Musical Transitions

Last week I met with Bill to go over the second movement of my string quartet. I'm calling it Ancestral Voices because I am incorporating two tunes from the California Indians who lived in and near Yosemite - the Sierra Miwok and Mono Paiutes. I had four measures I felt a little troubled about - a transition section which felt worn. Bill suggested that I listen to Adams' Shaker Loops to see how he moves between tonalities. So I not only deleted those four measures, but my transition is longer and, I think, more interesting.

While working on the changes that Bill and I talked about, I am planning my third movement - based on the tradition of the Fire Fall which no longer happens (and for good reason). You can read about and see pictures of the Fire Fall here.