Creative Philosophy

Create every day, no matter what the outcome.

Your creations are meaningful, no matter how small.

Love the ones you hold dear with every ounce of your being.

Everyone and everything is beautiful in some way, to someone.

Do not worry about power, money, and fame.

Only worry about honesty, humility, and understanding.

Have compassion for your fellow person.

Have compassion for your fellow creature.

Always help a friend in a time of need.

Always help a stranger in a time of need.

Let go of your pain, your life starts anew everyday.

Forgive.

We all have a novel or symphony in our minds.

Figure out how to write yours down and share it with others.

Through notes and words, I tell simple stories about love, life, and beauty.

My Artist Statement

A little while ago I applied for a grant. It was a great experience that allowed me to collect my thoughts and focus my energies on who I am, what I do, and how I present myself to the outside world as an artist. Below is my artist statement:

I write music that makes people smile and warms their hearts through beauty and simplicity. My development as an artist has led me to write music that is about positivity, honesty, and melodies. Long ago I threw off the shackles of trying to write music that can be considered complex, modern, contemporary, avant garde, revolutionary, or the like, and I write music that makes me, my kids, and wife happy. I want my music to appeal to the broader music audience rather than just to Classical music aficionados. Music is art and entertainment and hence, there is no room for snobbery or exclusivity in Classical music; there is only room for music.

Much like life, every composition is complete but every performance is a work in progress. Enjoy the simplicity of my music; its melodies, harmonies, and hopeful optimism.

Children's Albums!!!

After I completed and recorded my last work, Several Nocturnes, I sat down and asked myself, how can I make money with my music?

This question coincided with an extended pause from anonymousbjorn for various reasons. The biggest reason, related to posting on my blog, is that all of my creative energies were focused on recording children’s songs.

Children’s songs are great! I have countless children’s songs and my children love them. They sing along to these songs, they sing along to the radio, and more recently, they love Moana! But as a parent these songs can sometimes....drive you crazy. As you are moving your family from point A to B and listening to “Twinkle Twinkle” for the fifth time in a row that is sung by a chorus of six to nine year olds, it starts grating on your soul.

Back to my music. I have been writing music for 27 years and I have always focused on Classical music with my style mellowing out over the last decade. In-between writing my more formal, larger works, A Light in the Attic (2014), 3 Simple Minuets (2014), Halloween Suite (2014), Passacaglia (2015), Several Nocturnes (2016), and the works I have not recorded yet, Inspired by Silliness Suite (2014), A Tiny Symphony (2015), Sanguine Symphony (2015), Bernie visits Troldaugen (2016), and Sally the Sad Saguaro (2016), I would write two to three minute children’s songs as practice. I would look at Mozart, Bach, Grieg, Beethoven and like for inspiration and write songs that were simple and fun. I soon realized that I had dozens of these songs that kids and parents alike could like and do I dare say it, could make money!

Three children's albums:
My children's songs follow a pretty straight forward format; statement of melody, melody harmonized, variation on melody or variation on harmonic progression, rinse & repeat, and done! Sometimes I throw in a simple fugue in the middle with statements at the dominant or subdominant just to liven things up. From December 2016 until July 2017 I recorded them in my music studio using my small instrument collection: my Hofner Contemporar for the bass (with nylon wound strings), AnueNue Papa tenor for the oompahs (with a low G), and for the melodies and countermelodies my Gretsch CE100 (with nylon wound strings), Cordoba C9, Gretsch 5120 (with Thomastik-Infeld George Benson 12s), Dean DOA AE, and my cute little Glockenspiel.

After I recorded a few of these songs I tested  them out on my kids and as the songs were playing in the background they would sing and enjoy them. Success! Now that I have my draft version of my three albums out I still have a lot of work to do; market research, create some cover art, re-record numerous tracks, even out the post-production, and find a distributor! In the meantime, enjoy these drafts of my children’s songs and enjoy!

Dedication:

To my wife and my sons for whom I do everything.

Song/Week: Several Nocturnes

The idea for Several Nocturnes came to me one night when I was staring at the stars. During the nightly routine of getting the boys ready for bed they take a bath, brush teeth, get jammies on, read some stories, say prayers, and fall asleep staring at the stars. It was during one of those nights that I realized I wanted this experience to be set to music.

