Composition: A History

My first composition was when I was just beginning piano lessons. It was in the key of D minor and was entitled "A Nightmare". Honestly, some of my earliest stuff was some of the most beautiful melodies I've ever penned.

I wrote the song up on the spot one night while my parents were out. I only used five notes the entire song: D, E, F, G & A, but I was able to write something that was both scary and melodic.

My next song was when I seriously began to think I had talent in composition. I wrote Snowflakes when I was 12. This song, in the key of Eb Major, was the stepping stone in my life that drew me closer to music. I realized that it was much more fun to write music than it was to play music.

A year into violin lessons, I took a rock ballad I had written (entitled We Used to Be) and arranged it for a string orchestra. My orchestra teacher at that time told me it was too difficult to play (which made so incredibly happy!) at the time, due to the fact that a middle school orchestra would be playing it.

But that next year, my 9th grade year, my teacher came up to me and asked me if we could sight read that song I had written. I had long since forgotten about it, and the next day, I had rearranged everything for a second time to make it more accommodating to string players. My teacher was absolutely shocked that I was able to write the score in under a day, but honestly, it was easy. Time consuming absolutely, but worth it? Totally.

The Joel P. Jensen Middle School Advanced Orchestra played We Used to Be for Strings the very last concert of the year. I cannot express how nervous I was to have an audience listen to something I had written. The performance went okay (by the way, I wrote myself a short little two measure solo, and I totally butchered it come the performance, but what can you do?) and I got a lot of very nice compliments and received a semi-standing ovation, I think.

But yeah. Composition really took off once I bought Finale Printmusic. It was such a wonderful program. I could easily write for many different instruments quickly and effectively. The computer program led to a spree of compositions--nothing too overly huge, but some of them were quite awesome.

I wrote Orchestra Concerto No. 1 my sophomore year. At that time, I only named it that because it sounded official and legit, although there was no solo instrument, as concertos usually have. We sight read it in my Chamber Orchestra and it sounded okay. Not what I expected, but we got the most out of our orchestra.

I'm currently in my Junior year and in the middle of writing a musical, Talent. If you'd like to read more about it, click this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Talent-a-new-rock-musical-by-Jared-Peterson/126137134106980

Anyway. I have to leave for now. I'll blog more some other day.

-Jared