T. 33--Quadrhythm

I had a specific image in my mind when I wrote this piece. I thought it would be fun to write and choreograph a piece made only from foot-stomping. The group known as STOMP was my inspiration for this. When I wrote this I hoped I would be able to make a video of four guys performing it. I had the main hallway of Moorhead High School in mind for the venue, with each person assigned a part. Part 1 is stoic and rather straightforward. Part 2 is similar, but the person is more relaxed. Part 3 is more energetic. Part 4 is the most energetic and even a little over the top, enjoying the part a little too much. These are the attitudes of each part throughout. For the first 16 measures, each person would go across the screen stomping their rhythm. After part 4 walks/stomps off screen, everyone does the same thing again but the starting times are closer together so there are more people in the shot at once, crossing the hallway. Then, at measure 24, part 1 leads the other parts onstage until they are all standing side by side. Everyone plays their parts at the same time, ending on one final stomp on the last measure.

I was so excited that I had written four different rhythms, and I was excited to hear what they all would sound like together on Finale. I discovered to my disappointment that parts 1–3 were contained in part 4. That was unintentional, and not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. Every time part 4 plays with the other parts, that part 4 rhythm is the only rhythm you hear. Well, it was worth a shot. I never made the video. I just have this piece sitting among my other early works. It was a fun idea, and my disappointment didn’t stop me from trying to write more interesting and fun pieces of music afterwards.