I am back from vacation and have been composing well the last two days. I am very conscious of process, taking the time to apply everything that is in my mind.

Today I was remind  myself to think of where the music is going as I compose it, to have an idea of the form of the piece before I begin, to not fall into the trap of writing note by note like I used to.

I also remind myself to imagine the music before I write it. I pace the room (motion helps stimulate the mind) and imagine the sax quartet on the stage playing. I hear the music, respond to it, play with it in my mind until I find something that excites me before putting pencil to paper.

That’s important, because the paper often can stop the flow of ideas, instead of being a vehicle to transport them and at best clarify them.

It’s getting better. I am loosening up and writing with more spontaneity and ease.

It’s all about the process.

I am back from vacation and have been composing well the last two days. I am very conscious of process, taking the time to apply everything that is in my mind.

Today I was remind myself to think of where the music is going as I compose it, to have an idea of the form of the piece before I begin, to not fall into the trap of writing note by note like I used to.

I also remind myself to imagine the music before I write it. I pace the room (motion helps stimulate the mind) and imagine the sax quartet on the stage playing. I hear the music, respond to it, play with it in my mind until I find something that excites me before putting pencil to paper.

That’s important, because the paper often can stop the flow of ideas, instead of being a vehicle to transport them and at best clarify them.

It’s getting better. I am loosening up and writing with more spontaneity and ease.

It’s all about the process.

As I continue to dig for ideas, to try to find some that make me happy, I am considering a whole bunch of aspects, not least of which is the sound of the saxophone.

What is the sax sound best suited for? What does the saxophone excel at?

For example, the saxophone sounds great playing cantibile chorales, chords sound fantastic and blend perfectly and staccato is very idiomatic.

But I don’t like when the quartet plays homophonic rhythmic figures without counterpoint, like a sax section in a big band. When a quartet does it feels to me like there is a big band missing, you know?

It should never sound like something is missing. The music should be perfect and complete on its own, so that it could appeal even to non-saxophone players! (Imagine that!…)

I am also spending some time going through and organizing my huge stacks of old ideas that has accumulated in the past few years.

They’ve been lying around, so I am putting them in a binder and highlighting the ones I like. (See pic above.)

I think I might use some of them.

Okay, now that I have done a bit of preliminary work, I am starting today to work on these saxophone pieces. There is still much to learn about the saxophone, of course, but I have to get started.

The first step is getting a feel for what I want to write, and that starts with words, this time at least.

Maybe a nocturne, full of texture and melody, a chorale, a sinfonia, a scherzo or an aria?