Contemplation of the Score in Slow Motion

I dragged up my 52-lb weighted Kurzweil keyboard from the basement in order to stammer through some Bach and Chopin to remind myself what compositional craft used to be about. I stumbled upon little jewels, inner voicings that are easily missed when performed by virtuosos. But I was in slow motion, taking the behind-the-scenes tour of the scores.

Dr. Hawthorne taught us in counterpoint class about deep contemplation of a musical work through the process of copying it by hand. I can’t think of a better expression of admiration from one composer to another. I once copied the entire Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for orchestra by Debussy into the MIDI roll of ProTools. I can’t tell you about the depths of craftsmanship I found hidden there.