Stephen
 McHale
 
Master
 of
 Music
 Candidate,
 
Contemporary
 Performance,
 
Berklee
 College
 of
 Music
 –
 Valencia
 Campus
 
Culminating
 Experience
 Final
 Paper
 
Soundcloud
 Playlist
 for
 Musical
 Examples
 –
 
 
https://soundcloud.com/mchalestephen/sets/ce-­‐soundcloud
 

 

1
 –
 INTRODUCTION
 
1.1
 –
 Musical
 Beginnings
 

 
 
 
 
 My
 name
 is
 Stephen
 McHale,
 I
 am
 a
 guitarist
 and
 composer
 from
 Ireland.
 I
 
have
 previously
 studied
 for
 a
 National
 Diploma
 in
 Popular
 Music
 at
 Ballyfermot
 
College
 of
 Further
 Education,
 receiving
 a
 Distinction
 grade,
 as
 well
 as
 a
 Bachelor
 
of
 Arts
 in
 Jazz
 Performance
 from
 Newpark
 Music
 Centre,
 where
 I
 graduated
 with
 
First
 Class
 Honours.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Despite
 having
 spent
 four
 years
 studying
 for
 a
 degree
 in
 Jazz
 Performance,
 
and
 therefore
 having
 the
 bulk
 of
 my
 practice
 and
 learning
 time
 for
 many
 years
 
devoted
 to
 jazz,
 I
 still
 feel
 a
 disconnect
 from
 jazz
 music
 as
 it
 was
 something
 I
 
came
 to
 later
 in
 my
 development
 as
 a
 musician.
 The
 sounds
 that
 initially
 piqued
 
my
 musical
 interests
 are
 the
 contemporary
 music
 of
 my
 younger
 years,
 as
 well
 as
 
the
 older
 rock
 and
 pop
 music
 that
 was
 played
 in
 my
 house
 growing
 up.
 
 The
 
explosion
 of
 Britpop
 when
 I
 was
 very
 young
 was
 the
 starting
 point
 for
 the
 

development
 of
 my
 interest
 in
 music,
 as
 I
 obsessively
 listened
 to
 the
 bands
 of
 the
 
time,
 Oasis,
 Blur,
 Pulp,
 The
 Stone
 Roses,
 and
 then
 sought
 out
 all
 the
 influences
 
they
 spoke
 of
 in
 interviews,
 Led
 Zeppelin,
 The
 Beatles,
 Jimi
 Hendrix,
 etc.
 This
 
process
 of
 searching
 through
 older
 recordings
 continued
 and
 eventually
 led
 me
 
to
 the
 jazz
 fusion
 styles
 of
 The
 Mahavishnu
 Orchestra,
 Jeff
 Beck,
 Weather
 Report,
 
Jaco
 Pastorius,
 etc.
 It
 wasn’t
 until
 I
 began
 my
 Bachelor
 in
 Jazz
 Performance
 that
 I
 
really
 began
 to
 listen
 to
 the
 older
 jazz
 masters,
 Miles
 Davis,
 Wes
 Montgomery,
 
Thelonious
 Monk,
 Wayne
 Shorter.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 result
 of
 growing
 up
 in
 an
 environment
 where
 music
 was
 ubiquitous,
 as
 
many
 members
 of
 my
 family
 work
 in
 the
 Irish
 music
 industry,
 as
 well
 as
 having
 
studied
 music
 in
 the
 popular
 and
 jazz
 idioms,
 coupled
 with
 the
 fact
 I
 have
 a
 
personal
 interest
 in
 a
 very
 broad
 range
 of
 musical
 styles,
 has
 meant
 that
 I
 have
 
found
 myself
 working
 professionally
 as
 a
 sideman
 in
 a
 broad
 variety
 of
 genres,
 
having
 to
 be
 competent,
 knowledgeable,
 and
 comfortable
 in
 all
 of
 these
 
scenarios.
 
 
 

1.2
 –
 Focused
 Eclecticism
 

 
 
 
 
 Since
 arriving
 in
 Valencia,
 I
 have
 fully
 realised
 the
 benefit
 of
 these
 experiences,
 
as
 it
 has
 meant
 I
 have
 been
 able
 to
 continue
 broadening
 my
 musical
 horizons
 
while
 also
 delighting
 in
 the
 fact
 that
 I
 can
 partake
 in
 a
 huge
 volume
 of
 
performances/recordings
 with
 a
 varied
 collection
 of
 my
 classmates
 and
 
professors.
 The
 continuous
 flow
 of
 visiting
 artists
 to
 Berklee
 Valencia
 has
 also
 
been
 enlightening
 in
 terms
 of
 this
 project,
 the
 knowledge
 that
 versatility
 creates
 
more
 opportunities
 for
 me
 to
 play
 with,
 and
 as
 a
 consequence,
 learn
 from,
 the
 
visiting
 artists
 drives
 me
 to
 work
 harder
 at
 ensuring
 I
 can
 fit
 into
 as
 many
 

musical
 scenarios
 as
 possible.
 Of
 course
 this
 approach
 will
 have
 the
 knock-­‐on
 
effect
 of
 developing
 my
 professional
 skills
 with
 a
 view
 to
 a
 successful
 life
 as
 a
 
musician
 once
 my
 time
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 has
 ended.
 
 

 
 
 
 While
 I
 have
 benefitted
 from
 and
 enjoyed
 these
 opportunities
 enormously,
 I
 
have
 also
 come
 to
 realise
 the
 importance
 of
 performing
 and
 recording
 my
 own
 
compositions,
 in
 terms
 of
 finding
 my
 own
 voice
 as
 an
 instrumentalist,
 the
 
continuation
 of
 the
 development
 of
 my
 own
 particular
 style,
 as
 well
 as
 
maintaining
 a
 working
 life
 as
 an
 original
 artist,
 so
 that
 I
 may
 enjoy
 the
 benefits
 of
 
being
 in
 a
 position
 to
 perform
 the
 music
 of
 other
 people,
 as
 well
 as
 working
 on
 
my
 own
 material,
 while
 being
 musically
 challenged
 in
 a
 varied
 enough
 fashion
 
that
 I
 don’t
 grow
 jaded
 with
 either.
 
 

2
 –
 PROJECT
 
2.1
 -­‐
 Project
 

 
 
 
 
 In
 this
 sense,
 there
 is
 a
 conflict
 between
 the
 music
 that
 I
 first
 loved
 and
 the
 
music
 I
 study.
 This
 is
 a
 common
 theme
 among
 contemporary
 jazz
 musicians,
 as
 
unlike
 the
 masters
 of
 the
 genre
 which
 we
 study,
 i.e.,
 Charlie
 Parker,
 John
 
Coltrane,
 Herbie
 Hancock,
 etc.,
 most
 of
 us
 did
 not
 grow
 up
 with
 jazz
 music
 as
 a
 
regular
 fixture
 in
 our
 lives,
 it
 was
 something
 we
 were
 exposed
 to
 after
 years
 
spent
 learning
 to
 play
 the
 music
 that
 surrounded
 us
 in
 our
 early
 years,
 be
 it
 rock,
 
pop,
 funk,
 hip-­‐hop,
 blues,
 and
 so
 on.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 My
 intention
 for
 this
 project
 is
 to
 compose,
 record,
 and
 release
 an
 EP
 of
 
original
 compositions
 that
 combine
 my
 initial
 musical
 influences
 with
 the
 music
 I
 
have
 been
 studying
 both
 as
 a
 student
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 and
 at
 my
 previous
 

educational
 institutes.
 
 This
 will
 be
 combined
 with
 a
 written
 document
 to
 
analyse
 and
 justify
 the
 reasons
 for
 working
 towards
 this
 goal,
 also
 containing
 an
 
analysis
 of
 the
 compositions
 themselves.
 

 

2.2
 –
 Compositonal
 Process
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 compositional
 process
 I
 employed
 in
 the
 writing
 of
 the
 material
 for
 this
 
EP
 varied
 slightly
 from
 piece
 to
 piece,
 and
 the
 method
 shall
 be
 gone
 into
 in
 more
 
depth
 later
 in
 this
 document,
 but
 the
 general
 system
 remained
 the
 same
 each
 
time.
 I
 would
 specifically
 set
 aside
 a
 time
 slot
 several
 days
 in
 advance
 of
 when
 I
 
planned
 to
 compose,
 this
 would
 mean
 that
 I
 would
 have
 time
 to
 think
 about
 what
 
my
 intention
 was
 going
 to
 be
 for
 the
 piece,
 I
 could
 listen
 to
 music
 and
 consider
 
whether
 or
 not
 there
 would
 be
 a
 particular
 piece
 of
 music,
 or
 many
 different
 
pieces,
 that
 were
 going
 to
 influence
 this
 composition.
 I
 would
 also
 make
 short
 
recordings
 of
 any
 ideas
 that
 came
 to
 me
 in
 the
 days
 leading
 up
 to
 my
 
composition
 time.
 This
 mental
 and
 musical
 preparation
 with
 composition
 in
 
mind
 meant
 that
 I
 never
 had
 to
 approach
 a
 blank
 page
 and
 begin
 to
 write
 
without
 any
 direction
 or
 guidance,
 it
 made
 the
 process
 quicker
 and
 helped
 me
 hit
 
the
 ground
 running
 each
 time.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Once
 I
 had
 composed
 all
 the
 parts
 for
 the
 members
 of
 the
 band
 and
 entered
 
them
 to
 Finale,
 I
 would
 organise
 a
 rehearsal
 and
 play
 what
 I
 had
 written
 with
 the
 
musicians
 in
 my
 group.
 
 Invariably,
 the
 first
 playing
 of
 the
 piece
 would
 bring
 
issues
 to
 my
 attention,
 especially
 in
 terms
 of
 the
 length
 of
 sections,
 orchestration,
 
and
 dynamics.
 I
 would
 decide
 on
 these
 changes
 in
 the
 rehearsal,
 make
 the
 

adjustments
 to
 the
 musicians’
 parts,
 and
 then
 hope
 that
 by
 the
 end
 I
 would
 have
 
an
 arrangement
 that
 was
 effective.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 After
 making
 a
 recording
 of
 this
 arrangement,
 using
 either
 my
 iPhone
 or
 
MBox,
 I
 would
 bring
 the
 recording
 to
 Perico
 Sambeat
 during
 his
 scheduled
 office
 
hours,
 play
 the
 composition
 for
 him
 and
 ask
 for
 his
 opinion
 on
 all
 aspects
 of
 the
 
piece.
 Perico
 is
 a
 compositional
 master,
 particularly
 of
 the
 contemporary
 jazz
 
genre,
 and
 his
 observations
 and
 comments
 were
 invaluable
 in
 terms
 of
 working
 
to
 ensure
 the
 composition
 be
 of
 the
 highest
 quality
 possible.
 I
 would
 take
 notes
 
at
 these
 sessions
 and
 then,
 if
 necessary,
 make
 changes
 to
 the
 arrangement
 and
 
send
 the
 finished
 parts
 to
 the
 musicians
 before
 what
 would
 usually
 be
 a
 second
 
rehearsal,
 but
 occasionally,
 due
 to
 time
 constraints
 and
 lack
 of
 availability,
 would
 
be
 a
 recording
 session.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Due
 to
 the
 fact
 that
 many
 of
 my
 compositions
 take
 their
 roots
 from
 a
 wide
 
variety
 of
 musical
 influences,
 the
 harmony
 employed
 could
 occasionally
 be
 an
 
extreme
 departure
 from
 the
 style
 of
 chordal
 progressions
 I
 am
 familiar
 with
 
soloing
 over.
 For
 this
 reason
 I
 would
 use
 my
 private
 lesson
 with
 Israel
 Sandoval
 
to
 ask
 for
 advice
 on
 how
 to
 approach
 soloing
 over
 the
 more
 unusual
 chords
 and
 
chord
 changes.
 This
 led
 to
 an
 accumulation
 of
 knowledge
 regarding
 artificial
 
scales,
 and
 soloing
 with
 an
 approach
 that
 incorporated
 some
 elements
 of
 
traditional
 jazz
 (bebop
 scales
 etc.),
 as
 well
 as
 the
 more
 unusual
 sounds
 and
 
theory
 of
 the
 artificially
 constructed
 scales,
 limited
 transposition
 scales,
 etc.
 This
 
information
 helped
 me
 hugely
 as
 it
 provided
 me
 with
 a
 new
 arsenal
 of
 sounds
 in
 
my
 improvisational
 repertoire,
 as
 well
 as
 helping
 me
 to
 be
 comfortable
 when
 
asked
 to
 solo
 over
 more
 complex
 harmony.
 
 


 

 
2.3
 –
 Compositional
 Aspirations
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 aspirations
 I
 have
 in
 terms
 of
 these
 compositions
 are
 to
 maintain
 the
 
listenability
 and
 occasionally
 simplistic
 melodicism
 of
 contemporary
 popular
 
music,
 while
 also
 incorporating
 the
 improvisational
 jazz
 elements
 that
 provide
 
an
 opportunity
 for
 me
 to
 showcase
 the
 skills
 I
 have
 been
 working
 on
 for
 the
 past
 
number
 of
 years,
 and
 particularly
 the
 skills
 I
 have
 learned
 during
 my
 time
 at
 
Berklee
 Valencia.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 In
 order
 to
 create
 this
 style
 of
 composition,
 I
 will
 sometimes
 specifically
 
reference
 material
 from
 some
 of
 the
 contemporary
 composers
 that
 have
 
influenced
 me,
 using
 stylistically
 similar
 chord
 progressions
 and
 guitar
 sounds,
 
while
 also
 allowing
 the
 information
 I
 have
 learned
 while
 studying
 jazz
 to
 be
 
prominent
 throughout,
 all
 the
 time
 striving
 to
 ensure
 the
 influence
 of
 non-­‐jazz
 
and
 jazz
 music
 remain
 noticeable
 throughout.
 
 

 

2.3
 –Why
 This
 Approach?
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 previously
 mentioned,
 the
 idea
 of
 having
 a
 conflict
 between
 the
 music
 that
 
initially
 sparked
 our
 interest
 and
 the
 music
 we
 study
 is
 a
 common
 theme
 among
 
contemporary
 jazz
 performers.
 One
 way
 in
 which
 this
 can
 be
 demonstrated
 is
 by
 
the
 large
 number
 of
 successful
 contemporary
 jazz
 composers
 that
 include
 their
 
own
 arrangements
 of
 rock/pop/electronic
 music
 in
 their
 releases.
 Some
 
examples
 of
 jazz
 musicians
 of
 today
 covering
 other
 artists
 include;
 

•

Robert
 Glasper
 –
 Smells
 Like
 Teen
 Spirit
 (Nirvana)
 

•

The
 Bad
 Plus
 –
 Flim
 (Aphex
 Twin)
 

•

Brad
 Mehldau
 –
 Paranoid
 Android
 (Radiohead)
 

•

Christian
 Scott
 –
 The
 Eraser
 (Thom
 Yorke)
 

•

Vijay
 Iyer
 –
 MmmHmm
 (Flying
 Lotus)
 

•

Dave
 Douglas
 –
 Unison
 (Bjork)
 


 
 
 
 
 Similarly
 to
 me,
 I
 believe
 these
 artists
 have
 a
 desire
 to
 explore
 contemporary
 
music
 they
 enjoy
 and
 can
 relate
 to,
 while
 also
 using
 these
 familiar
 melodies
 and
 
chord
 progressions
 as
 a
 vehicle
 for
 demonstrating
 their
 improvisational
 abilities.
 
There
 is
 also
 a
 recognition
 and
 respect
 from
 these
 artists
 for
 the
 difficult
 nature
 
of
 writing
 high
 quality,
 yet
 accessible
 music.
 The
 difference
 is
 that
 I
 plan
 to
 keep
 
this
 ideal
 prominent
 but
 through
 original
 compositions.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Another
 reason
 this
 approach
 to
 composing
 and
 performing
 contemporary
 
jazz
 music
 appeals
 to
 people
 is
 that
 it
 creates
 the
 possibility
 for
 a
 wider
 audience.
 
