• Music Composing
• Poetry

ABOUT MY WRITING:

I have always been drawn to and inspired by the old melodies. From an early age I was surrounded by the Eastern European tonalites of the Jewish prayers that I heard and sang both at home and in the Synagogue. As a folk dancer and aspiring mandolin player growing up in New England, I became involved in the lively contra dance scene there which introduced me to the world of American, Irish, and French Canadian fiddle tunes. Shortly after this the old time clawhammer banjo caught my ear because of its unique percussive sound and the southern mountain tonalities that characterized many of the tunes that were so plaintively expressed on that instrument.


COMPOSING MY OWN TUNES:

After learning and performing hundreds of the old tunes, I started to write my own, and now have quite a collection of jigs, reels, waltzes and aires. Most of these have the traditional AB dance form, and the melodies, though reminiscent of the old tunes, are fresh and lyrical. Some venture into other genres including blues, cajun, funk, and beyond. My writing is featured on my Rounder CD “Brand New Old Tyme Way”, and a new solo project that should be out in the fall of '03. I am currently doing selected dates with my own band, “Mark Schatz and Friends”, which features my original material.


THE WRITING PROCESS:

The inspiration to write comes from different places. Sometimes it comes from improvising freely on the banjo or mandolin. A pleasing phrase may materialize and I develope it into an A-part – usually a standard 16-bar melody, although sometimes it may have an extra few bars. At this point I usually go looking for a tape recorder to capture this part so I don’t forget it as I go after a B-part. For this I seek some contrasting feature – perhaps go high if the A-part was low, or go minor if the first part was major, or use more languid phrases if the first part was notey.

Sometimes a tune emerges from a feeling or experience - missing an old friend, or distraught over bad news on the TV, or joyous at the birth of a sibling’s child, or walking through the streets of London on a cold early morning - the new melody becomes an expression of these feelings.
From time to time I set out to write a tune for a particular occasion. This was the case with the Samolynn Waltz (recorded on Brand New Old Tyme Way), which I wrote for the wedding of Sam and Lynn Bush, good friends of mine who live in Nashville.

I have worked for the last several years with a percussive dance ensemble called “Footworks”, and have on many occasions been inspired by playing for the dancers or for dance classes that they are teaching.


MATERIAL RECORDED BY OTHER ARTISTS:

Some of my compositions have been recorded by other artists. I co-wrote “Shoulder to Shoulder”, the theme music for the IBMA Awards Show, with Jerry Douglas, which appears on his CD, “Slide Rule”. Other compositions of mine appear on Butch Baldisari’s A Day in the Country, and Pinecastle’s “Bluegrass '97, '98, and 2000. I am honored to have other artists record my material, and am always happy to send tapes of tunes to those who are looking for new material.


COMMISSIONED WORK:

I am also enthusiastic about writing new material whether it be for a special occasion, a recording project, a choreographer, or a film score. I can provide a basic work tape and/or sheet music, or a fully finished studio recording, depending on the needs and resources of the client.

POEMS:

I'm hoping to release a small booklet of 27 poems in the near future. In the meantime, here are some offerings:

• Little Brown Duck on the Northern Lake
• For You A Tune
• Den