yields art's creation. It is sad when Max/MSP takes a composer to the wall and leaves their composition a flaming pile of audio carnage. When they composer can max out the tech, push the barrier beyond safety but STILL be able to make good music, that is the transcendent moment we want.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-2706415932904713259?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-76057238687818734682009-04-17T23:04:00.004-04:002009-04-17T23:26:37.369-04:00My First SEAMUSWell, I'm at my very first SEAMUS. It was an interesting day. The whole thing is being held in scenic Fort Wayne, IN, at the Sweetwater central facility. It is a lot like the Google workplace, but smaller and with audiophiles running around. Neat.<br /><br />I flew in this morning about an hour before my sound check. Scratch that, two hours before my sound check, but one hour before my sound check was scheduled. It seems to be traditional that SEAMUS concerts are both long and behind schedule. I have talked to many SEAMUS vets and they corroborate this trend. It doesn't really bother me, since I strive to be a patient person. What is unfortunate is to only get 3 minutes of tech time when someone else got about 40. Luckily my piece was low on complexity and we were able to get things started and checked in, like I said, 3 minutes.<br /><br />My piece for flute and tape, Mercurial, was on the early afternoon concert. <a href="http://www.lisabost.com">Lisa Bost,</a> my performer, did a fantastic job. She drew out shapes and gestures in my work that I didn't know existed. That was all kinds of awesome. I got a few people telling me "great piece, lousy program note." I concur and will revise said note. And, even more important, find more venues for Lisa Bost. She plays a lot of great music for flute, is a devotee of the alto flute, so if you have, say, a 45 minute solo alto flute piece, she might want to see it.<br /><br />The concerts all sound good, lots of good equipment and skillful tech hands. The quality of pieces is your typical "some great, some not, most are okay" blend that festivals like this seem to draw. Tomorrow is, as a woman once said, another day. I can go to two concerts before having to catch my plane. If anything of interest happens, I'll jump up and tell you about it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-7605723868781873468?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-38245901855817686142009-04-01T13:09:00.004-04:002009-04-01T13:17:08.310-04:00Some foolin'I couldn't resist pulling some gags on my students today. In theory class I told them we were going to do some sightsinging and promptly put up <a href="http://www.sequenza21.com/superscripto.PDF">a page from Superscripto.</a>. I gave them the starting B-flat and told them to watch out for the 2/12 time signature in the second measure. They panicked slightly, then realized it was a joke.<br /><br />I ran out of time, but I was going to pull the ultimate theory student prank. We shifted to melodic dictation and I was going to play different subtle versions of the melody on each repetition. First in major, second in minor, third with some note tweaks, fourth on a different starting pitch, etc. Next year I'll manage time better.<br /><br />Lastly, in Orchestration, I rickrolled my class. We were talking about percussion writing and I used an excerpt from Scheherazade. I know, I know, Rickrolling was last year, but it was the best I could do on short notice. The class appreciated it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sequenza21.com/OrchRickRoll.mp3">Hear it for yourself.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-3824590185581768614?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-90224258567069769202009-03-31T14:02:00.002-04:002009-03-31T14:04:55.515-04:00No foolin'Tomorrow is the 60x60 Radio Request Extravaganza Blow-out-palooza! Call and request your favorites! Or call and request my pieces, whichever you prefer.<br /><br />Here are the details:<br /><br />The 60X60 RADIO REQUEST EXTRAVAGANZA will air on Afternoon New Music Wednesday April 1st, 2009 between 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time <br /><br />Afternoon New Music is on WKCR 89.9 FM New York in Manhattan (the heart of New York City) and is being hosted by Anne Cammon<br /><br />Live Internet broadcasts at WKCR can be heard at the following link: <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/netcastload.htm">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/netcastload.htm</a>l<br /><br />During the show please call in or email. (best to email a little before) Our goal for this show is to have interviews with some guests in regards to the 60x60 project as well as air phone calls, as well as broadcast some other 60x60 highlights.