Omri Lahav

For some reason the link didn't work... Sorry about the glitch, and here it is: Link

For all you jazz lovers out there, or for anyone who enjoys the sound of an accoustic guitar... :) Here's an accoustic performance to the standard "When Sunny Gets Blue". Vocals - Sharon Ben-Shem Da Silva. Guitar, arrangement, mix - Omri Lahav. Enjoy :) - Omri.

This was a great round, lots of great, strong, thematic music all around! I had fun :)

Nice pieces all around!

"Crazy" to me is a very relevant term... As a composer for media, most of the time I don't get to do alot of crazy things, but I do have some time to make my own music. I have written some progressive jazz pieces that have two or three different time signatures going on at the same time, as well as band members playing on different scales at the same time... Maybe I have some recording of my old band playing some of those pieces if you're interested. Apart from the jazz scene (where it's a lot easier to get away with "crazy"), in my concert music I've tried to bring "crazy" onto the stage now and again, most of the time it went rather well. I don't think I've ever done anything that no one has done before, but I've had those moments when you just go "I'm writing that dissonance in and I don't care if the audience hates it", because it's what I wanted to do with the music. So, few dissonants, few odd-meters, few strange performance instructions (for example, all the woodwinds section got percussion scores - and had to open and close their instrument buttons in time, the lead violinist got a jazzy chart with nothing but harmony and the suggestion to improvise a winter day, etc...) Omri.

I think I might have time to get in on that one!

I chose to sit this one out, I already had too many ideas for the subject I chose, that I couldn't produce anything without using them - and that's against contest rules. That said, I'm casting my vote now, strange that this subject turned so many entrants to electronic music, but there are some very nice entries here. Good luck to everyone :) Omri.

About time I got to work on my entry then ain't it? lol hope I'll have time in a few days.

I'll be back in my studio around the 22nd hopefully I'll be able to cook something up, great topic this time! Looking forward to hearing everyone's take on it.

Some great works here! Good luck everyone!

Can I "stage" anything within said Tavern and compose to that? It's kind of cheating, but I just can't seem to get any ideas for static "Tavern" background music.

2008 has been one of the busiest years for me, as I've worked on several projects simultaneously. - Score for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", directed by Joseph Traynor, London. - Score for "Shadow on the Sun", original stage play by Robert Gould and Jimmy Granstrom, London / U.S. - "Ray of Hope", text by Israeli president Shimon Peres, duet with Austrian opera singer Sonja Perenda. - "Winter", three movement piece for flute and orchestra. - "Desert Flower", theme song for a movie (based on best selling novel), with a similar title. - "Valse Triste" for Piano solo. - "Milonga" for Accordion and Classical Guitar. - "The Mirror of Matsuyama", four movement piece inspired by the Japanese folk tale of the same title. - "Journeys", three movement piece for oriental orchestra and Classical Guitar. ...and a few incomplete works and stand-alone songs. Omri.

Your base definition of "music" is missguided. You consider the music you *currently know* to be the "music world". Music that will be written in the year 2,459 is still music - you and I just don't know it yet. So, there are only limits where *you* place them. The music we know today is limited to it's boundaries - but our grasp of it doesn't have to be. People are always looking for innovations and some find them, I'm working on a few surprising experiments in music and sound at the moment, if they turn out as I please... I'll post you an update here :) Omri.

If you wish to write and perform a song in a language you have no real understanding of - better find someone who speaks it well to guide you - in order to avoid making any awkward grammatic / pronounciation mistakes that will make you sound silly to those who understand that language. On a different note - look at whatever inspires you. Go to the beach, put on an emotional movie, watch the sun rise / set, listen to classical music, drink red wine, *anything* that gives you an emotional response. But don't force it - if you're not in the mood, good lyrics won't come. If you're on a tight schedule, or if you just can't seem to get a writing break... consider working with a writer (esp. good if you want to write in a language you don't understand, try finding a writer who does!) Omri.

Normally I try to think about associative "colors", as in "what does this music remind me of?", or "if this were a movie score - what would I see?" When I can't come up with anything I phone some friends and go like "what does this remind you of?" and play it to them, haha, it's surprisingly productive :) Omri.