An accumulation of materials relating to my interest in Frank Zappa. Currently this consists of two sections.
I have worked out several transcriptions of Frank Zappa compositions and along with these written some musical analysis.
I spend some of my practice time playing Frank Zappa compositions for discipline. This section links to videos of some of those efforts.
I had already been a fan of Frank Zappa's music around the age of eighteen. Students of composition are generally required to study the history of music and make a special study of the music of several composers. I initially did that through my own reading and study of several scores from the nineteenth century, including Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Dvorak, an interest inspired by the records played by my parents as I was growing up.
Then, through my interest in Frank Zappa, my study expanded to include scores of Stravinsky, Holst and Varese. And then ultimately - without the aid of scores - trying to crack the nut that was Frank Zappa's amazing music. That was a huge part of the development of my ear as that was all I had to work it out.