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Program Music

8/26/2019

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During the Romantic Period of Music (late 1800's through early 1900's), a form of composition became popular called the Tone Poem or Program Music.  The music played by the orchestra told a story.  Usually, the poem or story was also published in the program notes so that concert goers could have it to refer to while listening to the piece.  One very famous example of Program Music is  "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1897) by Paul Dukas (1865-1935) which breathes life into a poem by German poet Goethe (1797).  The music tells the story of the old Sorcerer who leaves his young apprentice alone to do some chores.  The apprentice remembers just enough magic to get himself into trouble.  He repeats the conjuration he heard and causes the broom to carry pails of water to fill a large container.  He just can't remember how to make it stop.  You know the rest, undoubtedly because this once modestly successful piece for orchestra was later included in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" (1940).  From that springboard, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" motives and themes have been used to underscore hundreds of theatrical shows, cartoons, commercials, and even a live action film by the same name.  It is now considered wildly successful.

I admire composers who have such a command of the colors and sounds of the orchestral instruments that they can arrange and use them in their musical compositions to conjure up images for us in our minds.  I also admire artists and animators who are especially equipped to use their imaginations and skill to give the listening and viewing public unique visual interpretations of classical Program Music.  In fact, those artists can take almost any music and use it to tell some kind of visually appealing story.  Musical underscoring helps move the plot along in a story or theatrical production.  Directors of plays have long used the music of the classical Masters (Program Music or not) to "up" the theatrical appeal of their shows.

It's all Show Biz.  We like to be entertained.  And we like best what we know.  We like to have the music used to underscore movies and theater be what will carry us away into the world of the story.  It may be heroic and action packed.  It might be spooky and suspenseful.  It may transport us to exotic locations.  It may reflect the popular music of the day.  It may also educate us about music of a certain historic period.  Modern composers may want to find their unique voices when composing scores today, but they also want to build upon the fantastic examples from the past.  Even the legendary film score composer John Williams (b. 1932) used themes for "Star Wars" (1977) that sound like they are heavily influenced by Paul Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." It's all right.  Composers "borrow" ideas from each other all the time.

In my own small way, I wanted to give a salute to the famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg
(1843-1907) when I wrote the mini-musical "The Three Billy Goats Gruff."  He wrote incidental music for a play by Henrik Ibsen in 1876.  These short musical pieces vary in style and help illustrate the moods and activities of the protagonist "Peer Gynt."   I used little snippets of some of these pieces to add flavor to the songs from my little mini-musical.  Perhaps you will recognize them.  Enjoy.

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Which Comes First --- the Words or the Music?

8/17/2019

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Often I am asked which comes first when writing a new song -- the lyrics or the melody?  I usually say that the INSPIRATION comes first.  Inspiration can come from an idea, a feeling, a title, a scripture, a picture, a famous quote, a poem, an intriguing rhythm, a melodic "worm," a nugget from other music, ---almost anything can become an inspiration for a song.

When I was young, I liked to take long walks around my neighborhood.  There were many interesting streets of houses and green spaces as well as a trail along a canal bank.  I loved watching the trees as they changed through the seasons.  I loved to hear the water rushing by.  I enjoyed the views looking up to the mountains as well as looking down towards the valley.  As I walked, I sang to myself.  I sang lots of songs that I knew, but I also made up all sorts of songs.  I guess I didn't need much to entertain myself.  

(Curiously, even now, I find that going on a walk helps me think.  Sometimes, I go out walking and if I am trying to come up with an idea for a song, much of the song can literally write itself by the time I get home.)

During college, I got discouraged by all of the talent I saw around me.  The many teachers and students seemed so much more talented than I was.  The more I learned about musical elements and poetic devices, the more I guessed that my gift was just being able to sing.  Then, after graduation, I ventured out into the real world.  There I learned that with the right inspiration, I could produce interesting and worthwhile music, too.

For me, which comes first?  Well, I have to say that the music and the words pretty much come at the same time.  If I get an idea of something that needs to be said in the lyric, then the words dictate the melodic line and rhythms.  If an interesting melody starts forming in my mind, then I play catch up to try to find the words that should fit the music.  Some songwriters say that they start with the title.  But giving my song a title is usually the crowning detail of my songwriting efforts.  I have a hard time naming my songs. The default title often comes from the song's "hook." 
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If I am writing a song for Musical Theater, I have to immerse myself in the story, the setting, the costumes and set ideas, but mostly I need to get into the "heads" of the characters.  The words and the style of the song need to organically develop from the characters and situations they are in.  One song that I remember very clearly that wrote itself on one of my walks is "I Love the City Life" from The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.  As I recall, it was a rather cold blustery day.  I was walking briskly through the neighborhood.  Because it was a cold day, I started thinking of snow.  That started me thinking of an Irving Berlin song from the movie "White Christmas."   A very rhythmic melodic snippet from that song would not leave me alone.  I decided that if it was harmonically dressed up differently, given a Latin beat, and different words, people would never know where I borrowed the inspiration.  So, by the time I got home, I just needed to write down what had come to me on my walk. Enjoy!
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In the Time Before Remembering

8/5/2019

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PictureKazhira, the Weeping Queen from "Parizade's Quest"
Recently, I heard this line from my daughter as she was attempting to explain to her children some important events that happened previous to when they joined the family.  She began, "In the time before remembering..."  Now that line is every bit as good as "Once upon a time..." or "Long ago and far away..." don't you think?  It sets the tone for a timeless tale.  Don't know if it has been borrowed from some fantasy novel or not, but I intend to use it sometime, somewhere for some title.  It is THAT good!

Don't we all feel as we go through life, that we have forgotten key elements of our history.  My teachers always told me that I should keep a journal of the important events in my day to day life.  My problem was that as I was living those events, I couldn't tell if what I was going through was an important event or not.  And then, after time went by, I didn't really remember the details of the events as I became aware that they were actually very important.  Seems that only with hindsight do we discover the meaning we should attach to events in our day to day lives.  And then those days truly become "the times before remembering."

Fortunately, for me at least, I have family and friends who share enough of my life to help fill in the gaps when I forget details of the past.  My sister has a good memory for people, places, and events and somehow remembers random facts from my life, too.  And then, I tend to leave "breadcrumbs" strewn behind me.  You know, the scribbles in notebooks or margins of papers that provide dates of past appointments, rehearsal times and locations, performances, etc. to help me remember what I was doing back then and when I did them.  Eventually, when I get around to emptying out my purse, the excavations reveal a lot of archaeological evidences and clues to historical dates.  If I was wise, I could make a record from those sources.  I also do enough work on the computer to document many of the things I do and the computer furnishes a date for most of those activities.

But, no matter the mixed-up details of my own life, the line "In the time before remembering..." seems to open up a timeless tale.  At this time, however, I just don't remember what that tale might be. 

​A song from "Parizade's Quest" comes to mind, though.  It is sung by the weeping Queen Kazhira as she remembers the loss of her three beautiful babies.  "By Morning's Light" is probably the saddest song I ever wrote for a Children's Musical.  But it sets up the story of how a Family is reunited and all ends well.  The Queen wishes she had something happy to remember.  It is a time before her current reality, "in the time before remembering..."

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    Author

    My name is Betsy Bailey.  I have sung, written and taught music all of my life.  I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows.  This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater.  I would love to hear your comments!

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