This is a revised piano piece from 2020. The image taken this morning is a view over Morecambe Bay from Grange over Sands. Arneside Knot in Lancashire can be seen over the bay. A place of great beauty, but the sands are potentially dangerous and the site nearby of a sad tragedy in 2004 when at least 21  illegally trafficked Chinese cockle pickers drowned.

Further Reflections (A View Over The Sands)

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🎶✍️Music brings hope in darkness, poetry sheds light in verses.

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Violoniste, improvisateur, guitariste, chanteur, décompositeur, ingéniteur du son.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtISQfDQjQLcmIlf1O4Zk0Q
https://www.facebook.com/jeanbernard.jay.7 
Collaborations : 
https://soundcloud.com/improvidenz
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTbVsID6FJlcn8djnw8cyHg




Plusieurs des pièces musicales proposées ici jouent sur trans-spacialité et trans-temporalité. Les bruits extérieurs, souvent considérés comme parasites, entrent en confrontation avec l’ici et maintenant du musicien. Une rue, une gare, une place recèlent des rythmes, des textures sonores spécifiques variables selon le moment où on les parcourt. Dépourvus de fonction décorative, ils cristallisent du temps humain, trace de temps passé dans ces lieux. Ils témoignent aussi de l’impact sonore de l’activité humaine au sein de laquelle prend place la musique. Cette matière sonore n’est pas le prétexte à l’énonciation du musicien, mais son théâtre – terme à prendre  dans tous ses sens : scène, scénographie, dramaturgie,  genre, représentation. Il transforme le réel enregistré, produit en effet d’étrangeté. Comme le babil à la parole, cette musique confronte le bruit fortuit de la vie humaine à l’art.

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.

I teach in US higher education (in a STEM field) & am a hobbyist composer writing in a few different styles. I recommend headphones. All of my music is released under a Creative Commons Attribution/Noncommercial license.

My bandcamp page is getting out of date again, but some older albums there can be downloaded for free or for a name-your-own price donation.

If anyone wants to try performing any of this stuff on real instruments please send a message and I can provide scores. Not sure how playable some of it is for human musicians though.

Unsolicited messages asking me to listen to your latest song will lead to you being blocked unless if I know you well and we've interacted a lot.

My music is written without the use of AI, though some of my older albums used jankier, older (pre-chatGPT) AI for album art.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting!

Influences;  
Bicep, Yagya, Junkie XL, Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Aphex Twin, Weval, The Orb, Kraftwerk, Boards of Canada, Autechre, Orbital, Squarepusher, Underworld, Apparat, Entheogenic, Jaytech, Air, Azmari, Monolink, Laurent Garnier, Praga Khan, Disclosure, Jon Hopkins, Max Cooper, Dominik Eulberg, Lindstrom, Aleksi Perälä, Ben Böhmer etc


Check also;
@https://soundcloud.com/hega76 (Electronic - Pop - Rock etc)

I was born in Leicester in the late 1950's. Since semi-retirement and subsequent retirement (as a Dermatologist and formerly G.P) I have spent some of my spare time trying to learn music theory. I also enjoy long distance running as well as cycling, skiing and tennis. I enjoy cooking, gardening and growing a few vegetables. And fine wine (in moderation). I enjoy insect photography, with a particular interest in hoverflies..
To my regret I never learnt a musical instrument when younger but I have listened to and been fascinated by music for as long as I can remember. The advent of the computer age has allowed me to pursue my desire to compose music. I use Logic Pro X software (and MuseScore3 for recent piano compositions). My compositions reflect my varied listening preferences (including Contemporary Classical, Jazz and  Music from other cultures around the world).

Hi, My name is Johnny Mc Farlane, I am an Indie songwriter from Ireland. I write, play, produce and distribute my own music. I try to write songs that will mean something to whoever may be listening. I try to express feeling and emotions through my music, I try to hit the heart and soul of whoever may be listening and to pass on my feelings through my lyrics and my music. A lot of the songs I write come from Personal experiences, some are pure imagination, but all try to carry a message of Hope, Fait, understanding and a spiritual message of love. I am just one voice in the wilderness but together we are stronger. Thank you so much for listening to my music. It’s a real honour.

Further Reflections (A View Over The Sands)

SFJ