The
 general
 public
 can
 easily
 be
 turned
 off
 by
 the
 prospect
 of
 listening
 to
 (and
 
especially
 paying
 for)
 jazz
 music,
 as
 the
 typical
 association
 is
 with
 dense,
 
complicated
 harmony
 and
 melody,
 combined
 with
 long
 solos
 that
 can
 be
 difficult
 
to
 comprehend
 without
 some
 kind
 of
 musical
 training.
 Writing
 and
 performing
 
with
 more
 accessibility
 in
 mind,
 while
 still
 maintaining
 artistic
 integrity,
 is
 
beneficial
 for
 everyone
 as
 the
 combination
 of
 high
 level
 musicianship
 with
 more
 
easy
 to
 digest
 chords
 and
 melodies,
 will
 create
 the
 likelihood
 of
 a
 wider
 interest
 
in
 live
 performance
 of
 the
 music,
 as
 well
 as
 more
 potential
 for
 sales/downloads
 
of
 the
 EP.
 
 
 


 

2.4
 -­‐
 Expected
 Outcomes
 

 
 
 
 
 
 The
 main
 expected
 outcome
 from
 this
 project
 is
 to
 develop
 my
 skills
 and
 
knowledge
 as
 a
 composer,
 as
 well
 as
 become
 more
 aware
 of
 what
 it
 is
 that
 
appeals
 to
 me
 as
 a
 writer,
 and
 the
 most
 effective
 ways
 to
 impart
 my
 musical
 
tastes
 into
 a
 body
 of
 work
 that
 can
 have
 all
 the
 qualities
 I
 previously
 spoke
 of,
 
artistic
 integrity,
 musical
 accessibility,
 and
 a
 successful
 combination
 of
 the
 
improvisational
 elements
 of
 jazz
 with
 the
 influences
 of
 other
 musical
 genres.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 A
 second
 outcome
 from
 this
 project
 is
 to
 have
 an
 EP
 that
 will
 be
 available
 for
 
release
 before
 the
 end
 of
 the
 summer
 2014
 semester
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia.
 This
 
proposed
 outcome
 has
 been
 aided
 enormously
 by
 the
 fact
 that
 I
 was
 signed
 as
 an
 
artist
 by
 Disrupción
 Records,
 the
 student-­‐run,
 Berklee
 Valencia
 record
 label.
 This
 
development
 means
 that
 I
 will
 have
 a
 team
 of
 people
 to
 help
 with
 choosing
 
platforms
 to
 release
 the
 EP,
 as
 well
 as
 in
 promotion,
 artwork,
 and
 creating
 as
 
much
 interest
 in
 the
 project
 as
 is
 possible.
 
 

 

Compositional
 Analysis
 
1
 –
 “Lark”
 
1.1
 –
 Initial
 Intention
 

 
 
 
 
 For
 this
 piece,
 my
 presence
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 was
 a
 huge
 factor
 in
 
influencing
 my
 compositional
 process.
 The
 diversity
 of
 the
 student
 body
 at
 
this
 campus
 means
 that
 musical
 traditions
 and
 influences
 are
 plentiful
 and
 
wide-­‐ranging.
 Many
 of
 the
 students
 here
 display
 the
 influences
 of
 the
 

traditional
 music
 of
 their
 country
 quite
 prominently
 in
 their
 work,
 or
 at
 least
 
have
 a
 strong
 awareness
 and
 knowledge
 of
 these
 musical
 roots.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Despite
 the
 fact
 that
 members
 of
 my
 family
 work
 specifically
 with
 
traditional
 Irish
 music,
 and
 the
 fact
 that
 I
 grew
 up
 in
 an
 area
 where
 live
 
traditional
 Irish
 music
 can
 be
 heard
 in
 many
 venues
 on
 a
 daily
 basis,
 I
 have
 
rarely,
 in
 fact
 almost
 never,
 played
 traditional
 Irish
 music
 and
 only
 possess
 
the
 most
 basic
 knowledge
 of
 the
 genre.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 While
 studying
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia,
 my
 fellow
 students
 made
 me
 feel
 like
 I
 
should
 make
 an
 effort
 to
 be
 much
 more
 aware
 of
 the
 musical
 heritage
 of
 my
 
country,
 and
 therefore,
 for
 this
 composition
 I
 decided
 I
 would
 search
 for
 
some
 elements
 of
 traditional
 Irish
 music
 that
 I
 could
 incorporate
 into
 my
 
own
 compositions,
 both
 in
 order
 to
 provide
 myself
 with
 a
 fresh
 approach
 to
 
composing,
 as
 well
 as
 increasing
 my
 own
 knowledge
 of
 the
 genre.
 
 
 


 
1.2
 -­‐
 
 Search
 and
 Solidification
 of
 Ideas
 

 

 
 
 
 
 Once
 the
 decision
 was
 made
 to
 incorporate
 traditional
 Irish
 melodies
 with
 
this
 composition,
 specific
 recordings
 were
 chosen
 as
 a
 starting
 point.
 I
 
listened
 to
 albums
 by
 “The
 Bothy
 Band”,
 as
 well
 as
 “Planxty”,
 and
 many
 
other
 classic
 recordings
 of
 Irish
 traditional
 music.
 While
 these
 recordings
 
were
 exquisite
 in
 terms
 of
 their
 music,
 I
 found
 it
 difficult
 to
 translate
 the
 
information
 into
 something
 I
 could
 use
 in
 one
 of
 my
 own
 compositions.
 
Because
 of
 this
 I
 chose
 to
 delve
 into
 a
 slightly
 more
 modern
 sound
 and
 began
 
listening
 to,
 and
 transcribing
 sections
 of,
 an
 album
 titled
 “The
 Storm”
 by
 

Irish
 traditional/fusion
 band
 “Moving
 Hearts”.
 I
 instantly
 found
 that
 while
 
melodically,
 the
 information
 was
 sometimes
 the
 exact
 same
 as
 in
 the
 
previous
 recordings
 I
 had
 listened
 to,
 I
 felt
 more
 connected
 to
 the
 music,
 
most
 likely
 because
 the
 instrumentation
 is
 closer
 to
 what
 I
 intended
 to
 use,
 ie
 
electric
 instruments,
 drum
 set,
 etc.,
 but
 possibly
 also
 because
 I
 have
 a
 
personal
 connection
 to
 the
 group
 as
 one
 of
 my
 former
 teachers
 is
 the
 
drummer.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 I
 was
 instantly
 astounded
 at
 the
 melodic
 wealth
 on
 offer
 in
 these
 
recordings,
 as
 I
 often
 struggle
 to
 write
 clear,
 concise,
 and
 catchy
 melodies,
 to
 
be
 confronted
 with
 this
 constantly
 changing
 yet
 memorable
 melodic
 style
 
made
 quite
 an
 impression
 on
 me.
 Also,
 the
 fact
 that
 they
 achieve
 a
 high
 level
 
of
 sophistication
 with
 their
 melodies
 while
 never
 straying
 from
 diatonic
 
notes
 played
 over
 very
 simple
 harmony
 was
 a
 lesson
 to
 me
 in
 the
 fact
 that
 
complexity
 is
 not
 necessary
 to
 create
 interest.
 
 Here
 are
 some
 short
 examples
 
of
 melodic
 ideas
 contained
 within
 one
 track.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 Track
 1
 Lark
 –
 Melodic
 Wealth
 


 
 
 
 
 Because
 of
 the
 enormous
 volume
 of
 material
 on
 offer
 in
 this
 recording,
 it
 was
 
apparent
 that
 the
 scope
 would
 have
 to
 be
 narrowed
 to
 just
 focusing
 on
 one
 track,
 
and
 even
 then
 on
 a
 very
 small
 portion
 of
 this
 one
 track.
 
 The
 composition
 that
 
seemed
 most
 suitable
 is
 titled
 “The
 Lark”,
 the
 first
 track
 taken
 from
 the
 album
 
“The
 Storm”.
 
 

1.3
 –
 The
 Writing
 Process
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 previously
 stated
 I
 decided
 that
 in
 order
 to
 begin
 composing
 with
 the
 
influence
 of
 this
 track
 in
 mind,
 I
 would
 need
 to
 focus
 on
 a
 very
 small
 amount
 of
 

the
 information
 contained
 within
 it.
 The
 process
 of
 choosing
 which
 parts
 to
 use
 
was
 quite
 simple,
 two
 very
 small
 melodic
 ideas
 that
 had
 a
 very
 strong
 appeal
 on
 
first
 listen
 were
 chosen,
 and
 working
 with
 these
 ideas
 in
 order
 to
 create
 an
 A
 and
 
B
 section
 melody
 for
 the
 piece
 was
 the
 beginning
 process
 of
 the
 composition.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 are
 the
 two
 melodic
 ideas
 chosen
 as
 the
 starting
 point
 for
 the
 
composition.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 Track
 2
 Lark
 –
 Original
 A
 and
 B
 Section
 


 
 
 
 
 After
 transcribing
 and
 then
 playing
 the
 first
 example
 a
 few
 times
 on
 my
 
instrument,
 I
 stopped
 playing
 the
 melody
 exactly
 as
 it
 was
 on
 the
 recording
 and
 
let
 myself
 play
 it
 in
 a
 manner
 that
 felt
 more
 natural.
 I
 then
 recorded
 myself
 
playing
 this
 new
 version
 of
 the
 melody
 and
 transcribed
 what
 I
 was
 playing.
 The
 
result
 was
 that
 there
 was
 a
 time
 signature
 change
 from
 4/4
 to
 5/4
 in
 bar
 two
 of
 
the
 melody,
 and
 also
 some
 notes
 were
 removed
 from
 the
 end
 of
 the
 original
 
motif
 because
 it
 seemed
 that
 playing
 the
 motif
 in
 it’s
 entirety
 sounded
 too
 
specifically
 like
 Irish
 traditional
 music
 and
 was
 too
 far
 a
 departure
 from
 the
 
contemporary
 jazz
 style
 that
 was
 desired.
 As
 well
 as
 this,
 the
 tempo
 was
 reduced
 
to
 make
 the
 melody
 more
 playable
 and
 also
 let
 the
 tension
 be
 created
 by
 the
 
chord/melody
 combination,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 stop-­‐time
 hits,
 rather
 than
 by
 the
 high
 
tempo
 of
 the
 composition.
 
 

 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 On
 listening
 to
 the
 original
 track
 I
 noticed
 that
 there
 was
 a
 section
 where
 this
 
melody
 was
 played
 with
 stop-­‐time
 hits,
 and
 decided
 that
 using
 this
 idea
 might
 be
 
a
 very
 effective
 way
 to
 create
 interesting
 parts
 for
 the
 band
 to
 perform
 while
 the
 
melody
 was
 being
 played.
 In
 order
 to
 decide
 which
 chords
 to
 use,
 effective
 
moments
 to
 place
 the
 hits
 were
 chosen,
 then
 different
 chord
 voicings
 were
 tried,
 
placing
 the
 melody
 note
 on
 top.
 Aside
 from
 the
 first
 hit
 on
 beat
 one
 of
 the
 first
 
bar,
 all
 the
 hits
 are
 placed
 on
 the
 last
 note
 of
 each
 short
 melodic
 phrase.
 The
 
chords
 that
 were
 most
 effective
 to
 be
 placed
 on
 these
 hits
 were
 Lydian
 and
 
Altered
 voicings,
 as
 these
 choices
 kept
 the
 contemporary
 jazz
 feel
 prominent,
 
even
 though
 the
 melody
 itself
 was
 quite
 simple.
 
 
 
 

 


 
 


 
 

 
 
 
 
 In
 order
 to
 move
 from
 the
 A
 section
 to
 the
 B,
 the
 melody
 needed
 some
 kind
 of
 
tag,
 or
 repeated
 figure,
 to
 make
 it
 seem
 more
 obviously
 like
 the
 end
 of
 a
 phrase.
 
It
 seemed
 the
 best
 way
 to
 do
 this
 would
 be
 to
 sequence
 the
 last
 small
 motif
 of
 the
 
melodic
 phrase
 and
 then
 repeat
 it
 down
 a
 tone,
 before
 repeating
 it
 down
 a
 tone
 
again,
 finishing
 with
 a
 rest
 of
 six
 beats
 before
 changing
 to
 the
 B
 section.
 The
 rest
 
lasting
 six
 beats
 was
 again
 decided
 by
 listening
 back
 to
 a
 recording
 of
 myself
 
playing
 the
 change
 between
 the
 sections,
 playing
 what
 came
 naturally
 and
 then
 

writing
 it
 down
 after
 the
 fact.
 Again,
 Lydian
 chords
 were
 the
 most
 effective
 for
 
each
 hit
 as
 they
 gave
 me
 the
 modern,
 open
 feel
 appropriate
 to
 the
 piece.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 that
 contains
 the
 melodic
 idea
 from
 the
 original
 
recording,
 followed
 by
 the
 A
 section
 of
 my
 composition.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 Track
 3
 Lark
 –
 A
 Section
 Melody
 


 

 
 
 
 
 For
 the
 B
 section
 of
 the
 piece,
 the
 original
 melody
 was
 used
 almost
 exactly
 as
 
on
 the
 original
 recording,
 the
 only
 difference
 being
 that
 the
 original
 phrase
 is
 
four
 bars
 long,
 whereas
 in
 the
 composition
 only
 the
 first
 two
 bars
 of
 the
 melody
 
are
 repeated
 rather
 than
 playing
 the
 third
 and
 fourth
 bars,
 thereby
 creating
 an
 
effect
 closer
 to
 an
 ostinato
 than
 what
 would
 be
 strictly
 considered
 a
 melody.
 The
 
reason
 this
 was
 done
 was
 that
 the
 two
 bar
 phrase
 was
 powerful
 enough
 by
 itself
 
to
 warrant
 being
 repeated
 without
 variation.
 To
 complement
 this
 it
 seemed
 a
 
rising
 chromatic
 chord
 sequence
 played
 underneath
 it
 would
 add
 to
 the
 drama
 
and
 tension.
 This
 technique
 of
 combining
 a
 simple
 melodic
 idea
 with
 a
 
chromatically
 moving
 chord
 sequence
 is
 something
 used
 to
 great
 effect
 by
 Kurt
 
Rosenwinkel,
 particularly
 on
 his
 composition
 “Zhivago”.
 Similarly
 to
 Kurt’s
 
approach,
 in
 this
 case
 the
 voicing
 is
 kept
 the
 same
 and
 the
 bass
 note
 ascends
 
chromatically,
 and
 due
 to
 the
 repetition
 of
 notes
 within
 each
 chord,
 the
 sound
 

remains
 aurally
 cohesive.
 Because
 this
 type
 of
 approach
 is
 very
 guitar
 driven
 the
 
melody
 was
 switched
 to
 the
 piano,
 which
 also
 helped
 create
 a
 new
 atmosphere
 
for
 the
 new
 section.
 A
 crescendo
 spread
 over
 the
 course
 of
 the
 entire
 B
 section
 
seemed
 an
 effective
 method
 to
 capture
 the
 repetitive,
 cyclic
 feel
 of
 this
 melody,
 
while
 also
 maintaining
 the
 interest
 of
 the
 audience.
 
 


 

 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 original
 melody,
 followed
 by
 an
 excerpt
 of
 the
 B
 
section
 from
 my
 composition.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 track
 4
 –
 Lark
 –
 B
 Section
 Melody
 


 
 
 
 
 After
 the
 B
 Section
 the
 piece
 returns
 back
 to
 a
 shortened
 version
 of
 the
 A
 
Section,
 this
 time
 playing
 the
 same
 melody
 but
 going
 straight
 to
 the
 second
 time
 
ending.
 The
 melody
 is
 written
 for
 the
 piano
 part
 to
 add
 some
 extra
 force
 and
 also
 
create
 a
 different
 texture
 to
 the
 first
 A
 section,
 as
 the
 audience
 has
 already
 heard
 
this
 material.
 
 From
 here
 there
 is
 a
 transition
 to
 the
 first
 solo,
 and
 in
 order
 to
 
create
 an
 interesting
 transition
 to
 the
 solo
 form,
 the
 first
 note
 of
 the
 solo
 is
 the
 
last
 note
 in
 the
 melodic
 sequence
 the
 audience
 had
 previously
 heard.
 This
 is
 an
 
effective
 way
 of
 showing
 the
 same,
 or
 at
 least
 similar,
 information
 while
 also
 
surprising
 the
 listener
 with
 a
 new
 development.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 As
 there
 had
 been
 a
 lot
 of
 tension
 built
 in
 each
 section
 of
 the
 composition
 so
 
far,
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo
 needed
 a
 slightly
 more
 relaxed
 feel
 than
 the
 
previous
 sections.
 The
 method
 for
 achieving
 this
 was
 to
 begin
 the
 solo
 with
 the
 
same
 chords
 as
 the
 B
 section
 but
 this
 time,
 play
 each
 chord
 for
 an
 entire
 bar,
 
rather
 than
 just
 two
 beats.
 This
 achieved
 the
 necessary
 effect
 of
 having
 more
 
space,
 while
 still
 retaining
 the
 mood
 created
 in
 the
 previous
 sections.
 
