I am on Spring Break. Super thankful.
I'll make this quick: I'm working on Epic Music II right now, and it's going good. It's going to have thirteen tracks. That's about all I've got to say on that.
MUSIC: for my junior recital, I composed a piece called Granola and Jeans. (It's an anagram for "Jon and Lanae's Rag".) It was just a fun grand-finale piece. Nothing perfect, just fun. Hope you like it.
I am done with short film number one. I'm hoping to get a final copy so I can post it soon.
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Before I Leave...
Hello. It's the day after Singles Awareness Day. And two days after my recital.
If any of you are curious, the recital went OK. My weakness is performance in general. I have a very hard time getting up in front of people, whether that is speaking or music or whatever. Also, my curse is this: I never play anything perfect. But that's OK. I have come to accept it. I did the best I could, and that's that. If I get a copy of the recording, maybe I'll post it here, if you want. Just a note: my two theme verses for the recital were Isaiah 43:13, " For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.' " and Philippians 4:6-7, "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus." Those verses carried me through the recital. So yeah. I leave for the Dominican Republic tomorrow, which is crazy. I just finished packing. I can't believe it's already here. I just wanted to post before I left and mention a couple of things...
Jill Williamson, the amazing author and incredibly awesome person, has interviewed me. And she is giving away a copy of my album. So you'll definitely want to check it out here. (And if you haven't yet, you should definitely check out her books.)
For the recital, we (Lanae, Matt, and me) filmed a "mockumentary" series. You can watch all five videos here. I originally wasn't going to post the videos here, but I don't know... thought someone might be interested. Just a note: acting is another weakness of mine. At one point in my life, I wanted to be an actor. But then that dream ended when I came to the realization that I was at a slight disadvantage: I had no talent. haha... anywho. In the video, you can see the area where I go to school.
I am currently composing to a short film right now, and I have about 9min of music, which I might be able to post here. (Not sure... I'll find out soon though.) BUT, my next project is a short film called The Endless Forrest, which I am very excited about it. They just released a promo video for Kickstarter, which you can watch here. Recognize the song in the background? (I'll be honest, I didn't for about 10 seconds...) So yes. This should be fun.
I wish I could post new music. But I've got nothing right now post worthy. So until next time...
Thanks for listening (or in this case just reading...)
Jonathan Maiocco
P.S. I was listening to my iPod the other day, and this made me laugh. Perks to being named Jonathan... in all honesty though, those are hard acts to follow. Challenge tentatively accepted.
If any of you are curious, the recital went OK. My weakness is performance in general. I have a very hard time getting up in front of people, whether that is speaking or music or whatever. Also, my curse is this: I never play anything perfect. But that's OK. I have come to accept it. I did the best I could, and that's that. If I get a copy of the recording, maybe I'll post it here, if you want. Just a note: my two theme verses for the recital were Isaiah 43:13, " For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.' " and Philippians 4:6-7, "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus." Those verses carried me through the recital. So yeah. I leave for the Dominican Republic tomorrow, which is crazy. I just finished packing. I can't believe it's already here. I just wanted to post before I left and mention a couple of things...
Jill Williamson, the amazing author and incredibly awesome person, has interviewed me. And she is giving away a copy of my album. So you'll definitely want to check it out here. (And if you haven't yet, you should definitely check out her books.)
For the recital, we (Lanae, Matt, and me) filmed a "mockumentary" series. You can watch all five videos here. I originally wasn't going to post the videos here, but I don't know... thought someone might be interested. Just a note: acting is another weakness of mine. At one point in my life, I wanted to be an actor. But then that dream ended when I came to the realization that I was at a slight disadvantage: I had no talent. haha... anywho. In the video, you can see the area where I go to school.
I am currently composing to a short film right now, and I have about 9min of music, which I might be able to post here. (Not sure... I'll find out soon though.) BUT, my next project is a short film called The Endless Forrest, which I am very excited about it. They just released a promo video for Kickstarter, which you can watch here. Recognize the song in the background? (I'll be honest, I didn't for about 10 seconds...) So yes. This should be fun.
I wish I could post new music. But I've got nothing right now post worthy. So until next time...
Thanks for listening (or in this case just reading...)
Jonathan Maiocco
P.S. I was listening to my iPod the other day, and this made me laugh. Perks to being named Jonathan... in all honesty though, those are hard acts to follow. Challenge tentatively accepted.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
January 2013
First post of 2013!
School has started. Classes are good. Right now, I'm practicing a lot for my junior piano recital, which is February 13th. I just had my piano juries and passed, so I can officially have the recital. Piano performance is not my forte (pun intended), so I have been performing in nursing homes and for friends to get used to performing.
As far as composing is concerned, I haven't had a lot of time. But every now and then, I get a spare minute to do something... I thought I would post something I've been working on. It'll be for the Celtic album. It's just a sketch...
