What the play button on the score is for

Today, any music notation software meant to be a serious challenge to the dominance of Finale and Sibelius must have computer playback capabilities (and some other features beyond the scope of this post). Computer playback can be an extremely useful tool, provided one understands its limitations.

One of the dismaying things about the music composition program at a local university is the over-reliance on Finale's computer playback. A comp lesson seems to consist of the instructor and student sitting down in front of a computer and listening to Finale play back the latest draft of the student's piece. The teacher asks a few questions and offers some advice based on what they just heard. The instructor is of course someone whose chamber music has been played many, many times by actual musicians (and maybe his orchestral music once or twice), so he's aware of the ways in which computer playback falls short, but he might not always successfully impart this awareness to his pupils. One of the problems with this heavy emphasis on computer playback leads to is a uniform badness to performances of student compositions by student musicians who at best rehearsed the piece thrice.

At the other extreme we have composers who avoid computer playback like the plague. If you can perfectly hear in your mind what the actual raw notes are saying, that's great. But I think even the most innately musical mind can be led astray. Let me tell you a little story. Many years ago, I wrote a keyboard piece, by hand. I had three different pianists read it through. Each time I heard what I expected to hear. But then this fourth pianist also read it through, but he stopped not that far into it. "Do you really mean a sixth here?" he asked.

It was a passage in octaves. But at one point, I needed one more ledger line than I had actually written. The first three pianists must have automatically assumed the whole passage is in octaves. Would I have caught my mistake if I had entered the music into Finale prior to showing it to the pianists? Maybe, maybe not. It is unlikely, though possible, that I would have carried the mistake over into the Finale file (especially if for whatever reason the piano keyboard interface was unavailable and I was forced to use the mouse to enter the music). But, as soon as I listened to the playback, I would have noticed the wrong note.

Here's a list of things computer playback is good for, in order from very good to not so much:

• Spotting wrong pitches. (Especially in tonal music; unintended sevenths should stick out like sore thumbs).
• Spotting wrong rhythms. (But keep in mind the computer is capable of greater rhythmic precision).
• Spotting missing staccato and accent articulations.
• Getting some idea of the correct metronome marking. (Some composers get way too finicky about metronome markings. I suggest rounding off in 5s or 10s: if, for example, quarter note equals 74 sounds perfect in computer playback, it might be best to write 75 or 70 for the human performers).

And here's a list of things computer playback should not be relied on for, from not so much to not at all:

• Spotting missing tenuto articulations, legato. (In the absence of articulations, computer playback tends to be legato).
• Spotting missing dynamics markings.
• Deciding dynamics markings (forte, piano, etc.) to achieve the desired balance of voices (e.g., in computer playback, a violin can be heard regardless of which other instruments are playing).
• Predicting how an Audience will react to a live performance.

Also, it is worth mentioning that you must not assume human players will make the same assumptions as the computer, for example, in regards to dynamics after long rests.

Korg nanoKEY: It can outlast the USB cable it came with

On the Internet, you can find lots of stories of people with brand new Korg nanoKEYs who just can't get the damn thing to work with their system. Those were of no help to me for the problem I was having: after five years of using a nanoKEY with Finale 2010 under Mac OS X and later Windows 8.0 (long story that), it just wasn't working anymore. I was putting nothing but rests in Finale.

I tried restarting my computer. I tried restarting my computer with all USB ports clear (except for QWERTY keyboard and mouse). Nothing. The Korg logo would light up but the octave up/down indicators would not. Maybe after five years it was time to buy a new nanoKEY. I started weighing my options: I'm not flat broke, but I'm not rolling in dough either. Would the hassle of note entry with the mouse be enough to justify the cost?

And then I noticed a cryptic message in the notification pane about a failure of a USB device to properly initialize. What if the problem was the USB cable, not the nanoKEY? I thought it was a long shot, but it wouldn't cost me anything to try a different cable, since I have a few extra USB cables lying around, some of which I don't even remember what equipment they came from.

