Peace by Piece 
I recently had the pleasure of scoring Peace by Piece, a powerful short film directed by the talented and fabulous Stevi Ward. The film premiered at the CSUN Senior Showcase on May 2nd at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences alongside 4 other fantastic short films. I was lucky enough to have Stevi reached out to me early in the fall of last year and she immediately got me started writing music to early cuts of the film, something that is somewhat of a rarity in the industry. Without giving too much away, the film follows the broken relationship of a young athlete named Joy and her mother, Eliza, who has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. As Eliza’s health becomes worse and worse, Joy must come to grips with her mother’s past and mend their relationship before its too late.
Coming up with themes for the film was an exciting endeavor, especially because two leads were portrayed so wonderfully by Madison Boyd and Shannon Marie Wright. I ended up writing two main recurring themes which I wove throughout the score, the first being “Joy’s theme”. The theme itself is incredibly simple, switching from F minor to its relative major of Ab. I discovered that in its simplicity it was able to reflect the pureness and innocence of Joy, as well as her longing for a supportive mother who was never there for her. Stevi really wanted to emphasize these points and suggested I write a lullaby, which to her credit ended up working perfectly in the film.
Joy's Theme
The theme is most prominently played on piano on one of the higher octaves which I found also portrayed Joy’s fragility during such trying times for her. Joy's theme can be heard in the cues Piece by Piece, Letter to Eliza and is played in it's entirety in Joy's Lullaby which you can hear if you head over to the music page. I also wrote a part "B" to Joy's theme that was also used a few times throughout the score. It is played by the violins with similar chords underlying the melody:
The second theme I chose to write for the film was attached to Joy’s mother, Eliza. But more than being a theme for her specifically, I found it was more effective to compose a theme that revolved around the other big player in the film, Eliza’s terminal illness. Eliza's sickness is constantly a source of the tension between Joy and Eliza and the theme plays whenever the two characters allude to her cancer, hence its unofficial title of the “Cancer Theme” (morbid I know). The clarinet was the perfect instrument to breathe life into this theme and gave it the emotional impact needed to work in the film. The use of wind instruments in this theme also helps it stand out from the rest of the score which is primarily string based in instrumentation. Because Eliza's sickness is often central to the issues dealt with in the film, this theme is featured more prominently and can be heard in cues: Titles/The Final Shot, You Didn't Know? (linked at the end of the blog), Vodka is a Funny Thing and Rushmore Roger, all of which are also listed on the music page.
Some of you might notice some similarities in the two themes and this was quite intentional. The two main characters are obviously related to each other by blood and I made an effort to depict that musically by composing themes that were able to play off of each other. In general, both themes are play very slowly, are both in 3/4 time, and both utilize the half-diminished VI to bVI major 7 chord movement (for you music nerds out there). While both themes are meant to be rather sad because of where the two main characters are at in their relationship, I was careful to maintain a hint of hope (or should I say...Joy!) in Joy’s theme by briefly modulating to the relative major of key.
Finally, Stevi really wanted to bring in an original song for the final scene and end credits. Me being an amateur songwriter, I quickly decided that I shouldn't make a fool of myself and attempt this on my own. For this I sought out my good friend Caitlin Murphy also known as Annábla, who is an incredible songwriter and performer. Caitlin wrote a beautiful tune that encompassed all the emotions of the film and fit the end of the film perfectly in a way that I never could. Thank you C Murph, you're amazing!
Recording "Cross my Mind" with Caitlin
I hope this short post was an insightful look into the themes of Peace by Piece and part of my composing process for the film. Stevi Ward made such a powerful film and it was an absolute pleasure to come up with these themes and write the rest of the score. Also, a huge congratulations to my talented friends and colleagues who's films also premiered on May 2nd as well. I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by amazing artists and creators that inspire me everyday. Thanks for reading and I can't wait for everyone to see this impactful film.
TK