Thoughts? (I know, it's not traditional celtic, but then that makes me think: what do I call it? What genre is it? Maybe I should just invent a new genre and be done with it...)
After the recital, I leave Feb. 15th for the Dominican Republic (like last year) and I'll be gone for a week. Hopefully after that, I will start composing again.
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
P.S. I'm sharing my recital with my friend Lanae (she plays the French horn). We had to make posters to hang around the GSU School of Music, so my brother and I spoofed some movies posters. It was fun.
School has started. Classes are good. Right now, I'm practicing a lot for my junior piano recital, which is February 13th. I just had my piano juries and passed, so I can officially have the recital. Piano performance is not my forte (pun intended), so I have been performing in nursing homes and for friends to get used to performing.
As far as composing is concerned, I haven't had a lot of time. But every now and then, I get a spare minute to do something... I thought I would post something I've been working on. It'll be for the Celtic album. It's just a sketch...
Thoughts? (I know, it's not traditional celtic, but then that makes me think: what do I call it? What genre is it? Maybe I should just invent a new genre and be done with it...)
After the recital, I leave Feb. 15th for the Dominican Republic (like last year) and I'll be gone for a week. Hopefully after that, I will start composing again.
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
P.S. I'm sharing my recital with my friend Lanae (she plays the French horn). We had to make posters to hang around the GSU School of Music, so my brother and I spoofed some movies posters. It was fun.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Goodbye 2012
Hello internet.
The year is practically done. I didn't post as much this year as I did last year. (Last year being 24 posts, this year being 15, including this post.)
Life update: this has been a good winter break. It's been good to catch up on... everything. As of right now, I have two big things I am working on, both of them being school-related: my junior and senior recital. My junior recital is basically a piano recital in front of whoever wants to attend. It's February 13th at 8pm. (If you want to come, go for it. Just shoot me a message or something.) I have about 32min of music to play. (If I get a recording of me playing, maybe I'll post it here.) My senior recital (which will be probably sometime in November) will be my music. I have to have 45min of music on the recital, which is challenging because it has to be played live. (A lot of the music I do it electronic...) So this year, I will be focusing on composing small-ensemble music (like A Wandering Mind, H20, etc...) which means I will have to stay away from composing my usual epic/electronic music. But, this kind of leads into my announcement.
I have decided to do Epic Music II. But here's the catch: I am not going to post any of the music until I release the album. (And I have absolutely no idea how long it will take me to compose the album, so I have no idea when I will release it...) I'm hoping to do it late 2013, but a lot depends on my senior recital.
Another big announcement: I have started composing a Celtic album. I'm honestly not sure what it's all going to end up looking like or sounding like, or even when it will be released. But I'm going to try. Back in July, I mentioned that The Wild Hills of Erin had 40,000 plays. Now it's at 80,000. Hmm... (My theory: I simply called the piece Celtic, so if you search celtic on SoundCloud, my piece shows up.) Regardless, people seem to like that piece, so I might as well do an album of stuff like it. I am going to put The Wild Hills of Erin and Ever After on the album. (I'm still thinking through a lot of this though... just wanted to throw it out there.) Fingers crossed. Thoughts, advice?
On a smaller note, I have two short films I might be composing to this semester. Again, fingers crossed.
So yes, lots to do, much to think about, and too little time.
Music time: (I'm taking a risk, but I'm posting this anyways.) I have never been much of a singer. (In fact I hate my voice... but that's besides the point.) Earlier this semester, I was sitting at the piano just plucking out some tunes. I was playing Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons. (Really sweet song. Very epic.) I suddenly realized: it kinda had the same chord progression as Time from Inception. So I decided to mash them up. (Note: this was in September. I just didn't have the courage to post this until now haha...) So yeah. Here goes nothing. (Note: I'm only posting the second-half of the song. The first-half sounded awful haha...)
It was fun. I really want to record someone else singing it though. But we'll see what happens. (Not sure if I'll have time...) What do you think?
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
The year is practically done. I didn't post as much this year as I did last year. (Last year being 24 posts, this year being 15, including this post.)
Life update: this has been a good winter break. It's been good to catch up on... everything. As of right now, I have two big things I am working on, both of them being school-related: my junior and senior recital. My junior recital is basically a piano recital in front of whoever wants to attend. It's February 13th at 8pm. (If you want to come, go for it. Just shoot me a message or something.) I have about 32min of music to play. (If I get a recording of me playing, maybe I'll post it here.) My senior recital (which will be probably sometime in November) will be my music. I have to have 45min of music on the recital, which is challenging because it has to be played live. (A lot of the music I do it electronic...) So this year, I will be focusing on composing small-ensemble music (like A Wandering Mind, H20, etc...) which means I will have to stay away from composing my usual epic/electronic music. But, this kind of leads into my announcement.
