Fran Stenhouse Music

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WIP2 Lost Legs

Have been trying to finish at least one unfinished tune but ideas have run dry. Been playing around with variations of a old nine bar riff and it feels like it is not going any where. 

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Spring is here and the flowers in my garden are enjoying the warmth. Although exams are looming and I am probably looking for a source of procrastination, I think I might compose a song inspired by these lovelies. 

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Paper Boy was made when my partner and I were in our mid teens. Might not be the best recording, but I think that it has some charm to it. I remember desperately trying to finish recording it in their bedroom before dinner was ready. Swear I will get around to fixing the quiet audio eventually.

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This was a nu-jazz inspired piece for a high school assignment. I liked how it turned out for the most part but wouldn’t mind going back and changing a few things.

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28 October 2015

Settled on piano... for now. 

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25 October 2015

This is Akusa and was originally completed in 2013 for my year twelve high school music extension final composition. Leading up to Akusa, I was having difficulty sticking to an idea. I would write so many phrases down but felt they all had no potential. It was the night before the assignment was due and still I had nothing that I was happy with. A friend recommended a Youtube video to compose to, and so I did. Five hours later, it was time to go to school and it is now a piece that I am still very proud of. 

I attempted to match the building conflict and brutality. The top-heavy sound gives an instability and although sounds nothing like the original score composed to the scene, Akusa depicts it well aurally.

I have unfortunately lost the Sibelius, MIDI file and PDF score for Akusa. I am sure that I have a hard copy of it though. It may need some editing. I will definitely upload when I next get the chance. Working 5-6 days a week is hard on all of this. 

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25 October 2015

A little teaser of what I have been working on today - Lost Legs. Something more upbeat compared to Southern Mountains Theme and Variations. I just want to give this game’s strong female character a cool theme and something I am proud of. This 5/4 piece is intentionally “jumpy” and almost fanfare-like.

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25 October 2015

I am going to start my next piece today. I think it will be made in a similar way to Southern Mountains Theme and Variations. I am struggling with making music that I would like to listen to. I wish I could make pieces that incorporate samples because I really like listening to a mix of old and new electronics in songs. 

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22 October 2015

Decided on a staccato, old-school flutey synth. I think this encapsulates the whimsical character of the game it is being made for. I am not sure how to have random delays on the notes to provide a more “real”-feel to the piece. If I do, I will upload that too. I feel there are things I may change if I revisit Southern Mountains Theme and Variations in the future. Next two tasks have been set for the game. I will review after completion of those perhaps. 

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21 October 2015

The sheet music for WIP4 Southern Mountains Theme and Variations is pretty much complete. I do not believe that this piece exhibits my greatest potential but I am happy for its use as a welcome-back-to-composing exercise. 

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21 October 2015

Now with a triangle wave. Still a fair bit of tinkering left to do.

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21 October 2015

I tried to add other instruments to Southern Mountains Theme and Variations but I was not satisfied with how it was developing. I think I will change the instrument to a warm triangle wave, in the style of the game it is being created for. This theme is making me feel drowsy after listening and listening and listening to it for the last day and a bit. I have an idea to treat it as a sort of overture for the game because there are many melodic ideas. 

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21 October 2015

I wanted to share the process I usually follow when I compose music and what better way to do that than with a current work in progress. 

I use Sibelius for notation and start off with two pianos as instruments. I have really become accustomed to Sibelius, but there is a heap of other notation software out there. Before I start I like to decide on the key, time signature and a few chord progressions. I decided to do a simple one chord per bar in this piece because I have not composed in so long and needed something simple to start back off on. Having the first piano line reminds me of the chord progression I was planning to use as I experiment with rhythm and melodies. I do not usually decide on the tempo, expressions, dynamics ornamentation, other instruments etc until later. When I am happy with the notation, I export to a MIDI file and edit the instruments. Lately, I have been using the opensource software LMMS. 

This work in progress is WIP2 Southern Mountains Theme and Variation. It is inspired by a 1980 photo of the New Zealand Southern Alps and its potential use for a developing game.

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20 October 2015 

This work in progress is inspired by this 1980 photo of the New Zealand Southern Alps and its potential use for a developing game. I am enjoying writing this after a long hiatus in composition. I personally find the meandering and saturated nature of the melody appealing. I intend that beautiful and sleepy twilight imagery is invoked in the listener.