The Making of "The Discovery of Aliens"
by Kathryn Dunn
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For their 2021-2022 show, the Nottingham Indoor Percussion Ensemble will be performing “The Discovery of Aliens,” written by Nottingham junior, Garrett Gonzalez. Garrett has been in the Indoor Drumline since his freshman year of high school and has a passion for musical performance and music composure. He has played for both drumline and the front ensemble, now presenting his work for the ensemble to perform in competition. The Nottingham Indoor Percussion Ensemble is excited to perform his show, “The Discovery of Aliens” for the competitive season ahead. But how did the show come to be? Garrett has given insight on his process and thoughts for the upcoming season. |
KATHRYN DUNN, INTERVIEWER: Typically the ensemble buys a show for the competition. What made you write the show for this year?
GARRETT GONZALEZ, COMPOSER: I have been composing modern instrumental-type music since middle school. Freshman year and sophomore year I was exposed to indoor percussion. The beginning of 2021 I asked myself, what if I were to make a show for our school? I thought that doing this would save our group money and that I would gain experience writing ensemble pieces.
DUNN: What was your inspiration for writing the Discovery of Aliens? Why the specific theme?
GONZALEZ: My inspiration came from the modern type of songs I write. I thought that I should make something that was similar to a trap/hip-hop beat but with indoor percussion ensemble instruments. The theme of aliens came after I finished the show. I had originally called it “Space Travel” as I thought the broad theme of space would be a cool theme for an indoor show since I had never written an indoor percussion ensemble piece before.
DUNN: What was your process for writing the show?
GONZALEZ: First I started with the mallet part because I feel the drumline can be written easily to accompany any melody. Whenever I was working on the melody part of the show, I had a piano beside me. My piano abilities had contributed a lot to writing this show. Back during the beginning of the pandemic, I had written a lot of drumline beats so by the time of writing this show, I had experience with drumline. Being able to play drums as well contributed to the show as I would have my tenor pad next to me when writing the show.
DUNN: How long did it take you to write the initial draft of the music?
GONZALEZ: It really took like a couple of weeks but I worked on it on and off over the period of six months.
DUNN: You've already made several changes to the show. How long does it take you to write out the changes, and do you plan on making any more?
GONZALEZ: It takes maybe a couple of hours to write out the changes with a little brainstorming, then the actual writing out. Having a music software helps with the process because who knows how long it would take if I were to write it by hand. I do not plan on making any more changes but I am willing to do so for the sake of our Indoor group.
DUNN: What are your favorite parts of the show?
GONZALEZ: My favorite parts of the show are all the impact moments. Each song has an impact moment (mostly at the end of each song). I like these moments because when listening to it, I can picture everyone playing it together as a team and that gives me goosebumps.
DUNN: You've seen the first two practices for Indoor Percussion this year. How does it feel to see and hear people practicing your show?
GONZALEZ: It feels great. But sometimes I forget I wrote the show, which is a good thing so I can learn the song again with someone and help them with their part.
DUNN: The first competition for Indoor Percussion will be in the next few months. How do you feel about the ensemble performing your show and US Band judges hearing/critiquing the performance?
GONZALEZ: Right now I'm not so much worried about it but I know for sure I'll be a little nervous. I feel excited about our group performing it. I believe that we can replicate what I envision the show sounding like. For the judges, I am willing to hear any criticism because I can use that criticism for future songs/pieces I make.
GARRETT GONZALEZ, COMPOSER: I have been composing modern instrumental-type music since middle school. Freshman year and sophomore year I was exposed to indoor percussion. The beginning of 2021 I asked myself, what if I were to make a show for our school? I thought that doing this would save our group money and that I would gain experience writing ensemble pieces.
DUNN: What was your inspiration for writing the Discovery of Aliens? Why the specific theme?
GONZALEZ: My inspiration came from the modern type of songs I write. I thought that I should make something that was similar to a trap/hip-hop beat but with indoor percussion ensemble instruments. The theme of aliens came after I finished the show. I had originally called it “Space Travel” as I thought the broad theme of space would be a cool theme for an indoor show since I had never written an indoor percussion ensemble piece before.
DUNN: What was your process for writing the show?
GONZALEZ: First I started with the mallet part because I feel the drumline can be written easily to accompany any melody. Whenever I was working on the melody part of the show, I had a piano beside me. My piano abilities had contributed a lot to writing this show. Back during the beginning of the pandemic, I had written a lot of drumline beats so by the time of writing this show, I had experience with drumline. Being able to play drums as well contributed to the show as I would have my tenor pad next to me when writing the show.
DUNN: How long did it take you to write the initial draft of the music?
GONZALEZ: It really took like a couple of weeks but I worked on it on and off over the period of six months.
DUNN: You've already made several changes to the show. How long does it take you to write out the changes, and do you plan on making any more?
GONZALEZ: It takes maybe a couple of hours to write out the changes with a little brainstorming, then the actual writing out. Having a music software helps with the process because who knows how long it would take if I were to write it by hand. I do not plan on making any more changes but I am willing to do so for the sake of our Indoor group.
DUNN: What are your favorite parts of the show?
GONZALEZ: My favorite parts of the show are all the impact moments. Each song has an impact moment (mostly at the end of each song). I like these moments because when listening to it, I can picture everyone playing it together as a team and that gives me goosebumps.
DUNN: You've seen the first two practices for Indoor Percussion this year. How does it feel to see and hear people practicing your show?
GONZALEZ: It feels great. But sometimes I forget I wrote the show, which is a good thing so I can learn the song again with someone and help them with their part.
DUNN: The first competition for Indoor Percussion will be in the next few months. How do you feel about the ensemble performing your show and US Band judges hearing/critiquing the performance?
GONZALEZ: Right now I'm not so much worried about it but I know for sure I'll be a little nervous. I feel excited about our group performing it. I believe that we can replicate what I envision the show sounding like. For the judges, I am willing to hear any criticism because I can use that criticism for future songs/pieces I make.