I’m nearing completion on this one. See if you can guess the speaker. Hint: the speech was delivered October 6, 2005 at the National Endowment for Democracy. It’s scored for trumpet, trombone, guitar, flute, vibraphone, cello, finger piano, and voice. The percussion is made from samples of alveolar sibilants in the speech, principally the “S” sound.
Author: Prent Rodgers
Musician seduced into capitalism.
The World Has Seen #2
I’m doing another speech to music translation. This one is a different speaker.
Rules #4
This one is just about finished. I’m generating multiple iterations and choosing the most interesting.
Rules #1
I’m just starting this one now. Lots more work to do and only one day to do it, no time. What to do?
Barely Make It #5
This one is just about done now. I’ve generated four variations and will chose the best on for the RPM Challenge. Here’s number five.
Barely Make It #1
This piece, like the last one, is based on a sentence in a speech. I modified the rhythms by adding a few strategic rests, so that the emphasis is always on the down beat. I’ll add the speech itself in later. It’s scored for flute, vibraphone, finger piano, cello, dry spring, trumpet, and trombone. Tuning is shown in the table below:
The six note scale contains a just major third triad: 4:5:6. But it also contains another triad that is decidedly not so simple. I call it an E super major with a demented fifth.
Principle #7
This one is finished for now. I may come back and try out some different versions, but I need to move on to finish the RPM Challenge pieces.
Principle #6
This one has the complete sentence read by President Obama at his inauguration:
We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.
This clip captures him in what can only be described as the worst kind of the rhetoric he claims to abhor. He says that he is opposed to spectacle, while giving a speech in front of hundreds of thousands of his adoring fans, and the media. But I repeat myself. And he starts out by name-calling his opponents as absolutists, then condemns those who call him names. But it does flow so beautifully when he says it. I attempted to capture the rhythm and tones spoken in a six toned minor scale.
Principle #5
Switched out the violins for flute and vibraphone, and changed some of the rhythms of the melody to make them more music.
Principle #4
Added in some violins, and spent way too much time on the percussion and strings.