Inside the heart of an artist is a burning fire. Untended and ignored, it leaves in its wake a feeling of emptiness that plagues its owner. If controlled and redirected, though, its energy gives us the most powerful trait humans have been given: creativity.

       Everyone has a different way of expressing their creativity. Some of us paint, some of us write poetry, some of us just lie down and imagine. Some of us are content to have only one outlet of creativity. Some of us don't limit ourselves to one.

       An artist's most powerful ability is self expression. When a rain of creative thought, pouring into his mind like water from a broken dam, is released, he channels it into the desert of his world and lets the river of new thoughts give the desert life. Nearby observers may comment on the artist's poor work or praise his excellent skill, but the artist only brought his creation forth; it is almost as if it was already there.

       I pride myself in being such an artist. When whatever mechanism in my mind tells me to compose turns on, I let beats and notes and sounds pour into the once-empty mold of a song like a blacksmith pours liquid metal into his own mold. This is my collection of objects created by me, a simple artist.

       My first symphony is a collection of nine seperate songs. None, except the overture, were originally intended to be in a symphony. After listening to the songs that I compiled into MIDI files, though, I found that these songs went very well together. I gave them titles and arranged them into my first symphony.

       I always use examples of literature to aid myself in learning music, simply because music and literature are so alike. The similarity continues in compositions, also. Each song in this symphony is like a short story, and combined they make an epic. Symphony I is a war epic that obviously starts in a type of countryside that is threatened by some sort of violence. The story develops into a sort of battle, escalates into a climax, then tapers down to a happy ending.

       Like most overtures, this song describes and summarizes the theme of its symphony. It is in a minor key, like most songs in the symphony. The entire song goes to the same beat, like in each other song in the symphony. This is the song I'm most proud of in my symphony, also. It is probably also the song that listeners will recognize more than any other in the symphony.

       The overture ends in a D major chord that transforms into D minor. This is where the first movement picks up. This movement, though it portrays some amount of peace, mainly is centered around a feeling of general depression. I'd like to say I did this to add to the theme of the symphony, but the reason for the feelings portrayed in the song is probably that I wasn't feeling happy when I wrote it. Oh well, it's a nice song.

       This movement, much different from the previous one, has an Oriental feel to it. It is entirely in A minor, and is a sort of a bridge between the first movement and the third movement, starting with just a piano and ending with an ending that gets us ready for the next movement.

       I wrote this song a long time ago for the piano only, but since so many people liked it so much, I added a marching beat and parts for several other instruments. It starts with a feel slightly like the second movement and enters into a march that goes through the whole song. In te end of the song, well, it just ends. :-)

       This movement is what I imagine myself hearing in the background of a movie like Braveheart, where two forces on opposite sides of a field or valley are preparing to attack one another. Its ending prepares us for the next song.

       The song wastes no time in showing off its forte and speed. It seems to portray the development of the battle, the moment when the most action in the entire symphony is. It certainly isn't a very long movement, yet if it were any longer, it would be too repetitive.

       A violin introduces us to a showdown to what must be the valiant remnants of two great forces in this epic. In the end it tapers off, then stops with a final chord. The battle is over.

       This waltz in A minor is also my pride and joy. In this symphony it shows the sadness and anger that results from the conflicts previously shown in movements 3-6.

       The final movement is the one and only movement in a major key in my entire symphony. It is cheerful, upbeat, and generally fast, showing the end of all of that previous action like a celebration. In the end, the song, like any celebration, just tapers down and ends.

       I hope you enjoy my symphony. A lot of time and heart went into the making of this symphony and this web site. Your comments and musical suggestions are appreciated, too ... if you have anything to tell me, e-mail me at [email protected]. Thank you for coming to my page.