 


 

 

 
 
 
 
 The
 next
 section
 of
 the
 solo
 then
 repeats
 the
 same
 chords,
 but
 this
 time
 just
 
for
 two
 beats
 each.
 After
 this
 the
 solo
 form
 then
 changes
 to
 chords
 based
 on
 the
 
A
 section,
 before
 returning
 to
 the
 chromatically
 moving
 chords,
 this
 time
 
transposed
 a
 minor
 3rd
 up
 from
 where
 they
 originally
 were,
 once
 again
 with
 the
 
intention
 presenting
 similar
 information
 from
 a
 new
 angle
 in
 order
 to
 maintain
 
the
 listener’s
 interest.
 This
 desire
 to
 keep
 the
 listener’s
 focus,
 through
 
transposition
 and
 compositional
 surprises,
 is
 something
 that
 I
 was
 very
 aware
 of
 
in
 terms
 of
 my
 initial
 intention
 of
 keeping
 the
 contemporary
 jazz
 feel
 of
 the
 piece
 
while
 still
 having
 the
 listenability
 of
 which
 I
 spoke
 earlier.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 To
 end
 the
 guitar
 solo
 there
 is
 the
 subtle
 introduction
 of
 a
 short
 melodic
 idea,
 
played
 just
 once
 by
 the
 guitar,
 then
 repeated
 by
 the
 piano
 as
 part
 of
 the
 
accompaniment.
 This
 melodic
 phrase
 is
 then
 played
 very
 loudly,
 and
 powerfully,
 

by
 the
 entire
 band
 before
 everyone
 dropping
 out
 abruptly
 to
 begin
 the
 piano
 
solo.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 


 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 piano
 solo
 begins
 with
 the
 piano
 playing
 this
 melodic
 phrase
 alone,
 before
 
then
 playing
 over
 a
 variation
 on
 the
 A
 section
 chord
 sequence.
 I
 purposely
 wrote
 
this
 as
 part
 of
 the
 arrangement
 as
 I
 knew
 the
 part
 was
 going
 to
 be
 played
 by
 Piotr
 
Orzechowski,
 a
 pianist
 that
 has
 a
 huge
 amount
 of
 experience
 and
 skill
 in
 the
 
discipline
 of
 solo
 piano.
 After
 sixteen
 bars
 the
 band
 re-­‐enters.
 The
 final
 section
 of
 
the
 piano
 solo
 is
 played
 over
 the
 B
 section
 chords,
 with
 the
 guitar
 playing
 the
 B
 
section
 melody
 while
 the
 piano
 continues
 to
 solo.
 This
 again
 is
 a
 repetition
 of
 
previously
 heard
 material
 but
 in
 a
 different
 context;
 melody
 that
 was
 previously
 
played
 by
 piano
 is
 now
 played
 by
 guitar.
 Similarly
 to
 the
 end
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo,
 
piano
 solo
 ends
 with
 the
 entire
 band
 playing
 a
 melodic
 motif
 with
 a
 crescendo.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 containing
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo,
 transition
 
to
 the
 piano
 solo,
 and
 ending
 of
 the
 piano
 solo.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 5
 –
 Solo
 Transitions
 


 
 
 
 
 After
 the
 piano
 solo
 there
 is
 an
 entirely
 new
 section
 that
 ends
 the
 composition.
 
For
 the
 section
 I
 very
 much
 displayed
 the
 influence
 of
 rock
 music
 on
 my
 
compositional
 approach,
 the
 hits
 played
 by
 piano
 and
 drums
 take
 their
 influence
 
from
 the
 Led
 Zeppelin
 composition
 “Immigrant
 Song”,
 while
 the
 guitar
 part,
 
which
 appears
 after
 four
 bars,
 takes
 it’s
 influence
 from
 the
 extended
 techniques
 

used
 by
 Tom
 Morello
 of
 the
 group,
 Rage
 Against
 The
 Machine.
 While
 this
 
section
 is
 very
 different
 from
 what
 preceded
 it,
 I
 kept
 some
 reference
 to
 the
 
previous
 written
 sections
 by
 having
 the
 bass
 play
 a
 repeated
 figure
 that
 is
 
actually
 the
 first
 five
 notes
 of
 the
 A
 section
 melody.
 
 Despite
 the
 rock
 influence
 
present
 on
 what
 each
 instrument
 is
 playing,
 I
 maintained
 the
 contemporary
 jazz
 
feel
 by
 having
 the
 piano
 play
 a
 D7#9b13,
 which
 keeps
 a
 harmonic
 density
 more
 
commonly
 found
 in
 contemporary
 jazz
 than
 rock.
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 a
 short
 excerpt
 of
 the
 final
 section
 of
 the
 composition.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –Track
 6
 -­‐
 Lark
 –
 End
 Section
 

1.4
 -­‐
 Rehearsal
 and
 Adjustments
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 mentioned
 earlier,
 the
 first
 rehearsal
 of
 each
 composition
 usually
 
highlighted
 the
 areas
 that
 needed
 adjustment
 in
 terms
 of
 arrangement,
 
orchestration
 etc.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 first
 issue
 that
 arose
 was
 that
 the
 drummer
 had
 initially
 been
 instructed
 
to
 play
 through
 the
 hits
 in
 the
 C
 Section
 of
 the
 melody,
 while
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 band
 
continued
 to
 play
 the
 melody
 in
 the
 same
 manner
 as
 the
 A
 section.
 It
 was
 quickly
 
apparent
 that
 this
 idea
 didn’t
 really
 work,
 as
 the
 rhythmic
 complexity
 of
 what
 
was
 written
 for
 the
 guitar,
 bass,
 and
 piano,
 did
 not
 lend
 itself
 to
 having
 a
 more
 
open
 drum
 feel
 underneath
 it.
 The
 support
 provided
 by
 the
 drums
 playing
 the
 
same
 rhythm
 as
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 ensemble
 meant
 there
 was
 a
 much
 more
 stable
 
and
 coherent
 feel
 to
 the
 section.
 Also,
 during
 the
 rehearsal
 the
 drummer
 was
 
asked
 to
 play
 a
 constant
 quarter
 note
 on
 each
 beat
 in
 order
 to
 help
 the
 rest
 of
 us
 

to
 play
 our
 parts,
 but
 this
 would
 not
 be
 necessary
 in
 the
 recording
 session,
 as
 we
 
would
 be
 playing
 to
 a
 click
 track.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 After
 listening
 back
 to
 the
 recording
 the
 decision
 was
 taken
 to
 change
 the
 
introduction
 of
 the
 composition
 completely.
 Initially
 it
 was
 written
 that
 the
 
guitar
 would
 begin
 the
 piece
 by
 itself,
 playing
 the
 first
 phrase
 of
 the
 A
 section
 
melody,
 before
 being
 joined
 by
 the
 band
 for
 the
 melody.
 However,
 this
 
introduction
 was
 too
 brief,
 and
 also
 it
 meant
 the
 melody
 was
 being
 played
 too
 
many
 times
 at
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piece.
 It
 seemed
 a
 longer
 introduction
 was
 
necessary,
 something
 that
 would
 ease
 the
 listener
 into
 the
 composition.
 In
 order
 
to
 achieve
 this
 a
 variation
 on
 the
 B
 Section
 chords
 was
 played,
 with
 a
 long
 
crescendo
 over
 a
 period
 of
 sixteen
 bars.
 The
 first
 three
 chords
 of
 the
 pattern
 
were
 used
 rather
 than
 all
 four
 because
 it
 gave
 the
 section
 more
 space,
 and
 helped
 
create
 an
 ethereal
 yet
 mildly
 anxious
 mood,
 which
 is
 what
 was
 appropriate
 to
 
the
 piece.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 introduction
 and
 A
 section
 of
 the
 rehearsal
 
recording.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 7
 –
 Lark
 Rehearsal
 Intro
 and
 A
 Section
 


 
 
 
 
 After
 listening
 to
 the
 final
 section
 of
 the
 piece
 it
 seemed
 that
 while
 the
 guitar
 
part
 using
 extended
 techniques,
 (playing
 behind
 the
 nut,
 artificial
 harmonics,
 lots
 
of
 distortion)was
 interesting,
 after
 hearing
 it
 repeated
 so
 many
 times
 it
 became
 
mundane.
 In
 order
 to
 fix
 this,
 the
 part
 was
 changed
 to
 have
 four
 bars
 of
 just
 
rhythm
 section
 before
 entering
 with
 the
 guitar
 part.
 This
 had
 the
 effect
 of
 easing
 

the
 listener
 in
 to
 the
 new
 atmosphere
 created
 by
 this
 section,
 as
 well
 as
 meaning
 
that
 the
 guitar
 part
 would
 not
 be
 repeated
 so
 many
 times
 that
 it
 lost
 it’s
 
effectiveness.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Another
 change
 that
 I
 felt
 was
 necessary
 from
 playing
 the
 composition
 at
 the
 
first
 rehearsal
 was
 to
 change
 the
 piano
 part
 to
 be
 played
 on
 keyboard.
 The
 sound
 
of
 the
 piano
 didn’t
 really
 complement
 the
 modern,
 distorted
 guitar
 sound,
 and
 it
 
seemed
 that
 an
 electric
 piano,
 possibly
 a
 Fender
 Rhodes
 sound,
 would
 be
 more
 
appropriate.
 Also,
 using
 keyboard
 over
 piano
 also
 has
 the
 added
 benefit
 of
 being
 
much
 faster
 and
 easier
 to
 set
 up
 in
 the
 recording
 session.
 As
 our
 recording
 
sessions
 were
 just
 three
 hours
 long,
 every
 opportunity
 to
 save
 time
 was
 
welcome.
 
 

1.5
 –
 Collaborative
 Advice
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 mentioned
 previously,
 after
 doing
 a
 rehearsal
 and
 a
 recording
 I
 would
 
usually
 take
 the
 recording
 and
 Finale
 score
 of
 the
 piece
 to
 Perico
 Sambeat
 during
 
his
 office
 hours
 taking
 notes
 and
 what
 opinions
 he
 had
 on
 the
 composition,
 being
 
sure
 to
 consider
 and
 possibly
 implement
 them
 before
 the
 next
 rehearsal,
 or
 in
 
this
 case,
 the
 recording
 session.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 first
 thing
 Perico
 noticed
 was
 that
 I
 was
 not
 rhythmically
 solid
 when
 
playing
 the
 A
 section
 melody,
 I
 was
 tending
 to
 drag
 slightly
 and
 not
 be
 tight
 with
 
what
 the
 rhythm
 section
 was
 playing.
 This
 was
 a
 problem
 that
 was
 easily
 solved
 
by
 making
 sure
 I
 took
 the
 time
 to
 work
 on
 the
 melody
 with
 a
 metronome
 before
 
going
 to
 the
 recording
 session.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Secondly,
 a
 suggestion
 was
 made
 regarding
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo.
 As
 
mentioned,
 there
 needed
 to
 be
 a
 release
 from
 all
 the
 tension
 built
 up
 during
 the
 

melody,
 and
 to
 achieve
 this
 I
 began
 the
 guitar
 solo
 with
 the
 B
 section
 chords,
 but
 
this
 time
 played
 for
 a
 bar
 each
 rather
 than
 two
 beats.
 
 While
 Perico
 agreed
 with
 
the
 intent
 behind
 this,
 he
 suggested
 that
 playing
 these
 chord
 changes
 for
 just
 
eight
 bars
 was
 not
 sufficient
 for
 creating
 the
 atmosphere
 intended.
 As
 a
 result
 of
 
this
 advice
 for
 the
 recording
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo
 was
 changed
 to
 have
 
sixteen
 bars
 of
 these
 chord
 changes
 before
 reverting
 to
 eight
 bars
 of
 the
 B
 
section
 changes.
 He
 also
 suggested
 that
 the
 rhythm
 section
 should
 play
 with
 a
 
more
 open
 feel
 at
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo,
 in
 order
 to
 aid
 the
 creation
 of
 
the
 specific
 atmosphere
 that
 was
 planned
 for.
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 
beginning
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo
 taken
 from
 the
 rehearsal
 recording.
 
 
•

Souncloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 8
 –
 Lark
 Rehearsal
 -­‐
 Beginning
 of
 Guitar
 
Solo
 


 
 
 
 
 Another
 suggestion
 made
 was
 that
 the
 drums
 could
 play
 more
 busily
 and
 with
 
more
 fills
 for
 the
 final
 section
 of
 the
 piece.
 However,
 we
 tried
 this
 quickly
 before
 
the
 recording
 session
 began
 and
 found
 that
 it
 was
 not
 very
 effective,
 as
 there
 was
 
enough
 interesting
 information
 happening
 to
 mean
 that
 the
 most
 effective
 
method
 for
 the
 drums
 to
 complement
 the
 other
 instruments
 was
 to
 play
 a
 very
 
straightforward
 backbeat,
 providing
 support
 for
 the
 more
 complex
 parts
 
happening
 elsewhere.
 It
 was
 also
 suggested
 that
 a
 rall
 leading
 to
 the
 last
 hit
 
would
 be
 worth
 trying,
 but
 again,
 this
 was
 tried
 and
 it
 was
 decided
 that
 keeping
 
everything
 tight
 and
 cohesive
 was
 the
 most
 effective
 way
 to
 end
 the
 piece.
 Here
 
is
 an
 audio
 sample,
 taken
 from
 the
 rehearsal
 recording,
 of
 the
 final
 section
 of
 the
 
composition.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 9
 –
 Lark
 Rehearsal
 –
 End
 Section
 


 
 
 
 
 As
 well
 as
 seeking
 compositional
 advice
 from
 Perico,
 advice
 was
 also
 sought
 
on
 soloing
 over
 the
 changes
 of
 the
 tune
 from
 my
 private
 lesson
 instructor,
 Israel
 
Sandoval.
 From
 listening
 to
 the
 recording
 he
 could
 tell
 I
 was
 struggling
 with
 
soloing
 over
 the
 B
 section
 chords,
 particularly
 when
 they
 were
 being
 played
 for
 
just
 two
 bars
 each.
 In
 order
 to
 help
 with
 this
 we
 talked
 about
 picking
 exact
 ideas
 
to
 work
 on
 for
 this
 section
 to
 ensure
 the
 solo
 sounded
 coherent
 and
 not
 just
 the
 
fast,
 random
 jumble
 of
 notes
 played
 on
 the
 rehearsal
 recording.
 We
 concluded
 
that
 the
 sound
 I
 was
 aiming
 for
 was
 best
 achieved
 by
 superimposing
 pentatonic
 
scales
 over
 each
 of
 the
 chords,
 so
 for
 Em
 and
 Fmaj7#11
 I
 would
 play
 Em
 
pentatonic,
 for
 F#m11b13
 and
 Gmaj13
 I
 would
 play
 F#m
 pentatonic.
 These
 scale
 
choices
 would
 also
 be
 combined
 with
 the
 addition
 of
 an
 extra
 note
 or
 two
 in
 
selected
 places.
 For
 example
 for
 the
 Fmaj7#11
 chord
 I
 could
 add
 a
 b9
 to
 Em
 
pentatonic,
 for
 the
 F#m11b13
 I
 added
 a
 b13
 to
 F#m
 pentatonic,
 and
 for
 the
 
Gmaj13
 I
 once
 again
 added
 a
 b9
 to
 the
 F#m
 pentatonic.
 
 

1.6
 –
 Recording
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 recording
 session
 for
 this
 composition
 was
 from
 20.00
 –
 23.00
 on
 the
 13th
 
February
 2014
 at
 the
 Ann
 Kreis
 Scoring
 Stage,
 Berklee
 Valencia.
 The
 engineer
 for
 
the
 session
 was
 Nick
 Zeigler,
 and
 the
 band
 consisted
 of
 Daniel
 Toledo
 on
 bass,
 
Piotr
 Orzechowski
 on
 piano,
 Joshua
 Wheatley
 on
 drums,
 as
 well
 as
 myself
 on
 
electric
 guitar.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 session
 schedule
 was
 planned
 to
 be;
 
•

20.00-­‐21.00
 –
 Setup.
 

•

21.00-­‐22.00
 –
 Record
 multiple
 takes
 of
 piece.
 

•

22.00-­‐22.30
 –
 Record
 guitar
 overdubs.
 
