How GUMBOOTS Became my Most Successful Piece

Gumboots was my first major commission, from Carnegie Hall no less, and since its premiere in 2008 has gone on to be by far my most performed piece, with well over 100 performances worldwide. In this video I talk about the piece, and the possible reasons for its success.
Support the Channel on Patreon:
/ davidbruce
Follow me on Twitter:
/ davidbruce
Follow me on Instagram:
/ davidbrucecomposer
David Bruce Composer Spotify Playlist:
tinyurl.com/y7...
My 2nd KZbin Channel:
/ @dbc2
Please Support the Vital Work of this Amazing Rainforest Charity:
/ ingafoundation
GUMBOOTS RECORDINGS:
Commercial Recording on Signum Classics by Julian Bliss and Carducci Quartet
TO BUY:
www.amazon.co....
itunes.apple.c...
TO STREAM:
open.spotify.c...
SCORE
TO PERUSE:
davidbruce.net/...
TO BUY (including parts)
www.billholabmu...
MORE PERFORMANCES
Todd Palmer, St Lawrence String Quartet, Spoleto
/ gumboots
Ensemble ACJW
• Ensemble Connect Perfo...
Gumboot Dancers, Gold Reef City, Johannesburg
• Gumboots Dancers

[@pablov1973]

Gumboots is a fantastic piece of music, fresh, rythmically attractive, virtuoso like writting and musically very interesting, is the kind of contemporary music that you WANT to listen a second, third and more times. So, I'm not surprised at all that this work were your most successful piece.

[@samwallaceart288]

Generally, when you’re writing and “like a clucking chicken” is genuinely the most apt description you can make for something, you’re doing something right.

[@ReinholdOtto]

What you told me about those library stamps - it actually happened that I borrowed a facsimile of Machaut's Messe Notre Dame in our communal library back in the late 1980s, just to have a look at it again. And opening it, I found that the stamp of myself borrowing it fifteen years ago for the same reason was the only other one.

[@DBruce]

oh wow! I hope it changed your life at least (-:

[@bereaben83]

@@DBruce How long did it take you to compose Gumboots?

[@B7musicstudio]

I'm especially glad you included the very broad estimate of what a commission would cost. I wish more people were that open about it. Just giving an order of magnitude gives a useful point of reference, without sacrificing your ability to negotiate in the future. Thanks!

[@kropchik]

For who hasn't heard it before this is a masterpiece! All the best David! Keep in touch

[@wingflanagan]

Thank you! I like this kind of video, too. It's actually quite useful, I think, to other people who compose music or aspire to, because, as another comment says, it helps to get inside the mind of another composer's process. And it's a really cool piece!

[@MNolanMillar]

Agreed. I'd love more on the creative process.

[@procrast]

amazing, congrats! please, do more videos on your own music

[@garyb8373]

Well you just made me watch the 25 minute performance while reading through the score. And that was some seriously brilliant work on your part. And a serious workout for the musicians. Well done on this piece, David. I absolutely loved it.

[@grantveebeejay535]

You are the real deal sir. I've watched the performance on the Carnegie Hall channel on KZbin. Some of the younger compositional/ theory channel people fail to move me nor show relevant originality and serious depth of humanity in their work. Thank you for all you bring to us through You Tube.

[@AmandaKaymusic]

'Final Dance" 9/8 representation of the Baka peoples dance was my favourite part. A wonderful idea to move where the start is in the second 'straight feel' line to help find a classical interpretation of an African rhythm. Beautifully done. A link to your clip rhythmic illusions may be worth including. That is one of my favourite clips from you. The terminology of a glass like effect on the violin makes that sound easier to describe. How would you notate a 'glass like feel'? The high note on the bass clarinet is breath taking. Thanks for the clip.

[@ggauche3465]

Love this piece and the asymmetrical form. Has more than a touch of the Soldier's Tale about it, esp the last dance, but who can un-see the genius of Stravinsky!

[@petthemama]

Love the story behind this piece and the connection to South African gumboot dancing! Now I'm watching gumboot dancing videos and feeling happy.

[@chentiangemalc]

for me it is rare time I find contemporary music I want to listen to again, but GUMBOOTS is fantastic...

[@kaktotak8267]

This made me curious about the economics and logistics of "classical" type music nowadays. Producing it is very expensive I'd imagine considering it takes at least a small bunch of people with highly specialized skills that take years to develop. It is also a very niche kind of music. How does it all work and what keeps it afloat?