<br /><br />The Telephone Listener Line is (212) 854-9920 for phone requests. The email address for request is Robert.Voisey@gmail.com<br /><br />I will be checking my gmail account for email requests before the show. That address is Robert.Voisey@gmail.com Use the gmail account for the radio request extravaganza ONLY. All OTHER MAIL should go to Vox Novus at<br />robvoisey@voxnovus.com.<br /><br />There is a web site with information about WKCR, Afternoon New Music at: <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/newmusic/load.html">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/newmusic/load.html</a><br /><br />If you have any questions, please let me know. I look forward to hearing your request on the show.<br /><br />RobVoisey@VoxNovus.com<br />60x60 Director<br />Living Music Foundation Vice President<br />Founder of Vox Novus<br />http://www.VoxNovus.com<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-9022425856706976920?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-52960106329292450052009-03-26T08:41:00.003-04:002009-03-26T08:56:48.350-04:00April 7th and 8th at GalapogosRob Voisey and the Vox Novus All Stars are at it again:<br /><br />"At Galapagos on Tuesday April 7th 8:00 PM (CD 2006) and Wednesday April 8th 8:00PM (CD 2007) Galapagos is a fabulous venue and the dancers just take the whole thing over the top. It is going to be a wild show. I hope you can make it. It will be kind of a fundraising event. ($10 suggested donation) and we will be selling t-shirts and CDs. Please tell all your fans, friends, family, press."<br /><br />For a list of what is going on each night you can go here: <a href="http://www.voxnovus.com/60x60/2009_Dance_CD_Mix_Galapagos_Tuesday_Night.htm">http://www.voxnovus.com/60x60/2009_Dance_CD_Mix_Galapagos_Tuesday_Night.htm</a><br /><br />or here:<br /><a href="http://www.voxnovus.com/60x60/2009_Dance_CD_Mix_Galapagos_Wednesday_Night.htm">http://www.voxnovus.com/60x60/2009_Dance_CD_Mix_Galapagos_Wednesday_Night.htm</a><br /><br />My own humble Bad Villager (the sound of a piano falling off of a truck) will be Wednesday night. Just in case, you know, you might have a preference.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-5296010632929245005?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-43799055182533693332009-03-24T19:19:00.002-04:002009-03-24T19:27:11.449-04:00Little Einsteins vs. the MilitaryMy daughter turns 4 next week. One of her current obsessions includes Little Einsteins which is, I must say, not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. Daria is a lot more interested in my CD collection now that she knows I have music from the show. Will it do the kind of cultural damage to Daria that my parents' Hooked on Classics albums did to me in my youth? Time will tell.<br /><br />What I was struck by today was the recurring villain Big Jet. Big Jet is a large (duh) blue F-16 type fighter plane. He shows up and causes all kinds of trouble for the 4 kids. In an episode we watched today, Big Jet stole the kids' Show and Tell stuff (musical instruments, dancing shoes, a microphone, and a baton). The kids had to chase Big Jet down and get their stuff back. In other episodes, Big Jet cheats and damages the kids' missions. Finally, I put something together: the villain of these 4 art-driven kids is an anthropomorphic military vehicle. Arts vs. Military is played out in almost every episode.<br /><br />I like the show more now.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-4379905518253369333?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-21097892327291358762009-03-18T08:05:00.003-04:002009-03-18T08:14:42.256-04:00Mark SnyderLast night, <a href="http://www.marksnyder.org">Mark Snyder</a> did his one man, three instruments, one laptop, and a video projector show on campus. The concert went well, Mark is a good guy and easy to work with, and it was fun just hanging out with him for a few hours.<br /><br />Mark's music uses a lot of live electronics and video but the musical language is very straightforward and tonal. It is a great mixture, in my opinion. Some students around here are put off by anything electronic (other than in pop music, which seems odd to me) but Mark's style is very approachable and ambient. And, like I said before, dripping with tonality. Most people I know who work with complex computer interfaces deal in abstract atonality as well. It was refreshing to be reminded that the two things don't have to go together.<br /><br />The ambient nature of Mark's music got me thinking. I think his direction is one that makes sense to me. I should try a similar approach, make it my own, and see what happens. <a href="http://www.marksnyder.org">Go to his website</a> and check out the video pieces <span style="font-style:italic;">Harvey</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Alluvium.</span> You'll see what I mean.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-2109789232729135876?