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You’re On Your Own, Kid

Sorry. I’ve done that thing I do – Not blog in a timely fashion. It’s the same reason every time – I’ve been busy. (Note I said reason because it’s not really an excuse.) So, my apologies.

But in my defense, I really have been busy.

Busy? Doing what?

I have lately been consumed with the countless details involved with producing a series of choral anthems, which I hope will be available here at this website in the not-so-distant future.  Unless something fairly cataclysmic occurs in the choral music publishing world, I have reached that place where it seems to make more sense to publish my own music, rather than rely on the Standard Operating Procedures that have served me well in the past.

Yes, I’ve been publishing my own orchestral music here at the site for some time.  But orchestral music is another world really. Choral music has a lot more moving parts.

I have not yet figured out all the details – especially the financial ones. (If anybody out there wants to contribute to a worthy church music cause, I’m your guy.) But over the past couple of years, I have amassed a series of symphonic hymn arrangements and original choral music, all of which remains unpublished. I believe this to be some of my best work ever. In the old days, working with a publisher, my job was done when the writing was completed and the studio recording was produced. In this new paradigm, I am not only the composer/producer, but also the typesetter, the editor, the orchestra itself*, the marketing department, the distribution company, and the collection agency.

* Yes. I said the orchestra. The single most backbreaking expense incurred producing modern choral product is the recording of an orchestral accompaniment. This feat is achievable by only two means: 1) Be a millionaire and hire an orchestra, or 2) Buy a boat load of orchestral sample libraries and create the most believable mock-up orchestra you can.

Crazed & Unshaven

I chose Option#2. And that is what has kept me unshaven, locked in my home studio, semi-crazed for the past four weeks, unable to blog in a timely fashion. (See the attached photographic evidence.)  You see, it takes a qualified studio orchestra, like the awesome Nashville String Machine, only about 45 minutes to record a full-blown track for a single song.  However, if you create every single instrument of the orchestra yourself in a computer, aiming for a realistic sound, a single song takes two or three days to record. Long, tedious days. Days that often involve swearing at the computer.

So that’s my reason for not blogging lately.  I’ll let you decide if it’s an excuse or not.

I hope to keep you apprised of my progress here.  In truth, this is an exciting thing to attempt. Scary, too.  A genuine leap of faith.  And I will be seeking out choral music directors soon, who might be interested in this new music.  So – if you get an unsolicited email from me – this will be the reason why. And – no kidding – if you are interested in this venture at any level, whether it be as a potential customer or simple curiosity, stay tuned and stay in touch.

Back to the cave now.

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