Ani's Composition Blog

I have been analysing a chorale piece by Elaine Hagenberg called "When We Love" over the past few days. This piece was performed by Nordic Choir multiple times as a part of their fall repertoire. The composer set the words of Charles Anthony Silvestri to a rich melodic framework. Since my theory teacher is doing four-part writing in class, I am able to analyse the music better and able to relate what we do in class. Taking note of which inversions of chords go with which chords and their respective cadences. The piece is very creatively written and is broadening the way in which I think of choral music in general. I put the entire score as a midi on my DAW FL Studio. I put it in a piano track rather than voice just so I could analyse the quality of the harmonies better. When I did that, I found that it was hard to work with a single meter to make sense of the piece and make the words land where they are supposed to. There is a technique that the composer used in this piec...

Ben and I walked into the studio room, turned the lights off, and pushed the play button. The Kits Beach Soundwalk by Hildegard Westerkamp is the shorted piece of the two listening pieces assigned to us this week.  This piece mostly consists of a field recording of a beach - located in the heart of Vancouver. Hildegard narrates throughout the piece and as her narrative changes, so does the soundscape. This piece showcases an interesting combination of natural sounds and artificial sounds and how the two interact with each other.  It was very interesting to hear how just emphasising one sound over the other in the entirety of the soundscape can entirely change the visual image of the piece. When I was listening to the piece, I was surprised to hear how just by changing the level of higher frequency "white-noise" could change the atmosphere from being calm to a very windy day. Similarly, she starts talking about the city noises and then slowly brings down the levels of the ...

When I was about 11 years old, I stumbled across a series of music production and sound design videos on YouTube, and I was immediately hooked. I began searching for the appropriate software and downloaded it that same day. Suffice to say, I had a rough start. I could get some basic rhythm out of the machine, which was a really big deal for me back then, but it was nowhere near the level of what I wanted to achieve. Days and nights passed as I worked tirelessly to hone my craft. Slowly, the awful sounds I had initially manufactured metamorphosised into something approaching music. This obsession grew into something more than just a hobby when I was accepted into Exun, the school computer club. I entered several competitions and garnered multiple individuals and overall prizes for the school. As I grew in confidence, I started to post my work on SoundCloud. My music started to get featured on different YouTube channels and independent labels, and I now have over 18,000 plays on...