I have started to write a new Flute Solo! I am always excited at the beginning of a project, and this one is no different from any other. The excitement is the same. There is inspiration, and there is just plain work. I seem to compose in bits and pieces, first rushing along as the music seems to fall into place; and then getting stuck and having to work very hard just to put a couple notes on the page.

This piece is developing in a new way, which I suppose, is why I felt compelled to write about it and share. Here’s a list of what is different from before:

• It has a name already! “Butterfly Dreams” This is unusual because until now, the title has been suggested by the music, but this time it has a name at the beginning. So that means I am loooking for ways to suggest butterflies in musical terms.
  
• The first inspirational melody was the longest I have ever set down at one time: 25 bars in 3/4 time.
• It started with a bass line for the piano instead of a melody for the flute.
• For the first time, I started the score on my iPad, using an app called “Notion”
• After the first bit of inspiration, I sat down at the piano, and then put the treble line down all at once, too.
• I have been studying music notation, and for the first time I recognize the chords I am using. This makes it a good deal easier, because I don’t need to sit at the piano and pick it out by ear.

What is not different is the way it is moving after the initial inspiration. I seem to rush forward, then drag along for a while before I rush forard again. Here are the things I have done so far:

• I decided the initial 25 bars of teble line obscured the bass melody I began with. So those have been set aside, hopefully to pop up later in the work.
• I moved the original bass line into the treble and then wrote a new bass line to go along with it.
• Now I am adding the flute line, being careful not to lose my original melody.
• The next step is to figure out whether the original melody line can be fit into the piece.
• I am emotionally attached to every little phrase, and want to keep them all!
  

So here I am..50 bars of music, but I don’t know if it is two different pieces of music, or two parts of one piece. As often hits at this point, I have no idea what to do next. I have to just play what is here, listen to it being played by my computer and wait to see where it will go next.

Click here: “Butterfly Dreams” to visit my YouTube Channel and hear the work in progress – played by my trusty computer via Sibelius Music Notation

Update: 1/2013: I have abandoned this project for now. One thing I am learning as a composer: sometimes you want to set a project aside. You may or may not return to it in the future. For now, I have no plans to develop this work.