I am so excited that my songs won the "concerto competition," which means, no matter where I will be next year, I am coming back to BG for the next Annual New Music Festival! It's my honor to compete against my wonderful fellow composers, whose music I respect very very much.
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The last concert at the Arts Extravaganza made me think a little bit about my electroacoustic music language. I felt my pieces - Three Episodes (2010) were constantly too loud. I usually dither my track and maximize the volume to get the ideal signal-to-noise ratio, but then I had too many climaxes in these pieces, so it constantly stays at the louder range of dynamic level. I think I need many more quiet and concise sections. Anyways, it wasn't too bad because they were just one-minute pieces. I use 24-bit files, and I feel that I should use the advantages of that.
The development of human perception in music greatly interests me. For many centuries, it is the general consensus that music, as an expressive tool, is anything but noise or non-organized sounds. This established notion, however, has been challenged by artists such as John Cage (1912-92) and Pierre Schaeffer (1910-95) over the past few decades. Today, the boundary between music and noise is unclear. The inevitable questions thus arise, “What is Music, how do we perceive something as music?” To seek an answer, and to create a new way of musical expression that responds to humanity’s ever-changing musical perception, I have chosen to become a composer.
To me, producing music is an act through which a composer, or “music-maker,” communicates with a listener, or another "music-maker,” with means that express artistry and emotion. If “noise” is used in ways that serve this purpose, it can be regarded as music. Music is expressive because it subjectively transforms concrete ideas into meanings and emotions, hence enabling communications between two or more individuals and the audience. A composer conveys his ideas through specific notations before a performer analyzes and interprets his intentions. To add yet another layer of interpretation, the audience communicates with the music maker through listening to a work. When a recording is concerned, the audio engineer adds his layer of interpretation through mixing and mastering. It is central to my belief that music making is never a lonely process. Different factors of time and space also contribute to varying one’s perception in music. Two performances of a same piece can never be identical. This notion relates to my own compositional philosophy: I believe in an ongoing process of composition and evolution in music making. No piece is truly “finished” because it will continue to evolve, through time, into something that is beyond the imagination of our generation. This idea of unpredictability in music has truly inspired and influenced my compositional concepts. I am motivated to immerse myself in an ongoing process of music making that can pertain to everyday life and stimulate human communication. The idea of music serving as a tool of communication is central to my belief, and this can be seen in my previous posts on "Composing." The distinction between music and noise will continue to blur, as we keep exploring the possibilities of sound as a form of art. I feel, as an artist, responsible to help listeners improve their sense of hearing. Perception needs to be developed by conscious effort, by learning to anticipate, to analyze, as well as to listen. Hearing is something we all do unconsciously, like breathing. Everything we hear as is filtered through our experiences, emotional responses, our prejudices and preferences. I became a composer because I want to be perceptive to listen more attentively to music and sound in general, and be able to interpret music intellectually as well as to express my own emotions. I will continue to be a composer for as long as I can find ways to express myself through this medium, and that someone in this universe can perceive my music, or my noise, as music. I seriously just can't get much enjoyment outta my cheap Dell speaker that cuts off all the low frequencies, and boosts up all the high frequencies at vocal range. There recently is so much that I needa spend on for my enjoyment of music and life - I still need a new laptop, crave for an iPod Touch, new phone, etc... I am spoiled. Also, if I will go visit all the schools that I apply to, I will be completely broke...
I sent out my UMKC application today. The score of my Fanfare for Brass and Percussion (2009) was way too big - I had to purchase this huge box (they ran out of big envelops) in FedEx Kinko's and stuff everything in including a crap load of recycled paper... I felt like sending out a huge Christmas present in Thanksgiving.
Actually, I would feel very happy to receive such a huge package. For me, receiving packages is exciting and satisfying - I like online shopping. and... I bought a gift for myself again...! It's Samson's Zoom H4n! I've been wanting it since last year. Now, I can use it to record my own sounds, so then I don't need to rely on the sound library anymore. But, the primary reason for buying it is that I need a convenient tool to write my new EA piece for trombone and live electronic, which will be performed on Dec. 15th. I have my whole thesis piece palnned out in my head, and I am getting so anxious to getting it done. It is always this last part of composing that stresses me the most. All I have to do is simply develop previous materials in a convincing way, and there is just so much possibility and fun. I think I can actually finish this piece (which doesn't include program/performance notes, parts and other edittings) before the end of the semester! I have about 5:30" (some parts need to be reorchestrated...), and the goal is about 7:30".
I am already excited about writing my trombone/electronic piece for the upcoming performance on Dec. 15th (I have to write so fast...). What's my next project? Choir? Wind Ensemble? Pierrot Ensemble? Piano Solo? I took the GRE today, and it was absolutely horrible. It's a disaster. Why do schools need this kind of exam that does not measure my ability to write music?!
I probably shoulda studied earlier than two days ago, but hey, none of the words that came across my study sheet actually appeared in the exam, so, whatever. However, I wished I looked up what those math. words mean. Those questions are easy, but sometimes I didn't understand what they're asking... ok, I'll stop... # I think... these coming few weeks will consume my life! I'm very excited about concert on Wednesday. I finally get to have my Saxophone Quartet (2009) performed!
# I'm gonna take the GRE this Friday. It's frightening because I still haven't started studying yet! I'll need a lot of luck... As for my thesis, I don't get how I have 40 pages but only five minutes of music... is it time for a big repeat sign?! ||: :|| I did a head-shot photo session for the girls today. We took pictures with the pianos in the choral rehearsal hall, Bryan Recital Hall and outside by the lakes. It was freezing cold, but the scenery was beautiful. BG is nice, as long as it doesn't snow... I still miss California though. Below are random pictures I took when I pointed the camera away from my subjects... Conducted a recording session for Ben Taylor's "At Which Point" for wind symphony tonight. What a great piece! I hope the recording came out well... please... My conducting is getting so sloppy... I can't believe it---I don't wanna believe it. I am so frustrated. So many things frustrate me lately. Yes, I had five hours to prepare it, but it really shouldn't be an excuse to be sloppy about keeping tempo---SO BAD---I can't believe this! Any musician can beat a steady quarter=160 tempo. I really don't wanna screw up the recording of a good friend's. I am glad though, I took the task and helped him out, so that he at least gets a recording. And, I get to realize how sloppy I am...
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Patrick Chan
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