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-714949261510461532009-03-14T20:17:00.002-04:002009-03-14T20:23:01.124-04:00Not knowingI forget how useful it is to sometimes proceed from a place of "not knowing." I feel like a lot of the music I wrote when I was younger had an energy to it that I've not been able to reclaim. Once I started studying harder, applying more theory to the creative process, I found my music more structurally defensible but emotionally lacking (and, to add frustration to the mix, I didn't know that I was craving emotional outlets in my music. That made things a lot worse). In other words, I could explain my music more but I liked it a lot less.<br /><br />Over the past few years, I've been trying to write without theory. When I'm stuck, when I need to see what I should do next, I'll do some analysis and see what it suggests to me. It has been a lot more fun and created much more satisfying music (to me, anyway. Some people might prefer things from my theory days. Can't control that).<br /><br />And now, to apply the same "not knowing" philosophy to my fantasy baseball draft. I doubt it will be as successful.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-71494926151046153?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-33329115671518021142009-02-22T14:03:00.002-05:002009-02-22T14:16:26.754-05:00Why'd it have to be disco?It is better if you read the title of this posting as if you were Indiana Jones looking into the Well of Souls for the first time.<br /><br />Anyhow, my daughter Daria is clearly becoming her own person. While visiting relatives a few weeks ago she watched <span style="font-style:italic;">Mamma Mia</span>. Now she is obsessed with the music. She wants to listen to the soundtrack all the time. I actually bought the ABBA Gold collection from iTunes, but she won't listen to that. She doesn't like that version, she just wants the soundtrack version.<br /><br />Daria likes Pierce Brosnan's singing? We waive that point. We do not press it. We look over it. There are bigger issues at stake: <span style="font-weight:bold;">my daughter likes disco.</span> She was exposed to the Village People while at the YMCA (she goes there a lot, you see) and she could also listen to <span style="font-style:italic;">Celebration</span> by Kool & the Gang on an infinite loop.<br /><br />I guess this is good, right? She is more diverse about music than she is about food. She enjoys the Aquabats, TMBG, anything musical theater/light opera, as well as the cheesy tweenie pop things from the Tinkerbell movie. She also likes electroacoustic music (she calls it "open door" music but that is another post). <br /><br />She is only 3 (will be 4 in April). There are worse things, right? I need assurances. Tell me this is just a phase. And just how mad should I be at my sister for enabling the addiction?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-3332911567151802114?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-61692282344622961212009-02-17T08:20:00.006-05:002009-02-17T10:07:19.400-05:00Concert tonightIf you are in Orlando, and you probably aren't, I'm curating another electroacoustic concert at UCF tonight. Things kick off at 8 PM in the Rehearsal Hall. Here is the program:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Welcome to Medicare</span> by Mark Wingate<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">?p?x ? h/4?</span> by Mike McFerron (the title doesn't display correctly when the blog is published, even though it looks fine in the preview. Oh well.)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Friction</span> by Jason Bolte<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Marimbella</span> by HyeKyung Lee (Jamila Tekalli, piano)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Pente</span> by Denis Smalley<br /><br />I go for a certain amount of sonic variety since the genre is so diverse. Wingate's piece is incredibly funny, entertaining, and extremely well crafted. McFerron's work is ebullient and rhythmic (and available on iTunes). Bolte's composition is powerful, noisy, and uses spectrum and space in amazing ways. Marimbella is simple and pretty. Smalley's work is, to me, epic. It is one of the greatest tape pieces I've ever heard. If I'm not careful, I'm going to have <a href="http://www.sequenza21.com/2008/11/choke.html">another choke moment</a>. So very beautiful.<br /><br />Anyhow, come if you can. If you can't, I understand. You'll be at the next one (March 17th).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-6169228234462296121?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-78827250322314867192009-02-13T08:16:00.002-05:002009-02-13T08:26:39.640-05:00I'm such a nerdWhen I woke up this morning, I didn't know today was going to be <a href="http://coolepochcountdown.com/">1234567890 day.