EXCERPT 1

Several aspects of my music will probably strike a new listener as sounding unusual. My minimalist harmonic palette, use of counterpoint through composition and electronic sounds are elements commonly found in 20th century classical music but they take on a new life when blended with contemporary jazz and rock.

This book will take an abbreviated look at the technical aspects of my compositional style to help the listener and performer understand the elements I have used to create it.

One thing that sets my approach apart is that my melodies are highly “tonal.” This is possible because the 12 tone system is far more flexible than most people think and depending on the notes and structures employed, gives the composer and improvisor plenty of leeway.

The examples presented in this book will explain some of the ways I use the 12 tone method, and, in some cases, how I improvise over it. The musical excerpts are taken from my first three CDs: Blue Eleven, A Few Dozen and Give ‘em Some.

When dealing with post tonal musical concepts like the 12 tone method, it is helpful to learn a bit of the basic jargon used to identify sounds in such an environment. As they arise, I will give brief explanations of any concept that falls into this category. For one thing, 12 tone is commonly discussed via integer notation. There is an explanation of this technique on page 16. I generally divide a 12 note grouping into 4 sets of 3 notes. I refer to these 3 note groups as trichords (Milton Babbitt’s nomenclature). These 4 groups of 3 are, in many cases, symmetrical in that they contain the same group of intervals. The trichord that turns up most frequently in my music is a combination of a half step and a minor 3rd. In integer notation this is referred to as 013. The example below shows the trichords and how they are grouped to form a 12 tone set.