[@alexandrosvavatzanidis4850]

Great Insight! cheers from South Africa

[@LisztyLiszt]

Lovely music. Too many composers here in Ireland, particularly young composers, are composing what's been termed anti-dialectical or white note music, and in an attempt to all sound original, they all sound the same. But your music has a quality that can best be summed up with one word I think - life. Edit: Originally said 'hound composers'. Should read 'young composers'. 😂

[@AlexBallMusic]

Really interesting to hear your explanation of your piece. And it sounds fantastic.

[@kazvanrooij]

Wazaaap Alex

[@mjmcb1]

David: First of all, Gumboots is a wonderful piece of music. I know you're English, but there's no need to be even the slightest bit apologetic. I think you just hit the right combination of motivation and inspiration [financial and otherwise] to make it a classic, rather like when Lennon and Macartney needed an intro song for their new Beatles movies, A Hard Day's Night, and had to whip something up overnight [I really hope that story isn't apocryphal]. Now I'm looking forward to your difficult second smash hit [which may already have happened with your version of the Bach Partita]. Frank Zappa wrote of his career as a classical composer that he understood his own compulsion to write and to have his music performed, but was continually frustrated by how much of his own time and money he was expected to spend in making that happen. The nadir for him was when the Swedish National Orchestra expected him to pay them mechanical royalties for performing one of his works. He just told them not to bother.

[@Tylervrooman]

Ha! the "Taboo ' I think its cool. It helps the up and coming. Love the piece. Oh... and each movement deserved an applause!! Hope you are well and healthy

[@hassansoliman970]

You sir are awesomeness itself (with a playful cross continental polyrythmic quality offcourse).

[@instinctbrosgaming9699]

Question for your next Q&A (or another in the future): What would you consider to be the most ambitious you ever plan on going (i.e. symphonies, ballets, operas, etc.)?

[@ChrisFarrell]

Great video! One thing I would have loved to have heard a little bit about is why you chose the bass clarinet for the first movement. It’s very high in the range of the instrument mostly and it could have been on Bb I think, but the timbre of the upper bass clarinet range is really interesting. As a Bb/bass clarinet player myself, I feel like the bass clarinet is an enormously flexible instrument - as versatile as the Bb - that is woefully underutilized in chamber music, so it’s great to have more stuff to play on it :)

[@MrBezoubios]

Well done! I liked the multi rhythm part because some times I compose music with that elements. For example 9/8 over 4/4 or 7/4 over 3/4. Odd time signatures are my favorites!

[@stevonico]

David, This piece is amazing. In elementary school we studied the Gumboot tradition. Thanks for your contribution to the chamber repertoire

[@luckylunaloops]

How much? Priceless. Give this man all your money. All of it.

[@fernie51296]

I’m a clarinetist and now I totally want to play your piece! I’m definitely suggesting it this fall.

[@hoangkimviet8545]

I feel very well when I know the successes of the modern composers, who work for classical music, the type of music can be forgotten by the modern people :-0

[@francissadleir9805]

Jeez as a clarinetist I can say Julian Bliss is currently one of the finest clarinetists in the world! And to have him record you piece?! Brilliant!!! Fabulous piece with great orchestration!!! Keep it up Mr. Bruce.

[@noraazemog]

Forever fortunate that I play clarinet. This is truly something I want to play in the near future! Thank you for contributing to the repertoire!

[@Caio0_057]

I actually recently listened to Gumboots on Spotify, and it's quite a thrilling piece! I really enjoy the slow first part, it gives a nice introduction to the dances later. Also, it actually inspired me to try writing something for clarinet, which is by far not as good as Gumboots, but I am still finetuning it. Please keep making these videos, they are very interesting and educational!

[@TheAnthraxBiology]

So many of those performances were in Ireland! I can't believe I missed them. I saw one there saying Clifden in Galway and I would've gone had I known it was on :( Hope I catch it next time. I'd love to hear your music performed live.

[@joshthrelkeld]

Really helpful and encouraging video for those of us slogging through the muck -true to the name of your piece. Many thanks!

[@slcrooks]

Looking forward to hearing this at St Paul Chamber Orchestra concert this evening!

[@slcrooks]

It was fabulous!!

[@bifeldman]

Well done, you.

[@Gaianna3]

Loved your video (the first section is one of my favorite pieces). The rainforest charity you suggest above looks amazing, too. Thanks!