 

•

22.30-­‐23.00
 –
 Tear
 down
 equipment.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 The
 overdubs
 in
 question
 were
 necessary
 because
 I
 had
 found
 in
 rehearsal
 
that
 going
 from
 the
 C
 Section
 melody
 to
 the
 guitar
 solo
 was
 very
 difficult
 to
 
achieve
 with
 accuracy
 in
 terms
 of
 switching
 on
 and
 off
 pedals.
 To
 ensure
 I
 got
 a
 
neat
 and
 accurate
 transition
 between
 sections
 I
 decided
 to
 not
 play
 the
 C
 Section
 
melody
 during
 the
 take
 with
 the
 full
 band,
 and
 just
 enter
 with
 the
 first
 note
 of
 the
 
solo,
 overdubbing
 the
 melodic
 part
 later.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 microphones
 to
 be
 used
 for
 the
 session
 were
 decided
 in
 advance
 by
 Nick
 
and
 I
 and
 consisted
 of;
 
•

Guitar
 –
 SM57
 +
 Reyer
 121
 

•

Bass
 –
 D.I.
 

•

Keyboards
 –
 D.I.
 
 

•

Drums
 –
 Kick
 -­‐
 AKG
 D112,
 Snare
 -­‐
 SM57,
 Toms
 -­‐
 Sennheiser
 421
 
Overheads
 –
 KM
 184
 


 
 
 
 All
 of
 these
 microphones
 were
 ones
 I
 had
 used
 in
 previous
 sessions
 that
 I
 had
 
achieved
 a
 sound
 I
 was
 happy
 with.
 Particularly
 the
 combination
 of
 both
 the
 
SM57
 and
 Reyer
 121
 on
 the
 guitar
 is
 something
 I
 have
 found
 to
 be
 very
 effective
 
in
 terms
 of
 capturing
 the
 sound
 I
 desired.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Below
 is
 a
 picture
 of
 the
 floor
 plan
 drawn
 up
 before
 the
 session.
 Due
 to
 the
 
fact
 that
 the
 keyboards
 and
 bass
 were
 being
 recorded
 through
 a
 D.I.
 the
 set
 up
 
was
 relatively
 fast,
 and
 this
 also
 meant
 that
 we
 could
 all
 record
 in
 the
 same
 room
 
because
 the
 guitar
 amp
 would
 be
 placed
 in
 the
 isolation
 booth,
 therefore
 
eliminating
 any
 possibility
 for
 sound
 bleeding
 into
 the
 drum
 microphones.
 
 


 

 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Due
 to
 the
 fastidiousness
 of
 Nick
 and
 I’s
 pre-­‐production
 organisational
 
efforts,
 the
 plan
 and
 agenda
 for
 the
 recording
 was
 extremely
 clear
 and
 therefore
 
went
 very
 smoothly.
 The
 schedule
 was
 maintained
 and
 we
 had
 ample
 time
 to
 
record
 several
 takes
 of
 the
 track,
 as
 well
 as
 do
 the
 guitar
 overdub
 of
 which
 I
 
previously
 spoke.
 The
 only
 aspect
 of
 the
 recording
 I
 was
 unhappy
 with
 was
 the
 
guitar
 part
 over
 the
 end
 section
 of
 the
 composition.
 I
 felt
 that
 I
 hadn’t
 played
 to
 
the
 part
 with
 a
 level
 of
 accuracy
 I
 was
 happy
 with,
 so
 to
 fix
 this
 I
 booked
 a
 slot
 in
 
studio
 A
 and
 overdubbed
 this
 section,
 using
 the
 same
 microphones.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 In
 post-­‐production,
 I
 did
 the
 edits
 of
 the
 takes
 using
 Pro
 Tools,
 the
 track
 was
 
mixed
 by
 Ryan
 Renteria,
 and
 mastered
 by
 Alan
 Tishk.
 The
 only
 issue
 that
 arose
 
in
 the
 post
 production
 process
 was
 that
 the
 intent
 of
 having
 the
 keyboard
 
melody
 at
 section
 B
 begin
 very
 quietly
 and
 increase
 in
 volume
 over
 the
 course
 of
 
the
 section
 was
 not
 very
 effective,
 as
 it
 created
 a
 sense
 of
 uncertainty
 as
 to
 what
 
was
 happening
 at
 the
 start
 of
 the
 section.
 This
 problem
 was
 easily
 solved
 by
 
simply
 raising
 he
 volume
 of
 the
 keyboard
 in
 the
 mix,
 thereby
 creating
 a
 more
 
purposeful
 feel
 to
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 B
 section.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 the
 audio
 for
 the
 final
 product
 of
 my
 composition
 “Lark”.
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 10
 –
 Lark
 

1.7
 –
 Lessons
 Learned
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 main
 area
 in
 which
 I
 increased
 my
 knowledge
 over
 the
 course
 of
 writing,
 
rehearsing,
 and
 recording
 this
 piece
 was
 in
 the
 field
 of
 traditional
 Irish
 music.
 
Studying
 and
 listening
 to
 the
 recordings
 before
 I
 began
 to
 write
 was
 extremely
 
enlightening,
 reinforcing
 my
 initial
 feeling
 that
 it
 is
 important
 for
 me
 to
 make
 
more
 of
 an
 effort
 to
 increase
 my
 knowledge
 in
 terms
 of
 the
 traditional
 music
 of
 

my
 country.
 The
 main
 area
 that
 impressed
 me
 the
 most
 was
 the
 seemingly
 
inexhaustible
 supply
 of
 melodic
 material
 contained
 within
 each
 track.
 To
 be
 able
 
to
 continually
 have
 memorable,
 interesting,
 technically
 demanding
 melodies,
 
while
 never
 really
 straying
 from
 diatonic
 note
 choices
 and
 harmony,
 is
 
something
 I
 could
 benefit
 from
 studying
 more
 of,
 as
 I
 have
 a
 tendency
 to
 
overcomplicate
 melodies
 and
 therefore
 dilute
 their
 effectiveness.
 The
 time
 I
 
spent
 researching
 this
 music
 has
 definitely
 ensured
 that
 in
 the
 future
 I
 will
 spend
 
time
 working
 on
 traditional
 Irish
 music,
 both
 in
 order
 to
 have
 a
 better
 
understanding
 of
 the
 musical
 heritage
 of
 my
 country,
 as
 well
 as
 to
 reap
 the
 
benefits
 of
 absorbing
 some
 of
 it’s
 musical
 characteristics.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Another
 area
 in
 which
 I
 increased
 my
 knowledge
 was
 in
 terms
 of
 the
 use
 of
 
minor
 pentatonic
 scales
 with
 added
 altered
 notes.
 Using
 minor
 pentatonics
 over
 
major
 chords
 is
 an
 approach
 I
 regularly
 employ
 in
 both
 composition
 and
 
improvising,
 but
 the
 simple
 idea
 of
 just
 adding
 one
 or
 two
 notes
 contained
 within
 
the
 chord
 of
 the
 moment
 to
 the
 minor
 pentatonic
 scale
 had
 never
 really
 occurred
 
to
 me.
 This
 new
 skill
 has
 given
 me
 a
 new
 sound
 and
 colour
 to
 use
 for
 both
 my
 
compositions
 and
 solos.
 Whereas
 previously
 my
 use
 of
 minor
 pentatonics,
 while
 
being
 a
 sound
 I
 enjoy,
 may
 have
 become
 slightly
 predictable
 and
 overused,
 now
 I
 
have
 been
 provided
 with
 a
 way
 to
 keep
 the
 sound
 and
 feel
 that
 I
 enjoy
 while
 
adding
 a
 new
 dimension
 to
 keep
 both
 the
 listener,
 and
 myself,
 interested.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 A
 third
 area
 in
 which
 I
 could
 say
 I
 increased
 my
 learning
 was
 in
 the
 
compositional
 approach
 of
 the
 piece.
 While
 I
 regularly
 use
 very
 specific
 
references
 and
 influences
 when
 I
 compose,
 I
 had
 never
 specifically
 focused
 on
 an
 
existing
 melody
 and
 then
 altered
 it
 to
 fit
 my
 compositional
 needs.
 This
 is
 

something
 I
 would
 definitely
 consider
 doing
 in
 future
 compositions,
 as
 it
 was
 a
 
great
 way
 to
 provide
 myself
 with
 a
 starting
 point
 for
 ideas,
 although
 I
 would
 
have
 to
 be
 careful
 about
 how
 I
 do
 this
 with
 other
 compositions.
 Using
 traditional
 
melodies
 is
 perfectly
 acceptable
 because
 they
 are
 all
 in
 the
 public
 domain
 and
 
not
 under
 copyright,
 if
 I
 were
 to
 do
 the
 same
 approach
 for
 copyrighted
 material
 I
 
would
 be
 at
 risk
 of
 entering
 morally
 dubious
 territory,
 as
 I
 would
 not
 be
 
comfortable
 with
 the
 idea
 of
 directly
 copying
 from
 another
 person’s
 melodic
 
work.
 I
 also
 feel
 that
 this
 approach
 of
 looking
 at
 a
 previously
 unfamiliar
 style
 of
 
music
 in
 order
 to
 gain
 compositional
 ideas
 is
 a
 great
 way
 to
 introduce
 oneself
 to
 
new
 music,
 instantly
 applying
 the
 benefits
 of
 some
 new
 knowledge
 to
 your
 own
 
playing.
 
 

2
 –
 “Umbra”
 
2.1
 –
 Initial
 Intention
 

 
 
 
 
 For
 this
 piece,
 I
 employed
 the
 musical
 influence
 of
 one
 of
 my
 former
 
classmates
 on
 my
 own
 playing.
 While
 studying
 for
 my
 undergraduate
 degree,
 I
 
spent
 four
 years
 in
 the
 same
 class
 as
 fellow
 Irish
 guitarist,
 Chris
 Guilfoyle.
 Chris
 
is
 an
 extremely
 skilled
 composer
 and
 guitarist,
 in
 both
 the
 jazz
 and
 electronic
 
music
 idioms.
 I
 had
 always
 been
 a
 fan
 of
 his
 compositional
 style,
 and
 spending
 
such
 a
 long
 time
 studying
 in
 the
 same
 composition
 class,
 I
 am
 quite
 familiar
 with
 
his
 approach.
 I
 decided
 that
 rather
 than
 be
 envious
 of
 his
 work,
 I
 would
 be
 better
 
off
 learning
 from
 his
 style
 and
 applying
 it
 to
 my
 own
 writing.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 I
 decided
 straight
 away
 that
 although
 I
 wanted
 Chris’
 music
 to
 be
 the
 main
 
influence
 for
 this
 piece,
 I
 did
 not
 want
 to
 directly
 use
 any
 of
 his
 written
 material
 
as
 a
 reference,
 as
 this
 would
 be
 more
 like
 copying
 rather
 than
 being
 influenced
 

by.
 Instead,
 I
 just
 tried
 to
 think
 about
 some
 of
 the
 characteristics
 of
 his
 work
 and
 
then
 apply
 it
 to
 the
 piece
 I
 wished
 to
 write.
 The
 main
 characteristics
 were;
 
 
•

Dense
 sounding,
 unusual
 chords.
 

•

Complex
 melodies.
 

•

Use
 of
 guitar
 effects
 pedals.
 

•

The
 influence
 of
 electronic
 music.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 With
 these
 influences
 in
 mind
 I
 set
 out
 to
 write
 a
 piece
 that
 had
 some
 of
 the
 
characteristics
 of
 Chris’
 work,
 but
 that
 would
 still
 fit
 with
 my
 own
 musical
 style.
 
 

2.2
 –
 The
 Writing
 Process
 

 
 
 
 
 Before
 beginning
 the
 piece
 I
 knew
 that
 I
 wanted
 to
 write
 this
 composition
 
with
 a
 groove
 based
 on
 the
 drum
 and
 bass
 style
 of
 electronic
 music.
 This
 is
 an
 
influence
 taken
 from
 the
 music
 of
 Chris
 Guilfoyle,
 but
 as
 well
 as
 that
 it
 is
 a
 style
 
that
 I
 have
 also
 admired
 many
 times
 in
 the
 work
 of
 Erik
 Truffaz,
 Jojo
 Mayer,
 and
 
Aphex
 Twin.
 Knowing
 the
 rhythmic
 style
 of
 the
 piece
 before
 beginning
 meant
 
that
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 material
 could
 be
 written
 using
 what
 is
 commonly
 found
 in
 
this
 style;
 relatively
 slow
 harmonic
 rhythm,
 chromatically
 moving
 basslines,
 
tension
 created
 by
 the
 busyness
 of
 the
 drum
 feel,
 etc.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 first
 part
 of
 the
 composition
 that
 I
 began
 working
 on
 was
 the
 chords
 for
 
the
 A
 section.
 I
 had
 been
 experimenting
 with
 the
 idea
 of
 constant
 structures
 in
 
guitar
 voicings,
 and
 felt
 this
 was
 the
 perfect
 opportunity
 to
 use
 them.
 The
 idea
 in
 
question
 was
 to
 begin
 with
 an
 Fmaj13
 voicing
 and
 then
 shift
 it
 downward
 by
 a
 
tone
 each
 time,
 this
 had
 the
 effect
 of
 having
 an
 initially
 aurally
 pleasant
 chord
 

that
 became
 darker
 and
 more
 dissonant
 each
 time
 it
 moved.
 The
 resulting
 chords
 
were;
 Fmaj13,
 Ebmaj13b9,
 Db69(addb9).
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Initially
 it
 seemed
 that
 having
 a
 three
 chord
 sequence
 would
 be
 an
 interesting
 
way
 of
 creating
 a
 cyclic
 feel
 to
 the
 A
 section,
 but
 after
 playing
 through
 it
 a
 few
 
times
 it
 became
 apparent
 that
 the
 density
 of
 the
 chords
 combined
 with
 this
 cyclic
 
feel
 actually
 made
 the
 sequence
 quite
 unpleasant
 to
 listen
 to.
 To
 fix
 this
 one
 extra
 
chord
 was
 added,
 keeping
 the
 same
 structure
 and
 once
 again
 moving
 down
 a
 
tone,
 this
 time
 producing
 a
 Bm11
 chord.
 The
 effect
 of
 having
 an
 aurally
 pleasant
 
chord
 at
 the
 beginning
 and
 end
 of
 the
 sequence
 gave
 it
 a
 sense
 of
 overall
 balance
 
and
 relief
 once
 the
 sequence
 reached
 the
 fourth
 chord.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 A
 section
 chords,
 as
 played
 at
 the
 introduction
 
of
 the
 piece.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 11
 –
 Umbra
 A
 Section
 Chords
 


 
 
 
 
 It
 had
 been
 decided
 that
 complex
 melodies
 were
 one
 of
 the
 influences
 that
 
should
 be
 channeled
 so
 a
 technique
 was
 employed
 described
 to
 us
 in
 a
 
composition
 masterclass
 by
 Berklee
 Valencia
 faculty
 member,
 Polo
 Ortí.
 Polo
 
told
 us
 his
 method
 of
 coming
 up
 with
 melodies
 was
 to
 solo
 over
 the
 changes
 and
 
then
 pick
 out
 the
 parts
 he
 liked
 and
 use
 them
 as
 a
 melody.
 This
 is
 an
 effective
 
method
 for
 creating
 a
 complex
 melody
 so
 I
 looped
 the
 chord
 progression
 on
 a
 
sequencer
 and
 then
 recorded
 myself
 soloing
 over
 the
 changes.
 I
 then
 would
 
listen
 back
 to
 what
 I
 played,
 choose
 some
 appropriate
 and
 effective
 parts,
 then
 
solo
 again,
 this
 time
 keeping
 whatever
 I
 liked
 from
 the
 previous
 take,
 repeating
 
this
 process
 until
 there
 was
 a
 full
 A
 Section
 melody
 written
 down.
 
 

 


 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 A
 section
 melody.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 12
 –
 Umbra
 –
 A
 Section
 


 
 
 
 
 For
 the
 B
 Section,
 in
 order
 to
 provide
 contrast,
 as
 well
 as
 a
 relief
 from
 the
 
busyness
 of
 the
 A
 Section,
 I
 decided
 that
 I
 would
 reverse
 the
 roles
 of
 the
 
harmonic
 and
 melodic
 instruments,
 this
 time
 making
 the
 melody
 extremely
 
simple
 and
 increasing
 the
 amount
 of
 movement
 in
 the
 chord
 sequence.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 This
 section
 seemed
 appropriate
 to
 introduce
 chromatic
 movement
 in
 the
 
bass
 line.
 Slash
 chords
 were
 used
 to
 achieve
 this
 movement
 while
 tensions
 were
 
added
 to
 the
 voicings
 to
 create
 the
 necessary
 harmonic
 flavour.
 
