Composers in Discussion: #ccubed

On September 11th the first '#ccubed' discussion will take place on Twitter for the purpose of sharing ideas and information relating to the composition of contemporary classical music. The idea for this came about as a result of a request from Twitter follower @DTclarinet asking me if I would be interested in hosting a discussion on the topic of composition. This was a fortuitous request as I had only recently begun working with a young composer over the Internet and had become quite interested with the idea of sharing what I know about music through this electronic medium.

First, what does '#ccubed' stand for? On Twitter the use of the ‘#’ creates a searchable topic. The idea for 'ccubed' came from ‘Consortium of Contemporary Composers’. You don’t have to join a group or club to participate, but if you are a composer – if you create new music – you are already part of a very select group of individuals, a group that has chosen their own path (or, some would argue, that the path has chosen them). So, for the sake of the discussion taking place on September 11th, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time (6pm Greenwich Mean Time), all you have to do is follow the '#ccubed' (in regular Twitter enter that – with the ‘#’ – into the ‘search’ panel on the right column. In Hootsuite you can set up a new tab or simply add '#ccubed' as a new stream. On your BlackBerry use the ‘search’ function. Alas, I don’t know how to access these things in any other Twitter program).

What will we be doing in these “Consortium” discussions? Well, that all depends ... what do YOU want to discuss? My background is as a composer of contemporary classical music for diverse instruments, both as solo, duet, chamber and orchestra. What I would really love to see is an integration of the use of the services of SoundCloud, which allows composers to post their music for absolutely NO cost, so that we could audition pieces and discuss them in the group. Here’s how I see this working: '#ccubed' will be running all the time – if you want to have your piece critiqued for an upcoming group it will have to be posted to SoundCloud (or another publically available forum – no pay/download sites). Once I have a chance to listen to the piece I will let you know whether or not it is appropriate for the purposes of the discussion (it would be even better if a score were also available – I use Finale 2010). A piece might be rejected if I feel I have nothing constructive to say about it or if it is not in a genre that fits the group (a synthesized looped pad will not tell me anything about your technical ability or grasp of musical concepts).

People could also post ideas through #twitlonger with '#ccubed' at the beginning with idea proposals – or questions that they’d like answered/discussed. Again, given reasonable time, I would be open to this as well.

More than anything else, I want this to be an open, organic discussion about the composition of contemporary classical music. If that falls into the aesthetics of contemporary music – great – I could talk about that for days! If we talk about the techniques surrounding a particular instrument – well, that will be great to – but – there IS going to be a special discussion at some point on “All Things Clarinet” – specifically by request of @DTclarinet.

Above all else, participation is of paramount importance. While I’m sure that it would be possible for me to sit and tweet – non-stop – for one hour about one particular topic, that is not how this was conceived. It is meant to be a ‘call and response’ – an interactive DISCUSSION. So, PLEASE – when 2pm rolls around, don’t be afraid to throw your hat in the ring and have fun talking – tweeting – about the most expressive of the arts: composition.

After this discussion @DTclarinet will be hosting a discussion on a new breathing technique called ‘Flow Breathing and Suspension Support’. Find his discussion by following '#floB' at 3pm on Sept. 11th.

Future discussions on '#ccubed' will be ongoing, but I would like to host these
special groups on every 2nd Saturday of the month: Once a month, on the Second Saturday. So, the NEXT discussion, after September 11, will be on October 9, and then on November 13.

Follow '#ccubed' for updates, scheduling changes, and ongoing discussions relating to composition and the creation of new music.

Please follow the link in the sidebar to hear some of my pieces at my Soundcloud account.