bad

Finally going a little bit insane. It's been five days since I started trying to write the fifth song, and I still barely have anything. Actually, that's not true - I have ten pages of lyrics and notes I may or may not use, at least three chord progressions I've tried out and abandoned, lists of songs I want to emulate, and many, many fragments of melody. It's like this little graveyard of ideas for a song that I thought would be incredibly doable, and isn't.

Here are some theories about why this is proving to be so difficult:

• Musically, I'm trying to counterbalance all of the slow, boring songs with a poppy, upbeat one, and it's not working. Which says a lot about all of the slow, boring songs I write.
• I've sort of been married to one chord progression over the last four songs - one that pops up pretty prominently in each song - and I tried to not use it for variety's sake this time. Once again, it says a lot about my songwriting abilities that it's not getting anywhere.
• A song every three days was a nice idea at the beginning of the month, but January is almost over and I've seen basically the same 10 people all month and logged more hours in my room than I ever have and have forced myself to write more quickly than I ever have and have been essentially organizing all of my time for a month now, and I'm burning out. I need external structure, and I don't have it. Apparently, I need class time - and I don't have that, either. I thought living in Oberlin all month would drive me stir-crazy, and the first 2.5-3 weeks seemed to prove me wrong, but I guess I just hadn't waited long enough. It's here now, and I'm going a little bit insane.

some frustrations

So I just listened back through the four songs I've recorded so far, and I realized that I'm feeling sort of lukewarm about all of them. Lunch Hour is tedious, While You Can doesn't feel exciting enough, PIPT is long, and While You Can (Reprise) is a little bit uninteresting.

I know they're all first drafts, and I know, in many cases, where specifically I can improve them, but overall I'm just feeling sort of frustrated about it all right now. Lunch Hour most of all, I think, because it was my first and it's my weakest (as a result) and the first song of the show is supposed to be exciting but it's just sort of tedious. Tem suggests I change the bridge, to make it upbeat and exciting rather than also slow and tedious, and I'll likely do that. I also think it'll help when I have stronger singers (or, even, if I were to re-record it now - I hadn't really sung in at least a month when I recorded it, and I've definitely improved). But it's still not super fast-paced. Perhaps, if I do end up writing an a cappella version of the opening theme, it'll be okay, since that IS upbeat and interesting and will act as a nice substitute. We'll see.

the shower scene

is now a song. A day late, I finished and recorded it, and it's available below.



This one was pretty straightforward. I knew that I wanted to reprise While You Can, and have Marion get stabbed just as she reached her decision to return home (in the film, she decides this during her conversation with Norman). I knew I wanted, if possible, to incorporate the music from Bernard Hermann's score into the song, cutting off her song and transitioning into Norman's. I wanted Norman to say the word "blood" a lot - the line in the script is, "Mother! Oh God, what... blood, blood... mother...!" - and I wanted him to have a little bit of song in which he cleaned up Marion's body and apologized for his mother's behavior.

And those things all made it in! So I'm pretty pleased with this one. The transition feels a little awkward - mostly the eek eek eek strings simulation section - but I like Marion's bit and I like Norman's bit after all of the blood lines. Also, the piano that plays from "Mop, where's the mop?" to "the way things are" is based pretty closely on the Hermann score as well, and it's a piece of the score I like a lot, so I was glad to be able to put that in (p.s. - here are some photos).

halfway point

I'm a day behind, but it's finished. Private Island, Private Trap is now recorded (roughly) and up on the bandcamp (and available below).



This one existed a few ways before I finally got to where I am. First, whilst brushing my teeth, I thought of the phrase, "private island, private traps" as a way to reference both of their big ideas in the scene. Marion brings up the phrase private island - Sam had used it in the motel scene when fantasizing about his life with Marion (in the film, not my song) - and Norman abruptly brings up the idea of private traps.

