For PianoDay2019

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for more information about Jeff please visit:
www.jeffchipman.com

The Face Behind The Face

I am Jhon, more of a music lover than a musician. Thank you for listening!



My music pieces are all piano improvisations expressing emotions. It is music telling stories without the words. In my earIy years I sang and played piano in piano bars or fronted bands of different styles, from country to heavy metal and to 40. I've been composing, teaching and performing most of my life.  I'm getting old(er) now 😔 but the great thing about creating music is it gets better the longer you play, and you have more to write about! 

This is what I leave of me to my generations to come who wonder where their desire to make music comes from. My mother, grandmother and great grandmother were both accomplished pianists when they were young. My son is also exceptional.  My great grandmother and gr grandfather sang and danced in minstrel shows (vaudeville) in the early 1900's. Kids today have no idea what life was like before moving pictures.  I now have great-grandchildren. They will know who I am through my music. When I am gone my music will still be here. What a wonderful thought! 

I am a pianist and composer in Maine; USA

My album "The Bleak Midwinter" was released October 2016. "A Distant Arcade" was released July 2022.

Thank you for listening!

Thank you for visiting my SoundCloud page. Northfield Lenox creates computer / electronic music combining virtual instruments with samples from media archives, radio, and other field & audio recordings.

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
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I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Fingerstyle guitarist and composer, based in Parets, Barcelona, Spain.

Remember to seek beauty.

Artwork by perevilardebo.estudio _ www.perevilardebo.com

The Face Behind The Face

Jeff Chipman