Aside from CSG’s Personal Manifesto, writing about æsthetics isn’t something I’ve seen on many other composer’s websites. There are many blogs, but this is a little different: this space is part blog, part essay repository, part sketchbook, part literary sandbox, and part we’ll see.

To quote Kate Soper, being a composer “gives you an excuse to deeply investigate [literally whatever the hell you want].”1New Music USA. “Kate Soper: Real Communication.” YouTube video, 7:08. 20 January 2016. Most of those investigations manifest poetically in the works I create.

A little while ago, however, I realized that thinking deeply about the nature of my art—how it functions, what it’s saying, how it’s saying it, how it fits into the rest of my life and the lives of those around me—is, for me, an extremely important part of those investigations.

Discussions on things that excite me with my colleagues, friends, and mentors have helped me to broaden my mind, deepen my understanding, and uncover new ways of thinking and feeling. Putting those thoughts down on paper is an externalization of my need to discover and grow.

Writing enables us to unravel idea-clouds into linear series of symbols and connections, and through that unravelling, find new connections that tease out deeper meaning in what we do.

Beyond this, keeping these writings enables me to re-read them months, perhaps years, down the road. I can come back to an idea with a fresh mind and see it from a new point of view.

Finally and most importantly, sharing these writings publicly allows for a genuine exchange of ideas with you. I’m much more interested in sparking discussions than just screaming into the void: feel free to let me know your take on anything you read. While I’ve chosen not to add Comments sections to any of these posts, you should be able to find me on social media pretty easily.

Where footnotes occur, I’ve also included overnotes:2Übernotes? Supranotes? Hypernotes? Do these things have a name? lmk. you can either tap or hover over the superscript to get the footnote to pop up as you’re reading so you don’t have to scroll back and forth. When you’re done reading, simply hover away from the superscript or tap on the note itself (not the superscript) to close it. Footnotes are still included at the bottom of posts for reference and where hyperlinks are needed.

Oh. One more thing.
Caveat lector: pieces written in a glib tone are marked with a big orange G!3Just kidding. This—along with its accompanying übernote—is—perhaps to Dear Reader’s mild chagrin—just a joke. Albeit a glib one.

Cheers.

Miggy

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Notes

1 New Music USA. “Kate Soper: Real Com­muni­cation.” YouTube video, 7:08. 20 January 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1NwVzmj0E.

2 Übernotes? Supranotes? Hypernotes? Do these things have a name? lmk.

3 Just kidding. This—along with its accompanying footnote—is—perhaps to Dear Reader’s mild chagrin—just a joke. Albeit a glib one.