What do you know, it worked. I plugged in, my computer made that sound that lets you know something USB has been plugged in and recognized. The Korg logo lit up. I pressed the octave up key and the corresponding light turned green. I started a default document in Finale and entered a few triads and a couple of sevenths.

These days, things aren't built to last. But sometimes, it's a relatively inexpensive component that breaks down and needs replacing, rather than the whole kit and kaboodle.

Knight Foundation finalists

I am very grateful to the Knight Foundation for choosing me as a finalist in the Knight Arts Challenge Detroit 2013. I am also grateful to everyone who has sent words of encouragement.

Other finalists include the Michigan Arab Orchestra, the Michigan Philharmonic and the Motor City Brass Band, to name just a few.

There are still a few important steps before the final decisions are made. I have to submit a longer, more detailed proposal about my idea, and fill out a budget spreadsheet (as a matter of fact, I need to get back to work on those). I will let you know more about the people's choice voting later on.

The Philip Glass Timpani Concerto

My new favorite piece of music is the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra by Philip Glass. I have complained in the past about the preconceptions and misconceptions that keep people from enjoying music they would like very much if only they gave it a chance. Truth is, I have my own preconceptions and misconceptions. Some of them being about Philip Glass. Hypnotic at best, tiresome at worst.

And then I finally decided to give the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra a chance. I was amazed and impressed by what I heard. This is music of ferocious energy and vitality. "Minimalist" doesn't quite seem an appropriate word to use to describe this piece, but stylistically it is undeniably a work by Philip Glass.

Also, I am reminded of David Diamond another composer I had preconceptions about. In fact, there is a little bit of a connection between Diamond's Symphony No. 1 and the Glass Concerto: they both include tubular bells in the very first measure. Perhaps there is an overture also having this characteristic; the three pieces would make an excellent concert.

The likelier proportion of Kickstarter in funding a concert

I am hardly the first to say that almost all classical music projects on Kickstarter fail. You can be a renowned musician in a world-class orchestra, your classical Kickstarter project will probably fail (I've seen that happen, it's very scary and discouraging). There is this misconception going around that Kickstarter is a miracle cure for your arts funding problems, that you just present your idea and strangers give you enough money to do it.

If you want to put on an orchestral concert and get all of your funding through Kickstarter, well, all I can say is good luck, don't come crying to me when it doesn't happen. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying it's highly unlikely. I learned the hard way a couple of years ago.

What about something smaller, like a string quartet concert? It's still very difficult. If I get to put on a string quartet concert this year (and I really, fondly hope that I can), this is quite likely where the funds will come from:

• 90% wages from a day job that has nothing to do with music
• 8% from a grant from an arts organization
• 1.9% from my classical music eBook earnings
• 0.1% from different crowd-funding websites, including Kickstarter

Something I was only vaguely aware of until yesterday when a friend posted about it on Facebook: Kickstarter projects can be rejected with no explanation whatsoever given. That hasn't happened to me, but if it does, maybe it would bother me. I'll just have to remember that getting my check docked at my day job, having my hours cut, getting laid off, etc., will have a much, much greater impact on funding my concerts than anything that happens on Kickstarter.

104 Great Symphonies book is behind schedule

Last year I expressed my desire to publish my eBook with working title 104 Great Symphonies You Have Never Heard Before by March. March is here and the book is not ready. I'm shooting for May now.

Ukulele Concerto in A minor: 2/3 of the way there

I am 2/3 of the way done with the first draft of my Ukulele Concerto in A minor. Since this Concerto is not actually meant for myself (I received a suggestion of consulting a certain famous player) I have not actually played any of it on my own ukulele. I have to be honest and admit that my original plan of writing it for myself was kind of limiting what I could write, because I am not a virtuoso on the instrument (or any instrument, for that matter).

There will be more details later on.