Composing

“Sometimes, opportunities hover around you. They scream, ‘TAKE IT’, but then the fear of having to make choices comes into play. That little voice that tells you can’t, or shouldn’t. Ignore that. Grab it with both hands and see where it takes you.” —Rosalind Winton (editor, poet, song lyricist, and...

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I hope that what follows isn't a meandering, sophomoric ramble from me, as someone who doesn't have the deep experience of so many here.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear or read the word "audiation?" You might not know the term, but everyone knows what it is. Just as how someth Expand post

I hope that what follows isn't a meandering, sophomoric ramble from me, as someone who doesn't have the deep experience of so many here.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear or read the word "audiation?" You might not know the term, but everyone knows what it is. Just as how something can be "seen" in the mind's eye, music can also be "heard" in the mind's ear, as it were. Think of any piece of music that you know, then hear it in your mind. This is the basis of audiation. The only difference is that those of us who use audiation to compose have music that doesn't yet exist outside our heads yet.

Because I can't play anything aside from a bass guitar to save my life, audiation is where I get my musical ideas from; everything I compose comes directly from my strewn-about, crazy brain. Yet, as much as I've improved my abilities therein, I'm not satisfied just yet.

Until now, everything I've composed has been with the use of Finale. What I mean is that while the music itself originates through audiation in my mind, I've put the music, note-by-note, into the program so that I can have it played back immediately to make sure that it's correct.

While that's all well and good, I've become more demanding of myself to compose without the use of the program, and therefore bought a sheet music notebook to put the musical ideas down as they've presented themselves. The idea is to free up my mind to a far more significant degree so that ideas will come more naturally using the notebook to start a piece; I don't go to the program until I've filled up an entire page with a new piece.

I still put the initial page of music into Finale for playback and correction, however my goal is to use the program as more of an aid and not so much of a crutch. I doubt that I'll ever use a significant portion of my current, or any future notebooks to write a full piece, however at least for now, using the notebook is already paying dividends because I'm using time and key signatures that I've never used before, and I'm writing out more fluid ideas that I wouldn't have thought possible without it.

I shouldn't feel myself any less of a composer for using Finale, even though the... purity of a pen and paper shouldn't also be viewed as "superior" over the use of a mouse and computer either, as that's a gatekeeping mentality that I don't wish to participate in.

I really hope that I can become more of the composer I want to be, and not stuck where I am.

I don't know, maybe these are just idiotic thoughts from an idiotic person.

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Ashley Renee Smith

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2 people like this
- Michael Roth
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

Awesome! Thanks for spotlighting this member's great work, Linwood Bell! Your work is great, Michael!

Maurice Vaughan

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1 person likes this
- Michael Roth
3 months ago

That's great, Linwood Bell! The power of Stage 32 and Introduce Yourself Weekend! I'm gonna check out "The Web Opera."

Michael Roth

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3 people like this
3 months ago

Thank you so much Linwood - and also Elena, Alexander, Maurice and very much Ashley for having a look at THE WEB OPERA and all the kind words. It's a project that means a lot to me, musically and poli...

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2 people like this
- Elena Maro
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

posting some images for those who might be curious -

and another

Elena Maro

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2 people like this
- John Michael German
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

Thanks for sharing, Linwood Bell . It is always interesting to hear composers talk about their work flow!

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1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

This is awesome! I'm a big Ludwig fan, I think he's so cool!

Linwood Bell

Hi Savannah! So nice to meet you. Nice track....is that you singing?

Savannah Gates

Hey Linwood! I'm on keys, horn, and background vocals. My fiancé and co-producer, Melissa Collins, is lead vocalist. She's a beast with quite the stylistic range.

Thanks for reaching out!

Savannah Gates You both sound great! I was watching last week's episode of True Detective and a tune came on with a female singer and I thought, " they could have used Savannah's stuff here". It's nic...

Ah! I love that! Howl long have you two been working together?

Many years. It all started when I first got into the jingle business. The first couple years I could only do maybe 40/45 in a year and felt like I was really busy. I wont post any here, but in my Intr...

Alex, it's great to have you here. Thank you for joining in!!

Welcome, Alexander Benra !

Congrats to Rosalind and A.J. on their project! I wish them a huge success with it!

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1 person likes this
- Ashley Renee Smith
3 months ago

Such an inspiring blog! Thank you so much for sharing, Maurice Vaughan :)

Pat Alexander

Thank you for sharing, awesome stuff!

3 months ago

You're welcome, Pat Alexander. It's a great blog for people to go back to when they're feeling discouraged or unmotivated.

Dave Yowell

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2 people like this
- Linwood Bell
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

Indeed, most digital audio equipment is of the same high standard, in home studios or more professional studios.

However the acoustic environment is crucial, especially when recording anything acousti...

Sam Sokolow

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2 people like this
- Guy Lee
- Maurice Vaughan
3 months ago

What a terrific groove - I really enjoyed listening to this! Excited to hear the whole the album, Guy Lee!

This sounds amazing! Congratulations, Guy Lee , and thank you so much for sharing!

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2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Guy Lee
3 months ago

Wow! It's impressive that you recorded everything at home, Guy Lee! What software do you prefer and why?

Guy Lee

I use Cubase 7.5. I don’t want to upgrade because I’m so familiar with it. I can be creative and maneuver while playing and recording because it’s comfortable for me to work with. Here’s the latest so...

4 months ago

Knocked it outta the park..and what a great series that was, too. Same with Lessons in Chemistry.

David Laguillo

Brilliant, I love it!

Linwood Bell , guess who won the award for Outstanding original title sequence for a television production yesterday at the SCL Awards ;)

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1 person likes this
- Elena Maro
3 months ago

Good for Carlos! He deserves it. I really enjoyed that series, too. I watched Griselda last week on Netflix and he scored that, too. Great music he did for that series. Carlos is on fire these days. Sofia Vergara was really good, as well.

Thanks, Linwood Bell , on my to-watch list !

I'm always writing using either Digital Performer or Sibelius. Neither is a crutch. In fact, it's pretty much required in the circle I work in. I always write at the piano. I haven't done it with just...