Greg's Gazebo

[ibanezmonster]

Ha, yes, a month-long break was taken. 

And very gladly have found an inspiration to start writing again- scrapping the beginning of the last movement and rewriting it. Now, it opens and builds on my variation of the melody in this video, at 1:04.


http://www.youtube.com/v/oDfqCNgeHTU

I've been playing Final Fantasy 13 and am surprisingly impressed at the music, but had that fragment stuck in my mind. That sublime, calm, crystalline feeling...
I think my version is varied enough from it to not be considered copyright enfringement, hopefully. 

[ibanezmonster]

Done with everything but the 3rd movement now, of which I have 2 1/2 minutes written. I think this one might be 6-7 minutes long, though.

[Karl Henning]

Glad to see some activity here!

[ibanezmonster]

MP3 is done and ready!

I'm going to try to get the score done tomorrow, since I'm basically putting everything aside so I can get this done.
I'll post them together, with a summary of the movements, hopefully, tomorrow...

(Turned out to be 36 minutes long)... 

[ibanezmonster]

op.10 Hyouka

Here's the mp3 and pdf files.
Score is a bit sloppy, I know... I rushed.
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/t1dfyr76sdw8g/op.10_Hyouka

I Library
This is where the club members first meet: Oreki, Chitanda, Fukube, and Itara. It starts off with a crab canon, of course inspired by Bach; however, the effect is more about atmosphere than technicality.

II Clubroom
Where the club meets after school. It starts off in a very odd 11:10 (eighth note) rhythm in 4/4, which is like a melody that is slightly staggered. Then semi-jazz breaks out. A mystery is told, which leads to Chitanda's joyous catchphrase, "I'm interested!"

III Chitanda's House
Chitanda lives in a huge farm mansion that is completely isolated from any other houses. The music captures that and more.

IV Mystery
Both mysteries involve some sort of technical trick. This one, after the low, rumbling clusters, is something you'd have to figure out after looking at the score.

V School Festival
The first part represents Chitanda dashing madly during the festival, trying to arrive at her destination but being distracted several times. I constructed the main line using two interlocking patterns that lines up after the 4th time. The second part represent Oreki's waiting, staring out the window, surrounded by the magic of the festival.


VI Another Mystery
The trick here is pretty much observable just by listening. The two lines that are repeated between the right and left hands don't line up, so they create something new through repetition. Meshuggah made me do it.


VII The Future
This is when Chitanda and Eru are walking home, and Chitanda hints at a possible future with him at her farm. The music is probably better for a snowy scene (which it isn't), but oh well. Like I mentioned above, inspired by Final Fantasy 13's "Serah's Theme," which I believe uses the same two-chord progression as something by Satie (Gymnopedies?).


If anyone wants to know the timings of the movements, let me know... otherwise, there is always the score to look at.

[ibanezmonster]

Has anyone listened to this yet? I know it's long, but I probably won't even be writing anything (or just very little) for the next 2-3 years.

Riveting thread, isn't it? One work a year for 2 years, then a planned 2-3 year hiatus. 

[Mirror Image]

You should orchestrate it, Greg. Of course, as an orchestral addict, I would write that. I did listen to about 10 minutes of it and it sounds quite nice. It would be nice for a pianist, however, to weigh in on this though.

[ibanezmonster]

You should orchestrate it, Greg. Of course, as an orchestral addict, I would write that. I did listen to about 10 minutes of it and it sounds quite nice. It would be nice for a pianist, however, to weigh in on this though.

Thanks for listening to it.
There are some parts that might sound better orchestrated (I do prefer orchestra overall), but I think most of it sounds better and is more suited towards piano. I wouldn't have the time to do an orchestration, but if someone heard it and said they could do it, I'd be very interested how they'd pull it off.
You should try listening to the rest; a pretty good bit of variety in there, though maybe not in the same way as Schnittke. 

