For some, music is more than just something to play or listen to; it’s a lifeline.
“I trust music because it has opened up so many doors with honor bands, college and Biola,” said freshman music education and composition major Andy Magruder.
Magruder composed a piece of music for the recent Composition Concert hosted by the Conservatory of Music and the School of Fine Arts and Communication on Feb. 19. Magruder was one of seven students who had the opportunity to showcase their own work at this concert. His piece, titled “Brethren,” was a tribute to a difficult time of his life where he felt anger, frustration and sadness, but found solace in music.
“The underlying piano motif that I wrote represents the stability I find in music,” Magruder said about his composition. “Not only was it a melody to represent that I trust music but that I trust music will give me a life and a job after college.”
WRITING THE NOTES
Just as a painter might be inspired by other painters, Magruder is inspired by the music he listens to. As a self-proclaimed film music nerd, Magruder finds that the sound of his music plays off of the film soundtracks he loves.
“I tend to listen to music that I enjoy and that sounds like the piece I’m trying to write or the idea that I have,” Magruder said. “I begin at the piano and I play out the ideas that come to mind until something that clicks in my brain comes along and I write it down. Then, normally, I’ll write my melodies and then harmonies underneath.”
While Magruder doesn’t have a definitive composition style, he enjoys writing for epic adventures. The style of “pirate” and western music is especially appealing to him and are the two biggest influences on his music.
If Magruder is working on a piece for other people, he takes care to sit down with them.
“[I like] to ask them what they have in mind because most people do have something in mind,” Magruder said. “And I actually hand write my ideas on a staff paper book until I really love something, even if the ideas feel stupid I still write them down.”
Since music can paint a picture with keys on a piano and strings on a violin, Magruder illustrates that not all stories have to be told with words.