 An
 Eb
 note
 was
 
kept
 as
 the
 top
 note
 of
 each
 voicing,
 so
 that
 although
 the
 chords
 are
 very
 
different
 and
 not
 necessarily
 belonging
 to
 the
 same
 harmonic
 universe,
 there
 is
 a
 
consistency
 between
 the
 changes
 as
 the
 top
 note
 keeps
 all
 the
 chords
 connected.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 


 
 
 
 
 The
 plan
 was
 to
 keep
 the
 B
 Section
 melody
 extremely
 simple,
 in
 order
 to
 this
 I
 
decided
 on
 just
 a
 two
 note
 motif
 with
 a
 harmony
 part
 underneath
 repeating
 the
 
Eb
 note
 common
 to
 all
 the
 chords.
 The
 simplicity
 of
 the
 melody
 of
 this
 section
 is
 
a
 welcome
 respite
 from
 the
 freneticism
 of
 the
 previous
 section,
 and
 also
 the
 
space
 created
 by
 having
 a
 static
 melody
 also
 gives
 the
 rhythm
 section
 a
 chance
 to
 
play
 more
 busily
 and
 create
 new
 ideas
 of
 interest
 within
 their
 parts.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 B
 Section
 of
 the
 piece.
 
 
•

Souncloud
 Playlist
 Track
 13
 –
 Umbra
 –
 B
 Section
 


 
 
 
 
 After
 repeating
 the
 A
 and
 B
 sections,
 it
 seemed
 that
 there
 needed
 to
 be
 a
 new
 
segment
 of
 melodic
 information
 before
 going
 to
 solos.
 In
 keeping
 with
 the
 overall
 
compositional
 aspiration
 of
 maintaining
 the
 listenability
 and
 accessibility
 of
 the
 
piece,
 it
 appeared
 that
 a
 minor
 pentatonic
 based
 melody
 would
 be
 appropriate
 as
 
it
 would
 be
 a
 familiar
 sound
 to
 the
 listeners
 ear,
 as
 well
 as
 being
 a
 middle
 ground
 
between
 the
 extreme
 busyness
 of
 the
 A
 Section
 and
 the
 melodic
 simplicity
 of
 the
 
B
 Section.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 With
 this
 in
 mind
 the
 chords
 were
 worked
 on
 first,
 choosing
 to
 maintain
 the
 
chromatic
 bass
 movement
 of
 the
 B
 Section,
 this
 time
 with
 slightly
 different
 chord
 
tensions.
 
 


 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The
 structure
 of
 these
 chords
 once
 again
 take
 their
 influence
 from
 the
 
playing
 of
 Kurt
 Rosenwinkel.
 The
 chord
 is
 constructed
 by
 playing
 a
 root,
 third,
 
and
 an
 open
 G
 string,
 then
 playing
 a
 bass
 note
 a
 fourth
 down
 from
 the
 root
 note.
 
All
 the
 notes
 aside
 from
 the
 open
 G
 are
 then
 moved
 down
 a
 semitone
 for
 the
 
second
 chord.
 The
 interval
 of
 a
 fourth
 at
 the
 bottom
 of
 the
 chord,
 combined
 with
 
the
 interval
 of
 a
 major
 seventh
 contained
 within
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 chord,
 creates
 a
 
very
 dark
 and
 relatively
 dissonant
 sound.
 In
 order
 to
 once
 again
 keep
 coherence
 
between
 the
 chords,
 Eb
 was
 added
 as
 the
 top
 note
 of
 the
 chord,
 this
 being
 the
 #9
 
of
 the
 C
 major
 7th
 chord
 and
 the
 major
 3rd
 of
 the
 Bmaj
 chord.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Then
 begins
 the
 first
 solo,
 which
 is
 played
 by
 guitar.
 The
 structure
 of
 this
 is
 
that
 the
 guitar
 plays
 over
 the
 first
 sixteen
 bars
 of
 the
 A
 Section,
 which
 is
 
repeated,
 then
 followed
 by
 the
 next
 part
 of
 the
 A
 section,
 played
 for
 sixteen
 bars.
 
As
 a
 written
 section
 between
 the
 first
 and
 second
 solo,
 the
 third
 melodic
 section
 
is
 repeated,
 played
 by
 both
 piano
 and
 guitar,
 this
 time
 with
 the
 guitar
 playing
 the
 
part
 a
 fifth
 above
 the
 piano.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 end
 of
 the
 guitar
 solo,
 going
 into
 the
 melodic
 
section
 before
 the
 piano
 solo.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 14
 –
 Umbra
 –
 End
 of
 Solo
 


 
 
 
 
 For
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piano
 solo,
 it
 seemed
 that
 it
 would
 be
 effective
 to
 
have
 a
 break
 from
 the
 aggressiveness
 of
 the
 rhythms
 of
 the
 composition
 up
 to
 
this
 point,
 so
 the
 guitar
 and
 bass
 drop
 out
 while
 the
 drums
 were
 instructed
 to
 
play
 a
 less
 busy
 figure
 than
 in
 the
 previous
 section.
 The
 piano
 and
 drums
 play
 
together
 for
 16
 bars
 before
 being
 rejoined
 by
 the
 bass
 and
 returning
 to
 the
 drum
 
and
 bass
 influenced
 groove
 of
 the
 previous
 sections.
 The
 chords
 for
 the
 
beginning
 of
 the
 piano
 solo
 are
 taken
 from
 the
 B
 Section
 of
 the
 piece,
 then
 after
 
thirty-­‐two
 bars
 of
 these
 chords
 the
 guitar
 re-­‐enters
 with
 a
 melodic
 line
 while
 the
 
piano
 continues
 to
 solo,
 this
 time
 over
 the
 A
 section
 chords.
 The
 purpose
 of
 the
 
guitar
 melody
 line
 is
 once
 again
 to
 provide
 a
 variation
 on
 material
 that
 has
 
already
 been
 heard,
 while
 also
 surprising
 the
 listener
 with
 something
 
unexpected.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 extract
 of
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piano
 solo,
 rejoining
 of
 the
 
band,
 and
 introduction
 of
 guitar.
 
 
•

Souncloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 15
 –
 Umbra
 Piano
 Solo
 


 
 
 
 
 In
 order
 to
 end
 the
 piece,
 a
 drum
 solo
 seemed
 appropriate.
 To
 provide
 an
 
ostinato
 for
 the
 drums
 to
 solo
 over,
 a
 repeated
 melodic
 figure
 was
 developed
 
over
 the
 chords
 of
 the
 B
 Section.
 Similarly
 to
 the
 B
 Section
 of
 the
 melody
 the
 
scale
 used
 to
 create
 the
 melody
 was
 Eb
 minor
 pentatonic,
 thereby
 retaining
 a
 
similar
 flavour
 to
 the
 previously
 heard
 material
 but
 still
 providing
 the
 listener
 
with
 something
 new.
 This
 figure
 is
 repeated
 until
 a
 cue
 from
 the
 drummer,
 with
 
everybody
 playing
 a
 hit
 on
 the
 last
 melody
 note
 of
 the
 phrase.
 
 

 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

2.3
 –
 Rehearsal
 and
 Adjustments
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 first
 rehearsal
 of
 this
 piece
 immediately
 brought
 about
 one
 extreme
 
change
 to
 the
 composition.
 The
 melody
 was
 initially
 written
 to
 be
 doubled
 by
 
saxophone
 for
 the
 A
 Section,
 and
 then
 the
 melody
 was
 to
 be
 divided
 between
 
guitar
 and
 saxophone
 for
 the
 B
 Section.
 As
 it
 turned
 out,
 the
 saxophonist
 didn’t
 
show
 up
 for
 the
 rehearsal.
 While
 this
 seemed
 to
 be
 a
 problem
 at
 first,
 it
 turned
 
out
 to
 be
 quite
 convenient
 as
 after
 some
 quick
 adjustments
 it
 was
 decided
 that
 
saxophone
 was
 not
 necessary
 for
 the
 composition.
 
 Firstly
 it
 was
 decided
 that
 the
 
melody
 at
 A
 could
 stand
 by
 itself
 without
 needing
 to
 be
 doubled
 by
 piano,
 then
 
for
 the
 B
 section
 it
 was
 possible
 for
 the
 guitar
 to
 play
 both
 the
 parts
 that
 were
 
written
 for
 saxophone
 and
 guitar.
 This
 turned
 out
 to
 function
 quite
 well
 as
 for
 

the
 first
 eight
 bars
 the
 guitar
 plays
 the
 two
 note
 melody,
 before
 adding
 the
 lower
 
Eb
 drone
 that
 was
 intended
 for
 saxophone.
 Here
 is
 the
 resulting
 melody
 for
 the
 B
 
Section,
 With
 the
 guitar
 playing
 both
 the
 parts
 written
 for
 guitar
 and
 saxophone.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 


 
 
 
 Another
 adjustment
 to
 be
 made
 involved
 the
 melodic
 section
 leading
 in
 to
 the
 
guitar
 solo.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 


 
 
 
 
 Initially
 this
 phrase
 was
 to
 be
 played
 for
 eight
 bars
 by
 just
 saxophone,
 with
 the
 
keyboards
 joining
 for
 the
 repetition
 of
 these
 eight
 bars,
 while
 guitar
 played
 the
 
chords.
 In
 the
 rehearsal,
 the
 piano
 took
 the
 first
 eight
 bars
 of
 the
 melody
 while
 
the
 guitar
 played
 chords
 for
 the
 first
 eight,
 beginning
 to
 play
 melody
 for
 the
 
second
 eight.
 On
 listening
 back
 to
 the
 rehearsal
 recording,
 it
 was
 apparent
 that
 
while
 the
 dense
 and
 dark
 mood
 created
 by
 these
 specific
 chord
 voicings
 was
 very
 
effective
 when
 played
 by
 just
 guitar,
 in
 the
 context
 of
 the
 piece
 it
 didn’t
 really
 
work
 as
 they
 created
 an
 excess
 of
 information
 in
 the
 low
 register,
 cluttering
 the
 
overall
 sound.
 To
 amend
 this,
 the
 solution
 was
 to
 have
 the
 piano
 play
 the
 melody
 
for
 the
 first
 eight
 bars
 with
 no
 chords
 behind
 it
 and
 the
 guitar
 would
 then
 join
 
playing
 the
 melody
 for
 the
 next
 eight
 bars.
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 this
 section
 from
 the
 rehearsal
 recording,
 then
 
from
 the
 final
 product.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 16
 –
 Umbra
 –
 C
 Section
 Changes
 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The
 final
 aspect
 of
 the
 piece
 that
 needed
 to
 be
 changed
 due
 to
 the
 lack
 of
 a
 
saxophone
 was
 the
 end
 section.
 The
 written
 part
 indicated
 that
 the
 saxophone
 
should
 play
 a
 harmonization
 a
 fourth
 above
 the
 melodic
 line
 written
 for
 guitar,
 
instead
 of
 having
 the
 keyboard
 play
 this,
 the
 use
 of
 a
 guitar
 effects
 pedal
 was
 
employed,
 specifically
 a
 Digitech
 Whammy,
 as
 this
 can
 be
 programmed
 to
 
harmonise
 a
 fourth
 above.
 
 

 
 
 
 The
 final
 change
 that
 came
 about
 specifically
 as
 a
 result
 of
 the
 rehearsal
 was
 
regarding
 the
 drum
 part.
 The
 score
 had
 indicated
 that
 for
 the
 first
 sixteen
 bars
 of
 
the
 introduction
 the
 drums
 should
 fill
 space,
 mostly
 using
 cymbals,
 playing
 freely
 
without
 regard
 to
 the
 tempo.
 However,
 while
 following
 these
 instructions
 in
 the
 
rehearsal,
 the
 drummer
 played
 a
 short
 phrase
 of
 rhythms
 in
 tempo
 on
 the
 closed
 
hi-­‐hat,
 momentarily
 creating
 a
 very
 effective
 accompaniment
 for
 the
 guitar
 part.
 
Similarly,
 for
 the
 first
 sixteen
 bars
 of
 the
 piano
 solo,
 the
 score
 indicated
 that
 the
 
drums
 should
 play
 very
 busily,
 responding
 to
 what
 the
 piano
 played,
 almost
 in
 
the
 form
 of
 a
 dual
 solo.
 However,
 upon
 hearing
 this
 small
 section
 of
 the
 drums
 
playing
 this
 closed
 hi-­‐hat
 rhythm
 for
 the
 introduction,
 it
 was
 instantly
 apparent
 
that
 this
 idea,
 employed
 for
 the
 entirety
 of
 each
 of
 those
 separate
 sections,
 would
 
be
 much
 more
 effective
 than
 what
 had
 originally
 been
 written
 for
 the
 drummer
 
to
 play.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 extract
 of
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piece
 from
 the
 rehearsal
 
recording,
 followed
 by
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piece
 from
 the
 final
 product.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Umbra
 –
 Intro
 Changes
 
 


 
 

2.4
 –
 Collaborative
 Advice
 

 
 
 
 
 Upon
 listening
 to
 the
 rehearsal
 recording
 with
 Perico
 Sambeat,
 he
 remarked
 
that
 the
 chords
 when
 played
 by
 the
 keyboards
 over
 the
 A
 Section
 clashed
 with
 
some
 of
 the
 melody
 notes.
 This
 appeared
 to
 be
 true,
 but
 upon
 investigation
 it
 
seemed
 more
 likely
 that
 the
 instructions
 given
 to
 the
 piano
 at
 this
 part
 were
 at
 
the
 root
 of
 the
 issue.
 As
 the
 chords
 for
 the
 A
 section
 are
 the
 same
 for
 the
 
introduction,
 they
 are
 of
 course
 based
 on
 a
 specific
 guitar
 voicing
 making
 up
 a
 
sequence
 of;
 
|
 Fmaj13
 |
 Ebmaj13b9
 |
 Db69(addb9)|
 Bm11
 
 
 |
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 specific
 guitar
 voicings
 were
 written
 in
 the
 piano
 part
 as
 sample
 voicings
 
to
 help
 with
 constructing
 these
 unusual
 chords,
 also
 with
 the
 instructions
 to
 omit
 
the
 5th
 during
 any
 comping.
 
