The art of writing

Having been tasked with writing a paper analyzing a major piece of music - I have found myself in a position unlike any other I have previously encountered. Where do I start such a monumental undertaking? What should I write about? Why the heck do I even need to do this paper anyway?

I decided that since my grade was on the line - and that there is a lot of music about which I could ramble for hours, that I should probably try to do something, and do it well.

The piece I chose was "The Present Age" by Leslie Condon. This piece, a brass band tone poem, is just over 40 years old - and yet it has touched the hearts of countless people around the world: including my own.

I sat down with a recording of the piece, and my laptop... I listened to the piece through from beginning to end three times before writing one word. At that point I began to write - tackling each rehearsal mark as its own entity - and looking for themes and motifs that unite the piece.

I found this method to be very helpful - and followed that pattern through to the completion of the piece. The one challenge that I came across was getting my own thoughts and pictures down on paper in a way that was clear and coherent.

I hope that I succeeded.

-Jason