#cpsa capstone progress process

After mapping out my first movement in an attempt to try to get the second movement together, I’ve begun typing up notes and analysis for my first movement in order to help me explain and present my piece at Artsfest. 

I used three motifs/themes in the first movement and I’m going to also use three motifs in the second one. These motifs tend to be puns, something symbolic or something that just sounds good. My pun motifs, which I am very proud of, include the notes “DEAD” and a series of notes that range from scale degrees 7 up to the minor 3, which in solfege syllables is “ti” (7) up to “me” (3) and spells “time.” 

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Today is the Thursday before spring break and all of my classes have been canceled. I still have my rehearsal with my chamber group, and I’m going to ask them to play some parts for me. I’m also going to get my other friends to record some parts for me.

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I’m currently trying to upload recordings of my composition process to my Tumblr but it doesn’t seem to be compatible. (tumblr’s asking for a link, but my recording is an mp4) Thus I’m writing text.

A way to help you brainstorm is to just play freely for 15 minutes. It’s okay and even good to make accidents. In fact, most of my accidents lead to really cool ideas. I listen to these recordings and use my aural dictation skills to figure out what notes I was playing. 

Okay the best way I can approach this is to be reasonable

I can probably only get the first movement recorded in time, but will continue with this project even after scholars is done.

Music majors have an extremely busy schedule. And with juries approaching, this makes us even less available. 

I want the composition to be done, that’s what matters most. That the complete set of all four movements and stages of Grief are completed.

And when I continue with this after scholars is done, I might even add in a 5th movement in the middle, for the stage of grief “Bargaining” .

Depression has a good 4 and a half minutes of good ideas and should be all set once I get them organized and then orchestrated.

So I was originally supposed to be done composing today but....

Mvmt 1: Denial.

I got my snare drum today so I recorded the percussion and rhythm parts.

It was much harder than I thought it would be staying on track because my piano part wasn’t steady. 

I don’t have any cymbals so I used a cheap 1$ triangle I bought for fun at Target and honestly it sounds pretty good.

I recorded the measly two chords I wrote for guitar. 

Mvmt 2: Anger and Patience

I finally put down all my ideas that I had. Bad news though, I had to delete a lot because all my ideas spanned about 8 minutes and I had to trim down unnecessary repetition. It felt like a lowkey waste of key having to delete my hard work. At least this caused me to feel the emotions that I intended to convey in this mvmt! 

I can’t think of passion sounding melodies like the one I had in the first mvmt. Only cliche ones that are closely based on the chord progression.

I’m proud of how I weaved the two pun motifs in. It sounds pretty badass where it’s more thick in texture. It’ll sound even awesomer once I add a drum part.

Mvmt 3. 

It sounds beautiful and really full (in the orchestration sense) so far. But it’s only 8 measures. I’ve got ideas, but I’m still thinking about them.

Mvmt 4: