The Composers' Playground

THE PLAYGROUND HAS MOVED.

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:55:00 +0000

Its new home will allow greater flexibility with different media, and allow for easier sharing and bookmarking via social media. Please join us at:

http://playground.jeremyscottolsen.com

Thank you!

WEEK OF 5/4/11 - Mozart

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I'm taking one week off from this to port the site over to its new home at http://playground.jeremyscottolsen.com/. I'm doing this so I can support more media formats, since not everyone may want to learn Noteflight just to join in on our project.

So for the week beginning Wednesday, May 4, the theme is Mozart. It seems like a fitting way to celebrate the move—with a very broad topic inspired by one of the kings of Western classical music. So... anything in the style of Mozart. Go!

WEEK OF 4/20/11 - march

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:30:00 +0000

This is simple and very, very broad: write a march. Use any instruments, emulate any style or composer, fit it into any form. Have fun!

Jeremy Scott Olsen, "Rug Rat Rag"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Here's a little something I whipped up — just one strain of a piano rag in D. I was thinking of going all exotic or atonal on this and instead ended up trying for an absolutely typical, idiomatic rag.

Any pianists familiar with ragtime, please point out anything that doesn't sit right with you!

WEEK OF 4/13/11 - piano rag

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 06:29:00 +0000

My, how time flies. I took a short hiatus... a little over a year ago. Well, I'm back at it, and I once again encourage you to join me, fellow composers!

I'd also like to add that I'm considering other ways of posting scores besides Noteflight for those who don't want to join that site. I think a .pdf of the score and an .mp3 of playback would achieve what we're looking for, so if anyone was put off by the Noteflight thing, let's give it a go with this other method.

This coming week: piano rag, take 3. Again, it could be a few bars or a whole piece, beginner or virtuoso. Have fun. I know I'm really looking forward to doing a little more composing!

WEEK OF 3/12/10 - piano rag

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Alright, I'm back at it. And I'm invoking my right to repeat the topics I missed, since no one else did them either. Piano rag... go!

WEEK OF 3/4/10 - march (and Jeremy hiatus)

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:36:00 +0000

Sorry I'm late! This is definitely a broad topic. This could be a Berlioz- or Wagner-inspired death march, a cinematic and dramatic march, a Sousa-esque classic, or anything else you like. I'm still on my hiatus, so if no one does this I'll repeat it when I get back to it.

WEEK OF 2/25/10 - piano rag (and Jeremy hiatus)

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

When I started this project I knew I'd need a few weeks off here and there to not get burned out. Well, I'm taking my first few weeks off now.

But don't let that stop you, o hordes of ravenous composers. I'll make a new topic each week even while I"m gone. But if nobody writes anything, I reserve the right to use that topic again!

So, if you're in, the theme is: piano rag. (Ragtime on the piano.) Have at it!

J. Scott Olsen, "A New Olympic Fanfare"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:27:00 +0000

Here's my (again) unfinished take on this week's theme, "Olympic fanfare." I called it "A New Olympic Fanfare"—immensely creative!—and I'm actually pretty happy with it. I hope to finish it up someday...

WEEK OF 2/18/10 - Olympic fanfare

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Ha! Here's a fun one. Inspired by the Winter Olympics, this week's challenge is to write an Olympic fanfare. No other limitations or requirements, so interpret freely.

J. Scott Olsen, "Shameless"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:20:00 +0000

Here's my pop tune. As of this writing there are lots of rough things about it, but I think it's enough to paint a decent picture. I called it "Shameless" and it currently includes an intro, a verse, a brief transition, and a chorus. I've learned that most successful pop is a good hook plus a good groove plus some unique sound elements or effects or timbres. (Think of "Billy Jean": 1. super-memorable chorus, 2. tight, consistent, simple groove, and 3. those string runs and little trumpet parts.) I tried to do all three here.
No, I'm not trying to compare myself to Michael & Quincy, of course...

WEEK OF 2/11/10 - pop tune

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:10:00 +0000

This week: write a pop tune. Eight bars of hook or a whole song, bare bones or richly layered—it doesn't matter. Noteflight adds to the challenge by not providing most current pop sounds (synths, guitars, etc.) so this should be interesting!

