Step number one in my process is what I call “feeding the machine.” I have written for saxophone before with good success (instrumentally speaking if not compositionally…) but now I want to completely understand the instrument.

So I am dissecting method books, treatises, websites and more.

I am also asking Jake Swanson, soprano sax of the Erie quartet, a million questions! Not what he bargained for I’m sure!!!

I am also writing progressive pieces for saxophone in the process to get a really strong understanding of all playing levels.

Learning to write for the saxophone by writing for the saxophone, not a bad idea, eh?

(Summer’s here. A fly got into my studio and it’s buzzing around my head as I write this. It’s driving me mad!)

It’s work, but it’s worth it.

You don’t get to kick butt by sitting on yours.

Okay, the piano piece is completely done. I finished the engraving a few days ago and here’s a quick peek and short excerpt from the MIDI sequence.

The title is “Red on Black”.

Now it’s time to send the piece to the pianist, work on the interpretation and talk video with Jeff.

Yeah! Now it’s saxophone time!!!

What may seem really exciting to you when you are composing or performing can actually turn out really boring to someone listening.

That’s a fact. And you can’t really tell until you step away for a second and just listen.

Not think. Not play. Just listen.

As soon as I had entered the whole piece into Finale yesterday, I right away made a nice MIDI sequence out of it.

That way I could grab a seat and just listen.

And that’s what I did all morning today. Listen.

It’s not easy to just listen though, because I’m the composer and I had certain goals for this piece that I didn’t reach.

As I said before, I wanted something with a more simple melodic form but wound up with something more invention-like. The piece is also a minute longer than I had planned.

But that’s okay! I have to let go of my ideas of what the piece should be and listen to what it actually is.

I listened to my material and followed where it led. That was the right thing to do.

And now I really like how it turned out! (Well, most of it, the first ending sucked big time, so I rewrote that this morning already!)

So now that is done and I will listen again over the next day or two and see how I feel about it.

But, in essence, the piece is done!