Jonathan Rainous

Drafts & Dailies

Music EN ↓ 4 episodes

A music-only, mostly free podcast of first and/or incomplete drafts. I try to write something new each day, since I have way more ideas than I know what to do with. Any pieces here can be commissioned, at which point you send me feedback to incorporate and I make revisions and well-notated scores and parts. DM / email me! Subscribers can see notes with ideas for revisions. Audio will almost always be MIDI-based, from notation or music writing software, with occasional amplification for a better listening experience. jonathanrainous.substack.com

Author

Jonathan Rainous

Episodes

Elegy No. 5, "For Those Never Born" 16.07.2025 11:48

How does one mourn lost possibilities? A friend recently lost a pregnancy - a life has ended, a life as close as possible to her, yet a person she could never meet. This piece, written for her and her husband, grew out of one my daily pages before it became a fully fledged piece. It is a musical meditation, or maybe better, a catalyst for meditation, for assimilating grief; it is austere, quiet, w...

First Draft: Prelude 08.07.2025 2:20

I’ve been burnt out - but forcing myself to write fun stuff, or at least stuff that is simple, that is low stakes, that doesn’t feel like it’s a make-or-break piece…. that’s helping. Hopefully, it’s a gift to you, but the act of writing is a gift on its own. Maybe this will be the beginning of a large project? Part of me hopes there’s great ROI, but part of me responds, “It’s a gift - let it be a...

Ostinato with Machines, No. 1 24.01.2025 3:53

Written January 17, 2025. First draft of a string orchestra work, with a split contrabass part (pizzicato & arco). The opening establishes the ostinato (cello, then with viola), with some free elements surrounding it. Pizzicato bass, arco bass, and both violin parts are irregularly sized phrases which repeat, constantly changing their relationship to the ostinato. Later, the viola ostinato part ad...

First of the First Drafts! 16.01.2025 4:32

First draft of a trio inspired by my children's excitement at visiting their grandparents during Christmas 2024. Two kids became two themes, with surprising moments of calm during the long car ride… Written 12/17/2024 - 1/16/2025. For flute, viola, and bassoon. Raw audio is played from Staffpad, and is not mixed or in any way changed in a DAW or via other editing software. Movements from Pieces of...