From Sketch to Score

Before you touch the piano, you have to define the job. What does the music need to do, and where is the visual arrival? I start by generating a concept vocabulary: words like shimmer or constant motion that become actual orchestration targets, not just adjectives. We figure out the harmonic shape and rhythm before any vertical orchestration happens. I’ll show you how I identify the desert-island elements that define the chart, use silence as structural space, and expand voicings outward. If a progression fails in simple triad form, a fancy voicing will not fix it. Finish the long arc before you get buried in deep orchestration.

What I actually cover

• Building a concept vocabulary before touching the piano
• Communicating the idea before committing to the score
• Finding the desert-island elements that define the chart
• Using silence as structural space instead of emptiness
• Solving harmony in simple triads before fancy voicings