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 While
 these
 voicings
 are
 very
 effective
 on
 guitar,
 this
 information
 is
 probably
 
far
 too
 specific
 and
 limiting
 to
 give
 to
 a
 pianist.
 In
 order
 to
 fix
 the
 problem
 I
 then
 
studied
 the
 notes
 contained
 within
 the
 melody
 and
 realised
 that
 they
 were
 
almost
 entirely
 contained
 within
 the
 Lydian
 Augmented
 scale
 of
 each
 chord
 they
 

were
 being
 played
 over.
 This
 meant
 that
 while
 the
 chords
 for
 the
 introduction
 
could
 stay
 as
 specifically
 intended
 for
 guitar,
 for
 the
 melody
 the
 chords
 for
 piano
 
could
 be
 written
 as;
 
 
|Fmaj13#5
 |
 Ebmaj13#5
 |
 Dbmaj7#5
 |
 Bm11
 |
 

 
 
 
 
 This
 eradicated
 the
 problem
 that
 was
 noticed
 regarding
 the
 clash
 of
 melody
 
and
 chord,
 as
 well
 as
 having
 the
 added
 bonus
 of
 allowing
 the
 pianist
 much
 more
 
freedom
 of
 expression,
 as
 indicated
 in
 the
 following
 recorded
 material.
 The
 first
 
excerpt
 is
 from
 the
 rehearsal
 followed
 by
 the
 finished
 product.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 18
 –
 Umbra
 –
 Voicing
 Changes
 


 
 
 
 
 A
 second
 point
 that
 was
 raised
 in
 this
 meeting
 was
 there
 was
 possibly
 too
 
much
 contrast
 between
 the
 A
 and
 B
 Section
 melody,
 Perico
 suggesting
 that
 
perhaps
 the
 A
 Section
 melody
 could
 benefit
 from
 being
 less
 busy
 and
 the
 B
 
Section
 could
 have
 more
 movement
 melodically.
 This
 was
 a
 suggestion
 that
 
made
 sense
 and
 was
 worth
 considering,
 but
 due
 to
 time
 constraints
 before
 the
 
recording,
 was
 not
 possible
 to
 investigate
 fully.
 However,
 having
 completed
 the
 
recording
 with
 the
 melodies
 in
 this
 manner,
 it
 seems
 that
 the
 melodic
 contrast
 
between
 the
 sections
 is
 very
 effective,
 as
 it
 also
 allows
 room
 for
 more
 contrast
 
between
 what
 the
 rhythm
 section
 is
 playing
 between
 the
 A
 and
 B
 Sections,
 which
 
was
 an
 effective
 way
 of
 both
 maintaining
 the
 interest
 of
 the
 listener,
 as
 well
 as
 
keeping
 the
 musicians
 themselves
 engaged.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Having
 gained
 some
 advice
 on
 the
 compositional
 aspect
 of
 the
 piece
 I
 also
 met
 
with
 Israel
 Sandoval
 to
 discuss
 the
 scale
 options
 available
 for
 soloing
 over
 the
 
tune,
 particularly
 over
 the
 A
 section
 chords.
 As
 has
 been
 previously
 mentioned,
 
the
 chords
 for
 this
 section
 of
 the
 piece
 are
 unusual
 and
 as
 a
 consequence,
 were
 

quite
 difficult
 to
 solo
 comfortably
 over.
 Together,
 Israel
 and
 I
 investigated
 what
 
would
 be
 possible
 options
 for
 each
 chord,
 also
 with
 the
 aim
 of
 discovering
 which
 
options
 blended
 the
 changes
 together
 with
 most
 cohesion,
 while
 also
 being
 
aware
 of
 what
 would
 be
 a
 logical
 mental
 process
 for
 changing
 between
 chords.
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 The
 resulting
 scale
 chord
 relationships
 were;
 
 
•

Fmaj13
 –
 D
 Minor
 (all
 variations
 of,
 Melodic,
 Harmonic,
 Natural
 Minor)
 

•

Ebmaj13b9
 –
 D,
 Eb,
 E,
 A,
 Bb,
 B
 –
 Limited
 Transposition
 Scale
 

•

Db69(addb9)
 –
 D,
 E,
 F,
 Gb,
 G
 –
 Limited
 Transposition
 Scale
 

•

Bm11
 –
 Bb
 Augmented
 Scale
 


 
 
 
 
 The
 term
 “Limited
 Transposition
 Scale,”
 implies
 a
 scale
 that
 fulfills
 specific
 
criteria
 with
 regards
 to
 their
 symmetry
 and
 their
 interval
 groups.
 This
 was
 a
 
concept
 previously
 unfamiliar
 to
 me,
 and
 was
 very
 effective
 in
 terms
 of
 creating
 
new
 ideas
 for
 soloing
 over
 these
 chords,
 and
 for
 soloing
 in
 general.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 it
 turned
 out,
 because
 of
 the
 changes
 to
 the
 chordal
 information
 given
 to
 
the
 keyboards,
 these
 scales
 were
 not
 strictly
 necessary
 for
 soloing
 over
 this
 
section,
 as
 Lydian
 Augmented
 would
 now
 fit
 each
 chord.
 However,
 the
 use
 of
 
these
 scales
 did
 provide
 an
 extra
 ingredient
 to
 employ
 during
 the
 solo
 which,
 
when
 combined
 with
 the
 Lydian
 Augmented
 scales,
 created
 a
 sound
 that
 was
 
very
 specific
 to
 this
 piece
 and
 therefore
 very
 effective.
 
 

 

 

 

2.5
 –
 Recording
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 recording
 session
 for
 “Umbra”
 was
 20.00-­‐23.00,
 on
 the
 9th
 April
 2014
 at
 
the
 Ann
 Kreis
 Scroing
 Stage,
 Berklee
 Valencia.
 The
 engineer
 for
 the
 session
 was
 
Alayna
 Hughes,
 and
 the
 band
 consisted
 of
 Daniel
 Toledo
 on
 electric
 bass,
 Piotr
 
Orzechowski
 on
 keyboards,
 Joshua
 Wheatley
 on
 drums,
 as
 well
 as
 myself
 on
 
electric
 guitar.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 The
 session
 schedule
 was
 planned
 to
 be;
 
•

20.00-­‐21.00
 –
 Setup.
 

•

21.00-­‐22.30
 –
 Record
 multiple
 takes
 of
 piece.
 

•

22.30-­‐23.00
 –
 Tear
 down
 equipment.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 The
 microphones
 to
 be
 used
 for
 the
 session
 were
 decided
 in
 advance
 by
 
Alayna
 and
 I
 and
 consisted
 of;
 
•

Guitar
 –
 SM57
 +
 Reyer
 121
 

•

Bass
 –
 D.I.
 

•

Keyboards
 –
 D.I.
 
 

•

Drums
 –
 Kick
 -­‐
 AKG
 D112,
 Snare
 -­‐
 SM57,
 Toms
 -­‐
 Sennheiser
 421
 
Overheads
 –
 KM
 184
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Below
 is
 a
 picture
 of
 the
 floor
 plan
 for
 the
 session.
 
 


 
 

 


 
 
 
 
 As
 in
 the
 recording
 session
 written
 about
 in
 the
 previous
 chapter,
 the
 effort
 
that
 went
 into
 the
 pre-­‐production
 and
 organisation
 process
 meant
 that
 
everything
 ran
 smoothly
 for
 the
 session,
 ensuring
 ample
 time
 was
 available
 for
 
recording
 enough
 takes
 until
 a
 satisfactory
 product
 was
 a
 certainty.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 In
 post-­‐production,
 I
 completed
 the
 edits
 using
 Pro
 Tools,
 the
 mix
 was
 done
 
by
 Ryan
 Renteria,
 and
 mastering
 by
 Alan
 Tishk.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 the
 recording
 session
 went
 very
 smoothly
 and
 the
 arrangement
 was
 well
 
prepared,
 no
 problems
 arose
 in
 post
 production,
 the
 only
 difficulty
 lay
 in
 
choosing
 from
 the
 many
 takes,
 as
 each
 had
 it’s
 own
 appeal.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 the
 final
 product
 of
 the
 composition
 “Umbra”.
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 19
 -­‐
 Umbra
 


 
2.6
 -­‐
 Lessons
 Learned
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 main
 area
 I
 increased
 my
 knowledge
 over
 the
 course
 of
 writing
 and
 
arranging
 this
 piece
 was
 in
 the
 field
 of
 chord-­‐scale
 relationships.
 Learning
 about
 
Limited
 Transposition
 scales
 has
 provided
 an
 area
 for
 intensive
 further
 study
 in
 
the
 future,
 while
 also
 immediately
 granting
 me
 some
 new
 sounds
 and
 ideas
 for
 
my
 improvisational
 repertoire.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 second
 area
 in
 which
 I
 could
 say
 I
 learned,
 was
 with
 regard
 the
 last
 
minute
 changing
 of
 the
 ensemble
 line
 up.
 While
 initially
 the
 fact
 that
 the
 
saxophonist
 failed
 to
 show
 up
 for
 a
 rehearsal
 was
 a
 great
 source
 of
 irritation
 to
 
me,
 in
 the
 end
 the
 composition
 ended
 up
 being
 much
 more
 effective
 in
 the
 
quartet
 format.
 This
 was
 a
 good
 lesson
 in
 terms
 of
 not
 assuming
 the
 worst
 when
 

presented
 with
 an
 obstacle,
 as
 well
 as
 how
 to
 change
 arrangements
 quickly
 and
 
intuitively.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Also,
 I
 learned
 that
 the
 original
 intent
 for
 the
 composition
 does
 not
 have
 to
 be
 
maintained
 in
 order
 to
 end
 with
 a
 satisfactory
 product.
 After
 having
 decided
 that
 
the
 main
 influence
 for
 the
 piece
 was
 going
 to
 be
 the
 work
 of
 a
 certain
 composer,
 
the
 more
 time
 spent
 on
 the
 composition,
 the
 less
 this
 seemed
 relevant.
 However,
 
starting
 with
 an
 obvious
 intent
 was
 extremely
 helpful
 in
 terms
 of
 speeding
 up
 
the
 composing
 process,
 as
 it
 gave
 the
 beginning
 stages
 some
 guidelines
 to
 follow
 
and
 an
 immediate
 focus,
 which
 was
 helpful
 in
 terms
 of
 speeding
 up
 the
 decision
 
making
 process.
 
 

3
 –
 “Dip”
 
3.1
 –
 Initial
 Intention
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 initial
 intention
 for
 this
 composition
 was
 to
 build
 a
 piece
 around
 a
 main
 
idea
 that
 employed
 the
 use
 of
 extended
 guitar
 techniques.
 
 The
 approach
 of
 using
 
unusual
 noises
 and
 textures
 on
 guitar
 is
 a
 technique
 that
 takes
 its
 influence
 from
 
guitarists
 such
 as
 Tom
 Morello
 and
 Jeff
 Beck.
 The
 use
 of
 harmonics,
 bending
 of
 
notes
 behind
 the
 nut
 of
 the
 guitar,
 as
 well
 as
 playing
 notes
 behind
 the
 nut,
 are
 all
 
approaches
 that
 I
 regularly
 apply
 to
 my
 playing,
 especially
 when
 performing
 in
 
the
 hip-­‐hop
 genre,
 as
 the
 guitar
 can
 sometimes
 be
 in
 the
 position
 of
 replicating
 a
 
DJ/turntablist.
 It
 seemed
 that
 incorporating
 these
 techniques
 into
 an
 original
 
composition
 would
 be
 an
 effective
 way
 of
 developing
 my
 own
 voice
 both
 as
 an
 
instrumentalist
 and
 as
 a
 composer.
 

 

3.2
 –
 The
 Writing
 Process
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 first
 step
 in
 this
 composition
 was
 to
 come
 up
 with
 the
 extended
 technique
 
idea
 that
 would
 be
 the
 main
 hook,
 or
 focus,
 of
 the
 piece.
 This
 was
 an
 extremely
 
quick
 process
 because,
 as
 mentioned
 before,
 this
 is
 an
 approach
 I
 regularly
 take
 
in
 my
 playing,
 and
 therefore
 have
 an
 accumulation
 of
 ideas
 to
 draw
 from.
 Also,
 
this
 approach
 to
 guitar
 playing
 is
 not
 very
 common
 and
 as
 a
 result
 it
 isn’t
 
necessary
 to
 be
 painstaking
 in
 terms
 of
 attempting
 not
 to
 sound
 to
 derivative,
 
most
 of
 the
 sounds
 attempted
 have
 a
 character
 that
 is
 particular
 to
 the
 
composer.
 After
 a
 short
 time
 trying
 some
 ideas,
 the
 phrase
 was
 finalised.
 It
 
employs
 the
 three
 techniques
 spoken
 of
 earlier,
 harmonics,
 bending
 behind
 the
 
nut,
 and
 playing
 behind
 the
 nut,
 as
 well
 as
 guitar
 effects
 pedals
 in
 the
 form
 of
 
distortion
 and
 digital
 delay.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 example
 of
 the
 phrase
 in
 question.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 20
 –
 Dip
 –
 Extended
 Techniques
 


 
 
 
 
 Once
 the
 motif
 was
 finalised,
 the
 next
 step
 was
 to
 find
 chords
 to
 complement
 
it.
 
 Melodic
 Minor
 harmony
 is
 an
 area
 that
 was
 being
 explored
 at
 that
 time
 in
 my
 
private
 lesson
 and
 therefore
 was
 a
 sound
 that
 was
 very
 present
 in
 my
 playing
 at
 
the
 time.
 It
 seemed
 that
 the
 dark
 character
 of
 a
 major7#5
 chord
 would
 be
 the
 
perfect
 choice
 to
 complement
 this
 motif
 and
 because
 the
 motif
 is
 basically
 atonal,
 
any
 combination
 of
 maj7#5
 chords
 was
 possible.
 After
 many
 varied
 attempts
 at
 
different
 combinations
 and
 durations
 of
 time
 for
 each
 chord.
 The
 most
 effective
 

solution
 was
 to
 play
 Cmaj7#5
 and
 Ebmaj7#5
 for
 one
 bar
 each.


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 example
 of
 the
 guitar
 motif
 played
 with
 the
 harmony.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 21
 –
 Dip
 –
 Motif
 with
 Chords
 


 
 
 
 
 In
 order
 to
 maintain
 a
 similar
 atmosphere
 for
 the
 introduction
 and
 the
 
melody,
 it
 seemed
 that
 it
 would
 be
 effective
 to
 use
 the
 same
 chords,
 but
 change
 
the
 harmonic
 rhythm
 in
 order
 to
 provide
 a
 slight
 difference
 to
 what
 had
 
previously
 been
 heard.
 
 Therefore
 the
 chord
 qualities
 remained
 the
 same,
 
Cmaj7#5
 and
 Ebmaj7#5,
 but
 this
 time
 they
 are
 played
 for
 two
 bars
 each.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 melody
 itself
 begins
 with
 a
 four
 bar
 phrase;
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 The
 last
 bar
 of
 this
 phrase
 is
 then
 sequenced,
 and
 repeated
 four
 times
 with
 
small
 ornamentations.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 To
 end
 the
 phrase
 the
 first
 two
 bars
 of
 the
 of
 the
 melody
 are
 repeated,
 then
 
only
 the
 first
 two
 notes
 of
 the
 third
 bar
 are
 repeated,
 allowing
 some
 space
 before
 
the
 introductory
 motif
 returns.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 


 

The
 intent
 behind
 the
 construction
 of
 this
 melody
 was,
 in
 order
 to
 contrast
 with
 
what
 had
 preceded
 it,
 to
 keep
 it
 simple
 and
 aurally
 accessible,
 while
 the
 fact
 that
 
the
 repetition
 of
 the
 first
 phrase
 is
 not
 concluded
 in
 the
 same
 fashion
 as
 the
 first
 
time
 it
 is
 heard
 may
 be
 an
 effective
 way
 of
 surprising
 the
 listener.
 Also,
 the
 
melody
 itself
 is
 not
 necessarily
 played
 strictly
 as
 written,
 artistic
 license
 is
 
granted
 in
 terms
 of
 string
 bends
 and
 articulation.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 extract
 of
 the
 A
 Section
 melody.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 22
 –
 Dip
 –
 A
 Section
 Melody
 


 
 
 
 Following
 the
 melody
 is
 a
 repetition
 of
 the
 extended
 techniques
 of
 the
 
introduction,
 this
 time
 with
 second
 half
 of
 the
 phrase
 played
 first,
 once
 again
 the
 
intent
 behind
 this
 was
 written
 with
 the
 intent
 of
 repeating
 previously
 heard
 
material,
 but
 with
 a
 slight
 change
 to
 hold
 the
 listener’s
 interest.
 While
 writing,
 it
 
seemed
 that
 simply
 repeating
 the
 information
 heard
 in
 the
 A
 Section
 melody
 
needed
 to
 be
 heard
 again
 before
 any
 new
 material
 was
 introduced.
 However,
 
simply
 repeating
 the
 melody
 seemed
 too
 predictable,
 so
 the
 most
 effective
 choice
 
was
 to
 repeat
 the
 melody
 except
 play
 a
 segment
 of
 it,
 a
 few
 variations
 were
 
attempted,
 eventually
 the
 most
 effective
 method
 seemed
 to
 be
 to
 play
 bar
 five-­‐
twelve
 of
 the
 previously
 heard
 section.
 
 


 


 

 

 
 
 
 
 For
 the
 B
 Section,
 the
 chords
 were
 the
 first
 element
 of
 the
 section
 to
 be
 
written.
 