The composing of Several Nocturnes took around two months, from April to May of 2016. Writing these six movements was relatively smooth because I tried to write simple music that communicates a bedtime routine, from chaos (somewhat) to falling asleep. Some highlights of the work include the two melodies interacting with each other in the first movement, the syncopated bass in the second movement, the interaction of the classical and jazz guitar in the third movement, the use of electric guitar in the fourth movement, the melodic contemplation of the classical guitar in the fifth movement, and the use of the glockenspiel in the sixth movement.

In the nine months it took me to record this work (it took way too long), I have learned how to record using microphones and have upped my game a bit with post-production mixing.

Dedication:

Too my sons who besides my #truelovesduet, are the only things I love more than music.

Enjoy!

Creative Pause

For the last six months, I have been writing a lot of music. I wrote a Bassoon Concerto scored for bassoon and piano that incorporated pre-existing music from A Light in the Attic Suite and the The Day After Halloween Suite with some originally composed material (hopefully to be scored for chamber orchestra later). I updated and edited my Bella Suite that I wrote in 2009 so it would be performance ready. And finally, I completed my Sanguine Symphony, a work that took well over a year to compose. With all of this music flying around in my head, I remembered that every once in while, I need a creative pause.

For me, a creative pause is a break from writing and specifically, writing music. I need to do this because if I keep on writing and transition from one music project to the next, each work will sound too similar to the previous one. This is not always bad. Every composer has a specific style; different harmonies favored, chord progressions commonly used, favorite melodic shapes, et cetera. The problem that I encounter my own writing is that without a creative pause, each subsequent work is a little less original than the previous and my confidence in my own originality falters.

So I pause. My most recent creative pause was when I participated in NaNoWriMo. During the month of November I did not compose a note and I focused on the written word. For me, writing words is extremely difficult. I have been writing music for around 26 years and am comfortable expressing myself through sound. But words are different. A story is just a collection words that everyone can read, but to be able to communicate clearly and creatively with those words is extremely difficult. I have writing all my life, but only recently do I feel I have a basic grasp of how to communicate using words.

Looking over the next few months I plan on having another creative pause as I record my Inspired by Silliness Suite, A Tiny Symphony, and rerecord A Light in the Attic Suite. The act of performing music is completely different than composing music or writing words. Performing music requires a great deal of practice, concentration, physical memory, and precision. The only way to become a better performer is to practice for weeks and months on end and to truly get a grasp of your instrument, for years! Then, when you are decent at your chosen instrument, which can include singing, you have to somehow add your own musicality and originality to a performance which is the real challenge of performance.

At the end of the day, you need to do what works for your creativity and your ability to rest and recharge your mind. For me, a creative pause allows my mind to focus on something else other than just music. For others, a creative pause might be reading instead of writing, it might be training for a marathon, writing a journal article, or purusing some other hobby. We all strive to be creative but every once in awhile, we must also let our creativity rest.

Song/Week: The Day After Halloween Suite by Bjorn Mercer

The Day After Halloween Suite is second part of the work A Light in the Attic Suite. Both suites take their inspiration from Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic but The Day After Halloween Suite movements are the spooky, icky, and ghoulish poems.

Most of the movements will have a main melody with a counter melody but some have a main melody, secondary melody, and a counter melody (played by the Gretch and/or the Godin). Along with the main melodic content there will always be the harmony (Godin) and the bass line (Ibanez).

As far as the overall product, I am 100% happy with the composition (the actual music), I am 60% happy with the performance (guitar and bass playing), and I am 51% happy with the mixing (Cubase). That gives me an average of  73% which is passing but I still have a lot to learn.

Dedication:

I dedicate this to my one and only, my #trueheartsduet, my wife. Without her love and support I would not be where I am today and I would not be able to focus on my hobby with such dedication and clarity.

I would also like the continue to thank Ryan for letting me borrow his Ibanez bass and Paul for the Godin classical guitar.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/bjorn-mercer/sets/the-day-after-halloween-suite

Song/Week: Passacaglia by Bjorn Mercer

Why a passacaglia? I think the short answer is that I have always wanted to write one. After hearing the grand and majestic Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach I have always wanted to write one.