J. Scott Olsen, "Ancient Dance"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:38:00 +0000

I felt I went pretty cop-out this week with my entry, Ancient Dance. I do still intend to at least make the guitar parts more genuine, though I'd wish I'd looked up lute fingers and written for lute. On a higher level, I wasn't even that true to history when I chose "medieval" dance for this week's topic. I'm rusty on the music history, but I'm not sure how much dance music was written down and survived until the present. There is some church music and things like motets and maybe early madrigals, but no real "music of the people" that I can recall. Maybe some troubadour songs? ("Chansons?") Ahh, it's been a while and the rust is heavy...

So this week's entry is definitely more Renaissance-era than medieval, but so be it. And it's shorter and less detailed than I would have liked. And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Here it is:

WEEK OF 2/4/10 - medieval dance

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:14:00 +0000

The composing task for the week: come up with something that sounds like, or is inspired by, some style of medieval dance. I sense a lot of guitar and flute voices in our future...

Nathan Schafer, "Love Theme"

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:37:00 +0000

My contribution turned more of a very short song than a cinematic theme. This was more of a test of Noteflight than a creative endeavor and my inner cliche got the best of me. I typical composing instance for me... I had a goal in mind but it flew off the tracks by a nudge from impatience! Still, I was able to figure out Noteflight and by the end was able to work my way around it pretty well. Looking forward to digging deeper into it eventually. I may try running this through some better samples at home and try and get the more delicate sound I am going for... Almost forgot... the ending classical guitar part is supposed to be a harp. Need harp on Noteflight!

J. Scott Olsen, "Untitled Cinematic Love Theme"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:42:00 +0000

I don't have any specific inspiration for this "Untitled Cinematic Love Theme" except the image of a very romantic film moment—a bittersweet reunion, maybe. As of this writing it's not entirely complete. I'll polish it up soon if I can.
I'm not happy with the weird 4-bar intro (I might cut it) or the first presentation of the first half of the theme, with the pizz bass underneath (I may expand the accompaniment and change the feel). If you're not seeing these elements in the score... it's because I've already changed it.

WEEK OF 1/28/10 - cinematic love theme

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:36:00 +0000

If you care to join me this week, the focus is the cinematic love theme. It need not be in the style of any particular composer or film genre. Just envision a couple of film characters, real or imagined, and write a love theme for them.

New topic next Wednesday as always. (Ha! "Always" meaning "twice" so far.)

J. Scott Olsen, "If You Find Your Way To Boston"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:22:00 +0000

On the weekly theme of original songs that sound as if they could be legitimate American folk tunes, here's my entry. I didn't write lyrics, but envision a country guy singing about how his girl took off for the city—in this case, one of my favorite cities, Boston. He knows he's staying where he belongs, with the people and places he loves, but wishes to have his girl back, too.
It's upbeat and singable in spite of the less-than-cheery subject matter, the same way "I've been working on the railroad all the live-long day" comes in such a convincingly chipper package. A stiff upper lip sort of thing, I suppose.

J. Scott Olsen, "If You Find Your Way To Boston" (no lyrics)

WEEK OF 1/21/10 - American folk tune

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:03:00 +0000

If you're a composer wondering what the theme for the coming week will be, or just a fan or follower waiting to see the next creation(s), then subscribe to receive posts by email and this weekly post will tell you what's going on. I'll also put the current theme at the top of the page above the blog title.

This week: American folk tune. And we're not talking arrangements, here. This is a site to work the composing chops. Your take on it can be comedic or serious, simple or elaborate, but it's got to be an original piece that sounds as if it could be an actual American folk tune. Anything else goes—any instrumentation, any length, any treatment, any time period.

If you're one of the small handful of people in the world to whom this actually sounds like fun, contact me and I'll get you composing online with me.

J. Scott Olsen, "Piano Miniatures: 2. Two Birds Of A Feather"

noreply@blogger.com (J.S.O.) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:16:00 +0000

As a test, here's one of my first Noteflight scores, "Two Birds Of A Feather," a short piano piece that's part of a trio of miniatures on birds. I'm posting this to test the capability of Blogger to handle this stuff. Otherwise this blog won't really be worth it, will it?

J. Scott Olsen, "Piano Miniatures: 2. Two Birds Of A Feather"