Well, here it is. The last post required by a first semester art class here at SMU. Interesting isn’t it? In a music class, I have created a website, posted multiple blogs about what I do and why I do it, and explored who I am as an artist. My dream job is to compose the music for feature films, especially for production companies such as Disney, Walden Media, and PIXAR. However, I realize with a significant degree of humility that I may not be able to accomplish this goal in the near future. Therefore, here are some of my short term goals for the duration of and shortly after my college career that should help me attain my goal of becoming a film composer.

Freshman Year: I’m just starting to learn that I have so much more to learn when it comes to my education. I’m in the midst of rehearsing for my jury (recital required of all music majors/minors), studying for finals, and writing a paper about Marxist historical materialism in The French Lieutenant’s Woman. While this may not seem entirely relevant regarding my goals, I feel the need to learn as much as I can about a wide range of topics and points of view, not to mention the school and its curriculum. Freshman year is about learning the system.

Sophomore Year: I will know what teachers expect and I will know how to manage my time to complete assignments efficiently. Now I can take some time to explore classes outside my primary interests (music composition and film). I am really interested in Spanish and Business, and I am strongly considering a minor in one or both of these areas. I’m sure being bilingual will improve my chances of being hired anywhere, not to mention Los Angeles, CA. Also, a business degree is useful in any profession, especially one in which I will sell my work.

Junior Year: Because of some of the advanced classes I am currently enrolled in, I plan to finish most of my required classes by the end of junior year. This will take up a lot of time, and perhaps I will take classes over the winter or summer breaks. Hopefully by now I will have gained a reputation as a diverse composer.

Senior Year: As a senior, I think I would take a semester abroad, perhaps in Spain, to study music. I think learning about music of another culture would greatly improve my compositional skills and techniques. I will also be marketing myself as a composer and hope to collaborate with other disciplines on my return to school.

I hope to get involved with, or even initiate multi-disciplinary projects based on unconventional ideas, such as a dance recital by vocal majors or an orchestral piece written by journalists. I think new perspectives will increase my understanding of what is is to compose, to create art.

Post-SMU: And finally, I would like to end up living in LA, working as a freelance composer for commercials, films, videogames, musicals, or any other form of entertainment that involves some aspect of storytelling.

And I’ll get a dog.

Overall, my plan involves learning as much as I can in as little time as possible so that I may start my carrer as a composer as soon as possible…possibly. In any case, I hope to someday have the privilege of writing the music for a blockbuster summer movie.

Perhaps I will even get to score a Star Wars film!

~Fin~

What do i do?

I communicate. If you are reading this, then I am communicating with you. But more than that, I am communicating with everyone who will read this after you. As a musician, I believe that music is the greatest tool for communication we have. I compose music for many of the same reasons that people write poetry or prose – to communicate.

What am I missing?

I know that I am currently lacking in many compositional techniques including orchestration and advanced music theory concepts. But that’s what my time in college is for – to learn. I’m not going to worry too much about the skills I lack because for me, technical concepts are easy to learn, but it is hard to learn how to be creative.

How do I do what I do?

Music transcends all boundaries be they physical distances, spoken languages, or political or religious beliefs. I use music to convey emotions and to tell stories. All my piano solos were titled after a distinct image – “Waterfall,” “Carousel,” etc. In terms of my skills as a composer, I always try to create an image or elicit an emotional response from the audience. For example, my piece “The Tempest” is a piano solo based on many aspects of the Shakespeare play with the same name. It is dedicated to the character Prospero and can be interpreted as a musical representation of either a thunderstorm or the inner turmoil that Prospero experiences throughout the play. While the image of the storm was constantly in my mind while writing the piece, I was also very aware of Prospero’s changing attitudes towards his servants and his daughter. To me, the relationships between people are always more interesting than static imagery. Even though my pieces may be titled after objects or images, it is the story behind the title that influences the music.

What wakes me up in the morning? It’s not my alarm. It’s not the wonderful fact that I have 8 AM classes. It’s not even because I am hungry. I wake up to explore. I yearn to understand and appreciate any and all forms of communication, especially the rhythms and nuances of foreign languages and music. I am passionate about composing and performing, and I think the greatest thing man can do is invent new ways of interpreting and expressing the world. Composing is inventing. As a composer, I must invent new ideas, themes, motifs, instrumentation in order to stay ahead of the curve. I don’t just want to listen to music; I want to discover and create music.

The Zone

As the great Nicola Tesla said, “I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success… such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.” While I won’t go so far as to say I “forget” love and my friends, it is strange when I feel myself in “the zone.” That feeling, that thrill, is unlike any other. It is pure creation.

When I compose, I often try to let my mind wander away from familiar “landmarks of thought” (#Foucault) that dominate my Western-music-filled brain. I want to discover something different. I want to create something new. It is this desire that motivates me to push the boundaries of composition and creativity. I strive to invent musical ideas that don’t exist as I am writing this post.

The Origin Story

Of course, it is an amazing feeling to hear your work actually performed. At the end of my senior year in high school (#GOHAWKS!), I had the opportunity to compose, rehearse, and then perform an original piece of mine entitled “The Countdown: An Ode to Senioritis” (see Compositions). It was a challenge composing for strings for the first time, but it was a spectacular performance. I, myself, played piano with the string quintet on a small stage in a small theater. We got a 5 minute standing ovation.

The Drop (#betterthandubstep)

There is a time immediately after a performance ends when the audience holds their breath. It is the time after the noise of the instruments and voices, yet before the noise of applause and laughter. It is, to put it in colloquial terms, “the drop”. Dubstep tries to capture this feeling in its artificial silences, but these attempts can only be murky reflections of the pure silence after a performace. It is a hiatus of immense beauty and potential. The dancers disappear. The players stop playing. The musicians rest their hands. Everything is still. CUE APPLAUSE. There are no words to accurately describe the joy I feel in that moment.