A passacaglia is a musical form from the baroque era that is a variation form over a repeated bass line. In my piece you can hear the bass line for the first 13 measures and it is then repeated over and over again changing slightly from time to time. Above the bass I develope the melodic line using a simple ABA’ form. The work is mostly ‘modal’ going from C Major to a natural minor back to C.

The inspiration for this Passacaglia is my son Maxwell. When I started writing it in August 2014 my wife was four-months pregnant and I finished it a month after she had given birth.

I would like to thank Paul for letting me borrow his Goudin, it add such a sweet sound to this work and to Ryan for letting me borrow his bass.

Song/Week: 3 Simple Minuets by Bjorn Mercer

I was trying to figure out what to call this piece and I went back and forth between attempting something clever and something straightforward. In the end I decided to call it what the movements are; three short, simple minuets.

For those who are not familiar with minuets, the minuet is a European dance form in ¾ that eventually led to the scherzo and the waltz. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, pretty much everyone wrote minuets in one form or the other with countless contemporary composers looking into the past for musical inspiration.

As I was describing these pieces to one of my colleagues the other day, she asked me what my inspiration for these three movements were. Unlike A Light in the Attic that was directly inspired by the poems of Shel Silverstein, 3 Simple Minuets was inspired by my #trueheartsduet, my wife and partner. Although these pieces are not swelling with passion like Mahler or sublimely beautiful like art songs by Faure they are inspired by the woman who holds my heart, takes care of my children, who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, and is the one I hold as I fall asleep.

I would like to thank Paul Nersesian for letting me borrow his Godin; it is a great instrument and fun to play.

All Music is Original. No Music is Original

All music is original. No music is original.

In my previous article about my music, I went over my compositional focus and my history as a composer from the time I was 14 until present day. Today I truly believe in the duality of music; while all music is original, no music is original.

What do I mean by all music is original? Well, every piece of music that is composed and performed is original in some way. Whatever you write is original to the time and place it it composed. Whatever you write is original to you and your compositional approach. When you perform music your performance is original; it is original to the time and place you perform it.

My view of originality might seem a little touchy-feely and everyone gets a gold star because it is. Music, and art in general, is just that, art. The art of creation is such a unique and individual experience that no matter what you create it is special and precious to you. If you write a children’s song that is simple, fun, and only uses one chord it is original in its own right. If you write a symphony that needs 1,000 performers and takes an hour to perform, it is original in its own right..

Music is unique in that it connects people in a way that other art forms do not. It emotionally connects people via sounds for a limited duration of time. Because of this music is limited and is essentially scarce (most do not think of it that way since music is everywhere you go). When we listen to music we connect to it, we love it because it has our full attention and when it is gone we miss and desire it.

Now the other side, what do I mean that no music is original? Just that; no matter what you write or perform it is a rare occasion that anything you might write or perform, according to the definition, is actually original.

When the Beatles burst upon the US scene in 1964 was their music original? No. If you analyze “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Blackbird”, or “I am the Walrus” are these songs original? No. They use standard melodies, use mostly standard harmonies, sometimes have creative lyrics, and use some interesting instrumentation. Is four good looking guys performing on stage original even if they have awesome hair? No. Let’s move back in time; was Johann Sebastian Bach considered original during his lifetime? Actually no. The style of music that he wrote in was old fashioned and amazingly the elder Bach he was not as popular as Handel, Telemann, or even his sons during the latter part of his life.

I could go on and on with examples of how composers and performers were not original during their time but it does not matter. Do you think the Beatles cared that their music was viewed as not original? Yes and no but did it stop them? No. They were hugely popular and as the 60s progressed they developed their own style that went from simple to extremely creative (there are countless books written about this). Do you think Bach in his latter years cared that he was writing in a style that was not current to the 1720-1740s? No. He was writing the music he loved and perfected the style that was natural to him and his sense of artistry.

Discussing that all music is original and no music is original is really about two things; artistic confidence and not caring.

When you write music you have to have to confidence to continue writing and know what you are creating is worthwhile. You also have to have the self-realization that everything you write is original at the same time nothing you write is original. It is only when you stop trying to be brilliant and focus on your craft, your art, and your self-expression, that is when you begin to discovering your own individual artistic originality.

