Kingdoms (2020)
Solo snare drum and video playback
6:10
I have always found a great deal of inspiration in film and television. Frequently when I am writing, I find myself envisioning a movie in my head, and simply attempting to write the soundtrack to that movie. I often wished that I could show my imagined movie to the audience while the piece played.
After witnessing a performance of Garth Neustadter’s Seaborne, an incredible piece for percussion ensemble and video, it became clear that this was a real possibility. Around the same time, I became obsessed with Qasim Naqvi’s synthesizer album Teenages, and also around the same time, Andrew Lynge approached me to write a snare drum solo. Thus Kingdoms was born.
In the Austin-Kleon-inspired spirit of “nothing is original”, here are the musicians, movies, and video games that influenced this piece: Garth Neustadter, Bon Iver, Hans Zimmer, Qasim Naqvi, Stranger Things, Holly Herndon, Blade Runner 2049, Mitch Murder, Hollow Knight, Bill Wurtz, Interstellar, and Square Peg Round Hole.
I must also give credit to my students, for first imagining that we might someday live in a world full of bugs.
If you are able, consider using different snare drums for each of the different sections. Feel free to experiment to find the best blend with the audio track in your venue. In my recording, I used a few different Pearl Philharmonic drums:
13 x 3” for the finger material (A-B): high, crisp, and quiet.
14 x 4” for the bundle and brush playing: bright and short, to blend with the “shaker” in the track.
14 x 6.5” for all of Hunters: deep, dark, and powerful.
A-B: imagine the sound of an ant chewing on a leaf.
B-Hunters: keep this clean and balanced with the “shaker” in the audio track.
Hunters-D: keep the soft material very soft, but don’t hold back on the mf-f material. Rhythmic accuracy is less important in this section.
D-Dancers: Rhythmic accuracy is key. Everything duple needs to line up with the “shaker” in the track. Doing so allows the groove to come through, and should give this moment a sense of dread and inevitability. Letter E should be viewed as one cohesive texture, rather than a series of notes.
Dancers-F: imagine the sound of a butterfly flapping its wings.
F-G: this section should feel gentle and slow. Move gracefully.
G-end: this section can be more energetic, but still graceful and balanced with the track.
Reflection
Kingdoms was my first “pandemic project”, and as such I mentally associate the piece with many of the pandemic-era experiences that we all shared: canceled plans, long stretches indoors, workout videos, Tiger King, and an overwhelming anxiety about the state of the world. It was a time of intense cynicism and frustration; the negativity could be overwhelming. I felt it was necessary to create something that carried a sense of optimism and wonder. Kingdoms, Metro, and Aquatic were all born from this need.
Consortium Members
Lucas Allen
Jesse Backes
Dr. Logan Ball
Thomas Andrew Barlow
McKenna Blenk
Dr. Christopher Butler
Dr. Omar Carmenates
Kevin Castelo
Alex Chao
Cory Doran
Dr. Andrew Eldridge
Tim Feerst
Jami' Fennell
Nigel Fernandez
Matthew James
Dr. Matthew Jordan
Stephen Karukas
Dr. Kellen King
Tahlequah Kirk
Dr. Oni Lara
Austin Lemmons
Dr. Andrew Lynge
Dr. Mariusz Mocarski
Brandon Mooney
Daniel Myers
Dr. Rob Parks
Matt Penland
Dr. Francisco Perez
McKayla Phillips
Dr. Akira Robles
Nicholas Sardello
Dr. Marco Schirripa
Dr. Bailey Seabury
Dr. Ben Stiers
Conner Viets
Dr. Eric Willie
Process
I am often asked about the process in creating a piece with so many elements, and if I had a specific order in working with the video, audio, or solo part. I won’t say that my process was particularly organized or planned in advance, but the nature of the work necessitated a certain workflow. So, if you find yourself wanting to make something like this, you might follow this approach:
Find interesting, artful stock footage. Save clips in folders based on themes.
Make decisions regarding frame rate and resolution, for artistic reasons (wanting a certain look) and practical reasons (availability of footage).
Avoid mixing frame rates. Use clips that already have your desired frame rate.
4k clips can be downscaled to 1080p, but not the other way around.
Spend hours watching your footage. Which clips are the most interesting? What music do you hear when you watch them?
Choose the clips that you find most inspiring, download them, and start working with them in editing software like Premiere or Final Cut. Put them in an order that feels right.
For this, it’s best to have a source for your stock footage that allows unlimited downloads with a subscription, rather than a pay-per-clip service. I used storyblocks.com for almost all of my pieces.
Export your rough cut, import into your DAW (most DAWs can play videos!) and start sketching out the music based on how the footage inspired you.
My process had a great deal of back-and-forth. I’d write a section of music, then export the audio and go back to my video software and adjust the timing of the various edits to fit more exactly with the music. Then I’d send the video back to Logic, and repeat. This happened countless times over the creation of each piece.
Sometimes the footage imposed limitations on the work. A clip may be too short for my musical vision of it, forcing me to re-imagine the vision or to find another clip, which often came with new musical implications. Sometimes there was simply not a lot of footage (there aren’t many stock clips of whales…especially in 4k and 30p!)