Know your composers

I spent a disproportionately large amount of the day trying to "unsubscribe" myself from spam emails. Periodically I get the impression that my inbox is drowning under the weight of these communications, and have found that a little diligence in the field of removal can work wonders, although sometimes it feels like an uphill struggle... And the way those bastards disguise their "opt out" buttons is somewhat legendary (if indeed a bad thing can be legendary...)

I continued with the process of orchestrating Brass, although I hit something of a wall in the late morning. The early stages of grunt-work on any song can be mind-numbing in the extreme, as note after note is inputted into the score. It's only when the process of finessing kicks in that it becomes even remotely bearable... And then in the back of the mind there's always the nagging voice which informs you there's still another ten numbers where those ten numbers came from... And I've now orchestrated all my favourite songs!

I returned from the gym and cooked myself a "meal of sides" which is what Nathan often accuses my vegetarian dishes of being. I had potatoes, corn on the cob, broccoli and sweetcorn, which I guess feels a little lacking in a foodie star turn! It looked wonderfully colourful on the plate however...

I ate in front of Britain's Got Talent and immediately became incensed by the pretty "opera" singer who, of course, was lorded by the panel as the most talented person in the country... Ever... Fact... World class... She gave it 110%... How she managed to over come those bullies and the death of her Grannie, I'll never know!

It wasn't her slightly slow vibrato, however, which incensed me... It was the fact that she didn't know who'd written the piece of music she was performing. Firstly, that's really insulting to the composer. Secondly, if a performer enjoys a certain song, it's worth seeing what else the composer's written because they might enjoy that as well. Not knowing who wrote a song comes across as either really arrogant or ludicrously ditzy, and neither are exactly good traits in performers.

It's something I tell the young people who audition for me. On and on I go about it. Respect the work of composers - particularly living composers - we could all do with a little more respect, and without us... Well there's no new music, is there? Fact. 110%.