How a Composer Thinks

Assignments


Transfer Seminar
University Studies 4 - Fall 2013
University of California, Irvine


 

Assignments are posted here in reverse chronological order.

 


 

For December 11, 2013:

There's no final exam or finals-week meeting for this class. However, if you wish to write any more on any of the topics of this class, you are very welcome to do so up to 11:59 pm on Tuesday December 10 by posting on the class MessageBoard.

I also encourage you to complete the EEE course/professor evaluation for this class. It's one of the primary ways that courses and professors are reviewed, and it gives you the opportunity to report your experience. Your evaluation will be taken into account as the university considers whether to continue holding these special "transfer seminars". The evaluations are anonymous, and your feedback is definitely appreciated and valued.

 


 

For December 4, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday December 3, post on the class MessageBoard an essay detailing what you learned in this course. Your essay might focus on commonalities between the composers you heard from, or it might highlight distinctions between them and their approaches to composition. You can focus on what you learned about the process of music composition, and/or you can describe what you learned about related topics (such as improvisation, creativity, etc.). Tell how these things have (or could have) a direct effect on your own life and work.

Be prepared to summarize what you learned in the course, during the final class session.

If you're interested in reading the full article on "cross-domain mapping" discussed in the November 27 class, you can find it in the Google Books preview of the book Conceptualizing Music by Lawrence M. Zbikowski. [Scroll down to the Table of Contents and click on "2. Cross-Domain Mapping 63".]

 


 

For November 27, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday November 24, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the November 20 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday November 26, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

In preparation for the next class session, read the following excerpts of different composers' thoughts on composing, take notes about the points you find most significant in each, and be prepared to discuss the writings in class.

David Cope, "Defining Creativity" (excerpt)
Aaron Copland, "The Creative Mind and the Interpretive Mind" (excerpt)
Roger Sessions, "The Musical Impulse" and "The Composer" (excerpts)
John Stevens, "How do composers compose?" (interview)
Igor Stravinsky, "The Composition of Music" (excerpt)

 


 

For November 20, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday November 17, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the November 13 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday November 19, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

In preparation for the upcoming class, I've prepared a brief bio paragraph about Yung Wha Son for you to read, and I've put three of her compositions online so you can become familiar with her work. The pieces are Shadows for flute, bass, and piano, Song of Diaspora for mixed choir and small orchestra, and Song of Return for ensemble of traditional Korean instruments. If you have questions about any of the music you hear, you can ask them in the discussion portion of the class session.

 


 

For November 13, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday November 10, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the November 6 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday November 12, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

In preparation for the upcoming class session, visit the website of Kojiro Umezaki's new album release (Cycles). Listen especially to track 4, "...seasons continue, as if none of this ever happened" (you can click on the right arrow icon to skip tracks), although of course you're welcome to listen to the entire album.

To learn more about Kojiro Umezaki, you can explore his professional website.

 


 

For November 6, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday November 3, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the October 30 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday November 5, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

In preparation for the upcoming class session, watch the YouTube video Kei Akagi: Master of Improvisation - UC Irvine.

Kei Akagi has had a long career performing both on piano and on synthesizer in jazz groups led by famous figures such as Miles Davis, Stanley Turrentine, and others. I suggest, as an example of his versatility in such a setting, a video of him playing in a band led by guitarist Al DiMeola, in Song to the Pharoah King (Kei figures prominently in most of the piece, and his solo is from to ). For an example of one of his own compositions, in a very different mood, you can watch the video A Night with Kei Akagi & Friends, an excerpt from a recent concert at UCI. You can find many other videos of his live performances on YouTube.

 


 

For October 30, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday October 27, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the October 23 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday October 29, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

Read "Musical Composition as Experiment (and vice versa)" by Christopher Dobrian, a presentation delivered in the panel Conversations on the Artistic Process, January 25, 2012.

Familiarize yourself with Christopher Dobrian's music, examples of which can be heard on his UCI website. For two rather different compositions representative of this composer, you might want to listen to Mannam for daegeum (Korean bamboo flute) and computer, performed by Hong Se-rin, and In the In-Between for trombone, piano, and bass performed by Michael Dessen, Kei Akagi, and Darek Oles.

 


 

For October 23, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday October 20, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the October 16 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday October 22, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

Attend the Gassmann Electronic Music Series concert Voyage in Space and Time at 8:00 pm Tuesday October 22 in Room 218 of the Music and Media building, featuring the music of Nicolas Vérin, who will be the guest speaker in the October 23 class.

If you're interested to learn about technical aspects of how he composes, you can also attend his talk in Professor Mitchell's seminar on Creative Practices, scheduled for 5:00 pm on Tuesday October 22 in Room 316 of the Music and Media Building.

If you're unable to attend the concert, you can instead hear and see some of Nicolas Vérin's music of the sort that will be performed in the concert:
- an excerpt of the piece Khamsin for drums and recorded sounds
- an excerpt of the piece Chinook for electric guitar and recorded sounds
- one movement of the piece Trois études d'espace (Three studies in space) titled "Mouvement-Espace-Etude" for recorded sounds (this is an uncompressed audio file, so you may need to be patient as it downloads)

 


 

For October 16, 2013:

By 11:59 pm on Sunday October 13, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the October 9 class session.

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday October 15, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post this week.

In preparation for next week's class, read the liner notes for Michael Dessen's recent album Forget the Pixel and watch the videos posted there.

One area of research/creative work for Michael Dessen is telematic performance, in which performers collaborate from separate remote locations via the Internet. Listen to this performance of his composition for three improvisers titled "Threads and Promises" (starting at time 16:20 in the video). Note that this video was shot in San Diego while Dessen himself (the trombonist) is in Irvine.

 


 

For October 9, 2013:

Read chapter 2 of What to Listen for in Music by composer Aaron Copland, titled "How We Listen".

By 11:59 pm on Sunday October 6, post on the class MessageBoard a brief discourse (approximately two paragraphs minimum, but more if you want) on what you learned in the first class session (and the first reading).

By 11:59 pm on Tuesday October 8, post on the class MessageBoard a response to -- a commentary on -- some issue raised in at least one other student's original post.

In preparation for next week's class, read "I Dreamed of Other Worlds": An Interview with Nicole Mitchell, May 8, 2008, by Ellen Waterman.

Familiarize yourself with Nicole Mitchell's music, examples of which can be heard on her website.

 


This page was last modified December 4, 2013.
Christopher Dobrian, dobrian@uci.edu