I have decided to do Epic Music II. But here's the catch: I am not going to post any of the music until I release the album. (And I have absolutely no idea how long it will take me to compose the album, so I have no idea when I will release it...) I'm hoping to do it late 2013, but a lot depends on my senior recital.
Another big announcement: I have started composing a Celtic album. I'm honestly not sure what it's all going to end up looking like or sounding like, or even when it will be released. But I'm going to try. Back in July, I mentioned that The Wild Hills of Erin had 40,000 plays. Now it's at 80,000. Hmm... (My theory: I simply called the piece Celtic, so if you search celtic on SoundCloud, my piece shows up.) Regardless, people seem to like that piece, so I might as well do an album of stuff like it. I am going to put The Wild Hills of Erin and Ever After on the album. (I'm still thinking through a lot of this though... just wanted to throw it out there.) Fingers crossed. Thoughts, advice?
On a smaller note, I have two short films I might be composing to this semester. Again, fingers crossed.
So yes, lots to do, much to think about, and too little time.
Music time: (I'm taking a risk, but I'm posting this anyways.) I have never been much of a singer. (In fact I hate my voice... but that's besides the point.) Earlier this semester, I was sitting at the piano just plucking out some tunes. I was playing Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons. (Really sweet song. Very epic.) I suddenly realized: it kinda had the same chord progression as Time from Inception. So I decided to mash them up. (Note: this was in September. I just didn't have the courage to post this until now haha...) So yeah. Here goes nothing. (Note: I'm only posting the second-half of the song. The first-half sounded awful haha...)
It was fun. I really want to record someone else singing it though. But we'll see what happens. (Not sure if I'll have time...) What do you think?
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Forever and a Day...
Yeah. It's been forever and a day. I'm sorry about that.
Life update: school is crazy, but good. That sums it all up.
Music update: ever since the album came out, I've been in a musical slump. I haven't been writing as much as I should. I've been slacking. Not cool. So I am going to post some stuff.
A True Western (Version 2). Why Version 2? I entered it into a contest, and the piece didn't win, but they told me that if I made certain tweaks to the piece, it would be better. So I did what they suggested. I made the middle more contrasting.
Thoughts?
OK, now for something new. Brace yourselves: I have composed an artsy piece. It's for something called a Pierrot Ensemble. A Pierrot Ensemble is an ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. I composed it last week, because it was due for a contest. Translation: I composed as fast as possible.
I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I like the piece. There are some parts that I like, and other parts I don't. We have a love hate relationship. I originally was not going to post the piece, but then... I caved.
I call the piece A Wandering Mind.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the artsy side of Jonathan Maiocco.
So I know none of that was all that exciting. I'm hoping to post something really cool soon though. So hang in there.
But here is something cool for the moment: I have been remixed! Or, re-orchestrated... not sure what you would call it.
Daniel White, an awesome fell composer and friend, took my themes for The Horse and His Boy (which you can listen to them here and here) and composed a piece for The Horse and His Boy! Here's his blog post, and below is the piece.
Go check out Daniel's music and his blog. He's got some pretty awesome stuff! As always...
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
Life update: school is crazy, but good. That sums it all up.
Music update: ever since the album came out, I've been in a musical slump. I haven't been writing as much as I should. I've been slacking. Not cool. So I am going to post some stuff.
A True Western (Version 2). Why Version 2? I entered it into a contest, and the piece didn't win, but they told me that if I made certain tweaks to the piece, it would be better. So I did what they suggested. I made the middle more contrasting.
Thoughts?
OK, now for something new. Brace yourselves: I have composed an artsy piece. It's for something called a Pierrot Ensemble. A Pierrot Ensemble is an ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. I composed it last week, because it was due for a contest. Translation: I composed as fast as possible.
I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I like the piece. There are some parts that I like, and other parts I don't. We have a love hate relationship. I originally was not going to post the piece, but then... I caved.
I call the piece A Wandering Mind.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the artsy side of Jonathan Maiocco.
So I know none of that was all that exciting. I'm hoping to post something really cool soon though. So hang in there.
But here is something cool for the moment: I have been remixed! Or, re-orchestrated... not sure what you would call it.
Daniel White, an awesome fell composer and friend, took my themes for The Horse and His Boy (which you can listen to them here and here) and composed a piece for The Horse and His Boy! Here's his blog post, and below is the piece.
Go check out Daniel's music and his blog. He's got some pretty awesome stuff! As always...
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
Sunday, September 9, 2012
September
It's been a month since I last posted here. Sorry about that... life is crazy. School has started, and I am taking 17 hours of all music classes. It's really great, but it's definitely a lot of work.
When the album first came out, it wasn't even on the first page on iTunes. (It was maybe 50 albums down on the list or something.) So it's cool that it's now first.