That is why I wake up in the morning. K_Hart out.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

-Albert Einstein

In my first blog post, I described what I can do. Now I shall attempt to describe why I do what I do.

The Values

I have so many resources to draw from here. I’ll narrow it down to two: The Boy Scouts and The Catholic Church.

The Boy Scouts of America recite the Scout Oath and the Scout Law before every official gathering. For those unfamiliar with Scouting (and those who may have forgotten all the words), I’d like to share the Oath and Law here.

The Scout Oath – “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

The Scout Law – “A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.”

In these two lists of values, the characteristics of the ideal Boy Scout, and furthermore, those of the ideal person are expressed. I find that the values of the BSA are very similar to my own personal values. As an Eagle Scout, I have the responsibility to act according to these values everyday.

Growing up Catholic, I would often attend the youth group sessions for children during the readings at Mass. There I would learn all about Jesus, his undying love for us, and his saving grace. We would learn about the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, the parables and the stories of the Israelites. My life was simple. Be a good person. Have faith in Jesus. Go to Heaven. Obviously there is much more to it than that, and “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (#langstonhughes), but I believe that with a core of values based around Jesus and his teachings, I can accomplish anything and everything. As a Catholic, I have the responsibility to act according to these values everyday.

My mother taught me at an early age to “work first, play later.” While I don’t always follow this rule, it is still an important value to me, and I strive to live up to it.

My dad would often define integrity for my sister and I: Integrity – “doing the right thing when no one is looking.” When I was younger, I was confused about what he meant. But now I see that one’s character can only truly be expressed in an environment without restrictions (#college).

And as for my sister’s words of advice…ahem, nothing to see here folks. Move along (#thesearenotthedroidsyou’relookingfor).

I write music to communicate. I am not as concerned about financial well-being as I am passionate about writing music. My values define me as a person, and give me a structure from which to work, but I think it is my music that defines me as an artist.

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. 
-Oscar Wilde

(#thehashtagsrepresentastreamofconciousness)

I was thinking about how I would actually address the topic of work habits(#SMUfaceCLASS). Artists all need to have some order or routine that they go through daily, but I wouldn’t define my “work habits” as being related to “work”. To clarify, I don’t see music creation as work. For me, it is an expression of who I am. As that cool guy, Confucius once said, “Do what you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” (#ancientchineseproverb) I take this quote very seriously. Music – performing, rehearsing, composing, listening – is never “work” for me in the sense that it is a boring but necessary job that has to be done (#sacarlabasura). It is work because of my determination to better my abilities.

I am blessed to have been musically gifted (#churchchoirstfrancisofassissi). I have a good ear and I’m not too bad at singing or so I’ve been told. Music is always fun for me. It is a chance to communicate and explore emotions, rhythms, and stories that cannot be told any other way. The most difficult part of being a composer and a pianist is that I am expected to be able to play my own pieces(#musicprofessorsaywhat). Most of the time, this is possible. But recently, I’ve been writing pieces for larger ensembles that one cannot simply play on the piano (#LOTR). Thus (#ergo), I must improve my pianistic abilities considerably.

To do that, I am in the process of learning a few new pieces for solo piano performance: Bach Invention No. 4 (#funtolistentonottoohardtoplay), Beethoven Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Movt. 2 (#challengingrhythmseventhoughslow), and I plan to start working on Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu in the near future (#epic). Also, before I begin working on any of these pieces, I do warmups and exercises to strengthen my fingers and wrists. These warmups currently consist of major and minor scales (#fouroctaves) and Hanon’s exercises for the Virtuoso Pianist (#soundsandlooksharderthanitis).

In terms of my composition work, #itlooksmuchmorelikethiswhereIhavetoomanyideasandIjustreallyneedto      simplify

My “process” of music composition (#currentmajor) is primarily sitting at a piano playing a bunch of notes and chords that may or may not sound good together (#thatssoravenunhappymedium).

I feel like I spend too much time on the computer…K_Hart out

I am Kyle James Kalani Hartman.

Hello, my name is Kyle…”Hello, my name is” seems very cliched in this digital age. Names are everywhere. Names of people, names of businesses, names of products. We introduce ourselves based on what we are called by others. As an artist, I have a unique opportunity to choose a “stage name”, but I don’t want to become someone else. I want to claim ownership of myself.

I am Kyle James Kalani Hartman.

The Name

Kyle because my dad didn’t want my mom to name me Kai. James after my grandfather. Kalani in honor of my Hawaiian heritage (on my mother’s side of course). And Hartman because a long time ago in a country far, far away…John Hartman decided to come to America from Switzerland around 1854.

The Gift(s)

Among the many talents I have, my favorite would have to be my musical creativity (talk about cliches). I compose music. I play piano. I am teaching myself to play ukulele. I can juggle. I can sing. I can act. I am passionate about music creation, theater, and swing dancing. I have made and scored several films. I beatbox.

The Story

Born in LA, CA. Moved to Boulder, CO. Moved to Flower Mound, TX. Learned to play piano. Sang in children’s choir for church. Starred in a Christmas play about stars. Played more piano. Went to St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Keller, TX. Composed first piece: Gentle Waters. Moved to Keller, TX. Went to Cistercian Prep in Irving, TX. Composed second piece: Imprints. Composed third piece: Waterfall. Performed/Teched 8 theatrical performances for both Cistercian and Ursuline. Composed The Countdown: An Ode to Senioritis. Went to New Mexico with the Hilltop Scholars. Going to Southern Methodist University. Having fun so far. To be continued…