April 2022 – Heather Fenoughty

15 April 202223 August 2022

How Composing for Choir is Different (for me)

When I compose for choir, I know that there are going to be *lyrics*. This is the one key difference that means my compositional process is different from usual. Lyrics are the words of the choral composition that need to be set to melody, rhythm, and harmonies. These musical structures support the emotional expression of the words. Those lyrics are the priority when considering the overall meaning of the music. They are, usually, either *as important* or *more so* than the associated musical sounds. How I use the lyrics within other musical structures is always something I’m thinking about during the process.

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8 April 202223 August 2022

Are You Up for a Challenge? 30 Days of Music Morning Pages

I'm on to the next stage of my DYCP project. Up until a few weeks ago I was learning new tools and techniques, and now I'm supposed to be composing. Which, in theory, sounds like a lovely thing, doesn't it? To have 3 months to just write whatever I want? Living the dream. But omg do I like to make things more difficult than they need to be and suddenly I'm feeling all this pressure to produce something awesome. We creatives do like to beat ourselves up unnecessarily, don't we.

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