It Was Something That Had To Be Said – Ben Hippen

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Every now and then you get a track submission which is truly perfect for the list and this week I think nails it!  Writer, Composer, Pianist and general all round creative, Ben Hippen recently produced an album - Scenarios that was commissioned specifically to provide the perfect sonic environment for writing.  Check out Ben's initial submission notes:

“I could hardly believe it when I saw the title of your playlist — last month I released an entire album composed specifically as music to write to. This is a particular passion of mine, and I would think it’s likely that your listeners have a lot in common with the audience I have in mind for this music.

The album is called Scenarios, and was commissioned by Be a Better Writer (explanatory link below). It consists of 13 tracks of music for piano and strings. Each one has a distinct character, with the entire album (almost an hour long) intended to provide an optimal sonic environment for writing. Be a Better Writer says of the music: “With evocative titles, each work is a mini-film score waiting for a screenplay or a treatment.”

I’m submitting the first track, “Refugee’s Hymn”. It is a medium tempo composition with memorable themes and a progressive long-form structure. Like all of the tracks on the album the title is intended to evoke a literary or journalistic scenario, without being overly directive for the listener. In my public materials I refer to this track as “a piece of music for our times.”

I had a good listen to the album and I was surprised by how each track differed from each other so much.  While Refugee's Hymn was well put together, it was ultimately It Was Something That had to Be Said that spoke to me.  While I'm a fan of solo piano - I do adore piano and strings and there's just something about how the strings and piano work together in this piece that just takes me in and makes it easy to write to.

But that's the thing about music - it's super subjective - but I think if you're looking for music to write to - check out the whole album - it's very well done.

You can learn more about Ben's original commission here:  Kirkus Review of Be A Better Writer:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steve-peha/be-better-writer/

And if you're interested in learning more about Ben and his perspective on Music, Music education and more, check out this super medium article - it's a great read:

https://medium.com/@stevepeha/composer-ben-hippen-on-the-future-of-music-education-75837ea5d28

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Perfect Essay Writing Music: Clarity by Ellipsis

The Music to Write An Essay playlist is sponsored this month by Clarity from Ellipsis.

Enter the Jungle and #FindYourClarity; fresh Chillstep from Ellipsis to help you focus and get writing. Stream it now:

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You can learn more about Ben Hippen here:

About the Curator: Andrew McCluskey

The first visual memory I have is that of the white upright piano in Singapore, Hell and the dark forces lived at the bottom, Heaven and the Angels at the top. They would play battles through my fingers and I was hooked.

Although I've always played, I haven't always been a musician.  Most of my twenties were spent working with people, buying and selling and learning how the world works.  It was in my thirties that I came to America and focused on music and began to develop music2work2.