After I came up with that phrase, it was pretty easy to write the rest of the chorus (as you can see in the photos below, I wrote it first). Marion would be talking about using her island as a safe space, and Norman would be talking about being forced to live inside his private trap. I was referencing two major points they make in the dialogue, but not quoting them directly (which was what I'd been worried about). Additionally, I got to sort of play with their internal monologues, which I think is the easiest way to write musical theatre - take what you think is happening on the inside and give characters a way to say it on the outside. I think I've said that before, but I think about it so often it feels important to reiterate. Still working on how to write dialogue in songs - so far, it just comes out feeling very forced and awkward (see below). I should probably start compiling a list of very specific dialogue songs.

trouble spots

So I finished While You Can today (I've pretty much settled on that as a title now), and I was going to get started on the next song...but I'm finally hitting real trouble. There are a couple of things I'm realizing: one, dialogue songs are much harder to write than internal monologue songs (even ones with multiple people), and two, dialogue songs based on scenes with really strong dialogue are very, very hard to write. I was sort of able to get around that with Lunch Hour by writing down some phrases/concepts I liked, but then disregarding most of the dialogue and just focusing on the sentiments expressed in the scene. This scene, however - the dinner scene between Norman and Marion - is quite possibly my favorite scene in the film, and I don't know how to translate it into music.

The entire scene is just so well-written. Their conversation is sufficiently awkward, but also sort of heartbreakingly honest - Norman is an awkward communicator, but he has moments where his feelings about his mother and his life sort of burst out of him into the middle of whatever he's saying. Throughout the conversation, he seems to oscillate between being sort of distant and formal and being very, very open. The "private traps" bit is especially good: "You know what I think? I think we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever climb out... I was born in mine. I don't mind it anymore... Oh, I do, but I say I don't." It's like each line of his (I've separated them with ellipses) is more honest than the last. And then Marion mentions putting his mother away "someplace," and we see the flash of her inside him - his sudden anger and aggression at the thought of putting her away. It's all so well done, and so well-acted, and I don't know how to do it justice musically.

I could, of course, skip it - and were I writing the script, too, I might do just that. But I feel like I need to include it, since all I'm doing is writing music, and ideally I'd write a song for every significant moment in the show. And even though I'm not quite doing that, this scene absolutely deserves a song.

This was mostly just me taking a break to rant about it a little bit before I keep trying. Emilie and Bridget were in for a bit (I paused writing when they arrived), and I showed them this scene so they could get a sense for what I was grappling with. It wasn't super constructive, but it was nice to be able to talk about it with someone (and also share this scene, since it's awesome). I guess we'll see how things go.

Bye for now.

actual post of the day

EDIT: Second song finished and available here:



I'm almost done with my second song! And by almost done I mean the lyrics are finished (unless I change them), the chord progression is pretty settled, and I kind of have the accompaniment composed. I'll finish that tomorrow and (if I have time) start on the next song.

I'm actually pretty pleased with the progress I made today, especially since I didn't get nearly as much as I wanted to done yesterday. I got two of three pages of lyrics written, but I probably could have done a lot more if I had wanted to, so that was frustrating. But today I finished the lyrics to this song, and I actually like it a lot. It's the one Marion sings as she's deliberating whether or not to steal the $40,000 and bring it to Sam. Even though there are a lot of parts of it that repeat, overall it's actually a lot less formulaic than most of my other songs. Whereas the formula I (kind of inadvertently) usually use goes something like verse/prech/chorus/verse/prech/chorus/bridge/chorus/finale, this one is more like A/B/C/A/B/C(1)/A(1)/C(2)/B (you can kind of see where I diagrammed that as I was working it out in my notebook).

original song list (subject to change)

(but I probably won't change it very much)

1. Possible Intro, arranged for a capella over Bernard Hermann’s opening credits number.
2. Lunch Hour - the song Marion and Sam sing to one another as they grapple with their feelings and their situation.
3. Debate Song - the song Marion sings as she debates whether or not to steal the money from Lowry.
4. Dinner Song - Norman and Marion’s conversation over dinner. will likely incorporate a LOT of original dialogue into the lyrics.
5. Debate Song (Reprise)/Norman Finds Marion - the song Marion sings as she debates, once again, whether or not to return the money. This is cut short when she is stabbed; Norman sings briefly when he finds her.
6. Love Song - three parts - Sam to Marion, Lila to Marion, and Norman to Mrs. Bates. Perhaps think “Johanna (reprise)” from Sweeney Todd. Ends with Norman bodily removing his mother from her room and forcing her into the cellar.
7. Love Song (Reprise) - Lila’s reprise of the earlier piece, interspersed with singing or talking from Sam’s conversation with Norman. Ends with Lila discovering Mrs. Bates’ body.
8. Explanation Song - the psychiatrist explaining Norman’s condition to the police station. Ends with a variation on Mrs. Bates’ closing speech - “she wouldn’t even harm a fly,” etc. etc.
9. Possible finale to the same arrangement as the intro piece

original character outlines (subject to change)

MARION CRANE

Age: 28

General physical description: medium height, blonde, short hair, somewhat curvy, very pretty

Hometown: Phoenix - she and Lila live in the house they grew up in.

