Let’s Pretend I’m a Philosopher

May 30 5/30/23

Hey, It’s Been a While!!

By David Pegel|2023-05-30T00:06:05+00:00May 30th, 2023|All Things Educator, Hey, What's New?, Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

... four years, in fact. And what a four years it's been! My last blog post was in summer of 2018. I made a few random updates in 2019 just to add a few new pieces and keep up the resume/CV, but didn't really feel like I had too much new to say. Then came 2020, and... well, we all knew where that went. So, to catch you all up, I think I'll start there. 2020 In early 2020, I was starting to make plans to apply for lots of jobs, publications, and really get my website and social [...]

Jan 31 1/31/19

Think That’s “Not Music”? Take a Lesson from Marmite.

By David Pegel|2019-01-31T01:57:59+00:00January 31st, 2019|Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

The other day I was searching for music to use for my fundamentals class' composition evaluations this semester. Basically, throughout the semester I give them links to ten different pieces on YouTube (ranging from medieval to modern) and ask them to write about the different elements of at least one of them. It's a fun project, and I intentionally try to find things they haven't necessarily encountered before. Some of the pieces they love (Shostakovich's Symphony no. 11 is quite popular), while some they're almost guaranteed to dislike (Messiaen's Apparition de l'Eglise eternelle has few instant fans) and yet others divide the [...]

Oct 16 10/16/18

Why I’ve Stopped Caring About My “Perfect” Pitch

By David Pegel|2018-10-17T00:16:18+00:00October 16th, 2018|All Things Educator, I Smell Theorist!, Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

Yes, I'm THAT guy. I'm the guy you hated in school who was a natural at sight-singing. The guy who tested out of his college ear training courses in record time and never had to show up for those classes. The guy who didn't have any trouble transcribing things, detecting errors, and hitting tricky intervals on his instrument out of thin air. Because I was the guy who could hear it all in advance. Yep, that's right. I have perfect pitch: The ability to identify any note once it's been played or to sing any requested note on command. Or at least... [...]

Mar 21 3/21/18

“Sorry, I Forgot to Screw Up.”

By David Pegel|2018-03-21T22:07:08+00:00March 21st, 2018|Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk|

Tonight was another night for a lecture series that I and my colleague Dr. Sarah Wee host at my home chapel: Music and the Liturgy, which serves to inform people about how the church liturgical tradition has influenced musical practices and vice versa. It's one of my pet projects and a way that I can keep my research skills active—not to mention an opportunity to program works I've written myself to be performed (take note, composers!). This particular lecture, falling in the same proximity as several other projects I've had to prepare for, had to be fully prepared on somewhat short [...]

Feb 18 2/18/18

When Your Art is Smarter Than You: A memoriam for Parkland

By David Pegel|2018-02-19T12:10:33+00:00February 18th, 2018|Hey, What's New?, Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

Last night I had the pleasure of revisiting one of my favorite older pieces in concert, Epics and Heroes. When I say "older pieces," I mean that I wrote this as an undergraduate in college eleven years ago, and while many of the works in my portfolio from that time have fallen by the wayside, this one has stuck around. It's a piece that (I hope I can make this make sense...) still sounds like me, talks like me, and acts like me, no matter how much my sound and style have evolved since then. This piece has a strange—and [...]

Jan 22 1/22/18

Why Failure is Wonderful

By David Pegel|2018-04-03T21:15:29+00:00January 22nd, 2018|Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

I remember in my undergraduate composition lessons learning a development technique to quickly hone my writing skills… You start by taking an honest look at your portfolio. In that process, you analyze your writing style based on six different parameters: Melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, and form. After careful consideration, you ask yourself, “Which of these elements is weakest in my writing?” Maybe you’re not satisfied with the melodies and themes you write. Maybe your chord progressions feel blasé and basic. Maybe you can’t get the timing of your form quite right. Whatever the circumstance, you pick an element that [...]

Jan 6 1/6/18

Atelodemiourgiopapyrophobia

By David Pegel|2018-02-01T21:34:16+00:00January 6th, 2018|Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher, Real Talk, The Composer Life|

Happy new year, everyone! It’s a brand new year, a chance for a clean slate. And isn’t that terrifying? I’m an avid journaler. There were points in my life, mostly in school, where I would take the time to write in a journal every single day. These weren’t short entries, either—average length of each entry was two pages, and my handwriting is tiny! I highly recommend it to anyone in an artistic or educational field: a chance to flex the creative muscles, organize your thoughts, and do some valuable introspection on who you are and what your mission is about. [...]

Nov 3 11/3/17

No, You’ll Never Use This… And That’s Okay!

By David Pegel|2017-12-21T19:09:18+00:00November 3rd, 2017|All Things Educator, Let's Pretend I'm a Philosopher|

This semester I'm teaching two separate sets of classes at the University of Miami: Fundamentals for music minor and musical theatre majors, and aural skills for freshmen and sophomores. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with the way the Frost School of Music at UM handles music theory, we have a slightly different approach than most traditional institutions. The Experiential Music Curriculum here heavily incorporates things like composition, improvisation, and small ensemble playing in courses so that every lesson gets put into a context where the student is actively playing their instrument. It's a great system that I [...]

Let’s Pretend I’m a Philosopher

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