[@simonfivez2947]

Just listened to it for the first time on the Carnegie Hall channel. It's quite a piece; the first part is incredibly moving; and - like you state here yourself - the 5 dances are very moving aswell, although physically :-) Loved it!

[@pindab0ter]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, music and insight and for breaking that taboo earlier on in the video.

[@studiodingli4875]

Whilst I like Gumboots David, it has to take second place to your flash inspiration of 21st century music. Your STEAMPUNK is one of the most refreshing pieces of music in modern times. It compares to "Rhapsody in Blue." It is a rare collection of musical ideas that I will explore again and again to have fun unravelling the threads. I'll risk predicting Steampunk will overtake Gumboots in time to come. Because Steampunk casts a wider net to catch many species of psyches.

[@Pravdaband]

Relating to your video on modern classical music is not alright. What you did with gumboots is relatable to an audience while still being fresh and innovative . I like your words about being not serious aloof music but more “playful”. The high art of serious composition is the exact means of its demise, imho.

[@aaronmarko]

As a casual listener, I can tell you that there's a few things about your piece that make me understand why it may have as many performances as it does. The parts you've used in here just have a good sense of fun and dare I say joy to them whereas a lot of classical composition I've taken in over the past few days seems overly serious and even somewhat dour. Even the "humorous" classical that I've listened to just seem to carry this weight to them. I listened to this Ligeti piece this evening and while it was humorous, I just kept thinking "this is just completely alien." Whereas Gumboots seems to feel a lot more approachable to me, as a listener. Then, there seems to be a lot of hooks in the piece. There doesn't seem to be a lot of dissonance in the music. It really does seem to be rooted much more in melody than theory. There's really a lot of songcraft in it that I don't personally see in a lot of classical music that I "should" be listening to such as (please insert your favourite composer here). There's definitely complexity there but it's not overwhelming like sitting through Yngwie Malmsteen play guitar scales for 4 hours. And sure, the instrumentation is probably a huge component with why it's become as popular as it has, but I think that after listening to what's here that the musical component of the music is a large part of what continues to attract people to it.

[@narratormusic3164]

Question for your next q and a: do you use ghost notes when you compose? What do you think they add to a composition? How am I meant to feel them as a performer?

[@etepeteseat7424]

Your description of the "crispness" of short-form pieces reminded me of Jorge Luis Borges's comments on short story writing. I'm not very clued in on contemporary classical stuff, but I quite like the bits of this piece you played in the video. I'll definitely have to check it out in full, now. Thanks for continuing to make excellent, informative content; it's always interesting.

[@DBruce]

If I could reach 1/10th the heights of Borges I'd be very happy!

[@DallasCrane]

Awesome explanation and piece. Can you talk about the revision, contract, basically the business with the client process? How does one get noticed by these larger institutions? How do they expect the interaction to go?

[@marcioastorpooter9156]

I listened to it an it is amazing! The first movement has got really good ideas! I definitely want to listen to it again!

[@stefan21505]

11:10 the only peace I know having this kind of structure is probably schostakovich's 6th

[@austinvirag7920]

Bela Bartoks Romanian folk dances might be one

[@spacemissing]

Wonderful explanation of the subject. Now I want to hear the whole work.

[@JonasViatte]

Beautiful music. It's great that you take folk music and African music etc as inspiration. love it

[@WalyB01]

Thanks you for these videos it is a real insigth and personally I think you are really humble about your succes.

[@tommyron]

Your flash frames were right on the money. Great video, great piece.

[@OscarMSmithMusic]

Awesome stuff!! Could you talk more about incorporating folk music in your compositions and why/how you are able to capture "earthy sounds"?

[@nickdick2]

The point in so few contemporary executions is that the classical music concerts are filled with classics and romantic era composers… little space remains for others…

[@nickdick2]

... and also the difficult to listen music of certain avant-garde music (serial, post serial, structuralist, etc), didn't encourage a wider audience… (and interpreters)

[@fude45]

Another great episode cheers David, would happily watch you pull apart another one of you pieces like this. Did you keep all of the dances in the same key to keep them coherent when you put then together?

[@DBruce]

Thanks. No, probably the opposite, but I didn't go about it theoretically, I was just judging each new movement to sound fresh following on from the previous one. I also tend to avoid thinking about it in terms of key, or at least in terms of major/minor keys, because that restricts me, I'm usually aware of a tonal centre, but I don't feel any obligation to start and end in the same one for example.