Type of home/neighborhood: lives with her sister in Phoenix (okay part of town, not great).

Relationship status: dating Sam Loomis. would like to marry him.

Current family: one sister, Lila, younger

Family background (parents, previous marriages, etc.): father absent, mother passed away while Marion was in college. before then, she was kind and intelligent, but also generally tired and not mentally present. spent most of their childhood supporting the two sisters on her own. provided a strong role model in that she was so independent, but didn’t push her kids a ton. Lila was the stronger-willed of the two, and pushed herself and Marion on her own. neither finished college, though - both ended up in day jobs.

original story outline (subject to change)

On Friday, December 11, in Phoenix, Arizona, Marion Crane is meeting her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, in a motel during her lunch hour. They have just finished having sex, and continue to flirt with one another as Marion gets dressed. Flirting, however, soon turns to lamenting their situation: the pair live in separate cities, and Sam is stuck paying off his debts. They grapple frustratedly with the situation, and with the idea of getting married on the little money that they have (“Lunch Hour”). Finally, just before Marion leaves, Sam declares that he loves her, and she returns his feelings.

Marion returns to the realtor’s office where she works as a secretary. Her boss, Lowry, has just finished making a big sale, and the older man who is his customer flirts with her shamelessly before turning over his payment - $40,000 - in cash. Marion’s boss orders her to place it in a safe-deposit box in the bank on her way home. Instead, however, she heads directly home. Turning the envelope of money over in her hands, she debates over whether to bring it to the bank or to steal it for herself and Sam so that they can get married (Debate Song). Finally, deciding that she and Sam deserve it, she begins to pack her bag to go and see him.

four days in

UPDATE: Listen to Lunch Hour here:



So I've been meaning to post again every single day since my last post, and every single day it hasn't happened. A lot of other things have, though, which I'll now talk about.

First of all, I've sort of discovered a rhythm. It's not quite as productive as I'd hoped it would be, but on the other hand (in other ways) it's a lot more productive than I expected it to be, which is nice. It goes like this:

9:30-11:30 (depending on the day) - get up
after that: exercise (running, yoga, gym, etc. - I've actually done one of these every single day since I got here, which is still a surprise to me.)
after that: shower/dress, and then go make some type of breakfast food. the time is usually between 11 and 1 at this point, and the meal counts as both breakfast and lunch.
after eating: clean up the kitchen in some capacity. I hadn't expected to spend a ton of time cleaning up the kitchen, but a lot of other people don't, which means it gets really gross, so my friends and I end up cleaning up a lot. this might sometimes happen after dinner, rather than lunch.
sometime around 2pm: start working! (I'll go into more detail below)
sometime around 6pm: stop working and start making dinner.

first post!

For the next 25 days, I will be turning Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho into a musical. Well, kind of. A script treatment and a handful of songs, actually - 7 or 8 if I'm lucky, 6 if I'm realistic. I got home today, around 5:30. Tomorrow will be the official Day One: mapping the plot through the songs (this involves rewatching the movie), creating backgrounds for all of the characters, and starting the script treatment. I'm not officially making myself start writing music until Thursday, although I already have the first verse and chorus of Lunch Hour (title subject to change, but I probably won't change it) reasonably fleshed out.

Anyway. More specifically, here are my goals for this month:

• Create a script treatment
• Compose 6-8 songs
• Chronicle everything 3-5 times a week on this blog (this includes stir-crazy, Oberlin-in-January thoughts as well as composer ones)
• (unlikely bonus goal:) Roughly record all of the songs that I compose. Bonus points if the recordings feature singers who aren't all me, and super bonus points if they feature instruments that aren't just piano.