[ibanezmonster]

I'm thinking of just abandoning titles with traditional forms... so my op.2 String Quartet I might rename. Also, I have more specific ideas about three pieces I want to write.

op.1 Musical Portraits
op.2 The Gold Saucer
op.3 Ubloobideega
op.4 Blather Lather
op.5 The Bend of Time
op.6 We'll C
op.7 Under Lucid Skies
op.8 Prokofiev's op.88
op.9 Phantom Travels
op.10 Hyouka
op.11 Hinamizawa
op.12 Squall's Dead
op.13 Serial Experiments Lain



op.2 The Gold Saucer is named after the unforgettable "Gold Saucer" area from Final Fantasy 7. Movements are:
I- Entrance
II- Sephiroth Clone
III- Chocobo Race


op.10 Hyouka- renaming the "School Festival" movement to "Kanya Festival"

op.11 Hinamizawa- a solo acoustic guitar piece, named after the village in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

op.12 Squall's Dead- An orchestral work about the theory of Squall having died in Final Fantasy 8 after the battle with Edea, most of the game being his dream, or his own "Final Fantasy."

op.13 Serial Experiments Lain- An orchestral work with noise tapes, double bass drumset and several 8 string electric guitars. Probably 8-10', and my whole goal would be to make this the most brutal and crazy music ever.

[Karl Henning]

Thinking of any new pieces?

[ibanezmonster]

Thinking of any new pieces?

Yep. Thinking of op.11-13. Writing... will be another story for a while.

[Karl Henning]

Well, you're thinking, and that's good. It starts with thinking 

[ibanezmonster]

Couple of thoughts:

1. I will have to rewrite the 3rd movement of Hyouka (the Chitanda's House movement). That was the one that I rushed, and honestly I knew all along that I'd have to rewrite it but just never got around to it. Too fragmented and needs better phrasing in some places. The ideas are golden and the movement definitely has great potential for beauty, but rushing it (it was the last movement I finished and forced myself to complete several minutes of it within a day) is what is preventing it from its full potential. Listening to it is like reading a writer with great ideas who can't write. Just needs editing... sometime...

2. The "School Festival" movement from Hyouka is renamed to "Kanya Festival," if I didn't mention it.

3. op.1 Musical Portraits is yet AGAIN renamed, this time to "Kefka." Musical Portraits sounds bland and after playing Final Fantasy 6, Kefka had to be honored somehow in my music.  It's evil clown ruler music, after all!   
(this must be the fifth time I've renamed this piece lol)

[ibanezmonster]

Couple more thoughts:

1. Maybe it's more than just the 3rd movement that needs rephrasing, but WOW! That main melody melody in the last movement is something else. Definitely needs touching up, but that energy during the buildup at the beginning... 

2. I've been experimenting with composing in my head since right now I have no time to compose. I can write and memorize easy stuff, but complex stuff... 

[Karl Henning]

Step by step.

[jochanaan]

Step by step.

Gradus ad Parnassum.

[ibanezmonster]

My opus list may end up looking more like this in a few years:

op.1 Kefka
op.2 The Gold Saucer
op.3 Ubloobideega
op.4 Blather Lather
op.5 The Bend of Time
op.6 We'll C
op.7 Under Lucid Skies
op.8 Prokofiev's op.88
op.9 Phantom Travels
op.10 Hyouka
op.11 Serial Experiments Lain (concept stage)
op.12 Squall Is Dead (concept stage)


Those two pieces are sticking in my mind. If I could only write two musical pieces for the rest of my life, I'll make them those. I'm not feeling that "Hinamizawa" piece I was considering writing... I guess I never was really up to writing a solo acoustic guitar piece.

As for Serial Experiments Lain, I changed my mind about it being orchestral- I would make it instead solo electric guitar + recording. Still 8', still would make it absolutely insane. May take a very, very, very long time to even get the knowledge needed to make the sounds I'd like to make, plus time to refine exactly how it would be formed.

As for Squall Is Dead, that is still a working title and I'm not even sure of how I'd organize the movements. I'm not sure yet whether it would be completely orchestral or be a concerto for guitar, or perhaps a guitar concerto in just one movement while the other movements are simply symphonic.

Yeah, expect these in... about 4 years. 

[ibanezmonster]

http://www.youtube.com/v/MagDl_19mIM&feature=em-upload_owner
A better-sounding version of my opus 1 uploaded by Fred Edwards. 

[ibanezmonster]

Believe it or not, I have finished writing an op.11. It's called "Chains of Promathia" (named after an expansion pack for Final Fantasy 11). There's a twist: it's a metal instrumental. 

I used Guitar Pro 5 to create the score. Now it's just a matter of recording: first going to record the drums in FL Studio and then I'll record the two guitars and bass, them mix them. The whole point of this is just to have something guitar-related done before I take a several year break again from writing anything (or at least anything significant).

It actually turned out more 70's prog than I expected. There isn't a ton of shred going on in the song, but when there is, it's even more difficult than it sounds. I'm having a difficult time with it, so any who can play the solo besides me... is, um, let's just say, "preeeeeety good." 

[Karl Henning]

Good on you for writing!