</a><br /><br />But it is. And I'm going to celebrate.<br /><br />This actually reminds me of what got me interested in electroacoustic composition: Negativland. Back when I was an undergraduate, a friend of mine played "Time Zones" for me off of Negativland's <span style="font-style:italic;">Escape from Noise</span> album. I Instantly loved the track and everything about the album. You should go hear "Time Zones" if you haven't heard it already. The whole album is on iTunes so you can hear it today. Right now. I'll wait. <br /><br />That album taught me what you could do with recorded sound. I knew I wanted to do <span style="font-style:italic;">that</span> but had no idea how. When I look back, I can see how Negativland shaped my interest in electroacoustic music. Some 15 years later, I'm a little closer.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-7882725032231486719?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-5965810888222104062009-02-05T10:13:00.002-05:002009-02-05T10:24:48.803-05:00Important AnnouncementWhile the blogs here are all music oriented most of the time, I felt the need to fill you all in on another important facet of my creative output.<br /><br />Last night, I bottled my Honey Brown beer. In two weeks, it should be drinkable. It has a mild sweetness to it and just a little hop bitterness. The style is a bit like the Dundee Honey Brown but not nearly as cloyingly sweet and soft.<br /><br />It feels good to make beer again. I brewed a batch before moving to Florida in 2006 and didn't brew again until December of 2007. Florida was too hot for yeast fermentation without refrigeration (and my Kelvinator broke down before the move). I bought a used Keg-o-rater which is perfect - perfect, I say, for my beer brewing needs. It is just the right size and it has a tap on the top. I don't keg my beer yet but I will soon.<br /><br />I've missed my hobby. I'd been without a hobby for a long time and it was really starting to bug me. Music can't be the ONLY thing I do. Now I'm back in action and stimulating the economy with purchases of beer ingredients.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-596581088822210406?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-12619500911364262252009-02-03T15:36:00.002-05:002009-02-03T15:38:40.080-05:00Mnemonic ChallengeI challenged my class for a mnemonic device yesterday. After 15 seconds, a student said:<br /><br />"Don't cry, baby, everyone forgets geometry anyway."<br /><br />My question to YOU, dear Internet, is this:<br /><br />What does this mnemonic device help you remember?<br /><br />I might even scrounge a prize for the first correct answer. Might.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-1261950091136426225?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-90322037225412749062009-01-30T20:31:00.002-05:002009-01-30T20:56:03.082-05:00EnablerI see one of my duties as a composition teacher is to promote and encourage curiosity. I'm at odds on how to do that. I want my students to go out (with gun and camera as my undergrad comp teacher used to say) and find music. I want them to take in anything and everything. I want them to expose themselves to the diversity of styles and philosophies present in today's modern music landscape. More than that, I want to ignite unquenchable fires within each student and get them passionate about this wide world of musical style.<br /><br />I give my students names of composers, mostly living, that they should check out and listen to. I loan CDs, show everyone the magic of Interlibrary Loan, and function as a PR person for whoever I think my students need to listen to. Sometimes I feel like an infomercial for <a href="http://artofthestates.org/">Art of the States</a> and <a href="http://www.nonpopmusic.com/">Nonpop Music</a> and <a href="http://www.counterstreamradio.com/">Counterstream Radio</a> and <a href="http://www.live365.com/stations/kylegann">PostClassic Radio</a>.<br /><br />My biggest fear, though, is that my proselytizing backfires. Instead of seeking the materials themselves and finding their own influences, they just take what I give them and it ends there. I become the single source. In some ways, my pedagogy seems like a drug dealer. "Psst, buddy, you want a good time? How about a little Julia Wolfe? Michael Gordon? What about Peter Sculthorpe? A little Rautavaara will fix you up nicely." Instead of my clients using me as a springboard for their curiosity, they think all roads of contemporary music come through me somehow. I want them to branch out and I'm not sure I'm being effective.