Theme for the Woods (Draft 2)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License and ©2011 Gregory Weaver.

I know it’s been some time since I worked on this piece, and I apologize!  Between grueling over the other posts I’ve made, trying to finish the “Time’s Scar” analysis, work, and life in general, it was difficult to find time to sit down and work on it.  So, since I was on a train for seven hours or so to get from Charlottesville, VA, to Stamford, CT, last weekend, I decided to bring my whopping 49-key MIDI keyboard along.  Yes, it hung out in the aisle and part of it rested on the lap of the friend with whom I traveled.

My first order of business was to change the title of the tune.  I only got as far as changing the location, however, because I don’t want to christen it until it’s finished.  The reader may recall it being “Forest or Village Theme,” but I changed it to “Theme for the Woods” for a couple of reasons.  First, I got rid of the “village” part because I didn’t want to limit the location.  Can this be a theme for a village in the woods?  Certainly, but I’m not going to focus on what a village atmosphere might sound like so I thought it best to oust that detail.  Secondly, to me, “woods” seems lighter than “forest.”  When I think “forest,” I see large, think pines; darkness; and wolves; when I think “woods,” I imagine squirrels with acorns, camping, bird calls, and sunshine through the trees.  Since my tune is a little on the springy side, it is quite a bit more apt for the latter location.

Below I’ve posted my second draft.  It sounds a little different from the first because it uses Finale’s Garritan instrument library while Draft 1 used Logic Pro’s.  From now on (thanks to a suggestion from my girlfriend), my drafts will be MP3s of my work in Finale until I am satisfied with the score.  After that day comes, I’ll rewrite everything into Logic Pro so that I can take advantage of my superior sound libraries, add expression, and mix and master the track.

Forest or Village Theme 1 (Draft 1)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License and ©2011 Gregory Weaver.

I’ve been kind of wondering when I’d actually get to composing something and, well, tonight was the night.  I wasn’t even planning on it, but I was sitting in bed and a little melody popped into my head and I figured I should just get to it.

After making the decision to go ahead, I immediately realized that it was indeed a good decision.  The melody is exactly what I want in a first tune: it’s simple.  My writing typically isn’t simple, as I consciously constantly try to think of what I can do to develop a part and make it more interesting even if it doesn’t need any more development.  Since that can make things very cluttered, one of the goals I set for myself before I started the blog was to let things stand and not make unnecessary developments.  As I work on these songs, you’ll be able to see what I’m doing, and if I go too far with something, you have my permission to tell me to stop.  Remind me of my goal if things get too crazy!

Without any further ado, here is the first very very rough 21 seconds of my inaugural project for [Score.]!