Monday, April 26, 2010

Be a Composer

There is a piece written by Lucas that the KSO has performed several times entitled "Be a Conductor." The piece begins in common time, moves to three after awhile, and ends in common time. Before we play the piece the Maestro goes over the conducting patterns with the audience who then conducts from their seats as we play. This piece never fails to crack me up. Its not the musical content that tickles me, its the title itself. While there are many jokes to the contrary, being a conductor entails a lot more than simply mastering a few beat patterns.

Recently a friend showed me this super cool composition tool. It is designed in such a way that ANYONE can play with it and come up with a composition. Reading music is not a prerequisite, nor is having any particular musical ability. Like "Be a Conductor," there is a lot more to composition than highlighting boxes in a grid, but this gives a taste of what it is like to create music. Fair warning: once you start playing with this neat application it is very hard to leave it alone!

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