Clarity
The creative process begins with a clear vision of an eerie, storm-inspired composition, exploring atonal harmonies, percussive elements representing thunder and lightning, and a marimba ostinato capturing the rhythmic bounce of rain.
Composition has officially begun! But now the hard work really begins...
I'm feeling good though. The prep work has been rewarding and I feel like I have a clear vision of where to take this piece. I know there will be days of writer's block and feeling uninspired, but for now I'm riding the wave of excitement. Here's I how I started:
I built a simple piano preset in Logic to begin dreaming up the thematic, melodic, and rhythmic direction of this piece. I didn't want to get too in the weeds just yet with sound design, but wanted to anchor the piece in an eerie theme that lends itself to the dark nature of a storm.
Harmonically, given the grittiness of this piece, most things will likely lean more atonal with a lot of percussion.
BPM is still a mystery.
I have ideas for random bass drum & cymbal moments to represent the unpredictability of thunder and lightning.
Cymbal = Lightning, Bass Drum = Thunder
I'm hearing a steady marimba ostinato to represent the bouncy quality of rain – maybe layered with an arpeggiated synth with a slightly more percussive front end.
Right now, these are just ideas, but soon they will come to life!
After a solid writing session, here's where I landed. Three ideas taking a narrative shape and the kernels of some sound design popping through (I couldn't help myself!). Listen and enjoy!
♪ Audio: Project Storm - Digital Journal - Solo Ideation Day 1