My Take on Mulan
Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Mulan does a brilliant job of balancing her femininity with her obviously masculine badassery of, you know, defeating the Huns. It’s a tricky thing to do and a very interesting concept, so I wanted to try my hand at it, though through a different genre because, I mean, who among us mortals can even compare with Goldsmith?
Writing this piece has been one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in a while. I can’t tell you why, but I do know that everything from finding the basic tune all the way to producing an arrangement out of it was no walk in the park. Sometimes, I suppose, you’re struck by inspiration and all the elements of the process just gel. Other times, all you can do is muck about and hope everything you’ve done and learned up to this point can get you through it.
And funny enough, despite all the troubles involved with composing this piece, I really like it - especially the tune. I would definitely put it up there among the better melodies I’ve written, all of which came much more easily than this one - which just goes to show that sometimes the tenacity to see a troubled piece through is just as valuable as that elusive divine inspiration.
