Always Be Clipping

MIDI recording

Perusal scores are downloadable and viewable but not printable.

Instrumentation: Violin, cello and piano

Duration: ca. 8 minutes

Year composed: 2020

Place composed: Kansas City, Missouri

Program Notes:
Always Be Clipping is based on alternating sections of two contrasting musical ideas: a loud, rhythmic, chord-based one and a soft, lyrical, continually flowing one. Each of the instruments — violin, cello and piano — take a turn being featured in each of the ideas: first the cello (with the first idea), then piano (second), violin (first), cello (second), piano (first), and finally violin (second). In the last section, the violin begins playing its continuous line. But after a short time the cello and piano violently bring the first idea back, playing loud rhythmic chords under the violin’s frenzied sixteenth notes as the piece rushes to its surprising finish.

The hardest concerts for an audio engineer to record and mix are ones with sudden loud sounds or ones with both very loud and very soft sounds, because the audio is always running the risk of clipping (overloading the recording equipment and distorting the sound). Always Be Clipping is a playful piece that presents this challenge purposely.