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Elegy for an Asteroid is a work that was born from an improvisation at the beginning of December 2021. It’s the first time I took a whole improv and tweaked it into a composition. I’m thankful that I adopted the habit of recording all my improvisations in the event I wanted to build on those unfettered musical ideas later on.
Continue readingMy experiments in the realm of harmony continue. Currently I’m about half way through the RCM 10 Harmony book at we’ve just finished the passage on V9s and 13s. To me these chords immediately make me recall Chopin, as if they were his musical fingerprint. I thought I’d take another stab at composing something simple. My tendency is often to begin with simple intentions but end up with a piece 10 pages long and hard for anyone to play. This time I restricted myself to 16 measures. I thought I’d try to write another minuet, this time in the minor mode but by the time I tried it out at the keyboard I realized it was much more like a waltz. I almost achieved my first goal as it ended up being 21 measures. It turned out a tad more difficult than I wanted it to be but oh well. I’d say it’s more like grade 3 or probably 4 RCM. Still, I’m happy with the result. It reminds me a bit of Chopin combined with some Danny Elfman. What does it remind you of?
Introducing a new and haunting piece for piano. Frozen Tears has been compared to the music of Chopin mixed with Danny Elfman, the composer of soundtracks to movies including Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride. I can’t help but mention there is a bit of my favourite composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in there too.