It's Composing Season again...

lisahiltonmusic
May 27
3 min read

Hi there,

I hope things are going well for you, and that you have some interesting plans for the summer. After a trip recently to Big Sur, I’m right in the thick of what I call "Composing Season”. I don’t require myself to create music 365 days a year - I set aside spring - my favorite season - for this. Sunshine, longer days and being creative all seem to go hand and hand for me. I love summer too, but that’s when I’m in pre-studio mode - finishing music notation, getting photos together, setting up the schedules -summer is when I wear my producers cap a bit more as well as going over the music so that I really know it.

For me, Composing Season is the BEST! When I sit at my piano bench it feels like I am taken far away from my studio as the music emerges, gradually, bit by bit. As always, I don’t compose to a pre-conceived idea like an assignment. Instead I allow what has happened in the last year to seep into my creativity, then see what grows from that. Experiencing three fires near our area this winter - one of them tragically large and disastrous - of course will affect the music, as the volatility that we’ve seen in 2025 so far. How will this all sound? I can say that it has a lot of depth, variety and beauty as I’m always looking for life’s abundance despite the challenges we all are experiencing. Most of the time composing is a huge and joyful experience, but sometimes the music makes me very emotional, sometimes of course, it can be frustrating. But I trust the process that I have, and let go of insisting the music must turn out a certain way - I always let my creativity lead the way.

So how’s it coming along? So far I’m thrilled with the new music! I’m gently working, working, working away, nurturing the new tunes that we will record in late summer, to be released near the end of 2025. Although a large portion of the music is improvised, I still have to create a strong compositional form, and a road map of where the individual players will be soloing. What do I do when I get stumped? I look at other composers - you can see I pull out a lot of other piano song books at times in the photo, and you can also see I’m using my trash basket a lot during this time too!

The best way to stay inspired? I always stay inspired with the three great composers looking over my shoulder - Theolonious Monk, Miles Davis and Igor Stravinsky. It’s amazing to think that they forever changed the shape and sound of music with their creativity.

Happy Almost Summer to You!

Lisa

Amazon CD’s Amazon Music Apple Music Face Book Instagram Pandora Spotify YouTube YouTube Music X