Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Remembering "Long Time" Score

 Date for Entry: (Unknown/Forgotten)

[2017]

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 16th November, 2021)

Dear Diary,

    Today I remember the past semester of my Intermediate Steel Ensemble Class with Mr. Mannette when he gave us one of his Pan arrangements to do called “Long Time.” It was seven pages in total and also into the Semester he had made a big cut out of a few pages. It felt a bit more comfortable with that change. It was sad that we didn’t get to do it at the Music of The Diaspora Concert. It may not have been one I liked to music but the sound of it was lovely.


Link(s):

  1. Long Time (Tenor Score).

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Monday, March 20, 2017

"Magical Creatures" Music Composition

Date for Entry: (Monday 20th March, 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 23rd November, 2021)

[Written as Updated Report]

Dear Diary, 

While going through my editing process of the novel “Magical Creatures” on Saturday, I heard the lady inside of the universe of my mind singing again (around four in the evening). She was super clear and her 'connection' meeting me was the strongest I had ever felt. We both began to sing together on the same spot without practice as if both our minds were shared and we knew what the melody was going to be for every piece of melodic contour. 

It was amazing and left me wondering how this was happening or why. I had to give it trust and by the end of that three-hour episode, she left me with a short piece of melody that was good enough to be a complete section. This meant that I was singing all that time constant without attention to the time going. Before the 'connection' was over and cut, I tried singing the melody section she last gave me over and over as I tried to get the laptop on to score it out on Musescore. 

It seemed good enough with the layback. I did not even know that I would have to use anacrusis or even a three-four meter but it worked and it sounded the same as what she gave me. Whoever that was? When minutes after eight came, I was able to add in a piano part and complete the accompaniment for what I had. Amazing indeed and so magical it felt. Mama and Nadara were impressed again; when they were forced to hear me from the gallery earlier that evening. 

The Sunday evening sitting with Nadara on the bed, I got an old piece of the calendar to cut up with scissors and then began writing out the first part of the lyrics I attempted to write in poetry form like I would as if I was writing one of my many sonnets. I managed it alright although songwriting is not something I'm into or know how to do that well. The same with writing piano accompaniment.  



The unfortunate part about the lady singing is that she does not use words. She uses syllables and if I have to take her melodies I most likely have to come up with the words myself. Thinking of her, she sang only a short piece from last night gave me words for the first section. Then from there, I decided to turn the song into a “Rondo Form” that used her portion as some sort of chorus or repeating section so that I can have orbiting my mind. I thought that this would help me create all the verses easier and I was right. Maybe for this purpose then?

The creation of all the words was done on the same day in that same session sitting with Nadara. I had to make sure that my 'poetry writing' of the lyrics had the same rhythmic measurements in each verse. Once that was done I waited until I got home in Tunapuna to put the entire piece together. It did take me a longer period to sort out piano accompaniment for the other verses because somehow the same thing did not work for each verse. The piece on its own self has been through countless amendments and changes until its final stance in March of 2017. 


Link(s):

  1. Wishing Well Conjugation (Version 1).

 

Daryl Zion M. Ali

Monday, March 6, 2017

FOPA (Assignment #2, 3 & 4)

 Date for Entry: (Monday 6th March, 2017)

Actual Date of Online Entry: (Tuesday 16th November, 2021)


FOPA ASSIGNMENT #2

** Monday 6th March 2017 **

    Yesterday in the afternoon I got my Pan Arranging assignment two for credit completed. I made sure to print out my accountability statement along with the lead score that Mr. De Las emailed us along with a sheet I made of the instructions he sent in the e-mail.

    In class, he took out his red pent to correct my paper by the time. Some of us were all waiting for a big majority of the class to reach school. I was so nervous and vexed at myself with all of the red ink I saw him scratching up on my paper. When he called me up, he showed me the mistakes I made. It cost me some good marks. I just couldn’t believe I forgot to make those changes. 

Link(s):

  1. FOPA (Assignment #2) - Tay Lay Lay.

 

FOPA (ASSIGNMENT #3)

** Friday 24 March 2017 **



    The date above is the receival of the Fundamentals of Pan Arranging assignment three by email. I have enjoyed the music from YouTube very much. It sounded like a winning piece with the ‘vibe feeling’ that it presented.

    I think that one day I will review this arrangement. Better yet, I think I would like to do over the entire arrangement from scratch without using the lead sheet from Mr. De Las. I am not sure how well this assignment was done. No marks were provided on the work.

Link(s):

  1. “Know the Face” – Lead Sheet.
  2. “Know the Face” – Assignment Score.
  3. “Know the Face” – YouTube Recording.


FOPA (ASSIGNMENT #4)

** Thursday 20 April 2017 **

    The date above is the receival of the Fundamentals of Pan Arranging assignment four by email. This piece sounded like calypso and it was a long time since I heard a song that gave a good discussion. The experience of working with this piece was not as usual. I suppose maybe the feeling of the song or something gave me a challenge.

    The use of cut-time (alla breve) was not easy. I did not like it at all. The rhythmic writing most likely would have been the biggest challenge for me apart from trying to figure out what to do in the various sections. In reviewing the assignment, I saw that I did not use rehearsal letter markings as I like to have in my scores.

Link(s):

  1. “Who to Blame” – Lead Sheet.
  2. “Who to Blame” – Assignment Score.
  3. “Who to Blame” – YouTube Recording. 


Daryl Zion M. Ali