Frustr8ted

Frustr8ed

May 8, 2020

Duet Version Commissioned by Ellie Jenkins

From “Maytudes” – a french horn etude project in consultation with Gail Williams, with one etude created every day during the month of May, 2020

from composer Jim Stephenson (from original Maytudes etude book):

And we all thought we were done with 5/8…
It’s not my fault the date is also a time signature!
Beware of 5/16, and be thankful there are only 31 days in May!

Why am I frustr8ed?

Well, because it is May 8th, and it is about 35 degrees outside! It’s almost 30 degrees colder than it should be.
So, unfortun8ely, I’m taking it out on horn players today.
The only thing warm about this one is the tempo marking. Other than that, it’s just cold, harsh, mean writing.

I purposefully mixed up the 5/8 groove, so that it doesn’t
get too comfortable. And even once it might feel comfortable,
I start slurring across barlines, and adding accents in weird places. Why should I be the only one frustr8ed??…

It’s funny though, if you think about it.
It’s the job of us composers to use black dots on a page to cre8 a feeling to be expressed musically.
And then we DEPEND on the performers to
figure it out, and convey our not8ed music to the listeners. That’s why I am so thankful to the players, and why I think they are all gr8.

Best wishes with this one.
At least there’s one 2/4 bar in there. 🙂
I promise (once again) that tomorrow’s will be
a little less thorny, and you won’t h8 me so much.