Also, here's what the album looks like on iTunes:
I stalk my own music. Is that bad? I've been looking at the reviews every now and then, and I saw this review, and just had to post it. It made me smile:
On Amazon, when you type in epic music, it is the 5th item to show. (Which isn't bad, I guess... originally, it didn't even show up):
So yeah, just wanted to share that. Now, I have a request. (And I really didn't want to ask... but I'm going to anyways.) If you have a couple of minutes to spare, can you review/rate my album on iTunes and/or Amazon? Reviews/ratings really help bring up the popularity. And I'm not asking for five stars, or, "This is totally the best album ever buy it right now!!" I'm asking you to put what you think of it. And... that's it. So, take it or leave it. (I hate to be that guy who asks, but...) Thank you to all of you who have already reviewed/rated it!
Another thing: got this magazine in the mail the other day.
I honestly didn't think much of it. But my mom looked in the magazine and found my piece listed. (I was in my room, and I heard her yell, "Jonathan!!!" My first thought was I had done something wrong... haha.) My piece is the one in the middle of all the other pictures, and it's the 3rd piece listed under the "Early Intermediate" column.
Now onto music! I just recently did a short piece in the style of Thomas Newman. (It was for a video... I don't have the videos yet, but if I get them, I might post them.)
I know it's not much music at all, but it's new music needless to say. I currently have composition lessons at college, so I don't have as much time to compose freely like I use to. But for composition lessons, I am working on my piece A True Western (I going to expand it), I am composing an advanced piano piece, and I am going to compose something for a Pierrot Ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, viola, and piano). I am also in the process of teaming up with some short-film makers, so that should be fun. And that's about it! I'll post again soon.
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
[UPDATE]: Noah (link to blog), a friend of mine, showed me/reminded me that the album is also on Spotify. Here's a pic:
It's been a month since the album has come out. The first question people always ask me is, "So, how much money have you made off of it?" haha well, I don't know yet. I'm supposed to find out soon though, I think. But honestly, I didn't do it for the money; I did it because it's something I had always wanted to do. And besides, a couple of you guys wanted me to do it, so... yeah.
The reason I called the album Epic Music is so that when people search epic music in iTunes or Amazon, that it would be the first album to show up. (I'll be honest though, I wasn't sure if it was going to work.) But... it did. Which I thought was cool. So now, when you type epic music into iTunes, its the first album to show up:
When the album first came out, it wasn't even on the first page on iTunes. (It was maybe 50 albums down on the list or something.) So it's cool that it's now first.
Also, here's what the album looks like on iTunes:
On Amazon, when you type in epic music, it is the 5th item to show. (Which isn't bad, I guess... originally, it didn't even show up):
It's cool to be near Two Steps from Hell. They're awesome.
Another thing: got this magazine in the mail the other day.
I honestly didn't think much of it. But my mom looked in the magazine and found my piece listed. (I was in my room, and I heard her yell, "Jonathan!!!" My first thought was I had done something wrong... haha.) My piece is the one in the middle of all the other pictures, and it's the 3rd piece listed under the "Early Intermediate" column.
Now onto music! I just recently did a short piece in the style of Thomas Newman. (It was for a video... I don't have the videos yet, but if I get them, I might post them.)
I know it's not much music at all, but it's new music needless to say. I currently have composition lessons at college, so I don't have as much time to compose freely like I use to. But for composition lessons, I am working on my piece A True Western (I going to expand it), I am composing an advanced piano piece, and I am going to compose something for a Pierrot Ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, viola, and piano). I am also in the process of teaming up with some short-film makers, so that should be fun. And that's about it! I'll post again soon.
Thanks for listening,
Jonathan Maiocco
[UPDATE]: Noah (link to blog), a friend of mine, showed me/reminded me that the album is also on Spotify. Here's a pic:
Monday, August 6, 2012
I'm There
And I'm finally there. There being my music is on iTunes. It is also on Amazon, Google Store, and CD Baby. It's supposed to be on Spotify soon, and also on a bunch of other music stores (like Rumblefish, Last.fm, etc.), but I haven't checked.
It's kinda surreal. It's nice to be done. This has been a yearlong project, so I'm excited to see what's next.
(Saw this and had to take a pic!)
I would usually post music now, but... I don't have any new music that is upload worthy. (This is my first blog post without music! Weird...) Well...
Thanks for listening (or in this rare case just reading),
Jonathan Maiocco
It's kinda surreal. It's nice to be done. This has been a yearlong project, so I'm excited to see what's next.
(Saw this and had to take a pic!)
I would usually post music now, but... I don't have any new music that is upload worthy. (This is my first blog post without music! Weird...) Well...
Thanks for listening (or in this rare case just reading),
Jonathan Maiocco
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