On Composing

I like music. A lot. A lot a lot. And I like it in very gay and neurodivergent ways, so buckle up. •any pronouns •current hyperfixation: Dungeon Meshi

[stinkodude]

You know it’s a good orchestra rehearsal when your arms hurt from playing and your cheeks hurt from smiling.

-me, a hour ago.

[dct239394cvvd098dffgggp]

i said 'explain physics to me like youre in love with me' and after a while of quiet he went 'everything sings'. so i get it now

[napcomposing]

So…

(@sketiana is credited and cited, of course)

[napcomposing]

More on this:

[dct239394cvvd098dffgggp]

i said 'explain physics to me like youre in love with me' and after a while of quiet he went 'everything sings'. so i get it now

[napcomposing]

So…

(@sketiana is credited and cited, of course)

[napcomposing]

Biggest reality check of being a composer is how long 30 seconds actually is

[napcomposing]

Very proud of these two systems…

From “Everything Sings Movement I. Big Things” pg. 8–9

I learned a lot about Finale from these these two systems alone 😭

[dougielombax]

And halfway through the symphony, members of the orchestra just start dropping dead randomly.

See, there goes another violin player.

[napcomposing]

HELIO original math + graphing

Some behind-the-scenes from a quadrophonic fixed media piece of mine (a little less than a year old)

There is so much context missing from these that they are probably incomprehensible but I wanted to share anyway lol

[napcomposing]

Call From Dad in the Whiplash (2014) score

My favorite track in the Whiplash score is Call From Dad, which plays right after the infamous “rushing or dragging” scene where Fletcher berates Andrew in front of the rest of the band.

We’re brought in with a droning D# that sustains throughout the entire track, and as other sounds fill in, we have a sort of whining B Major chord as our basis here. What makes Call From Dad my favorite track actually can’t be heard when listening to the soundtrack alone:

In the movie, Andrew’s phone vibrates as he lets it ring, reluctant to answer it. The pitch the phone vibrates at is an F♮(natural), which creates a dissonance with the D# droning above it. It’s a M2 (or technically a m7 since it’s inverted) interval (my favorite interval), and it’s just delightful. This F♮ comes in seconds later in the actual track, but the timbral effect of the phone buzzing, as well as the register—it’s quite low—is what makes it great to me.

The F♮, of course, clashes with the F# as well, but it’s the M2 that we hear more. What a nice touch.

[napcomposing]

I have very stupidly put myself in a position where I have to portray numbness with the most romantic and expressive instrument ever created: the French horn.

I am doomed.

[napcomposing]

First Whiplash post, oh lord...

So obviously the soundtrack and score are incredible. For the last few days it's pretty much been the only thing I've listened to, and God, I have to give it to Justin Hurwitz for just how well he did with this. Most fans are probably familiar with Whiplash and Caravan (not by Hurwitz, for clarification), but I implore you to listen to the other pieces featured in the movie, like Too Hip To Retire and Upswingin' (both by Tim Simonec, but also Intoit by Stan Getz).

OKAY ABOUT THE ACTUAL SCORE BY HURWITZ + SYMBOLISM WITH ANDREW AND FLETCHER

Alright, listen to the whole album, please. Just... do that for yourself.

Hurwitz uses drumset as the primary instrument for most of the score (the score, not the soundtrack), which is very obviously representing/referencing Andrew Neiman, the protagonist. While there are a few songs that aren't built on drumset, I think something important to note is that there are specifically only three that are built instead on piano.

The first is Fletcher's Song In Club. Fletcher plays the piano. I don't think it's a stretch to consider it his thematic instrument; not so much because Fletcher's character reminds us of piano--definitely not--but because it's associated with him.

The only other pieces in the score that use piano so prominently--actually, in these cases, it's the only instrument used--are Hug From Dad and Dismissed, which are actually the same piece with very minor changes to the effects. These tracks play when Andrew is at his lowest. It's so interesting to me that Hurwitz made this compositional decision, especially because it was totally unnecessary. He didn't pick piano because it's commonly associated with melancholy; there are other tracks that accomplish the same mood/tone that don't use piano at all. But he chose for Andrew's lowest moments to be accompanied exclusively by Fletcher's instrument: the piano.

Doesn't that make you want to scream?

[napcomposing]

Milton Babbitt and Lou Harrison being relatable as fuck

I recently had to read two interviews from William Duckworth's Talking Music, in which he interviews a bunch of composers. I just had to share some of the things I wrote while reading.

Firstly, the stuff my therapist will be seeing (as soon as I actually get one, that is):

I was really shocked at how specifically relatable these points were to me. Especially Harrison with the "mindlessness". Babbitt struck me as well, but I imagine that writing solely for oneself isn't something exactly rare to find in composers, especially neurodivergent ones. Harrison actually also touches on that kind of feverish-ness of needing to create:

Lastly, some general observations:

Really good read. I highly recommend this book; it's extremely comprehensive. I'll probably put a few more of these in here as the semester progresses.

[napcomposing]

Introduction

Hello, all. My name is Nalah Aiden Palmer and I'm an African-American composer and violinist. I'm 20 years old and am currently in my third year of undergrad studying music composition.

I have... so many thoughts and feelings about music, as most people do. I need to put them somewhere, so here we are.

Some additional stuff about me that may draw you to this blog is that I'm gender-fluid and aroace, the latter of which plays a pretty large role in my media consumption/creation. I'm a writer and an artist, although, both of those take a backseat to music. I have ADHD and am semi-actively pursuing an autism diagnosis, but I'm finally getting to a point in my life where I feel kind of okay. I don't have a therapist, but I do know I need one. This blog will suffice for now, lol.

Well, let's get into it.