I’ve been revisiting some old works of mine recently, and simultaneously thinking about the current musical trend of harmonic maximalism.*
I love the rich harmonies that are at the heart of harmonic maximalism, but my heart isn’t in exploring that path. As I’ve looked at older and more recent works, it’s become easier for me to see the hallmarks of my writing style, and to then chart a path forward.
Here is what unites my writing:
- A premium on unison singing as a counterbalance to rich harmony.
- As much complexity as is needed to complete the statement, but no more.
- An exploration into how to create the harmonies that are the core of jazz singing while maintaining voice leading. More than lip service to “good voice leading” – actual lines that feel good to sing in every voice part.
- Clever, quirky, or slightly offbeat. On the other hand, heartfelt, with attention paid to the melody and lyric.
- Most of all, I want my music to be welcoming to both performer and audience. Fun to sing, straightforward to read (shoutout to clear notation!), inviting and engaging to the listener.
For my writing, harmonic maximalism breaks several of the rules that are at the heart of my writing. While I would feel comfortable approaching music in that style, and have done so on occasion, it does not appeal to me as a way forward. It’s a blessing to have different approaches than my own out there, both because it makes for diverse musical experiences, and because it the help create a framework to better understand and position your own approach.
* Harmonic maximalism, as I define it, is the trend of adding harmonies – as many and as rich and as fast possible – to a piece. The harmonies aren’t the means – they are the point of the musical interpretation. Current artists working as sonic maximalists include Jacob Collier, Dirty Loops, Accent.