<br /><br />If you are reading this, you probably know how it goes. You listen to a piece by a new composer (or new to you, anyway). You like it. You yearn for more and you scour the planet getting more. Then, it isn't enough. You start listening to music by people who collaborate or associate with that original composer. The web builds. Connections are made. You discover stylistic things that you didn't know existed before. They start to manifest in your own music. First it is intentional, sure, but eventually you can't help it. You look back, now that you sound like a love child of everyone ever associated with Bang on a Can, and realize that your journey started just because some guy named David Lang won the Pulitzer and you'd never really heard any of his music before. And only a year ago you were sounding like Rachmaninoff. How did you get here?<br /><br />It's a rush.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-9032203722541274906?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-39234718103773517252009-01-15T15:38:00.003-05:002009-01-15T15:46:20.791-05:00Top ComposerI have become a fan of the reality shows on Bravo. The ones that require you to DO something in order to get ahead. I like Top Chef, Project Runway, hell, I even watched the hair cutting one this summer. What was it...Sheer Genius. What I enjoy is watching people be creative in areas that I don't full understand.<br /><br />Take Project: Runway. Look at that picture of me on the side. What do I know about fashion? Clearly, not enough. So I like seeing what people do when they are in a restrictive environment and how they come up with solutions. More than that, I like hearing the judges critiques. It is interesting when something I think is ugly is praised for various reasons. What the judges see and how they articulate their pleasure/disgust is very informative to how their brains work.<br /><br />Naturally, I want to be on Top Composer. Not that such a show will exist. First of all, not that many viewers are going to tune in. Sad to say, we composers aren't much of a draw for Prime Time. There are many other reasons the show wouldn't work. You can't really watch people do it in the same room. Could you imagine having 10 composers trying to write a piece in 2 days, all sharing a studio? Come to think of it, that could be good television right there. Also, the viewer can't really experience/appreciate the final form. We can get a sense of a plate of food, see a dress and a haircut, but it takes too much time to experience a piece of music. Unless the pieces were insanely short each week and that would get stale.<br /><br />But still, I can dream. If Bravo wants to do Top Composer, I'll apply. I'd try to be the villain, but I'm too much of a marshmallow.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-3923471810377351725?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602864.post-38194807054126095832009-01-08T14:23:00.002-05:002009-01-08T14:34:23.399-05:00Learning from my mistakesI find old plans and harmonies scattered among scraps of staff paper. It seems that, after failing to produce music with these plans and ideas, if I let them sit and steep for about 3-5 years, I can make something good from them. The other day, I was playing this chord and really liked it:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/right-724540.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 46px;" src="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/right-724536.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A nice, proper, 12-note chord made of tetrachords, something to make the theory folks happy. But, then I realized that I was playing the chord wrong. I was really playing this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/wrong-707772.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 48px;" src="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/wrong-707769.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />So I was hitting D and F-sharp in the middle of the chord instead of B and D-sharp. To my ears, though, it made a huge difference. The first chord, the "right one," was not without its charm. There was something unmistakably better about the "wrong chord." The asymmetrical nature of the chord, the slight variance in an otherwise dull pattern, made the chord substantially more vibrant to my ears.<br /><br />I took out some of the redundant notes and got this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/better-717903.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 47px;" src="http://www.sequenza21.com/uploaded_images/better-717901.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Essentially, F-sharp minor, G minor, F minor, with an E left over.<br /><br />This proves that I am learning from my mistakes. They are often better than my intentions. Now we'll see if I can make something worthwhile out of this or if it needs to sit and soak for another 3 years.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20602864-3819480705412609583?l=www.sequenza21.com%2Fbatzner.html'/></div>Jay C.Batznerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05909986447798278943noreply@blogger.com0