 The
 sound
 of
 a
 Cmaj7/G
 chord
 when
 played
 on
 guitar
 using
 of
 the
 open
 
G,
 B,
 and
 E
 strings,
 creates
 a
 light,
 yet
 unsettling
 atmosphere
 that
 fitted
 the
 
composition
 well.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 In
 order
 to
 work
 this
 voicing
 into
 the
 composition,
 semi-­‐tonal
 bass
 movement
 
was
 employed,
 once
 again
 with
 the
 influence
 of
 Kurt
 Rosenwinkel’s
 compositions
 
in
 mind.
 The
 bottom
 three
 notes
 of
 the
 chord
 can
 be
 moved
 while
 the
 open
 
strings
 are
 kept
 the
 same
 for
 each
 voicing,
 resulting
 in
 a
 progression
 of;
 


 

 
 
 
 
 After
 experimenting
 with
 different
 places
 on
 the
 fretboard
 this
 voicing
 would
 
work,
 using
 a
 similar
 pattern
 starting
 with
 Bb
 as
 the
 bass
 note
 proved
 to
 be
 very
 
effective.
 However,
 the
 structure
 of
 the
 chord
 couldn’t
 remain
 the
 same
 for
 each
 
voicing
 as
 it
 became
 extremely
 dissonant.
 To
 remedy
 this
 while
 still
 maintaining
 
the
 chromatic
 movement,
 the
 structure
 of
 the
 voicing
 was
 changed
 slightly
 in
 
order
 to
 accommodate
 the
 use
 of
 open
 strings.
 The
 resulting
 progression
 was;
 


 

 
 
 
 
 At
 the
 time
 of
 writing
 this
 section,
 the
 actual
 chordal
 values
 were
 not
 of
 prime
 
importance,
 as
 the
 main
 objective
 was
 to
 create
 the
 necessary
 atmosphere
 and
 
mood.
 Considering
 the
 harmonic
 content
 of
 these
 voicings
 only
 became
 a
 
concern
 when
 writing
 the
 changes
 for
 solo
 sections.
 After
 playing
 the
 
progression
 a
 few
 times,
 it
 seemed
 that
 a
 more
 aurally
 satisfying
 way
 for
 it
 to
 be
 
played
 would
 be
 to
 begin
 with
 the
 section
 starting
 on
 Bb,
 playing
 the
 Cmaj7/G
 
chord
 on
 what
 would
 be
 bar
 five
 of
 an
 eight
 bar
 sequence.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Melodically,
 what
 it
 seemed
 this
 section
 needed
 was
 a
 repetitive
 melodic
 
figure
 that
 provided
 contrast
 with
 all
 the
 chordal
 movement.
 After
 exploring
 
different
 options,
 what
 was
 very
 effective
 was
 maintaining
 the
 same
 top
 note
 of
 
the
 motif
 throughout
 the
 entire
 progression,
 while
 having
 any
 movement
 kept
 to
 
the
 lower
 register
 of
 the
 melody.
 Despite
 the
 unusual
 harmony
 this
 provided
 a
 
sense
 of
 connectedness
 throughout
 the
 section.
 After
 deciding
 on
 an
 initial
 motif
 
to
 complement
 the
 first
 chord,
 motivic
 transformation
 was
 applied,
 keeping
 the
 
rhythm
 the
 same
 but
 changing
 the
 melody
 notes
 according
 to
 the
 chord
 of
 the
 
moment.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The
 most
 effective
 way
 to
 play
 this
 six
 bar
 phrase
 seemed
 to
 be
 to
 play
 with
 
just
 guitar
 and
 piano,
 then
 repeat
 it
 with
 bass
 and
 drums,
 playing
 a
 crescendo
 
over
 the
 six
 bars
 before
 resting
 on
 a
 Fmaj7#11
 chord.
 A
 repetition
 of
 the
 initial
 
guitar
 introduction
 seemed
 appropriate
 at
 this
 point,
 but
 in
 order
 not
 to
 present
 

the
 same
 material
 in
 exactly
 the
 same
 fashion,
 beat
 four
 was
 removed
 from
 the
 
second
 bar
 of
 the
 phrase,
 meaning
 the
 band
 would
 play
 the
 first
 beat
 of
 the
 solo
 
section
 earlier
 than
 the
 listener
 would
 expect.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 B
 Section,
 moving
 into
 the
 first
 solo
 of
 the
 piece.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 22
 –
 Dip
 –
 B
 Section
 
For
 the
 guitar
 solo,
 the
 first
 section
 uses
 the
 chords
 found
 in
 the
 A
 Section
 
melody,
 with
 the
 simple
 addition
 of
 a
 D9#11
 chord
 to
 provide
 a
 brief
 
change
 of
 colour
 from
 the
 constant
 major7#5
 voicings.
 


 

 
 
 
 
 The
 next
 section
 of
 the
 solo
 uses
 chords
 from
 the
 B
 Section,
 and
 
therefore
 required
 some
 consideration
 as
 to
 their
 theoretical
 makeup,
 in
 
order
 to
 provide
 information
 for
 the
 soloist.
 Rather
 than
 just
 use
 the
 B
 
Section
 in
 it’s
 entirety
 for
 the
 solo,
 what
 seemed
 to
 be
 more
 effective
 was
 
to
 do
 a
 slight
 variation
 on
 the
 first
 half
 of
 this
 section,
 turning
 it
 into
 a
 four
 
bar
 phrase
 rather
 than
 three,
 partially
 to
 create
 interest
 for
 the
 listener,
 
but
 also
 to
 alleviate
 some
 pressure
 on
 the
 soloist,
 as
 the
 chords
 
themselves
 are
 quite
 complicated
 without
 having
 to
 consider
 unusual
 
form
 lengths
 too.
 
 


 


 
 
 
 
 The
 above
 chords
 are
 the
 four
 bar
 sequence
 that
 were
 chosen
 as
 a
 
variation
 on
 the
 B
 Section
 to
 play
 during
 the
 guitar
 solo.
 After
 the
 guitar
 
solo
 there
 is
 an
 interlude,
 which
 shall
 be
 described
 in
 detail
 later,
 before
 
the
 beginning
 of
 the
 piano
 solo,
 which
 plays
 over
 the
 same
 chords
 as
 the
 
guitar
 solo,
 but
 with
 the
 order
 reversed,
 the
 piano
 beginning
 with
 the
 
chromatically
 moving
 chords
 based
 on
 the
 B
 section
 melody,
 then
 moving
 
onto
 the
 chords
 based
 on
 the
 A
 Section.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 After
 the
 piano
 solo
 there
 is
 a
 drum
 feature
 spread
 over
 a
 twenty-­‐two
 
bar
 section.
 The
 musical
 content
 of
 this
 section
 is
 based
 on
 the
 B
 Section
 
of
 the
 melody,
 using
 the
 same
 chords
 but
 introducing
 a
 new,
 extremely
 
simple
 motif
 on
 the
 keyboard.
 The
 section
 begins
 dynamically
 low,
 at
 
piano,
 gradually
 increasing
 in
 volume
 as
 the
 keyboard’s
 written
 part
 
becomes
 busier
 in
 tandem
 with
 the
 drums.
 For
 the
 end
 of
 the
 section
 the
 
B
 section
 melody
 is
 re-­‐introduced
 while
 the
 drums
 continue
 to
 solo.
 
Everybody
 ends
 the
 solo
 with
 an
 Fmaj7#11
 chord,
 held
 for
 two
 bars,
 
before
 the
 guitar
 plays
 the
 phrase
 from
 the
 introduction,
 this
 time
 with
 
the
 entire
 band
 catching
 the
 last
 hit
 of
 the
 motif.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 section
 incorporating
 the
 drum
 solo
 and
 
end
 of
 the
 piece.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 23
 –
 Dip
 –
 End
 Section
 

3.3
 –
 Rehearsal
 and
 Adjustments
 

 
 
 
 
 Rehearsal
 of
 this
 piece
 brought
 about
 a
 dramatic
 change
 in
 terms
 of
 the
 
instrumentation
 as
 the
 original
 line-­‐up
 was
 to
 include
 cajón
 and
 tabla
 rather
 
than
 drum
 set.
 However,
 upon
 rehearing
 the
 piece
 it
 became
 apparent
 that
 

the
 larger
 orchestrational
 palate
 and
 dynamic
 capabilities
 of
 the
 drum
 set
 
would
 be
 more
 beneficial
 to
 the
 piece.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Also,
 an
 issue
 that
 I
 hadn’t
 considered
 before
 the
 rehearsal
 was
 that
 the
 
fact
 that
 the
 tabla
 is
 a
 pitched
 instrument
 created
 an
 issue
 because
 of
 the
 
harmonic
 density
 of
 the
 piece.
 The
 fact
 that
 there
 was
 such
 a
 high
 volume
 of
 
chord
 changes,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 fact
 none
 of
 these
 chords
 belonged
 to
 the
 same
 
key
 center
 or
 harmonic
 universe,
 meant
 that
 several
 tabla
 drums
 would
 have
 
to
 be
 set
 up
 to
 keep
 up
 with
 the
 harmony.
 This
 was
 problematic
 because
 it
 
meant
 the
 piece
 was
 quite
 physically
 uncomfortable
 to
 play
 for
 the
 musician,
 
while
 also
 meaning
 that
 as
 the
 specific
 drum
 was
 constantly
 changing
 to
 
accommodate
 the
 chords,
 it
 was
 impossible
 to
 built
 a
 sense
 of
 continuity
 
within
 the
 tabla
 part
 itself.
 The
 constant
 changing
 of
 the
 pattern
 and
 tone
 was
 
unfortunately
 unavoidable,
 quite
 distracting,
 and
 not
 in
 keeping
 with
 what
 
was
 intended
 for
 the
 piece.
 Also,
 without
 the
 tabla,
 the
 cajón
 did
 not
 have
 the
 
ability
 to
 create
 the
 necessary
 ethereal
 atmosphere
 required
 for
 the
 B
 Section
 
melody
 and
 interlude
 between
 solos.
 After
 listening
 back
 to
 the
 recording
 it
 
was
 quite
 clear
 that
 a
 drum
 set
 would
 be
 far
 more
 appropriate
 to
 the
 piece.
 
 

3.
 4
 -­‐
 Collaborative
 Advice
 

 
 
 
 
 
 As
 mentioned
 earlier,
 the
 interlude
 between
 the
 guitar
 and
 piano
 solo
 was
 
something
 that
 would
 be
 talked
 about
 later
 in
 the
 paper.
 The
 reason
 for
 this
 
is
 that
 in
 the
 initial
 writing
 stages,
 this
 interlude
 was
 simply
 a
 repetition
 of
 
the
 B
 Section
 melody.
 However,
 upon
 listening
 to
 the
 rehearsal
 recording,
 
Perico
 suggested
 that
 perhaps
 it
 would
 be
 more
 effective
 to
 compose
 
something
 new
 here
 rather
 than
 just
 repeat
 previously
 heard
 material.
 This
 

line
 of
 thought
 is
 very
 much
 in
 keeping
 with
 what
 I
 usually
 work
 towards
 in
 a
 
composition
 and
 therefore
 I
 tended
 to
 agree
 with
 him.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 intent
 in
 writing
 this
 section
 was
 to
 create
 something
 new,
 but
 still
 
relevant
 to
 what
 had
 preceded
 it.
 To
 achieve
 this,
 voicings
 from
 the
 B
 section
 
were
 used,
 but
 with
 a
 different
 harmonic
 rhythm,
 as
 well
 as
 in
 a
 different
 
order.
 The
 process
 for
 choosing
 what
 chords,
 and
 what
 order,
 was
 simply
 
done
 through
 trial
 and
 error,
 mixing
 and
 matching
 the
 different
 options
 until
 
a
 selection
 was
 found.
 
 The
 resulting
 progression
 was;
 


 


 

 
 
 
 
 Melodically,
 the
 approach
 was
 similar
 to
 the
 B
 Section
 of
 the
 piece,
 using
 a
 
repeated
 rhythm
 while
 changing
 the
 melody
 notes.
 
 


 

 
 
 
 
 The
 phrase
 is
 initially
 played
 by
 the
 keyboard
 only,
 before
 being
 joined
 by
 
the
 bass,
 which
 plays
 the
 same
 figure.
 In
 the
 case
 the
 rhythm
 played
 by
 the
 
guitar
 was
 dictated
 by
 the
 rhythm
 of
 the
 melodic
 figure,
 the
 chord
 changing
 
to
 match
 the
 melodic
 note
 on
 the
 second
 eighth
 note
 of
 beat
 two.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 the
 interlude
 section.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 24
 –
 Dip
 –
 Interlude
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

3.5
 –
 Recording
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The
 recording
 session
 for
 “Dip”
 was
 14.00-­‐17.00,
 on
 the
 9th
 April
 2014
 at
 
the
 Ann
 Kreis
 Scroing
 Stage,
 Berklee
 Valencia.
 The
 engineer
 for
 the
 session
 was
 
Matthew
 Mazzone,
 and
 the
 band
 consisted
 of
 Daniel
 Toledo
 on
 electric
 bass,
 
Ricardo
 Curto
 on
 keyboards,
 Mariano
 Steimberg
 on
 drums,
 as
 well
 as
 myself
 on
 
electric
 guitar.
 
 

 
 
 
 The
 session
 schedule
 was
 planned
 to
 be;
 
•

14.00-­‐15.00
 –
 Setup.
 

•

15.00-­‐16.30
 –
 Record
 multiple
 takes
 of
 piece.
 

•

16.30-­‐17.00
 –
 Tear
 down
 equipment.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 The
 microphones
 to
 be
 used
 for
 the
 session
 were
 decided
 in
 advance
 by
 
Matthew
 and
 I
 and
 consisted
 of;
 
•

Guitar
 –
 SM57
 +
 Reyer
 121
 

•

Bass
 –
 D.I.
 

•

Keyboards
 –
 D.I.
 
 

•

Drums
 –
 Kick
 -­‐
 AKG
 D112,
 Snare
 -­‐
 SM57,
 Toms
 -­‐
 Sennheiser
 421
 
Overheads
 –
 KM
 184
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Due
 to
 time
 constraints
 and
 the
 decision
 to
 change
 from
 using
 tabla
 and
 cajón
 
to
 using
 drumset,
 the
 recording
 session
 was
 the
 first
 time
 all
 members
 of
 the
 
group
 had
 played
 the
 composition
 together.
 This
 meant
 that
 the
 first
 couple
 of
 
recorded
 takes
 of
 the
 piece
 were
 used
 more
 for
 everyone
 to
 get
 comfortable
 with
 
their
 parts
 and
 with
 each.
 This
 situation
 was
 not
 ideal
 and
 quite
 stressful,
 

however,
 the
 playing
 of
 the
 piece
 came
 together
 quite
 quickly
 and
 in
 the
 end
 the
 
recording
 was
 deemed
 a
 success.
 

 
 
 
 
 After
 the
 recording
 session
 on
 the
 Scoring
 Stage,
 I
 decided
 that
 I
 wanted
 to
 use
 
this
 piece
 as
 an
 opportunity
 to
 experiment
 with
 some
 unusual
 recording
 
techniques.
 Studio
 A
 was
 booked
 for
 a
 recording
 session,
 and
 in
 this
 session
 
several
 guitar
 takes
 were
 recorded
 of
 mostly
 high
 pitched
 feedback
 and
 effect
 
pedal
 laden,
 non-­‐diatonic
 noise.
 After
 recording
 all
 these
 different
 sounds,
 a
 lot
 
of
 time
 was
 spent
 in
 Pro
 Tools,
 cutting
 different
 segments
 of
 these
 recordings
 
and
 matching
 them
 together
 to
 create
 atmospheric
 sounds
 to
 complement
 the
 
sparseness
 of
 the
 B
 Section
 melody,
 the
 interlude,
 to
 add
 to
 the
 tension
 created
 
during
 the
 drum
 solo,
 and
 also
 the
 very
 last
 note
 of
 the
 piece.
 
 This
 technique
 of
 
using
 guitar
 to
 create
 sounds
 and
 atmospheric
 effects
 not
 usually
 associated
 with
 
the
 instrument
 is
 an
 influence
 taken
 very
 much
 from
 the
 music
 of
 Radiohead,
 
and
 guitarist
 Jeff
 Beck.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Here
 is
 an
 audio
 sample
 of
 some
 of
 the
 use
 of
 atmospheric
 noise
 in
 the
 track.
 
 
•

Soundcloud
 Playlist
 –
 Track
 25
 –
 Dip
 –
 Sound
 Effects
 

3.6
 –
 Lessons
 Learned
 

 
 
 
 
 Making
 a
 conscious
 decision
 to
 incorporate
 information
 from
 my
 private
 
lesson
 to
 a
 composition
 was
 extremely
 beneficial.
 Deciding
 to
 use
 melodic
 minor
 
harmony
 as
 the
 basis
 for
 the
 main
 melody
 and
 solo
 section
 meant
 that
 I
 while
 
composing
 and
 practicing
 the
 piece,
 I
 was
 also
 preparing
 myself
 for
 material
 
specific
 to
 my
 lesson.
 Aside
 from
 the
 fact
 that
 this
 had
 the
 benefit
 of
 aiding
 the
 
progress
 of
 my
 classwork,
 it
 also
 meant
 that
 I
 was
 continually
 challenging
 myself
 
by
 incorporating
 what
 was,
 at
 that
 time,
 unfamiliar
 material
 into
 a
 creation
 that
 

was
 my
 own.
 Thereby
 increasing
 the
 sonic
 range
 of
 what
 usually
 comes
 naturally
 
to
 me
 as
 a
 composer.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Another
 area
 in
 which
 learning
 was
 achieved
 during
 this
 process
 was
 in
 the
 
field
 of
 recording
 techniques.
 As
 the
 session
 for
 overdubbing
 the
 guitar
 effects
 
was
 after
 the
 main
 session
 on
 the
 scoring
 stage,
 I
 engineered
 the
 overdubs
 
myself.
 This
 put
 me
 in
 the
 position
 of
 having
 complete
 control
 over
 the
 recording
 
techniques
 employed,
 and
 forced
 me
 to
 confront
 some
 areas
 of
 my
 expertise
 
which
 were
 weak.
 Increasing
 skill
 levels
 in
 this
 area
 will
 be
 extremely
 
advantageous
 for
 the
 future
 as
 it
 will
 enable
 me
 to
 both
 record
 myself,
 and
 also
 
increase
 my
 understanding
 of
 what
 engineers
 do,
 with
 the
 additional
 benefit
 of
 
being
 better
 able
 to
 articulate
 my
 needs
 in
 recording
 situations.
 
