I've been working on music today. It's been a long time since I've done that and I know it will take days of drifting and seeming listlessness, thinking, trying, thinking, trying, before anything happens. Unlike painting I tend to sketch in things and modify, like painting plein-air. That's not the way I paint, and for my last album I wrote the themes on piano first, which is easier when the instrumentation is limited to simple orchestral ones (cello, strings, woodwind) instead of the full gamut that the electronic ensemble can provide.
Today I made a few musical "sketches". I have a few rough ideas for unifying themes that would make an album, but nothing firm. Now I'm simply getting re-acquainted with the process. I need more passion and drama.
I thought I'd share today's sketch, it's like a rough underpainting of sound. This could be expanded in size, or layered to add details, enhance contrasts and finesse exactly as with a painting, but I think I'll not go much further. These first few steps are to test the water. I know it'll take a day or two of mind bending to retrain my brain musically, and then the music will write itself.
The Door.mp3 (a note from the future: this link was temporary, so is now inactive, sorry!)
