Last week's goals? ü 

This week, while practicing violin, I made up a few melodies and recorded them. Later, I wrote them down using a free software that I found online. It is a free music notation software called MuseScore (http://musescore.org). It is pretty simple and basic, but I have just started to familiarize myself with the interface.
Here is one of the lines that I wrote down. Feel free to comment with critiques or opinions. Of course this is just the most basic melody. I have yet to expand on it or add to it, which I hope to do this week. (And by the way, the key is in D major)

Also, today I took about an hour and a half after my lesson to talk to my violin teacher and mentor, Dr. Ramirez,  about composing. He shared with me what he thinks about when constructing interacting melodies and harmonies. It was really fascinating to watch and hear. I showed him the few lines of music that I had already written down. He build chords around the notes that were already there and from those chords drew out secondary notes that had the potential of becoming an accompanying or harmonizing part. He prompted me to consider what influences and inspirations drove the piece that I wanted to compose and advised me to revolve around those ideas in the rest of the music.
He also exemplified the things that he incorporates into his compositions. He reminded me that the most important thing is to think about what kind of sounds and images you want to incorporate into a piece, and what kind of feeling you want to come across. We discussed different elements of musicality and composing, and the idea of having a motif that comes back again and again, but each time different.

I'm not yet sure if I want the line written above to be the main motif in my piece, but I do want to experiment and expand on this melody. It will be interesting to see all of the variations that I will be able to create from this one line. The second violin line will also provide infinitely more possible counterpoints and interactions. I will keep in mind that the balance between these two parts has to be equal, neither overpowering the other for two long. I want this piece to be a playful exchange of focus between the two parts, but also have some areas of heavier, collaborative music. 

Reading Ahead
- Continue to think of different melodies and themes
- Play with the rhythms
- My goal is to compose at least another 10 measures, if not more


Also, I want to take a moment and share with everyone reading this the serious problem that the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians are facing right now. Due to disputes over control of orchestra size as well as healthcare between the musicians and the management of the Woodruff Arts Center (home to the ASO), the musicians have been locked out of the building without pay. It's a devastating blow to the arts and culture aspect of Atlanta .
This is their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ATLSymphonyMusicians
I hope that any of you who care about the music and culture in Atlanta will show your support for these amazing people.