My Composing Process: Penn College of Arts and Sciences Toast to the Class of 2020

Dear Readers,

I recently had to pleasure of composing the music for a video by the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences produced to honor the Class of 2020. The video features a number of Penn alumni, including Andrea Mitchell, Elizabeth Banks, Joshua Bennett, Marc and Julie Platt, Trang Do, and Shadrack Frimpong. I also make an appearance towards the end of the video.

I was brought onto this project in late April and got started composing immediately. As with any project of mine, I focus on both the thematic elements and the overall tone and feel. For this film these two things were very much intertwined. I did not want the score to be overly happy because that is not necessarily the tone of the piece, or of the current times that we are living in. There is a lot of uncertainty and worry, both of which I have felt constantly over the past few months. That being said, the alumni in this video are offering words or hope, as well as congratulations to the class on all their accomplishments over the last four years. So, in summery, we have hope, uncertainty and congratulations. How do I express all that in music?

The Theme

A piano reduction of the main theme for the College of Arts & Sciences film

With all those different ideas in my head, I sat down at the piano in early May and began to improvise. This is normally how my composing process works. It’s almost like fishing. I’m casting out my line and waiting to see if I catch anything. When I finally “catch” a theme, it’s as if that theme always existed. When I think back on writing specific themes of mine, the memory is usually cloudy because I can never pinpoint the exact moment the theme came into existence. It just was there.

Anyways, the theme for this film moves around a lot. This is the chord progression for the main theme: “C major, Eb major, F major, G minor, D7, Bb major 7, C7 with a 9, Eb major 7”. So… yeah. You would think that chord progression might sound super bizarre because it is jumping around, changing keys seemingly at the start of every bar. But…it doesn’t. Instead, the melody (and the voicing of the chords underneath) sound entirely normal. Maybe I’m thinking too much into this, but perhaps this theme is demonstrating perseverance through uncertainty and chaos. It is showing how one can make the best out of a difficult situation. I will be honest, I was not thinking of that while I was first composing this theme, but perhaps subconsciously it was in the back of my mind.

I also have a secondary theme of sorts, which is a repetitive 8th note line that follows the chord progression C major, Eb major 7 and F major. This is just a shorter variation of the full theme. It’s important to have secondary themes and musical lines that can vamp (i.e. repeat) for a video that is 6.5 minutes long. I want to keep up the momentum and provide variation even through repetition. .

Orchestration

I produced this music in Logic Pro X. I utilized a number of different instruments in the score. On the live-recorded side of things, I played the flute live along with the kalimba. The piano is the Garritan Yamaha Grand. I have Cinesamples’ Tina Guo Cello (Volumes I and II) in here, along with a number of Spitfire LABS instruments. I also utilized some Kontakt Factory Selection drums.

I wrestled with myself on how exactly to compose percussion for this score. Early on the demos I was writing just didn’t feel right because the percussion was either too intrusive or too absent. Eventually I settled on a mixture of Spitfire LABS Opia Cymbals and Kontakt Factory Drum hits. They provide the necessary rhythm and drive but aren’t too complicated and in your face.

A screenshot of the 5 different flute parts layered on top of each other at the end of the piece.

The cello has a large presence in this score. It frequently plays sharp driving eighth which really are crucial in giving the score momentum. Later in the score I have two cellos playing beautiful legato passages. The score really lent itself to the cello because it complements the piano well and provides a lovely orchestral texture.

You might have noticed that I include flutes constantly in my music. One of the reasons for this is because I love the flute and I think it has an amazing sound quality. The other is that I’ve played the flute since I was 11 years old, and it is very easy to just throw live flute into my music to give it more of a “live” feeling. Especially when working with mostly samples, even one live instrument can change the entire feeling of the piece for the better.

I employ the use of layered flutes parts in this score. My process for this is normally just playing the parts consecutively and layering them in Logic. The flutes are mostly playing eighth note rhythms, just like the cello, and provide a crucial harmonic element and musical variation to those passages. Near the climax of this score I actually have 5 different flute parts layered on top of each other, all panned out in the stereo image to give the sense that the listener is surrounded by flautists.

Conclusion

This project was a ton of fun to work on. I was able to experiment with utilizing different orchestral texture, mixing strings, kalimbas, synthesizers, flutes and piano. I also enjoyed developing a musical theme over a period of 6.5 minutes, and seeing how the theme changed and morphed.

I will continue posting blogs detailing my composing process. I’m really enjoying this! I am currently at work on scores for two fantastic animated short films produced by University of Edinburgh students, as well as a number of other exciting projects. Keep an eye out for future blog posts!

Your’s Musically,

Nicholas Escobar