Hot days, cool evenings. Best time of year.
In this edition:
An instrumental soundtrack.
A riff on headroom and overtones.
A beautiful cello video.
Headroom
You could say that a musician has found their "voice" IF their sound feels like home to them AND they can find a circumstance where it can do some good for an audience.
I've owned my sound for a long time and explored a number of places for it, and lately I’ve been tapping into some new energy. I recently played cello on a film soundtrack which premiered at SXSW less than a week later.
Tight deadlines produce surprising results and I was amazed at the work this composer pulled off. (When a proper release happens I’ll tell you about it, of course. )
But the cinema music experience is all about the headroom, much more than performing live. And I love the sound of headroom.
At conservatory I used to create pieces to help me work through my burning musical questions. The practice pieces always led to further questions, which naturally led to more writing.
Convinced that the cello had untapped flavors and looking for ways to let it breathe, I realized early on that it’s not about the cello at all, but the space you create around it.
Life on the road taught me that you can make any sound you want - anywhere, using anything - if you can find the moments where it will enhance people’s experience.
But it’s important to listen from outside.
Because while a melody might live on the canvas or as part of the frame, overtones are the light without which none of our musical ideas can ever matter.
Let the sound breathe.
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something curated:
Some cello brilliance by Helen Mountfort. I was mesmerized. “Soliloquy is inspired by and pays homage to the music of extraordinary Armenian composer and duduk player Djivan Gasparyan.” What a sound.
Thank you for reading and subscribing.
I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!
Love your ears,
Trevor
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Headroom Hunting