Revival; Why I Do What I Do

Aloha! I know it's been nearly a whole year since I last wrote. I have somewhat valid excuses, the biggest of which is college. If you didn't already know, college consumes ALL your time, especially when you work 10 to 20 hours a week. I am sad to report that I have not written anything during Winter semester, and very little during Fall semester. When I was living at Wyview during the winter semester, I barely even played the piano. For a few months I had even forgotten my dream of being a composer/pianist. But now I'm back home, and I've gotten back into writing a bit. My hope is to make a small collection of religious/inspirational songs before I leave. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at here, but I do know that I have three songs pretty much completed. One has been recorded for a while, though I may record it again. It was our first time recording, and Savy has become even better at singing since. Anyway, this is my goal and I expect you to hold me accountable for it! Even though you may have already heard it, I put "Eternity" at the end of this post as a short preview of this project.

Now that I have that covered, I want to talk a little bit about why I love to play and write music. This is is going to be a hard task, but I will try. To best explain myself, I am going to summarize a quote from one of my favorite books. This book came from a series that most of my friends didn't enjoy. In fact, I am one of the few that I know of who do like the series. Why did I like it? I liked it for it's imaginative, creative nature. It is obvious that the author is a dreamer (obviously he is also a creative genius as is apparent by his books). He is one who ponders life and looks for the little pleasures that bring happiness.

Sometimes, I feel the same way. I once got called strange when I was caught examining the water dripping out of my hands into the hot tub by my uncle. I commented on how gorgeous the water was when you looked at it close enough. He told me I was weird. But I didn't care much. Who should care about another's enjoyment? Sometimes it is the simple, beautiful things about life that make it worth living.

Anyway, the quote talked a bit about flow (though this word was never used). Flow is a term used in psychology describing a moment or a period of time in which someone loses track of time because they are so captivated by something that time loses relevance. One may experience flow while gazing at stars, learning about a passionate subject, making a deep connection with a friend or lover, reading God's word, or even appreciating beauty of creation like I did that day in the hot tub.

That's what this book is referring to. Moments that make life worth living. Moments that make life enjoyable. Moments that give you a taste of happiness comparable to what you might experience in heaven once this life has passed you on.

And how does this relate to why I love music? Well, it may seem obvious. Music enlightens you, gives you joy, creates passionate feelings, helps you through hard times, and perhaps even gives you a direct connection with heaven itself. That's how I experience music.

If listening to music is like eating a peanut butter sandwich, writing and playing music is like feasting on Thanksgiving dinner. Writing music makes me experience flow like nothing else. You can ask my family; when I am experiencing musical flow, there isn't one thing you can do to snap me out of it. I live in the music for a moment in time. THIS is why I write music. THIS is why I wrote this blog. I get to share my heaven with you. I could think of few things I would like to do more.

That's it for today. I look forward to sharing some more stuff in the weeks to come, specifically a video recording of some of the songs I wrote for a children's musical more than a year ago. Talk to you then!

Sincerely yours,
Matthew


 

Enough Composition, I'm a Rapper!

Hey guys! Sorry, I haven't quite been keeping up to my post-a-week commitment, but I've been pretty busy. Anyway, I'm here to announce that I'm no longer going to be composing. I found a much more interesting and thrilling hobby: rapping! Okay, well not really, but I do have a special treat for those who may be into hip hop beats. My good friend Keley and I met together a few nights this week and made a goofy rap song using my new keyboard. We had a ton of fun adding effects to our voices and rockin' the synthesizers to bring you the next hit single: Can't Rap Worth Crap! Okay, so it probably won't hit the billboard charts, but we just had a good time making it! Anyway, you should also know that this is TOTALLY goofy, and I don't REALLY have plans for being a rapper, but it is fun to work with dance beats once in a while. Anyway, enough talk! Make your own opinion of it, and leave me a comment. Enjoy!

Click Here To Download/Listen

A Crazy Week

This week has been crazy for me...mostly because I've been working every day on top of a bunch of other things. Because of this, I haven't had a ton of time for working on music. I have, however, had some awesome experiences this past while that I will tell about.

First, I ordered and received an 88-key usb keyboard. I LOVE this keyboard SO much. I bought it for a few reasons. First, because it helps me notate my music so much quicker. In fact, if you have a song down well enough and can play it to a metronome, the program will notate it for you. You can also do note-by-note, chord-by-chord entries on the keyboard which speeds up the process so much. The second reason I got this keyboard is for recording. Even though it works through midi instruments on the computer, some instruments sound really good. Unfortunately, piano is one of the sounds that doesn't sound as good, but there are a ton of other instruments that would sound nice on a recording. This is invaluable to me because sometimes it is really difficult for me to find instrumentalists for parts in my songs. Also, with the digitally-created instruments, you can put all kinds of other twists on your music. These digital instruments are used all over in the music industry. In fact, I would say that 99% of hip hop and a good portion of pop almost completely use digital instruments. Digital instruments are also used all the time for film composers. One of the best examples of these is Hans Zimmer, who is pretty much the biggest film composer of our time.

