We are hosting our third Distil Scratch day on Wednesday 25th May led by musical director Dave Milligan. The day will focus on writing for the rhythm section. We are looking for 5 composers who want to have a go at writing for piano, drums and bass. There will also be a fiddler present to play any top lines. This project is not about writing a complete piece of music (you only have 1 hour rehearsal) but about trying ideas that you can use in other music you are writing. If you would like to take part fill in the form here. If we have more than 5 applications we will choose the 5 best ideas. The closing date for applications is Friday 15th April.
Dave Milligan has written a tutorial on writing for rhythm section. You can read it here.
The rhythm section is a curious thing when it comes to composing music. In the world of twentieth and twenty-first century popular music it is largely what we identify as the core of almost any band. Chordal instruments such as guitar and piano; bass guitar or double bass; drums and percussion – they have all become recognisable to us as rhythm section instruments for the role they have played in countless forms of music over the last hundred years. Read more >>>