Clarinet Sonata

I finished my Clarinet Sonata this weekend! After inundating myself with Benny Goodman songs, I got into the right mindset, started noodling around on my clarinet, and came up with a tune that I was happy with. From there, it was no problem to develop it into a nice 2.5-minute rondo. It's a little like the first movement, with a faster tempo and a more pronounced walking bass line, but I think it compliments the other two movements and matches them, stylistically.

Unlike the first two movements, I wrote a few of the riffs without the clarinet in hand, so I'll have to take a little time learning to play what I've written and maybe altering it a little to better fit under my hands. It should be a lot of fun getting this one together, though.

So You Think You Can Dance

Last summer, I wrote about my Olympic dream - to have a gymnast, skater, or synchronized swim team choose one of my pieces for their routine at the Olympics. Now that the summer TV season has started, I'll share my other dream - to have my music played on So You Think You Can Dance.

I love watching the first few weeks of this show, where the good and the diluted mingle in crowded hallways and take turns showing off for the judges. It's a panoply of dance styles, ability levels, and egos, and makes for some mesmerizing television. Most of the hopefuls choose their own music for this part of the show and I would just be thrilled and honored if someone were to choose one of my pieces for their audition. I think any of my Latin dances (Mambo Incognito, Las Mariposas Exoticas, Violet's Tango) would be appropriate for ballroom styles. Perhaps some of my more dramatic works (Gauntlet, Westward Motion, Agincourt) would work for modern dance styles and ballet.

This year's auditions are done and they usually use well-known songs for the voting segment of the show, but if you're thinking of auditioning for next season, please consider using one of my compositions - they're all available online at www.alfred-music.com.

New Recordings Available

Alfred Publishing has posted this year's new recordings! You can now go to www.alfred-music.com, do a search by year or by my name, and download full recordings of my latest published works. They're only $.99 each to download or you can listen for free online by clicking "Flash."

The three new ones are A Hero's Welcome, Porcupine Pantomime, and Quicksilver. I see that someone was nice enough to have already downloaded A Hero's Welcome. Thank you!

1st Rejection Of The Year

Kjos Music Publishing wins the prize for sending me my first rejection letter of the year. Actually, it's not a rejection, they just sent my submissions back and let me know that their publishing schedule aligns with the calendar year and that if I want to be considered, I should send music around December.

That leaves Alfred and FJH, and I hope to hear from them in the next few months. I once sent to Carl Fisher, but it took them over a year to turn me down, so I don't bother there anymore.

With all the music for the year sent off, I'm ready to think about writing next year's submissions. I've looked at what I have and have determined what I need: It seems that I have an abundance of intermediate-level music and two good advanced-level pieces, so I'll focus on music for the beginners for a while. A few more advanced pieces and some "novelty" pieces will fill things out nicely. Also, since only about 25% to 30% of everything I write gets published, I'll have quite a few pieces ready for re-submission next year.

New Music Sent

Last Thursday I took my trip to the post office and dropped off three packets of music - nine new pieces to Alfred and five older, unpublished works to FJH and Kjos. Now it's a waiting game. Alfred usually contacts me around July or August (the best birthday gift, eleven years running) and the others normally send me rejection letters around September. I send stuff to Alfred every year and they get first pick at my newest works, but I'll sent to the others only every two to three years. They always tell me that they have enough submissions and that they publish from their inner circle, but I'm always hopeful that there's an opening at some point or that I've come up with something that they just can't pass up. At any rate, I'll be spending the next three months with my fingers crossed.