Essays
Long-form writing on music, sound, culture, composition, listening, and human life.
Composer As Communicator & Explorer
“It should be noted here that proficiency in composition occasionally correlates with maladjustment to the culture and is often associated with religions activity.” Music in Primitive Culture by Bruno Nettl,…
Investigating How Environments Shape What Music Was Created And Performed
As a composer, I often find myself captivated by the ways in which the environment shapes the music that is created and performed around the globe. From some of the…
Exploring Music Notation: Staves, Textiles, & Organic!
As a composer, notation is a crucial aspect of my art. It allows me to convey my musical ideas to performers, enabling them to bring my compositions to life. While…
Exploring music improvisation from around the world
Improvisation is a vital element in many world music traditions and has played a significant role in the development of music across cultures for centuries. It’s a way for musicians…
A comparison of different musical modes used in different parts of the world
This article looks at the musical modes and scales that have been used in various forms of music for centuries or millennia. Modes are an essential element of many musical…
What is voice leading in music? a quick overview
I learned about voice leading from a very academic angle. It was introduced to me through counterpoint and then through four-part writing. I was never a singer, except for my…
Should you study music theory? reasons for and against
I get asked and even ask myself sometimes, “should musicians learn music theory?” When I was completing my undergraduate work in Theory and Composition there was always this air of…
Brief Overview Of African Rhythms
I’ll admit, my sense of rhythm is rather poor. I find myself clapping to offbeats more often than not! I feel like I never soaked in rhythmic patterns and pulses.…
What’s the point of music analysis? Grandiose Idea
What’s the point of doing music analysis? What does it matter that I can connect a thematic idea across the movements of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony? Or discuss the formal organization…
Music Has Lost: Movement, Participation, & the Universe
Music, right along with everything else, has changed. Not a revolutionary sentence but here are three major ways music has changed over the centuries (millennia). I’m not talking about the…