You also have to not care within reason how people react to your art. People are notorious for criticising artistic endeavors. Experts and amateurs alike will give unsolicited, highly critical opinions without thinking twice about how it effects you. This is where you have to not care within reason. You have to have the confidence to know you are on the correct artistic path and know that some people will never like your music for some reason or the other. With that said, you do need others to help you sculpt your music because when you live it you are often too close to have a holistic perspective. Have someone who can give you honest and constructive criticism that will allow you to improve and make your music better.

Da capo. Just write and enjoy your music. Express yourself. Have confidence and do not worry about the naysayers.

Song/Week: A Light in the Attic Suite, by Bjorn Mercer

I finally did it, I recorded my first home studio work and uploaded it to SoundCloud. This endeavor to write music and perform it with the instruments I have in my house started in June 2014. Since then I wrote several works but A Light in the Attic Suite is the first one I performed, recorded, and mixed myself.

A Light in the Attic Suite started in 2004 when I wrote some simple melodies to poems by Shel Silverstein. Fast forward to 2014 I took those melodies and wrote a suite with five to eight parts, depending on the movement.

This performance of A Light in the Attic is a draft. I call it a draft because I performed all the parts on my Schecter guitar and my friend's Ibanez bass (thank you Ryan). By laying down all the tracks it allowed me to work on different compositional aspects of each movement and adjust when needed. The next step in the process will be to record the entire work again and add my acoustic instruments to incorporate different timbres possibilities giving the work a completely different feel than the current draft. 

Please be patient with my guitar playing and my inexperience with Cubase, the DAW I am using.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/bjorn-mercer/sets/a-light-in-the-attic-suite

Song/Week: Lauda per la Natività del Signore, by Ottorino Respighi

I performed Lauda per la Natività del Signore several times back in the day and it is one of my favorite works of all-time. Now it is not the Pines of Rome, it is not the Fountains of Rome, and it is not even Church Windows by Respighi; but it it better. This work is pure chamber beauty that relies on vocal and instrumental subtleties and perfect harmonizing rather than bombastic brass and orchestral effects.

Turn it up, shut out the world, and enjoy.

My Compositional Focus

One of my goals for 2014 was to start writing music. With that said, I have been writing music since I was 14, a long time ago. During high school I tried to write music, mainly duets for bassoon and oboe and the music I wrote was okay but I did not know what I was doing. The notes on the page haphazardly appeared and were not intentional.

In college I started studying all of the usual scores that young composers study and really tried to be methodical. During my freshman year I was going to be a double major in bassoon and composition but after my first semester juries my committee told me to choose either bassoon or composition, not both. Looking back I get it; I needed to focus on one aspect of music because in reality, I was not good enough to do both so I chose bassoon. This was the best choice I could have ever made. By learning how to play bassoon at a high level of proficiency I was able to play with different orchestras, small ensembles, and competed in competitions that exposed me to countless works of music. By being in ensembles I was able to experience how music was made and organized and I also had to practice my butt off to be able to do it (Classical music, for the most part, it the ultimate meritocracy).

During the rest of my undergrad I wrote some music but mainly focused on performance. When I started my masters I started writing again and by the time I started my doctorate something clicked. Compositionally I needed those six years from the time I was 18 until I started my doctorate to learn, understand, apply, and finally be able to confidently create.

In 1999, the first year of my doctorate, I completed the first work I feel I own compositionally, my Sextet for oboe, English horn, two clarinets, and two bassoons. For the most part I ripped off Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht with a style that is highly chromatic like many late-Romantic composers. During that time I started a variety of other works but never was able to finish anything with confidence. The next work I completed was my children’s opera, One Snowy Night in 2005 and then a Serenata for bassoon and string quartet in 2007. The Serenata is okay; the style I used was a modified 12-tone that works but is difficult to listen to (the last time I will ever write atonally). One Snowy Night is pure joy (I will talk more about this later).

This brings me to works inspired by my animals and the slow realization of my style, my Bella Suite (2009) and Mini Sonatine (2010). It might seem funny that it took me another decade to ‘find my musical’ style but sometimes art is slow. After I completed my doctorate in 2011 (the 12-year doctorate) a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was able to refocus on composition.

After I completed my doctorate I wanted to sell out as fast as I could. What is the most common musical ensemble in this country that could get your music played and published? High school band of course! I wrote a band piece called Tucson Memories in 2012 which took a long time to write because it was aligned with the birth of my first son.

