Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A Composer's Journey Into Technology

This is an article I wrote in October, 2010 for The Advocate, a weekly newspaper in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It describes briefly my experience with music technology. The original title was A Composer's Descent Into Technology. Moments of joy, moments of rage, moments of glimpsing the way into what may become a new path for me.

The Classical Beat


By JOHN NEWELL


A COMPOSER’S JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY


My friend Stephen Dankner invited me to share with you the tale of my recent journey into technology, and the questions that it raises about music and our experience of it.


Last fall I presented a concert of my works, and had planned to feature a recently completed string quartet. I learned, though, that it’s tough to get four string players together to rehearse and perform a challenging piece unless they already play together as an ensemble. The concert proceeded without the quartet.


But I really wanted to hear my quartet. So I decided: I’ll perform it and record it myself – digitally. Some background: I am a 60ish composer who still uses pencil and manuscript paper. I wasn’t particularly drawn to “electronic music.” But I’m aware that technology has indeed progressed. Could I create a performance that would satisfy me and that others could appreciate?


So I went back to school, taking an online course through Berklee College of Music in digital music production. Immediately I was in another world. My teacher was a composer for TV and movies who lives in LA. Fellow students included an Italian guy with his own rock band and production studio, and one in Tokyo whose class project was a potato chip commercial.

Keep in mind that digital music production is the norm in commercial music. For example, when watching Nova or nature documentaries you’re not hearing real orchestras. You’re hearing digitally produced music. What makes the sounds realistic, at least to the casual listener is that they use libraries of “samples,” recorded snippets of real instrument sounds.


Composers who make their living creating this music invest many thousands of dollars in software and hardware to get the most realistic sounds. They don’t use pencil and paper to “write” the music, but largely play into the computer using a digital piano keyboard.


My final project wasn’t the quartet, but an arrangement of a favorite gospel tune. First I laid down the piano part; then the drum track (a first for me), and had to decide from among dozens of choices which drum sound I wanted. I chose a straightforward acoustic-sounding drum set – not the ones dubbed “Crack” or “Mongoose.” Then the electric bass track. I sang the vocals myself, and jazzed it up with an alto sax line.


Recording the parts and editing them (e.g. altering tempos, dynamics, note lengths) were easy. Next came the audio production, all the things that real recording engineers do. I was astonished at the jargon and the mind-numbing number of options available for getting the right mix, reverb and “plug-in” effects. I learned to ignore what I didn’t need. Then there was equalization, compression and mastering, to achieve the right acoustic presence. OMG! My learning curve was steep, and included the realization that I needed a more powerful computer, really.


Now I've launched into the quartet. I create the performance by playing each instrument on the keyboard and then, often with a digital pencil tool, drawing and shaping elements like volume, attack, and tempo. Various randomize functions serve to "humanize" the performance, in terms of variations in tempo, tuning, and note lengths.


I’m having fun. Why? Because my ears enjoy the workout. Since I’m also a performer I take pleasure in getting just the right attack on a note or making a diminuendo in the cello sound just how I would actually play it. Plus I have control. I get just the tempo I want (and I’ve discovered places where I wrote the wrong tempo in the score). Everyone plays in tune to the degree that I want.


But there are questions. Is the effort worth the cost? No denying, hearing a digital performance is not the same experience as sitting 25 feet away from group of accomplished musicians. But can a digital realization stand on its own? I at least have a decent representation of the work, but how satisfying might it ultimately be for the listener?


How far am I willing to go in terms of both time and money to get as close as possible to the sound of live performers? As a composer of concert music I think there is a limit, and I don’t intend to stop working with musicians. For I’m a musician myself, not just a “composer.”

How do listeners hear it? Is it worth listening to? It may depend on your ears as well as your expectations. I’ve posted sample audio clips of the string quartet movements on my web site. Click on Catalog of Works, then on Chamber Ensemble. The quartet is the first work on that page. I invite you to listen and tell me what you think.


John Newell is a composer living in Pittsfield. Send your comments to him at jnewell384@gmail.com. His web site is www.johnnewellmusic.com. Stephen Dankner will return next week.


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