American composers

Woodland Sketches (1896) American born, but European-trained, Edward MacDowell is known as one of America’s prominent composers during the Gilded Age. With the rise of musical nationalism in America, MacDowell composed Woodland Sketches in 1896, which comprised of ten piano pieces whose titles refer to the American landscape and his personal experiences. The most well-known piece of the ten is “To a Wild Rose.” “To a Wild Rose” highlights MacDowell’s skills as a composer to harvest deep emotions

John Milton Cage Jr. is easily one of the most influential American composers of our time. John Cage spent his early life in Los Angeles, California after being born to Lucretia Harvey and John Milton Cage Sr. on September 5, 1912. Cage’s embarked on the first steps to his music career when he began taking private piano lessons when he was just a kid. As the years went by it seemed as if Cage became more interested in literature and writing than music composition. Cage graduated from Los Angeles

The intricate universe of mergers is often a chaotic endeavor for many musicians, one where few artists have found success unless that artist’s name is Brian Eno. But let it be a pair of Canadian producers to subvert this notion. A master at exercising the dichotomy between electronic intelligentsia and the dark confines of breakcore, Venetian Snares (Aaron Funk) teams up with prolific producer Daniel Lanois, whose name is attached to projects like U2’s The Joshua Tree and Brian Eno’s “Apollo -

The avant-jazz trio Thumbscrew, a collaborative project co-led by guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, augmented their discography with the release of two new complementary if conceptually distinct albums, suitably entitled Ours and Theirs. Following the example of their second album, Convallaria, these sessions were born from a residency at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum and demonstrate the strong sonic chemistry of musicians who have been regular presences

Computers and Music Computers and Music James C. Compton Sunset Primary School, West Linn, Oregon August 20, 2006 Most people think of computers as mundane tools for completing daily tasks. But they are also a central part of exciting new technologies for artists including musicians. As computers improve and become faster and more powerful, they are becoming as integral to a musician’s work as any instrument. Over the years, musicians have struggled to use the computer

How does one define a great musician? Is it by what he/she does throughout his/her entire career? Is it how well an artist can methodically, rhythmically, and creatively tell a story or portray a feeling? Could it possibly even be how he/she impacts the lives of people that hear his/her work? What if it is a combination of all of that and more? If there is anyone that fits the mould for this definition, one could safely assume that Mr. Mark Tremonti does the job. This man has an understanding, appreciation

The Gig Is Up by Nathan Heller is a lengthy article that appeared in The New Yorker, an American magazine. In his article, Heller explains that more and more people are relying on a gig-economy as their source of income. He focuses on the millennials more than any other generation because they seem to rely on this economy more. Although “gigging” can make life a lot more simple, Heller leaves his audience with a lingering question. Can they survive it? He sets the stage for his audience by telling

He can still remember it as if it was yesterday – how he had his heart broken for the first time and not tell anyone. Through his growing years, his mom bought him numerous records of his favorite artists. He loved it dearly and listened to it every day. When he realized that some of it had been broken, he tried searching for new copies on record stores, but he was not able to find any. On the back of his mind, he was asking, “How can they not carry those amazing records anymore?” However, all those

The evolution of music, how it started, and how composers create music is phenomenal nowadays, the equipment used such as technology plays a great important role in how music is created and produced for clients who want the music. Music composers are the main reason that music most people hear today are available to be heard; thanks to composers, they provide the entertainment for consumers and, like other employees that work, have to make money and earn a living for themselves. Music composition

A composer is a person who creates or writes their own piece of music. An arranger adapts an existing composition for a performance on an instrument or voice or combination of instruments for which it was not originally composed for. An orchestrator is arranging a musical composition for performance by an orchestra or other ensemble. All of these are difficult in many different ways. Difficulties in composing include copyright issues where the composed piece may sound like another piece. Other difficulties