Start a music commission for your program

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A music commission can be a great experience for everyone involved: the composer, director, musicians, administrators, organization, and local community. As the composer, it’s not only an amazing feeling to hear my music performed for the first time, but also to see everyone else’s excitement knowing that they played a part in creating a new piece of music.

Jon and musicians at the premiere of Who Speaks for Wolf

By using the same technology as Hollywood film composers, anyone can hear their commission before the first rehearsal.

Though a traditional music commission can be a secretive process with everyone but the composer kept in the dark until the first rehearsal or premiere, today’s music technology allows the process to be much more open and collaborative. By using the same technology as Hollywood film composers, anyone can hear their commission before the first rehearsal. [And for those who are only familiar with the poor playback quality from music notation software like Finale or Sibelius, we are talking about top-of-the-line music demos that can fool the average listener into thinking that it was recorded in a studio by a real ensemble!]

For example, let’s play a short excerpt from my Richard E. Strayer Middle School jazz commission “Finding You.” The first will be a playback from music notation software; the second will be a Hollywood-type demo where a live trumpet is overdubbed with professional music library samples.

A. Music Notation Playback (poor-quality)

B. “Hollywood Demo” (professional-quality)

Not only does the music director get a far more accurate representation of what the piece will sound like with the “Hollywood Demo,” but he can share the mp3 with his ensemble and administrators so that everyone can get involved in the process earlier.  Getting everyone involved sooner will add to the excitement of the music commission and will build momentum towards a successful premiere.

Creating a realistic sounding demo is just one of ways that I take a music commission into the 21st-Century and make the experience even more special. If you are interested in learning more about my process or would like to commission me to write for your program, please join the new music mailing list or contact me.

Create a game music loop in Logic Pro

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When programming a game music loop in FMOD, the audio should sound seamless as it loops back to the beginning of the track. This can be achieved by layering the audio tail from the end of the loop into the beginning of the loop. Without layering the audio tail into the loop, we hear music starting over and the game user might get distracted (or possibly annoyed and turn off the music) when playing the game.

To bounce a loop with the tail in Logic Pro, highlight the measures that will be looped in Cycle Mode and hit the “Bounce” icon in the arrange window. Once the bounce settings open, select “Realtime” and check “Bounce 2nd Cycle Pass” before hitting “Bounce.” Now the track can be programed into FMOD and the music will loop smoothly, assuming that the beginning and end of the loop sound similar musically.

But what if there are instruments at the end of the loop that shouldn’t be heard at the very beginning? Imagine writing a game music loop that ends with a cymbal swell or crash. It doesn’t make any sense to hear the tail of the cymbals the very first time the loop plays. To avoid hearing the audio tail the first time, bounce a version with and without the audio tail. Once those two versions are created, set up a link in FMOD where the track without the tail links to the track with the tail and only loop the track with the tail. Now the game music loop has a clean beginning and smooth transitions.

Credit: Thanks to game composer Chris Rickwood who shared this tip in LogicProHelp.com. If you’re not using Logic Pro to make loops, check out this page on “How to Create BGM (Background Game Music) Loops with Audacity.”

The Americanness of ‘Goat Rodeo Sessions’

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When I first listened to The Goat Rodeo Sessions, I couldn’t help but think about how beautifully “American” it sounded. Alan Light, who wrote the CD notes for The Goat Rodeo Sessions, accurately points out that the music “feels both new and familiar — it’s composed and improvised, uptown and down home, funky and pastoral. It is uniquely American.” I believe that this feeling of new and familiar comes from the American folk-like musical content, as well as the American spirit heard from the musicians’ performances.

The Goat Rodeo SessionsWithout going into music theory or comparing the music from The Goat Rodeo Sessions to traditional bluegrass, the listener only needs to close his eyes as the music places him in the rural parts of the US, at a hoedown, or state fair.  The brilliant music and performances of Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Edgar Meyer (bass), Chris Thile (mandolin), and Stuart Duncan (fiddle) place the listener right in heartland of America without much effort.  Not only do they depict an American setting through its musical coding, but also they capture the traditional American spirit of adventure, exploration, and freedom through their challenging parts and daring improvisations.  The Goat Rodeo Sessions should certainly resonate with those who share that American spirit, and it might even create a memory that feels familiar, but likely wasn’t there before listening.

To listen to The Goat Rodeo Sessions online, download Spotify and click here to open the album in Spotify.  I also recommend picking up the CD at Barnes and Noble, which includes those great notes about the project by Alan Light as well as two bonus tracks.

YouTube Vevo: Inside The Goat Rodeo Sessions