[@danp420]

super cool stuff as usual! and the stories behind the rhythms in your composition bit is just amazing - loved it!

[@arturoluisrodriguez5279]

I really like this type video. It's like getting in the mind of a other composer.

[@Gregorovitch144]

That was a truly fascinating video on many levels. Loved it.

[@CaptainPhen]

Thanks for this great insight! I would love to see more of your compositions being explained by yourself: it's just so cool and useful to see the composer itself talking about the piece he created because we get to understand more of the creative process involved and what are you trying to convey in the score. It certainly serves as an inspiration and motivation for other composers! (Well at least for me haha!)

[@TrumpetPlayerRayban]

Congrats on the wonderful piece, I look forward to seeing more videos where you discuss more of your music

[@voetius]

The title of the piece is very Zappa-esque. Love your videos, by the way.

[@skibassist01]

Amazing video, it is always good to hear the tales behind the pieces! Do you plan at some point to do a similar video with the consolation of rain? That recording of camerata pacifica with Nicholas Daniel had a profound impact in my life as musician. Both gumboots and the consolation of rain are masterpieces of this century!

[@DBruce]

Wow, thank you so much. There's a recording of that and other pieces coming out later this year so maybe I'll say something about it then.

[@hootedits4235]

Gumboots sounds absolutely amazing. Especially the introduction. After I post this I'm going to search for upcoming performances... I have a couple of questions. 1. I used to love writing music, it was a huge part of my identity, until I went to uni and felt this huge pressure to write something that would impress my professors. Safe to say they were never impressed, and one of them wrote with my final grade that I just wasn't 'skilled' enough. I haven't really written anything for the past 10 years, and every time I try I have this anxiety about whether what I'm doing is good enough, which crushes any creativity which may have been there. Have you ever experienced a similar feeling? 2. What is your main instrument? I know you have many but there must have been one which you learned as a child, through which you started composing?

[@DBruce]

1. Very sorry to hear about your experience with your profs. If you feel like sending something through to my gmail (davidbrucecomposer) I'd be happy to try to offer you any thoughts I have. I've certainly had plenty of similar experiences, and have learned that following the feeling of joy in what you're doing is a good start. 2. Piano

[@simonpaulaustin]

I do not want to boast (but I'm not going to stop myself). Many of my string quartets have been performed tens of times. But OK, quite a few others of my compositions have not seen the light of a concert hall. I hope someone from Carnegie reads this......

[@spencerwinellcomposer]

This piece inspired me to write something for the same instrumentation...I've dubbed it the Bruce Quintet

[@darklingeraeld-ridge7946]

Marvellous piece, and fascinating video - you are a prime living revealer of artistic process.

[@emmnttvideogamemusic6021]

Such an incredible story, I should give gumboots a listen.

[@crohno]

i love your piece, im gonna steal so many ideas from it for my own music!!!!!

[@thiagoancelmo.clarinet]

Dear David, thank you very much for this video. This is a great initiative that I wish other composers would follow. Is there any project to write a clarinet quartet ( clarinet +string trio) ? I look forward to performing your music in near future.

[@bobbydunning6475]

I'm an aspiring entrepreneur, and I also have found some issue in learning more about how I should price my work. For example, should I change my pricing based on who's asking? How about instrumentation? Hours spent working on a piece? These all seem like variables to consider, but I'm not quite sure how they all come together. Could you make a video discussing this topic in the future? I would certainly find use out of it!

[@chrisofnottingham]

I had those exact wellies. Yoemans I think, they cost £6 and lasted about 15 years of regular use.

[@mykhedelic6471]

Though i was upset by your reading of Prince's music as less enduring than Michael's (though, i could see many MJ pieces being melodic basis for more orchestral works) your music is really exciting and it's a true joy to watch your channel. But check out some of the sonics of Prince's more daring music and juxtapositions. Admittedly, he can dwell in the "character" of Prince more often, but when he's on, he's ON.

[@hase.von.b]

Excellent video, and beautiful music. Saludos desde Argentina

[@Bigandrewm]

Pretty nice company to be on an album paired with the Brahms clarinet quintet. What an epic piece of music that is!

[@christinarusnak7824]

I love it!

[@glenkaiser633]

Just from what I heard in this video, sounds very Aaron Copeland like. At 5:33 got curious and actually looked up "prevaricate" first in Websters Dictionary (American) then in The Oxford Dictionary (British). Odd thing about the English language. The British use it to mean "be indecisive" in America it is used to mean "to not tell the truth".