This brings me to the middle of 2014 when I had a minor epiphany. After a great conversation at a higher education conference with a fiercely smart and thoughtful colleague I realized my compositional focus was misaligned with who I was (and still am). Up to that point I had been writing music for various ensemble but was unable to get them recorded. When people would ask to hear my music I unfortunately would have to say no because I still need to find musicians to play my music. After talking about art, music, my blog, and life with my colleague I realized that I need to do the same thing for my music that I was doing with my blog; write music that I could play myself allowing me to actually put up the music for others to hear.

After that conversation I looked at what I had in my house; a few guitars, ukuleles, a mandolin, a glockenspiel, and an alto recorder and decided that will be my ensemble! Now since I am not that good at any of those instruments I started writing in a style more like One Snowy Night than my Bella Suite.

In my next article about writing music, I will discuss why I have decided to write more in the style of One Snowy Night, simple and melodic rather than in the style of Bella Suite, complex and chromatic.

Song/Week: "Gamma Ray," by Echosmith

Over the last few months, I have heard Echosmith’s song “Cool Kids” on the radio and have liked it but had not given it much thought (besides I liked it a lot more than Pitbull or Jason Derulo). But recently, two days ago exactly, I stumbled upon their YouTube channel and I have to say, I am blown away.

First, these are some talented kids. They are all under the age of 22 and they are super talented and already have a sound that is unique to them. Their music has a maturity that many musicians in their 30s and 40s struggle to attain. I also like their music because it reminds me of the music I loved in the late 80s; it is funny how music, like fashion or any type of art, is cyclical.

Second, these are some cool kids. They seem to be very real in their videos; they never seem to be burned by fashion or glamor. Since they are all so young they could easily be obsessed by fashion and the pressures of pop-culture but they seem to be very strong or are getting some good guidance.

Third, these kids have been working hard. In going through their videos on YouTube they have videos that are four-years old; they have been working on their sound, crafting their personas, and practicing. Like my favorite YouTube singer/songwriter Daniela Andrade they have been learning their art by covering songs from the best artists out there.

The song I am highlighting is “Gamma Ray.” I like this song because it showcases their sound and it sounds like two of my favorite artists from 20-years ago; the Smiths and early REM. Three other Echosmith songs that I particularly like,  besides “Cool Kids” are “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me”, “Two Way Street” (no one covers Kimbra), and  their excellent holiday song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Song/Week: A Puzzle Cannon

I wrote this puzzle cannon around 10-years ago and it is not bad. Below are the instructions:

• The opening line (below) is the alto.  The order of voices is alto, soprano II, tenor, soprano I and bass (it may work other ways, but I don’ bother to see if it was invertible);
• The Da Capo symbol is where the voices enter;
• The voices will either come in on tonic, subdominant or dominant;
• The entries are tonal, not perfect (no chromaticism, don’t use any F#s or Bbs; just keep it in C Major, or if you want to think of it modally, Ionian);
• Please excuse the cannon for not being perfect.

Give it a try!

Song/Week: “Phillip,” performed by Kate Davis

Great performance; simple and beautiful.

Ever since I discovered Kate Davis I have been trying to figure out what song to highlight. I thought about posting “All About That Bass” with Post Modern Jukebox; a performance that highlights her singing and incredible bass playing. Then I thought about her Kennedy Performance when she was a Presidential Scholar and shows off her jazz singing and again, incredible bass playing.

I finally decided to go with “Phillip” because it shows off her performance chops as a rock star. She plays the uke and guitar fine, her singing is poignant, the instrumentation is interesting, and her presence on-stage is just right. The quality of the recording is less than ideal but the performance communicates everything you want from a song and persona that will hopefully rocket her great things soon.

Song/Week: “Clap Hands” - George Krikes & Ryan Lerman (Tom Waits cover)

This cover rocks! First the source material is excellent; there is no better songwriter than Tom Waits over the last few decades. Second, George Krikes does a great job of singing with some effects on his voice adding interest and intensity. Third, Ryan Lerman is awesome! Not only does he do a great job of playing the drums and bass, but he is a great guitar player and the solo in the middle of the song rocks (I think he is playing a Gibson ES-335, too cool). Finally, the video is just right. The nice thing about YouTube and the contemporary music scene is that you do not need a huge budget to produce a good looking video. What need is good music that is marketed with a video that highlights the music, not the people, and this video does this perfectly.