 

Connecting
 the
 Compositions
 
1.1–
 Musical
 Connections
 

 
 
 
 
 While
 writing
 and
 recording
 the
 above
 pieces,
 there
 were
 some
 aspects
 of
 the
 
compositions
 that
 were
 approached
 similarly
 during
 each.
 
 During
 the
 above
 
analysis
 it
 was
 regularly
 demonstrated
 that
 there
 was
 intent
 to
 never
 repeat
 the
 
same
 material
 in
 exactly
 the
 same
 way.
 If
 a
 section
 was
 to
 be
 repeated,
 methods
 
of
 achieving
 this
 included;
 changing
 the
 instrument
 playing
 the
 melody,
 adding
 
an
 instrument
 to
 double
 the
 melody
 or
 repeated
 part,
 starting
 the
 repeated
 part
 
from
 somewhere
 other
 than
 what
 was
 previously
 the
 beginning,
 changing
 the
 
role
 of
 an
 instrument
 from
 melody
 to
 harmony
 or
 vice
 versa.
 The
 intent
 behind
 
this
 was
 to
 keep
 the
 attention
 of
 the
 listener
 by
 circumventing
 their
 expectations,
 
and
 is
 keeping
 with
 the
 initial
 aspiration
 of
 engaging
 an
 audience
 with
 influences
 
of
 pop/rock/funk
 music
 in
 mind.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 Another
 method
 employed
 in
 the
 construction
 of
 each
 composition
 was
 the
 
reversal
 of
 the
 solo
 forms.
 In
 each
 case,
 no
 instrument
 solos
 over
 exactly
 the
 
same
 form,
 it
 was
 always
 a
 reversal
 of
 the
 structure
 the
 previous
 instrument
 had
 
used
 to
 solo
 over.
 This
 was
 as
 a
 result
 of
 always
 including
 a
 written
 section
 
between
 the
 solos,
 usually
 based
 on
 a
 section
 of
 the
 melody,
 thereby
 allowing
 the
 
next
 solo
 form
 to
 begin
 from
 the
 subsequent
 section
 of
 the
 melody
 while
 still
 
maintaining
 aural
 cohesion.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 use
 of
 pentatonics
 for
 constructing
 melodies
 was
 also
 an
 element
 
connecting
 each
 composition,
 particularly
 the
 combination
 of
 minor
 pentatonic
 
scales
 played
 beginning
 from
 the
 major
 7th
 of
 a
 major
 chord.
 This
 chord/scale
 
combination
 results
 in
 the
 inclusion
 of
 a
 #11,
 which
 creates
 an
 open,
 Lydian
 
sound
 while
 still
 retaining
 the
 accessible
 melodicism
 of
 a
 minor
 pentatonic
 scale.
 
This
 approach
 for
 creating
 melodies
 is
 an
 influence
 directly
 taken
 from
 the
 music
 
of
 Wayne
 Shorter,
 particularly
 the
 albums,
 “Juju”,
 and
 “Speak
 No
 Evil”.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 Another
 method
 that
 was
 employed
 in
 each
 composition
 was
 the
 use
 of
 a
 top
 
note
 connecting
 a
 series
 of
 quite
 harmonically
 complex
 chords.
 As
 mentioned
 
previously
 many
 of
 the
 more
 unusual
 chord
 structures
 took
 their
 influence
 from
 
the
 music
 of
 Kurt
 Rosenwinkel.
 The
 use
 of
 slash
 chords
 with
 unusual
 tensions,
 b9
 
played
 on
 major
 chords
 etc,
 needed
 to
 be
 offset
 by
 the
 coherence
 of
 keeping
 a
 
constant
 element
 throughout,
 the
 use
 of
 a
 static
 top
 note
 throughout
 complex
 
harmonic
 movement
 was
 extremely
 effective
 in
 each
 case
 and
 therefore
 was
 
employed
 each
 time
 this
 situation
 arose.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 As
 well
 as
 keeping
 static
 notes
 on
 top
 of
 moving
 harmony,
 another
 technique
 
employed
 in
 each
 composition
 that
 takes
 it’s
 influence
 from
 the
 music
 of
 Kurt
 
Rosenwinkel,
 is
 the
 use
 of
 chromatic
 bass
 movement.
 This
 is
 an
 excellent
 

technique
 for
 any
 situation
 where
 the
 creation
 of
 tension
 is
 required
 and
 was
 
used
 extensively
 in
 each
 composition.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Although
 there
 were
 many
 elements
 that
 were
 consciously
 chosen
 as
 
compositional
 techniques
 prior
 to
 the
 writing
 of
 each
 piece,
 there
 were
 also
 
some
 that
 were
 not
 previously
 planned,
 but
 became
 apparent
 after
 the
 analysis.
 
One
 very
 obvious
 example
 of
 this
 was
 the
 fact
 that
 in
 each
 piece
 the
 A
 section
 
provides
 the
 main
 melodic
 content,
 while
 the
 B
 section
 melody
 is
 closer
 to
 an
 
ostinato
 than
 an
 actual
 melody
 per
 se.
 This
 is
 demonstrable
 in
 all
 three
 of
 the
 
pieces
 analysed
 here,
 and
 while
 it
 was
 not
 a
 technique
 that
 had
 been
 consciously
 
adapted,
 it
 was
 extremely
 effective
 in
 each
 piece
 and
 something
 that
 will
 
certainly
 be
 consciously
 explored,
 put
 into
 use,
 and
 adapted
 for
 future
 
compositions.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 A
 non-­‐compositional
 element
 that
 connects
 each
 of
 these
 pieces
 is
 the
 sound
 
of
 the
 electric
 guitar.
 This
 is
 something
 that
 was
 consciously
 worked
 on
 and
 
tweaked
 before
 each
 recording.
 The
 equipment
 used
 to
 achieve
 the
 sound
 for
 the
 
chordal,
 or
 non-­‐lead,
 parts
 is
 an
 MXR
 Distrtion+
 pedal,
 combined
 with
 a
 Boss
 
DD6
 Digital
 delay.
 The
 lead
 sound
 again
 used
 the
 Boss
 DD6,
 this
 time
 combined
 
with
 a
 RAT
 distortion
 and
 occasionally
 a
 Digitech
 Whammy
 pedal.
 A
 Fender
 Hot
 
Rod
 Deluxe
 was
 the
 amplifier
 used
 in
 each
 case.
 While
 not
 a
 compositional
 
element
 itself,
 the
 guitar
 sound
 is
 almost
 the
 most
 important
 aspect
 of
 their
 
connection.
 The
 sound
 of
 the
 instrument
 is
 the
 voice
 of
 the
 composer
 and
 should
 
be
 recognisable
 and
 distinctive
 throughout.
 
 


 

 

2.1
 –
 Aspirations
 achieved?
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 mentioned
 at
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 text,
 there
 were
 a
 number
 of
 aspirations
 
for
 these
 compositions
 prior
 to
 actually
 writing
 them,
 including
 creating
 a
 
listenability
 and
 melodic
 accessibility
 in
 keeping
 with
 influences
 from
 the
 
pop/rock/funk
 world,
 while
 still
 incorporating
 the
 improvisational
 elements
 of
 
jazz
 music.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 As
 the
 composer
 and
 performer
 of
 these
 pieces
 it
 is
 difficult
 to
 be
 objective
 
in
 judging
 whether
 or
 not
 these
 aspirations
 were
 achieved.
 However,
 after
 
repeated
 listening
 it
 does
 seem
 that
 each
 track
 has
 enough
 elements
 
associated
 with
 other
 forms
 of
 music
 to
 hold
 the
 attention
 of
 listeners
 that
 
are
 not
 fans
 of
 jazz.
 These
 elements
 include
 many
 of
 the
 compositional
 
approaches
 previously
 spoken
 of,
 as
 well
 as
 an
 overall
 sound
 that
 has
 more
 in
 
common
 with
 rock
 music
 than
 jazz.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 One
 aspect
 of
 the
 pieces
 that
 may
 not
 fit
 with
 the
 intended
 aesthetic
 is
 the
 
length
 of
 the
 compositions
 themselves.
 The
 shortest
 track
 is
 just
 under
 five
 
minutes,
 the
 longest
 is
 closer
 to
 eight.
 While
 this
 is
 not
 in
 keeping
 with
 the
 
influence
 of
 contemporary
 popular
 music,
 it
 may
 not
 necessarily
 be
 
considered
 a
 negative
 outcome.
 It
 seems
 that
 while
 it
 is
 important
 to
 consider
 
the
 listener
 in
 these
 cases,
 it
 is
 also
 important
 to
 allow
 the
 musicians
 time
 
and
 opportunity
 to
 express
 themselves
 during
 solos.
 Also,
 an
 awareness
 of
 
keeping
 the
 potential
 reach
 of
 the
 piece
 as
 strong
 as
 possible
 should
 not
 be
 
executed
 at
 the
 expense
 of
 the
 musical
 quality.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 While
 all
 the
 elements
 stated
 in
 this
 paper
 were
 considered
 while
 writing
 
each
 piece,
 the
 deciding
 factor
 was
 always
 the
 musical
 quality.
 If
 a
 section
 

seemed
 like
 it
 needed
 to
 be
 long,
 or
 if
 unusual,
 dissonant
 harmony
 was
 the
 
most
 effective
 option,
 this
 was
 the
 option
 that
 was
 chosen.
 Whether
 or
 not
 
this
 approach
 was
 the
 correct
 one
 will
 become
 more
 apparent
 once
 the
 EP
 is
 
released,
 and
 direct
 feedback
 can
 be
 received
 from
 listeners
 and
 colleagues.
 
 


 

 
Final
 Conclusions
 
1.1
 –
 Lessons
 Learned
 

 
 
 
 During
 the
 process
 of
 writing
 and
 recording
 these
 pieces
 my
 knowledge
 
increased
 in
 numerous
 areas,
 all
 of
 which
 have
 been
 previously
 discussed
 in
 
the
 conclusion
 of
 each
 chapter.
 The
 areas
 in
 which
 I
 have
 learned
 extensively
 
included;
 chord/scale
 relationships,
 different
 approaches
 to
 beginning
 a
 
composition,
 recording
 techniques,
 time
 management
 with
 regards
 the
 
writing
 and
 arrangement
 of
 charts,
 etc.
 However,
 the
 most
 valuable
 lesson
 I
 
gained
 from
 this
 experience
 was
 the
 realisation
 of
 how
 important
 writing,
 
composing,
 and
 performing
 my
 own
 work
 is
 to
 me.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Having
 previously
 spent
 many
 years
 working
 as
 a
 sideman,
 as
 well
 as
 
working
 as
 a
 collaborative
 writer
 in
 band
 situations,
 it
 had
 been
 several
 years
 
since
 I
 had
 the
 time
 to
 work
 on
 material
 that
 was
 entirely
 self-­‐composed.
 The
 
realisation
 of
 how
 much
 I
 enjoy
 the
 process
 and
 satisfaction
 of
 this
 work
 has
 
been
 a
 revelation,
 and
 means
 I
 will
 ensure
 to
 prioritise
 this
 in
 the
 future.
 As
 
mentioned
 earlier
 in
 this
 document,
 the
 ability
 to
 combine
 a
 working
 life
 that
 

incorporates
 both
 the
 playing
 of
 other
 people’s
 material
 as
 well
 as
 my
 own
 
will
 ensure
 that
 I
 stay
 challenged
 and
 engaged
 as
 a
 professional
 musician.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Also,
 time
 spent
 working
 on
 my
 own
 compositions
 is
 invaluable
 to
 the
 
 
 
expedient
 growth
 of
 my
 own
 voice
 as
 an
 instrumentalist.
 While
 this
 is
 
enormously
 beneficial
 to
 me
 in
 terms
 of
 nurturing
 my
 growth
 as
 a
 composer,
 
it
 also
 has
 the
 added
 benefit
 of
 making
 my
 approach
 to
 the
 composed
 music
 
of
 others
 more
 recognisably
 my
 own,
 which
 may
 make
 it
 easier
 to
 find
 work
 
as
 a
 sideman
 if
 potential
 employers
 wish
 to
 have
 this
 particular
 sound
 on
 
their
 recorded
 work.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Another
 element
 that
 changed
 as
 a
 result
 of
 working
 on
 these
 pieces
 was
 
the
 realisation
 of
 how
 important
 it
 is
 to
 incorporate
 as
 many
 disciplines
 as
 
possible
 into
 your
 practice
 routine.
 This
 came
 about
 mostly
 because
 of
 using
 
elements
 from
 my
 private
 lesson
 in
 the
 compositions,
 which
 made
 me
 realise
 
the
 time-­‐saving
 and
 accelerated
 learning
 benefits
 of
 this
 technique.
 Doing
 
this
 meant
 that
 I
 was
 incorporating
 sounds
 that
 were
 new
 to
 me
 into
 my
 
compositions,
 as
 well
 as
 working
 on
 soloing
 over
 this
 new
 material,
 all
 while
 
working
 on
 getting
 a
 composition
 written.
 I
 noticed
 the
 speed
 at
 which
 I
 
became
 familiar
 with
 new
 material
 greatly
 increased
 when
 I
 used
 it
 in
 a
 
composition
 rather
 than
 just
 practicing
 separately
 from
 the
 writing
 process,
 
and
 this
 is
 definitely
 a
 new
 aspect
 to
 my
 practicing
 technique
 that
 I
 will
 
continue
 to
 employ
 in
 the
 future.
 
 
 

1.2
 –
 Planning
 Ahead
 

 
 
 
 
 The
 next
 step
 for
 my
 original
 music
 is
 to
 make
 it
 available
 to
 the
 public.
 As
 I
 
have
 signed
 as
 an
 artist
 to
 Disrupción
 Records,
 the
 Berklee
 Valencia
 record
 label,
 

this
 means
 I
 will
 have
 substantial
 help
 with
 this
 process.
 The
 plan
 is
 to
 have
 a
 
digital
 release
 of
 the
 EP
 on
 many
 platforms
 in
 summer
 2014,
 the
 label
 will
 help
 
in
 terms
 of
 marketing,
 promotion,
 artwork,
 etc.,
 and
 discussions
 and
 meetings
 
regarding
 this
 process
 are
 ongoing.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Upon
 completing
 the
 Contemporary
 Performance
 program
 at
 Berklee
 
Valencia,
 I
 will
 be
 embarking
 on
 a
 tour
 of
 the
 west
 coast
 of
 the
 United
 States,
 
followed
 by
 other
 short
 tours
 in
 Scotland,
 Ireland,
 Italy,
 and
 Spain,
 this
 time
 
working
 as
 a
 sideman.
 
 Following
 the
 completion
 of
 these
 travels
 I
 will
 be
 
scheduling
 a
 physical
 release
 of
 an
 album
 version
 of
 the
 EP
 in
 November
 2014,
 in
 
Dublin,
 Ireland.
 Following
 the
 physical
 release
 of
 this
 album,
 booking
 agents
 for
 
festivals
 in
 every
 possible
 area
 of
 the
 globe
 will
 be
 approached
 with
 a
 view
 to
 
securing
 dates
 for
 summer
 2015.
 During
 this
 time
 I
 will
 be
 working
 as
 a
 sideman
 
in
 various
 projects
 mostly
 based
 in
 Ireland,
 while
 also
 beginning
 work
 on
 
composing
 for
 the
 follow
 up
 to
 the
 EP.
 
 

 
Link
 to
 free
 download
 of
 EP;
 
•

http://stephenmchale.bandcamp.com/releases