Sing, Sing Your Song
Next week we’re starting an experiment here at NewMusicBox we’re calling “Sound Ideas.” The concept is this: We’re going to ask you—yes you, sitting there, reading this post—to create music and share it. And the “we” isn’t just anyone, either. It’s John Luther Adams, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Sxip Shirey, and Ken Ueno.
Once a week we’ll post a prompt from each of these four composers which they’ve crafted to inspire sonic creation. If the idea resonates with you, write, record, invent or otherwise draft something new using any method that suits your style and skills, then share it in comments. You can embed a SoundCloud player, a YouTube video, a link to a score file—whatever works.
Here at NewMusicBox, we talk about music a lot. This project is our way of shifting focus and actually making some music, too. We can’t wait to hear what everyone creates.
If you hate to wait, you can get a jump start using Sweat Lodge’s “New Music Composition Tool,” the ultimate “get unstuck” emergency response kit featuring one six-sided die and two lists of options. Fair warning, however: you could find yourself writing a “Super Long Opera” about a “Dead Person That Everyone Can Agree On.” Hope you didn’t have plans this weekend.
See you next week!
Happy Birthday!
This is great!!!
Just one suggestion – be sure to put a closing date for submissions. otherwise you can end up being overwhelmed. And if this is done say once a month, no one will feel entirely shut out for long periods.
It’s good to hear you’re enthusiastic about the project! There won’t be a closing date, per se. Since it’s not a competition, people are welcome to keep at/come back to the idea as often as they like. Each week, however, we will move on and post a new “Sound Ideas” prompt from a new composer.
[...] is what newmusicbox.org’s Molly Sheridan had to say about “Sound Ideas” when it first launched: The concept is this: We’re going to ask you—yes you, sitting there, reading this post—to [...]