User:BubbyJ

My Musical Background and Outlook

Music is my greatest passion. It has been my vital source of comfort, strength, and hope. At times it has been my very source of survival. It has been with me through such joy, but also through such unbearable pain. I can’t imagine what my life would be like today if I didn’t have my talent and passion for music of all kinds.

I have a fairly mixed musical background, and I like to think of myself as a versatile Bassist and composer. My first instrument was Cello. I started playing when I was nine. When I was thirteen I started playing Electric Bass, which is my principle instrument today. I also played French Horn, Trombone, Piano, and Guitar. Throughout high school I played in orchestras, string orchestras, Concert and Marching Bands, and Jazz Bands. During my career at Berklee as a Bass principle and Film Scoring major I have played and written in various styles. I have written music for an animated short film, an opening title scene, and various scenes from TV and feature films. I also wrote the music for a short musical. As a bassist, I am mainly a rock player, R and B,and Blues player today.

My goal is to continue to write music to create music that blends all of my influences. As a film composer, I have to be very versatile, and pull out whatever is needed for the film, so it is necessary to continue to expand my palette. I strive to write in all styles that blend orchestral instruments and contemporary electronic instruments.

My Music

My compositions vary depending on what hat I am wearing. My film music also varies depending on what kind of film it is, and what kind of music the director is looking for. Most of what I have written as a film composer is very typical of contemporary film scoring, in that I rely heavily on short motifs, modes, traditional and non-traditional orchestral instruments, and ostinatos. For my short film, which was an animated film, I mostly used the Lydian scale, the chromatic scale, whole tone scale,and vertical harmonies in fourths, fifths, and tritones. The music was cute and fun, but with dark undertones, because this seemingly childish cartoon made some serious and troubling statements about humanity. For my short title cue, The Walking Dead, I used the harmonic minor scale, and dissonant vertical structures. The subject matter for both projects are different, therefore the pieces I produced are radically different. The subject matter of the film and how the director wants it presented determines the music I write. In my future, I am hoping to write music for more animated films and children’s shows.

As a musical theater writer, I have written very simple and catchy pop/rock songs .I use mostly major or minor tonalities with typical cadences, and modal interchange chords. The musical I wrote for was called My Year, and it is about a high school girl named Erin who has an imaginary friend named Tim, a sassy gay guy. She doesn’t know he is imaginary, and he convinces her to kill her ex-boyfriend. It was very funny, but dark, so just like in film scoring, my music had to convey all the elements and tell the story. In my future, I hope to write more hilarious musicals that challenge me to use all of the genres, styles, and techniques that have influenced me.

I am still very early on in my musical journey. I am still developing my voice,and sharpening my tools. I don’t know exactly what directions I will go in, but I am sure that I will continue to find myself writing in various styles/genres, because that is who I am. I can’t imagine being stuck writing one particular type of thing over and over again. As the music around me changes, so will mine.