The other big experience I had this week was my high school's talent show. When I heard my school was having a talent show, I decided to throw together a medley of some of the most popular songs at the high school. I didn't know how much of a chance I had at getting in, but my good friend and my sister encouraged me to audition. Anyway, I made it, and the show was last night. I was nervous, but somehow I felt comfortable when it came time to go on stage. I also got to watch a few of my friends perform, and they did awesome! At the end of the show, the judges chose three finalists. You can only imagine my surprise when they announced my name along with one of my really good friends, Keley. After the popular vote was taken via text, I was announced as first place! I couldn't even believe it! I was not expecting it at all. Keley played a composition that was way more sophisticated and amazing than mine, so I was humbled to be chosen. Anyway, it was an awesome experience all around. My dad filmed my performance, so here it is. Enjoy!

Celtic Music and Jon Schmidt

After thinking about it for a while, I finally came to the conclusion that my next project will be an piano-based instrumental album. Some tracks may be piano solos, but I am also planning on incorporating in some strings, woodwinds, and percussion. In fact, I've already started working on a song for the album that I originally intended to write as a piano duet. I am finished with the A section, but I got stuck on the B section. In hopes of inspiration, I began listening to Jon Schmidt, William Joseph, even some celtic music. This came from the suggestion of my amazing compositions teacher, Mr. Pond. He heard the A section of the song and mentioned how it had a bit of a celtic sound to it. He then recommended that I check out some different kinds of celtic music. As a result, I discovered a whole new world of music I'd never really noticed before. My favorite songs in this genre come from some of the celtic-influenced film music. There is a song in Tangled called "Kingdom Dance" that is celtic at its best. Also, John Powell's work in How to Train Your Dragon has hints of celtic influence throughout it. Check them out on this playlist:

Anyway, this week one of my favorite pianists came out with an awesome new song with his cellist friend. The song is called Michael Meets Mozart, and it is by Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson. I thought I would post it cause (1) it's awesome and (2) because I owe a lot to this guy. He's one of my main influences in composition. I first started composing because I was so impressed with his music. If he hadn't been the inspiration he was, I don't know how long it would have taken me to realize my interest in writing music. Anyway, here it is!

Project Update

Hey ya'll! Some of you may have heard of my recent musical project, writing the music and lyrics for a children's production of The Wizard of Oz. I had a great time with this project, especially working with the kids who were so forgiving and awesome. Thankfully, the whole production was recorded in both video and audio format, so I will be able to post the video clips of the songs as soon as I can get ahold of them. I will also hopefully be making a semi-professional recording of one of the songs with my sister singing (the girl who sang the song was younger, and didn't have as much experience at singing).

Now that I'm finished with this project, I've been thinking about what to work on next. Perhaps an album, a collaboration, or something? I don't know. Anyway, the other day I was sitting on the piano and came up with an idea that I have no idea what to do with. It sounds sort of like it could be a lyrical piece, but if I made it a lyrical piece, it would sound like something from the 40s or 50s, not exactly relevant for the modern day. On the other hand, it's a bit too showy for an orchestral piece. I wrote up the song on Finale, and added some strings and a flute. Here's a short sample of the main theme of the song. Tell me what you think. Should it be lyrical? An orchestral piece? A funeral march?

Thanks,

Matthew

First Post!

So...some of you may be wondering why I'm starting another blog. Well, truth is, the last one didn't work out too well. Let's just say that I don't have much patience spending my time emphasizing insignificant details of my life for entertainment. Sure, I did have a few posts there that were somewhat interesting, but I kinda just got bored of it. Enough said.

Anyway, if you are a friend or family member, you may be aware that I write music. Many people know I am a composer, but few have witnessed it. Even those who have heard me play a song or two or have seen my Youtube channel don't know that I compose new stuff almost every week. Unfortunately, this is my fault. I've been kind of a hermit composer for the last few years, but I'm trying to change that now.

So this is the plan. I'm going to be posting on this blog at least once a week from now on. A post could be anything from a thought I had on music or a favorite song to my own musical idea or even a full composition. I already have some material to post, so there should be more content added in the next week or so. All I ask of you as the reader is that you post your opinion on my work. Please, do not be afraid to say whatever you think. A bad critique is better than none in my opinion. All I need is a good idea of what people think about a song or idea so I can pursue projects that are close to the listener. Cause if music doesn't please the listener, what is the use for music anyway?

Anyway, if you got this far, I give you my thanks. Any support of my musical projects are invaluable to me. I am hoping to someday pursue a career or a side job in music, so this means everything to me. This is what I love to do, and I hope you can see that in my music.

Sincerely yours,

Matthew