Tag: routine

TBT^16: Mahler’s Composing Shack

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I’m slamming out Spooky Season IV, and it’s nowhere near as ingenious as the works of Gustav Mahler.  But what I find so fascinating is how composers and other creative types work, especially when they’re trying to churn out major projects.

“Workflow” get tossed around a lot, but it really is remarkable to see how the most dedicated craftsmen and artists create a consistent and detailed schedule of daily habits and rituals.  I especially love to learn about what they ate for breakfast—probably my favorite ritual of the day.

With that, here is 3 October 2024’s “TBT^4: Mahler’s Composing Shack“:

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TBT^4: Mahler’s Composing Shack

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While it still doesn’t quite feel like autumn here in South Carolina, there’s the slightest bit of crisp autumnal tanginess lingering in the air in the early morning hours, that enticing little promise, that intriguing little nip, of fall fun.

Music has always seemed better to me in the autumn—indeed, just about everything is.  The colder air, though, makes sound waves travel further, and while I don’t pretend to know how that magically makes everything sound better—or if it even does in reality—it surely seems to be an improvement.  Perhaps it’s the fact that one can hear a string quartet performing outdoors, or attend an outdoor rock concert, or listen to a bluegrass band at a fall festival, without sweating profusely that makes the difference.

Whatever the reason, yours portly has been writing quite a big of music lately.  My biggest release of the year—and the ninth album and/or EP in 2023—Spooky Season III, hits all streaming platforms tomorrow, 4 October 2024—including, for the first time in almost a year, Spotify!  Yes, yes, I’m compromising my principles, but it’s for a good reason—money!  Actually, it’s due to demand from listeners who want to listen to my music but who remain loyal to the largest streaming platform in the world, even if it is stealing royalties from artists’ pockets.

Anyway, it seemed like a good time to reblog this post about Gustav Mahler’s composing routine—and his cozy, Spartan little shack by the sea.  What a wonderful place to hunker down and write music!

With that, here is 5 October 2023’s “TBT^2: Mahler’s Composing Shack“:

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TBT^2: Mahler’s Composing Shack

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Ah, yes—autumn.  Music sounds sweeter, food tastes better, girls look prettier.  What is it about the autumn that rings everything in a warm, golden glow?  Is it the coming crispness in the air?  The shorter days, the chilly nights?  Or perhaps the leaves falling from the trees, the continuous cycle of death and renewal circling ever onwards?

Whatever it is, it’s a great time to compose and play music.  As I noted last year, it’s “the time of year when my personal creativity seems to spark.”  Indeed, the sequel to Spooky Season (now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube), Spooky Season II: Rise of the Cryptids releases tomorrow, Friday, 6 October 2023 on Bandcamp.

I’ve been using a free trial of Noteflight to compose lately, and I’ve really enjoyed it.  It’s very robust, although it (surprisingly) lacks some of the depth and breadth of sounds as my ancient copy of Cakewalk 3.0.  Unlike Cakewalk 3.0, however, it will run on a modern operating system, so it’s good enough for me!

I don’t have a nice, tidy composing routine like Gustav Mahler or Beethoven.  I kind of jot down ideas in my music journal when I have a few spare lines of staff paper, then try to expand those motifs into full pieces (or just compose twelve-second pieces—ha!).  Then I slap everything into Noteflight approximately whenever I feel like it, or when I’m on a composing tear and can’t stop!

With that, here is 6 October 2022’s “TBT: Mahler’s Composing Shack“:

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TBT: Beethoven’s Routine

The Portly Politico4 Comments

I’m on the cusp—in a calendrical sense, quite literally—of Summer Break 2023.  Going into summer vacation is like heading into the weekend at that magical moment around 4 or 5 PM on a Friday afternoon, except the “weekend” is two months:  endless possibilities spread out before me.

Of course, every summer I say, “I’m not going to squander this one,” and proceed to squander it.  Then it’s back to the grind in August.  But I’m sure this year will be different—right?

Yours portly actually does make the most of his summer.  I kick off June with a couple of weeks of Minecraft Camp, and I teach lessons all throughout summer.  My roster of summertime lessons is looking fairly healthy at the moment, so that should buoy my finances during the relatively lean summer months.

The key to success, it seems, is keeping a good routine.  I’m not always the strongest in this regard, but when I do keep a routine, I find it does make the rest of the day easier.  No less a genius than Beethoven adhered to a fairly regimented routine, and his was pretty awesome, full of strong coffee, long walks, and composing.

With that, here is 25 May 2022’s “Beethoven’s Routine“:

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Beethoven’s Routine

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Long-time readers know that I love Beethoven (particularly his Sixth Symphony, the “Pastoral”).

Readers also might know that I keep a fairly busy schedule.  Doing so requires sticking to routine, but that’s not always my strong suit.  My mind tends to jump from one task to another, but I find that writing out a detailed “to-do” list and crossing it off helps me to focus in on a task for extended periods of time.

When I really get into something—working on a new collection of piano miniatures, grading papers, or writing blog posts—I can focus in for hours, and often do that.  But working into that flow state takes time and, more importantly, motivation.  It’s the latter that I have been lacking the past week, a combination of end-of-the-school-year exhaustion and a renewed interest in Civilization VI.

So I thought it’d be interesting during this winding down season—when my own routine is about to change to the more leisurely pace of summertime—to look at Beethoven’s daily routine, care of YouTube channel Inside the Score.

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