[@zatytom]

I love Gumboots; but it's the only piece of yours that I could find on Spotify, so it is the only one I know well.

[@DBruce]

Check the link in the description there are a few more!

[@christopher19894]

At first it seems like the classical form has been exhausted by past greats, but then I realize how important new scores are for film and TV. How does that niche of the music industry work? It seems like there'd be a lot of opportunity, but it's probably still a hustle, because the market is flooded with a lot of freelance talent.

[@PabloGambaccini]

I love this piece, it has so much life and wit!

[@jimlang7461]

Have you considered the possibility that Gunboots is popular because it is just a wonderful, beautiful, inventive piece of music? that's my opinion

[@hugobouma]

It certainly helps, but having an understandable theme and evocative title will often do a lot more. Look for example at the Haydn symphonies: the ones with a subtitle to latch on to ("Surprise", "Schoolmaster", "The Hen") have a much easier time fitting in a thematic program than the ones with just a number, even though there is no difference in musical quality. And Haydn is very much an established composer, to the point of having died centuries ago.

[@jimlang7461]

@@hugobouma it should be noted that none of those names were coined by Haydn, just as Beethoven never used the terms 'Moonlight', 'Appassionata', 'Pathetique', or 'Eroica'. All of these pieces obtained their popularity on the strength of the music.

[@TONIKOBLER]

great professor the ritimo 9-8 . excelent camerum's ritimo is great

[@jonnyroxx7172]

Wonderful! I’m working on a polyrhythmic string piece right now and you have given me lots to explore. Great music, very educational and inspiring. Is the Gumboots score available? Peace. JR

[@DBruce]

Thanks. Yes, links, including perusal score on this page: www.davidbruce.net/works/gumboots.asp

[@wojtekwieczorek6397]

Doprawdy, cudowne gumiaki!

[@DBruce]

dziekuje!

[@wojciechdraminski3035]

Co tu się stało XD

[@zoria2718]

@@wojciechdraminski3035 Coś. Lub nic.

[@giuseppesiciliano69]

Hi David, Just a note: "ossia" is stressed on the -i-. It is pronounced os-SEE-huh, not OS-see-huh. Source: I am Italian :)

[@jammusique]

Great piece, great video!!

[@hauthot287]

Mozart clarinet quintet, gumboots, and then Dvorak clarinet quintet is an IntErEstInG section to say the least

[@Gusrikh1]

Very interesting and educational.

[@rosiefay7283]

Thank you for going into such detail about this piece and its commission. There really shouldn't be a taboo about how much to ask for -- how else is the aspiring composer supposed to learn and come up with a figure that is well chosen as a result of their knowledge? We need others to provide data so that we can acquire the knowledge in the first place. 12:34 That can't possibly be right. Do you mean the pitch that would sound if an ordinary clarinet played what you wrote? Then that would be an octave above e on the 3rd leger line, which makes e above the 6th leger line.

[@Ardjano234]

13:31 Yet I really miss a recording of Nothing. I think all your fans really want to hear a complete recording of that wonderful opera.

[@TB-rh7sq]

I am interested in creating a music theory website, and I was wondering if you could teach us about how you set up 8notes. Also, your videos are super inspiring and helpful.

[@YotamIshay]

In the and I heard "Ossia next time" Thanks for the videos

[@kajetansokolnicki5714]

Of course, if anyone were to write a piece about a pair of wellingtons, the first instrument that comes to mind would be the clarinet.

[@raniagoldmusic]

Is there a video about Bruce's views on using modern (extended) techniques? If not I would love to hear your thoughts on that

[@carlstenger5893]

Fascinating.

[@gpeddino]

Listening to the whole piece right now. That first note in Dance III, was that a nod to Rhapsody in Blue?

[@danielbiederman3562]

I watched your video on Program Music. Question: do you consider Gumboots to be within the field of Program Music? Even though the piece is not 'about' the gumboot dancers of South Africa, would this work still be considered programmic? Or simplify 'inspired by' the gumboot dancers? Thanks.

[@Herfinnur]

Really cool piece!

[@Alchemetica]

In OZ we also call them gumboots.

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I saw this piece performed live and it was fantastic. Pretty much everything that has been lacking in art music from the past 50 years...

[@LOS_wolfb]

nice, exhilarating audience response at the very end of the video : )

[@iangillham9647]

A cracking piece!

[@TONIKOBLER]

hey bruce this is a high level bro , thanks for post this