When I asked Michael Leasure to describe his composing process, here is what he had to say:
"I have been composing/listening to music since I was a 'baby'…..My mother was a pianist…..I started on piano 1st and then guitar when I was 8…..I studied with pre and post WWII classical…..later on jazz composers…..I am neither…..I have a PRODUCTION process depending on the medium…..solo guitar, orchestra, guitar synth, film instrumentation, jazz trio etc…..but compositionally I do not have a process…..I am just…..there…..I meet someone, something happens, I read a book, somebody dies, I see a picture of an elephant, I fall in love, I drive from Boston, Ma to Athens, Oh, I have a conversation, I jog, I perform, sleep at The Plaza or in my car.....music plays in my head…..a lot of the times I write it down…..I trust….. that what I am hearing is current, derivative of my life experiences….. good…..'trained'…..the thought processes involve.....and how the hell am I going to record, produce…..THAT!? I will never earn a masters/doctorate…..There is absolutely no way what is assigned for me to do/accomplish/'learn'…..has any relevance…..I hear music, I write it down/record it…..the end....if a violin is needed and is there great…..if not I will drive to Alaska and borrow a friends orchestra sound library and play it on my guitar synth…..I really, really, really care about much to do with life on the planet and specifically in this era, THE grand thought, the spiritual all - encompassing Animal Rights,,, love music, creativity, art, poetry, their places of exhibition/concert, club, church,,, the people that create it…..their loves, pets, conversations…..AND that's about IT! That's the/my process…..I want to acknowledge and give credit to Kate, my wife, who is the 1st female trombone grad in all of British history from the RNCM, she has been a co-producer on some of my projects - https://michaelleasure.com/music/christmas-of-yore/ …..From England a patriarchal music society…..She wanted to live in America…..I am surrounded by/her/daughter Anna,,,, wonderful,,,, some of my friends are far more intellectual than I,,, they think up/create all kinds of ways to make money…..they are annoying…..we are surrounded by dogs/have enough money most of the time…..LOL…..It is always difficult…..the process…..God…..The 4 steps to mastery are 1) unconscious incompetence…..(when you don't know that you don't know); 2) conscious incompetence…..(when you know that you do not know); 3) conscious competence….(when you know you know); 4) unconscious competence…..(when you know and it happens automatically). Finally, "we are imperfect beings, living in an imperfect world." What is omnipresent is Change and Impermanence.
If you would like to hear more of Michael Leasure's music, you can find his radio station here:
https://www.thevoiceforanimalsradio.com/
Website: https://michaelleasure.com/