Copy of Weekly Wave

Work for philharmonic orchestra in three movements.

"The moon's my constant mistress,
And the lonely owl my marrow;
The flaming drake and the night crow make
Me music to my sorrow."

 - from an anonymous folk song called "Tom O'Bedlam"

Orchestral Suite 2024 No. 1

Orchestral Suite 2024 No. 1 mvt-1

Dear friends, this song is a tribute to all people who volunteer to make sure that even poor children have a meaningful and fun free time. 
It is our Swedish National Day today - we are a peace-loving folk and hope that every war will take an end!

Volunteer Leisure Leaders

There are some people who try to take care
of kids - that are poor - they come from everywhere
their parents have not any money to spend
for the benefit of their kids
The ingenuity - has no limit
their reward is the love from all the kids

The leaders can bring all the kids out of town
where they never have been - for to see what there are
they look at flowers and all lovely trees
and maybe animals they can find
as squirrels or lovely birds who are singing
for the children from the dark side of the town

And sometimes they are travelling to the islands in the sea
an exciting trip  -  they got salt in their hair 
and winds are blowing and waves can be high
and sometimes they got scared
They are amazed by all the wonders that there are 
They will remember these days until they die

Volunteer Leisure Leaders

Jam band 
RENTT guitars
Single Use & Recycled guitars

Rockin' Rollin" w Single Use & RENTT'ed

Un petit blues pour ce week-end, et pour accompagner la très belle voix de Patricia Edwards  : merci à elle pour le libre partage de ce chant

Are you okay ? (Vent d'ouest ft Patricia Edwards)

Winter (Lucía Salieri & Vicenzo Piano)

Longer Than Eternity * Instrumental

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
------------------------------------------
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.

Orchestral Suite 2024 No. 1 mvt-1

Jim Lynch